Ellen_BHi,
Were you on antityroid drugs? If you were I take it you do not like the idea of going back on the antithyroid drugs. Weighing the risk and benefits of each treatment is not easy. When is just being on a beta blocker an option? Your doctor will be the best one to answer that question.
I do not know if you are interested in looking at the American Thyroid Association Guidelines for Management of Hyperthyroidism and Other Causes of Thyrotoxicosis. The link to those guidelines is: http://thyroidguidelines.net/sites/thyroidguidelines.net/files/file/THY_2010_0417.pdf [thyroidguidelines.net]
The guidelines were drawn up a while ago (in 2011). The article is not easy reading.
In the article you will find a chart on the treatment of subclinical hyperthyroidism.
Your doctor will have to tell you whether you are hyperthyroid or just subclinical hyperthyroid. If you are truely hyperthyroid none of the information may apply to you.
What is interesting to me is the chart dealing with the subject of when to treat subclinical hyperthyroidism. In the chart patients are lumped into two different groups—one group with a TSH below 0.1 and another group with a TSH between 0.1 and 0.5.
(By the way the lower limit of the normal range for this chart is 0.5mU/L)
The chart indicates patients are more likely to be treated when the TSH is below 0.1 than when it is between 0.1 and 0.5.
When figuring out whether to treat or not to treat, other factors such as age and underlying conditions must be considered as well.
In the less than 0.1 TSH group the over 65 people are more likely to be treated. In the same group (less than 0.1) those who are under 65 with certain conditions such as hyperthyroid symptoms, heart conditions and osteoporosis are also likely to be treated. In the less than 0.1 group if one is under 65 and has no symptoms treatment is only considered. However if you are in the group with TSH between 0.1 and 0.5 and you are under 65 and asymptomatic no treatment is indicated.
How worried you should be about your TSH numbers your doctor should be able to tell you. He will also know all the factors that should be considered—including age and underlying conditions.
It would be nice if questions on the subject were simple and had simple answers. Why is life always complicated!
As you move forward please continue to let us know how you are doing.
I wish you the very best.
Ellen