[Kimberly]

#1061744

Hello – We aren’t medical professionals here and aren’t qualified to interpret labs, but I can give you some general information.

Based on the ranges you mention, it looks like the test that you had done was TSH. TSH is *not* the same as thyroid hormone. 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. When things are working properly, the amount of TSH produced by the pituitary depends on a “feedback loop” according to where our actual thyroid hormone levels (T3 and T4) are. If T3/T4 levels are *low*, you should see the TSH levels *increase* in order to prod the thyroid gland to make more hormone. If T3/T4 levels are *high*, then you will see TSH decrease to tell the body to stop making more thyroid hormone.

Fatigue can be associated with hormone levels that are too high as well as too low. If you aren’t feeling well, I would encourage you to see if you can contact the nurse practitioner to discuss your symptoms. Also, TSH is the standard test for patients who are stable on thyroid hormone replacement, but perhaps it would be helpful to test Free T3 and Free T4, just to see where those levels are at.

[kellykw]

#1061745

Kimberly:

Thank you so much for replying to my post. I looked at my test results and the test was a TSH test. I will definately speak with the clinic and see if they can perform Free T3 & T4 tests. Thank you again for your help Kimberly. It just didn’t make sense to me that she was working to lower my meds when the reference range listed on the paperwork states it suppose to be between 0.45 – 4.50. Obviously I have a great deal more to learn about my condition. Thank you again for all your help!

Sincerely,
Kelly Whalen

[mamabear]

#1061746

kelly, what was the tsh level that the nurse thought needed to be tweeked. This is strictly for curiousity purposes only ” title=”Very Happy” />

You need to make sure you see a DR not the nurse. Unless she is a nurse with an MD behind her name she shouldn’t be messing with your levels.

[kellykw]

#1017939

Hello Everyone,

My name is Kelly and I was diagnoised with Graves Disease when I was only 17 years old. As a result I had Radioactive Iodine Treatment. Now I am 31 yrs old and take medication daily. Up until recently I’ve been seeing a wonderful endocrinologist, however since my husband lost his job & our insurance disappeared I had to start going to the clinic for my medication. Unfortunately the nurse practioner at the clinic insisted on testing my levels and now she believes them to be too high and is insisting on lowering my medication AGAIN. The problem is I am exhausted and after requesting my test results in the mail, and seeing them with my own eyes I think she is actually decreasing my meds when in fact my medication should be increased. Right now my level is 0.09, shouldn’t it be somewhere in the 0.45 to 4.5 range, or ideally 0.3 to 3.0 range? What should I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Kelly

[Bobbi]

#1061747

Just a comment, Kelly and I think I’m reading things correctly, but as Kimberly pointed out we’re amateurs and cannot interpret test results. But it struck me that you made a mistake that I have made in the past, confusing the decimals and zeros in the TSH test. 0.09 (which you reported as your TSH number) is outside of the normal range, and low. It is, in other words, lower than 0.45 which is the bottom of your lab’s normal range. And that indicates that you are on too large a dose of replacement hormone. Think of TSH and thyroid hormones as being on opposite sides of a seesaw. When the TSH is on the ground, the thyroid hormones are high up; when the thyroid hormones are low, the TSH goes up. You said that the nurse practitioner reduced your meds, when you thought you needed to raise them. But this report looks like it showed the need to lower the meds, not raise them.

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