[scayh]

#1019238

I have had Graves disease since 1997, that is when I found out I had it and it was zapped in Nov. 1997. Shortly there after I moved away and have not really had it monitored. This past winter I came across a list of symptoms and found I still have most all of them. I finally called my Dr.s office last week and have an appointment for the 29th. I got the blood test on Friday and the ‘TSH was 5.19, and the T4 was 1.0 ( nurse called it a T4 Free). What I am wondering is, if these levels are low enough to cause symptoms? My Dr. is on vacation till Monday but the other Dr. in the office that got my test said I should wait 4 months and be retested.

Thank you for listening.
Stephanie

[Ski]

#1070305

If your levels are outside the normal range, the answer to you question would be YES. If your levels are very far from where your levels were last time you were tested, the answer would be YES. I do hope you have access to your last test results (before this appointment) ~ it may convince your new doctor to adjust your replacement hormone to try and match the prior levels.

[scayh]

#1070306

Ski,

I have never been on hormones since before my thyroid was zapped. My Dr. was the last one to do blood test on me but it has been years ago. So she should still have it.

Stephanie

[Ski]

#1070307

There are two things that are good to know ~ first, the thyroid hormone level results from "years ago," but also (didn’t mention it before) thyroid hormone level results from a prior physical examination, BEFORE you got Graves’. Many times it’s part of a standard "blood profile" done during a full physical. That will give you a good idea of where your body stood in terms of TSH when it was operating normally, and it can be a good number to shoot for.

[threads]

#1070308

Question on tsh level: I have been taking thyroid medicine since i was a teenager. Now 49 I was tested with a low thyroid test of .53 almost two months ago. I did take synthyroid .1 and now they have lowered it to .88. Question is, I was told lowering it would make my thyroid levels go up. Seems like that is opposite of what you would think. Does lowering thyroid make it go up, (hopefully). I am suppose to take it for a couple of months to see what the next readings will be. I have been taking the new dose in generic brand for almost two months now, just changed it to the real synthyroid not generic, I can tell a difference. I do exercise every day only gaining weight not losing it.
Just wondering if giving me less thyroid medicine in the long run does help in more energy, and weight loss, while hiring tsh levels. Has anyone had this type of thyroid problem and found lowering it helped to increase your tsh level and you lost weight while gaining more energy?
Thanks,
C

[Ski]

#1070309

This is a common question, because of the way the levels work in the body and how they are tested. Here’s the basic info: your thyroid hormones are T4 and T3. T4 is released from the thyroid and then it is converted to T3 when your body needs to use it. T4 is what you are taking in your replacement hormone. TSH is released by the pituitary gland in response to the T4 and T3 levels that the pituitary gland senses, and sent to the thyroid as "instructions" for releasing thyroid hormone. For that reason, TSH levels are actually opposite to the thyroid hormone levels. If your thyroid hormone levels are too high, the TSH levels will drop, which is the pituitary gland trying to communicate with the thyroid to tell it to release LESS thyroid hormone. When your TSH levels are high, that’s a communication from the pituitary gland that the body needs MORE thyroid hormone please. When we have Graves’, the antibodies mimic TSH and make the thyroid think it’s being asked to release more, more, more T4, no matter what the actual level of TSH is in the bloodstream. Once we have no working thyroid any more, the thyroid cannot react to the changing TSH levels, so we need to check them ourselves and our doctors need to adjust our replacement hormone accordingly.

So yes, lowering your dose of T4 should raise your level of TSH, and lower your levels of T4. The reason TSH is tested most often is that it is a more stable level. When our levels are fluctuating rapidly, we should test both T4 and TSH to make sure we’re getting a full picture, but when we’re down to testing annually, TSH is a better level to be testing because it works as kind of a "running average" of weeks and weeks’ worth of T4 levels, and gives a more precise level to work against.

I hope that helps! I mean it when I say this is a common question ~ I actually had a nurse practitioner mess up the relationship and nearly adjust my replacement in the wrong direction!

[acgaravalia]

#1070310

Thanks, Ski. I am REALLY new to all this, and apparently my levels are just a smidge high. I asked why, and she said that it just means my body is dealing with the problems itself. Does that make sense? I am not sure of the exact numbers.

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