[quickcraze]

#1059755

Hi, I’m new here. In 08’&09′ I went to my doctor about unexplained weight loss, he found nothing in the labs & suggested a therapist. A bit later I passed out for no reason, again suggest therapy. My whole life I’ve had insomnia, irregular heartbeats, jitters, blurred vision/floaters, ringing in ears & been easily choked while eating or drinking. Within the last 5 yrs I also noticed hair loss, jumpyness, irrational anger, muscle weakness & I have to force feed myself triple what I normally eat to keep weight on-go then have frequent BMs. I met a great aunt recently who told me I needed to have my thyroid checked(she had graves’), I didn’t, then 2 weeks ago a 1st cousin tells me hers is messed up. I called my doctor to see if it had been checked the nurse said it had & was normal. Today my doctor tells me it was borderline hyper. Blood work ensued again…. but I’m scared to death he’s going to say I’m nuts again! Did anyone else go through this????

[Kimberly]

#1177273

Hello – The symptoms of hyperthyroidism –such as rapid heart rate, hand tremors, insomnia, mental/emotional changes, etc. — can mimic other conditions, so unfortunately we hear a lot of stories about Graves’ being misdiagnosed.

Hopefully, this latest set of labs will shed some light as to what is going on. I would really encourage you to get hard copies of the labs so you can see for yourself what is going on. Also, make sure that your doc is testing Free T4 and T3 – and not just TSH.

Also, definitely make sure your doc knows about your family history. That might make him/her take the possibility of thyroid issues more seriously.

Hope that you can get some answers – and some relief!

[quickcraze]

#1177274

Thanks for responding so quickly! Labs today were BMP, LANAD (antibody), T4 free, T3total, CBC w/ auto diff reflex to manual diff & SEDR sedimentation rate.
I read about the different test on several sites, the only one the I recognize here is the T4 free & T3total, I didn’t recognize the rest. Should I call about not having the T3free?

[snelsen]

#1177275

By any chance,did he order a TSH?
Kimberly will give you a better answer than I would, I think.

as I recall, Naisly had a nice post recently explaining T3, T4.

Sure does seem you are hyper. So so sorry you have been so miserable so long. I kinda hope the Thyroid labs say that you are hyper, for then you can begin treatment to begin to feel like a human again!
Shirley

[quickcraze]

#1177276

Unless tsh has another name it doesn’t look like he did. Just have to wait anxiously til results are in :(7

[Kimberly]

#1177277

Hello – I’m not familiar with LANAD.

In general, T3 and T4 represent the actual levels of thyroid hormone circulating in your body. T3 is the more powerful and active hormone of the two. Some tests will measure the amount of T3 or T4 that are not bound up by proteins, and therefore available for the body to use. These are referred to as “Free T3” and “Free T4”. TSH is a substance produced by the pituitary gland that either directs the thyroid gland to produce more hormone or tells the body to put the brakes on thyroid hormone production.

The latest medical guidance (which you can read in the “Treatment Options” thread in the announcements section of the forum) recommends testing Total T3: “Assays for estimating free T3 are less widely validated than those for free T4, and therefore measurement of total T3 is frequently preferred in clinical practice.” Some docs choose to test Free T3 instead, though.

It’s possible that what they checked the first time was TSH, and that’s what prompted the second round of testing.

Take care!

[quickcraze]

#1177278

Hi again, I look all the test up online last night.
BMP-test to chk heart failure
LANAD- chk autoimmune disorder
CBC- measure red/white blood cells platelet levels hemoglobin hematocit
SEDR- test to see how fast red blood cells settler in test tube in an he, inflammation causes increase in falling cells

So no TSH SINCE the one in 08.

[ChristinaDe]

#1177279

Quickcraze, sorry to hear about your symptoms. I had the very same symptoms for years & was told multiple times that I was “borderline” hyper so didn’t need treatment. I saw cardiologists & every other specialist you can imagine including psych. Everyone kept saying that I didn’t have any issues that they could treat. My symptoms continued & I felt crazy and like a hypochondriac or something. A few months ago I saw an endocrinologist who also said I was “borderline” hyper, but since my symptoms were classic hyper symptoms she would treat me. The medical term for borderline hyper w/ symptoms is subclinical hyperthyroidism. Some don’t want to treat that, some do. In my case my free T3 & T4 were normal, my TSH mildly suppressed. Antithyroid meds quickly brought my TSH into normal range but I didn’t feel good, just a different sort of bad. So then they wanted me to do surgery or radiation…I remember feeling very scared and frustrated. I mean, both options sounded extreme, my condition was “borderline” by labs, and my labs were normal on ATD’s and yet I still felt bad. So why treat at all? I was afraid that I’d take one of these drastic steps and still feel bad. Eventually I couldn’t take the symptoms anymore and decided to go forward. I opted for a thyroidectomy. That was 2 months ago. I have had ZERO symptoms related to my thyroid ever since! The moral? Borderline or subclinical hyperthyroidism CAN cause symptoms in some people, extreme symptoms even. It did in my case.

[Kimberly]

#1177280

@ChristinaDe – Thanks for sharing your story with subclinical hyperthyroidism!

@quickcraze – Usually, we stress the importance of *not* relying on TSH for Graves’ patients who are newly diagnosed. But in your case, if the T3/T4 come back in the “normal” range and you are still having symptoms, it’s worth checking the TSH to see if it is suppressed. For patients who have subclinical hyperthyroidism, the process is often “watch and wait” to see if it worsens. *However,* if a patient with subclinical hyperthyroidism is having symptoms, treatment is recommended.

You know your body and you know that something isn’t right…so please keep fighting until you find a doc that can get you a correct diagnosis!

[quickcraze]

#1177281

Thankyou for sharing your struggle w/ me, it really helped! Especially as the result of my t3 & t4s came back in the normal ranges .94 & .86 My doctor believes all my symptoms are related to smoking, as my hematocrit level was high. He dismissed all of my white blood cell counts. I’ve seen on here many tell you to get copies of your labs. After looking them up I can see my immune system has gone nuts. Though he gave me the extra push that I needed to quit smoking, I don’t think he wants to listen. Truly was thinking I must be crazy til I looked up the test then saw this post. THANK YOU it’s off to an endocrinologist for me.

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