[asimm24]

#1060399

Hi, My name is Amber. I am 35 and live in DFW, Texas. I was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease a few months ago.
Just had some blood work done:
Triiodothyronine, Free is 3.32 (range is 1.90-3.50)
Free T4 is 1.07 (range is 0.58-1.64)
TSH is 0.02 (range is 0.34-5.60)

This is from 2 days ago. I was on 10mg of Methimazole and 25mg of Metoprolol Succinate…however, I am still hyper. So they have increased both meds and I am now on 15mg of Methimazole and 50mg of Metoprolol Succinate.

How bad are these labs?

I have done some research on my own as this isn’t my first go round with a chronic auto-immune disease. I also have severe Crohn’s Disease. Was diagnosed 2 years ago and lost 18 inches of small intestine and a few inches of large intestine in August of this past year.

Look forward to meeting everyone here.

[Teri_Odegaard]

#1182406

Hi Amber,

I don’t know much about lab results even though they have been explained to me. Just recently I had mine done, here are the results:

T3 – 90 – range – 80 to 200
T4 – 1.2 – range – 0.7 to 1.5
TSH – 1.656 – range – 0.340 to 4.820

I also am tested for Vitamin D, was very low when I was diagnosed and still am not able to get it “in range”.

Vitamin D 21 – range – 30 to 150

I wish I could be of more help to you, but it looks like the “range” part is different for me than it is for you. Wonder why that is.

Teri

[Ellen_B]

#1182407

Hello Amber,
I am glad you found us. We are happy to hear from you too. We will do all we can to make you comfortable with our group. I hope that sharing your experiences with others who have similar experiences will make your travels with Graves’ disease easier.
You do have more than your share of problems with two autoimmune diseases. Just coming to grips with a new diagnosis is challenging.
Because we are not doctors (just patients and advocates) we are unable to give medical advice or interpret laboratory tests. Have you been able to look at your test results with your doctor? Does he give you time to discuss the results? Does he explain what the tests are testing?
If you need more information on the tests let me know.
Call us on the toll free number (877-643-3123) and an advocate (most likely me) will answer.
If you prefer to correspond by email send an email to info@gdatf.org.
I wish you the best and hope you start to feel better soon.

Ellen

[dhuffman63]

#1182408

Hi Amber I am newly diagnosed also. I just got my lab results today:

3/28/11
TSI 226 (<=122)range
TSH <0.01 (.35-5.00)range
FreeT4 1.4 (0.7-1.9)range
FreeT3 .3.92 (1.71-3.71)range

I started on 10mg a day of Tapazole and 12.5mg in am and 12.5mg in pm of Lopressor. After 3 days my left arm from the elbow down went numb and I was told to half the tapazole to 5mg. Did that and a week later my left hand is numb. Now I’m to half that but I can’t sit still, have a heart rate that sometimes hits 160 or better sitting down, have the night sweats, same issue as before the treatment. Not sure what is worse the drugs or the graves.

[Kimberly]

#1182409

Hi Amber – As Ellen mentioned, we aren’t allowed to interpret labs, but make sure that your doc is familiar with the latest guidelines from the American Thyroid Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists on monitoring labs for Graves’ patients. The really important numbers are the Free T4 and T3 – TSH can remain suppressed for quite some time and is not a good benchmark for determining how to make dosing adjustments.

“Serum TSH may remain suppressed for several months after starting therapy and is therefore not a good parameter to monitor therapy early in the course.”

You can find the info at this link, page 604 of the original journal article, or page 12 if you download as a PDF.

(Note on links: if you click directly on the following link, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing, or you will have to log back in to the forum. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).

http://thyroidguidelines.net/sites/thyroidguidelines.net/files/file/THY_2010_0417.pdf

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