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  • Anonymous
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    Post count: 93172

    Hi indiana,

    It’s impossible for me to tell you exactly what’s going on, but I can maybe shed light on a couple of things for you. It is possible that your TSH level will “lag,” in other words, will not rise to match your T4 and T3 levels right away. Some people have experienced this — after so much time being suppressed, it can just take a while to come up. Also this could be what is called “subclinical hyperthyroidism,” which can also be dangerous if left alone. Basically it is your body indicating that, even with the levels looking normal, it senses that you are still hyperthyroid. Some doctors let their patients wait it out, see if the TSH rises again, some treat it a bit more aggressively. My doctor let me wait it out, but after two years insisted that I do something about it. I wanted to deny that anything was wrong (after all, my T4 was normal!) until I read an article from a medical journal chronicling subclinical — now my levels are closer to normal and I really do feel better.

    All that being said, there are other reasons your TSH would not “match” your T4 and T3, and some people have even gone so far as to stop trusting the TSH level for diagnosis. It is such an individual thing, it’s hard to say “THIS is what’s happening to you.” There are even separate conditions that could make this phenomenon occur.

    The bottom line for your doctor should be that you do not feel well, and THAT needs to be addressed. I would advise you to speak with your doctor again and tell them how miserable you are — keep a journal for a week or two with all your symptoms so that you can have something to back you up (and be specific with the symptoms, as well as with other day-to-day details like hours of sleep and things like that). If your doctor does not show any interest in getting you feeling better, look into changing doctors. We need to have partners in our care, not dictators who pronounce us “well” when we do not feel that way.

    I wish you luck!

    -Ski
    NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

    Anonymous
    Participant
    Post count: 93172

    Ditto what Ski says!

    I am “normal” as far as the FT3 and FT4 go, but my TSH is still suppressed and has been this way for about 9 months now. My doc is letting me wait it out, and like Ski said, it is more important to go by how you feel. Right now I’ve been feeling “stable,” the best I’ve felt in awhile, even with a low TSH and the doc is going by how I feel–to him and me that’s most important. He said it would take a while for it to bounce back up, from months to maybe even a year or more.

    Anonymous
    Participant
    Post count: 93172

    Just to let you know: I feel exactly as you describe when I am going hyper. The medication change can take awhile to change the symptoms and make you feel better I’ve found (at least 2 weeks) Hope you feel better soon :)

    Anonymous
    Participant
    Post count: 93172

    Help – why is my TSH low – less than .01 and my Free T-4 and Free T-3 normal. Had RAI in Feb. – taking Synthroid .025 and feel exhausted all the time, gain weight just looking at food, feel like I’m living in a fog, can’t concentrate on anything, just want to stare at the walls all day. My endo says I am still hyper because of my TSH so she lowered my Syntroid dose but now I feel like I’m in a coma. Any words that can help me figure this out would be helpful.

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