Thyroid levels normal
Common Questions and Answers about Thyroid levels normal
armour-thyroid
Why did your doctor prescribe you medication? Was it based solely on your TSH level? Most people will consider 3.81 very normal, especially with normal levels of free T's. If you were screened and medicated only on TSH than please find yourself a new doctor before you cause damage to a thyroid that may very well be doing fine.
I had a TT in October of 07. I had RAI (175 dosage) 3 weeks ago. I am on 225 of Synthroid daily and my doctor says my levels are "normal." I had thryogen shots instead of going off my meds. I still suffer from extreme fatigue at least 2 days a week, dry skin, terrible backaches, knees hurt, elbows hurt, and I get confused to the point I am in tears. How can my levels be "normal" yet I still feel as though I am suffering from hypothyroid?
So I suggest that you should go back and request to be tested for Free T3, along with Free t4 and TSH. Just to best understand your tissue thyroid levels (as opposed to just serum thyroid levels), I also suggest testing for Reverse T3.
Since hypo patients are frequently too low in the range for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, I also suggest testing for those as well.
Can't really comment on whether the thyroid stimulating herbs might have affected the test results or not. You certainly have a number of the classic symptoms for hypo t, and your FT4 was on the very low end of the range. I would stop taking any more of the herbs and go back and ask that FT 3 also be tested (free T3), because it is 4 times as potent as FT4 and largely regulates metabolism. Doctors do not usually check FT3 because they assume that if T4 is okay, then T3 will also be okay.
Seems as though the normal range varies though... my first test was 5.39 then the next test was 3.85. I was told that 3.85 was within the normal range which went to 4.5. She said it was normal high but that I would likely benefit from treatment so on Levo I went. My last test was 3.2 and I go in for another one tomorrow.
My
Typically, when thyroid levels are high, TSH is low and when thyroid levels are low, as they are with hypothyroidism, TSH is high... this is what your doctor was looking at. With secondary or central hypothyroidism, this pattern does not hold true, because there's nothing wrong with the thyroid; it simply needs TSH to stimulate it. The problem is in, either the pituitary or hypothalamus gland, so the thyroid is not getting the stimulation it needs to produce the thyroid hormones.
My definition of a good thyroid doctor is one that will treat your symptoms by testing and adjusting the biologically active thyroid hormone (FT3 and FT4) levels with whatever type of medication is required to alleviate symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.
I suggest that you tell your doctor that this is the approach you would like to take and start with testing for FT3, in addition to the FT4 and TSH testing.
My daughter just received some lab results back and has been referred to an endcrinologist for abnormal thyroid results. Her TSH is 1.85, indicated as normal, but her TT4 is 21.9 and her T3 is 255, both indicated as elevated. I am a little confused as I am trying to research the possible causes of this and I cant find any cause for a normal TSH and elevated T3 and T4. Anyone have any suggestions?
"I do have Thyroid perioxidase antibodies" - its over the limit? Did doc mention Hashimoto?
You list classic hypo symtpoms.
"extreme muscle stiffness (especially in legs and feet)" - boy do I know about that, this was a major hurdle for me, as I stand on hard lab floors at work a lot. Does not seem to bother people that sit at desks a lot, understandable. It is my experience that low free T3 levels or even mid range contributes to this in some people.
I have suffered from anxiety/depression off/on for years and have taken medication for it off/on. It seems to be getting worse as I think I may be becoming perimenopausal - I'm almost 45. I have also started to gain a little weight and have never had that problem before. Someone recently encouraged me to get my thyroid checked out saying it can be related to the anxiety/depression and weight gain. My doctor did a TSH and Free T4. My TSH is 3.3 and my Free T4 came out as .98.
Yes you have Hashimoto's Autoimmune disease. Has anyone ran a complete thyroid panel on you to see if you need meds yet? (TSH, Free T3, Free T4) All 3 are necessary in order to get a complete picture of what is going on with your thyroid.
Eventually the antibodies will completely destroy your thyroid, thus you will need thyroid hormone replacement. It is very important to keep an eye on your levels to make sure you don't suffer symptoms....catch it before it starts.
Also, serum thyroid levels sometimes do not accurately reflect tissue thyroid levels. Symptoms result from inadequate tissue thyroid effects, which are a result of tissue thyroid hormone levels and a few other variables. It has been reported that the best measure of tissue thyroid levels is the ratio of Free T3 to Reverse T3, taken from the same blood draw. So it might be a good idea to ask to be tested for Reverse T3 and Free T3 again.
Recommended
