TSH is only a hormone sent to the thyroid by the pituitary gland in the brain, it is like a sensor that detects the amount of Thyroid hormone in your system, when the thyroid hormone is low, the TSH increases, when the thyroid hormone is high, the TSH decreases, but the ranges they use today are also outdated, the American Board of Endocrinology says between 0.3-3.0 or 3.5. So you could very well have a thyroid issue with a TSH of 5.
The importance of TSH
TSH, made by the pituitary gland in the brain, stands for thyroid stimulating hormone. If your thyroid is sluggish, your pituitary produces more TSH, a kind of kick in the pants for the thyroid. The TSH blood test is the most useful test for thyroid function.
What causes a sluggish thyroid?
A common cause is autoimmune. Your immune system thinks your thyroid belongs to someone else and starts attacking it. This is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Other causes?
t acknowledge that TSH is affected by so many variables that it is totally inadequate as the sole diagnostic for thyroid issues, even before starting on thyroid meds. After taking thyroid meds, TSH is almost useless to monitor thyroid status. Many hypo patients do not get enough thyroid medication to raise their Free T3 and Free T4 levels enough to relieve hypo symptoms until the TSH is suppressed below its reference range.
088mg which was a little high for me so I went back down to .075mg, now that I am pregnant I had my TSH checked at 4 weeks gestation and it was 4.5 and my OB said it was in normal range. I started feeling cold intolerance and my hair has been falling out so I bumped up to 0.088mg again and am having some issues with nervousness and racing heart at times. Could this dose be too high and be causing me to be hyperthyroid that quickly?
My TSH is 3.3, which is considered as "Subclinical" and have been given a prescription for treating the consition since I am trying to get pregnant. The doctor thinks that the optimal TSH range should be 1-2 when trying to conceive. I have normal results and all other lab results, including normal HSG for me and normal semen analysis for my husband. I do have irregular periods though. Do you think that it could be because of my borderline elevated TSH?
Hi, I am freezing cold all the time. My feet and hands are ice cold. My TSH is 2.00 and in another test was 3.6 with normal range .4 to 4.5. Thyroid Antibody test is also normal, i think <10. My doc didnt do T3 or T4 test and said I dont have Thyroid problems. I have extreme brain fog and i am fatigued. Cannot even function normally. My body temperature is usually 97.0 to 98.0 but still my hands and feet are freezing.
Is it possible to have hypothyroidism even with normal TSH.
m sorry, but you can very well be hypo with a TSH of 0.25. Some meds suppress TSH, and it can go to zero while FT3 and FT4 remain hypo and you have hypo symptoms.
If you don't feel hyper, you are not hyper, no matter what your TSH is. TSH is a pituitary hormone, and it can be affected by any disturbance in the thyroid/hypothalamus/pituitary axis.
Yes, you can be tired and hyper. If you have insomnia (a hyper symptom), you will feel tired during the day.
My colleague took part in research for a paper investigating the TSH levels of euthyroid women trying to concieve and their TSH was between 0.9 and 1.7, this is in the normal population.
I am hypothyroid myself and my TSH before treatment was 4.5, classed as borderline hypo, but I had all the symptoms and very high antibody levels, I couldn't stay awake, and even when awake the brain fog was terrible. Thyroxine made me feel human again.
Also how come I dont have any thyroid related symptoms like missing periods etc? Even earlier when my thyroid problem was not diagnosed and my TSH was 8 I always had my periods like clockwork. I wonder why I have infertility though. Also I have to get this TSH between normal ranges before attempting any fertility treatments.
LH, ACTH and TSH. It also greatly reduces leptin levels. (journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism).
Interestingly, I also have Hashimoto's thyroiditis which has brought about a hypothyroid state.
Despite having obvious clinical symptoms of hyopthyroidism and a low range of FT4, the endocrinologists I have been seeing are refusing to increase my thyroid medication because my TSH is in the low end of the reference range. (0.46, range: 0.4-4.
Serum thyroid levels are comprised of natural thyroid hormone and also any thyroid medication. When starting on thyroid meds, the TSH will be diminished according to the dosage. The reduced level of TSH will then stimulate the thyroid gland less, resulting in diminished output of thyroid hormone. So often when starting on thyroid med, frequently serum levels don't go up until the dosage is such that the TSH level becomes suppressed below range. Then the serum level will start to rise.
Your TSH is within reference range. However, TSH is a very poor diagnostic of thyroid dysfunction since it's a pituitary hormone. Free T3 and free T4 are the actual thyroid hormones. Since your symptoms could be caused by thyroid dysfunction, you should ask your doctor to order FT3 and FT4. Keep in mind that symptoms often are not relived until FT4 is midrange and FT3 is upper half of range.
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