just been told my t4 level, anybody able to explain it a little for me please?

[megaliz]

Having been advised on this site i asked my doctor today for my levels~ they are t4 15.2 and tsh 4.9. I asked for an increase in my levo due to my tiredness and have now been given 125mcg. Doc said my tsh shouldnt be higher than 5 so he was quite happy with increase my dose of tablets, is this about right? any help appreciated x

[Smudgeypower]

hi megaliz iv been doing a lot of detective work regarding my own thyroid problems i and looking at your results your tsh is pretty high and your free t4 is possibly still to low i would highly reccomend dr toft book on understanding thyroid disorders just to give you a idea of what your levels should really be your dr saying a tsh of 5 is ok is not really a tsh of 5 is still very high and would make a lot of people ill i copied his statment from thyroid uk blood test section

Dr. Toft, Consultant Physician, states in the British Thyroid Foundation newsletter Issue No. 23 that normal ranges are: T4 (10 – 25) and TSH (0.15 – 3.5). He also states that "the correct dose is that which restores good health; in most patients this will be associated with a level of T4 in the blood towards the upper part of the normal range or even slightly high and a TSH level in the blood which is in the lower part of the normal range

hope this helps a bit

sarax

[megaliz in reply to Smudgeypower]

Ty for replying sara. Just wondering what to do next if my doctor isn't overly concerned with my levels?

[Smudgeypower]

To be honst megaliz the tables for thyroid levels in uk is not good and iv been victim to it recently because the goal posts are to wide and i was just under the higher end of tsh level of 9.5 and my gp still would not treat me, and there is a lot of other people sadly suffering because they are not realistic in america anything over 3.0 tsh is classed a a sign of under active thyroid just to give you a idea . i think 125mg will help def just give it a chance have you got copies of your thyroid blood tests when you were feeling good these could be really helpful as you have already been diagnosed and you can get copes of all your results fom your doctors and see what works for you and if you need further.increases. please whatever you do dont take the doctors word for it go off how you feel as well do get that book though very cheap 2nd hand off amazon if trying to save pennies the easiest way i understand the free t4 and tsh is that the tsh should be at the very low end under 1.0 for most as we should not be really having to use the pituary gland to work harder to help the body produce more thyroxine when this works harder this creates the tsh levels to be high and makes us unwell what your aiming is the body to have a good supply of thyroxine ft4 and if your thyroid is not working properly we replace this with enough levothyroxine to subsitute it and keep the tsh at the low end and should keep you well,hope thats not to much waffle and sort of makes sense

sarax

[megaliz in reply to Smudgeypower]

It does makes sense but in my case I have had a tt so have no thyroid at all! x

[Smudgeypower in reply to megaliz]

you prob know more than me and im waffling on lol ! i think getting your higher dose right will sort you and aim towards the tsh at the lower end you will feel less tired seems to what all these thyroid doctors are saying in their books im all new to this thyroid business so absorbing it all hope posts help a bit get some copies ofall previous blood tests when you felt well reception can do this itis the best guide you could have absolute gold dust and you can present them to the gp should you need to which gives him a idea that you need to be closer those figures if you dont have any luck with that i would swap your gpxx

[megaliz in reply to Smudgeypower]

I know absolutely nothing! Was told my thyroid had to come out cos I had a large goitre wrapping itself around it and that I would be on tablets for the rest of my life- that's all I was told! Anything I have learnt has been from using this site and it's helping but it's all very confusing lol ty for all your help

[PinkNinja in reply to megaliz]

Rod (aka Helvella) has very cleverly used the known formulae for calculating the estimated requirement of T4 for TT patients and put them in a spreadsheet so you can use any/all to calculate what you would likely need for total replacement. You may find it helpful

dl.dropbox.com/u/318411/Est...

Carolyn x

[Smudgeypower]

bless you thats not very helpful for helping you manage it, some doctors can be so unhelpful. there is lots of information and help on the thyroid uk website and they do a help pack that gives you lots of info on the topic or the book from mr toft is helpful and very straight forward and easy to understand maybe useful as all in a book instead of lots of webpages just thought best of luck with getting sorted im sure with increase it will help

sarax

[Mumtoboy]

Do you know what your tsh was before the thyroidectomy? If you felt we'll at that time ( apart from the goitre) then you should be aiming for around that level.

I'm lucky that I know what all my levels were before the thyroid was removed and now I aim to stay around these levels.

If you weren't feeling well or don't know the levels then that won't help though.