What do these results mean ?

[Silly]

On 100mg of thyroxine but still have smytoms . Weight gain , tried , swollen hands and feet . Seen Dr who said not thyroid but age (50) ! Asked what I could do to lose weight because no matter i do it doesn't go down all she could offer was Oristat or gastric surgery asked for an increase of meds but was told I didn't need it all in range . Decided to see another Dr he said all my bloods in range last test tsh 1.79 and ft4 12.1 this was July . Asked to be referred to the weight managment people at the hospital and had to have blood done again just got results tsh 2.78 and ft4 11.6 told all in range but my cholesterol was raised at 6.6 . I new my bloods would be up because I'm doing silly things again like putting things in wrong place calling people different names ! What can I do they just will not help ?

[shaws Administrator]

We have to educate ourselves I am afraid, otherwise there is no way to get better or feel well again. We have to educate ourselves because the doctors are uneducated in thyroid gland hormones, the purpose of them, and the metabolism. The fact that with too low a dose of thyroid hormones (or the incorrect ones) we cannot get better no matter the 'band aid" the doctors prescribe, i.e. any other prescription for the symptoms rather than a decent thyroid hormone which suits us.

First of all, it horrified me that a doctor (who knows nil) can advise on having a gastric band.

If your cholesterol is high (clinical symptom) if weight gained (clinical symptom especially if still gaining whilst taking levo) some get prescribed pain relief, statins, anti-depressants instead of an optimum of medication and the list goes on and on.

First a link re weight gain.

web.archive.org/web/2010032...

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

email [e-mail] and ask for a copy of Pulse online article and read question 6 for yourself. You need to increase medication and get your TSH low. As your TSH is nearly 2, most of us feel better when its low or suppressed.

Excerpt:

Mr. Warmingham's hypothesis is straightforward: When a hypothyroid patient (whose circulating pool of thyroid hormone is too low) begins taking exogenous thyroid hormone, a negative feedback system reduces the pituitary gland's output of TSH. This decreases the thyroid gland's output of endogenous thyroid hormone, and despite the patient's exogenous thyroid hormone's contribution to his or her total circulating thyroid pool, that pool does not increase—not until the TSH is suppressed and the thyroid gland is contributing no more thyroid hormone to the total circulating pool. At that point, adding more exogenous thyroid hormone will finally increase the circulating pool of thyroid hormone. The increase must occur for thyroid hormone therapy to be effective. The patient's suppressed TSH, then, does not indicate that the patient is over-treated with thyroid hormone; instead, it indicates that the patient's low total thyroid hormone pool will finally rise to potentially adequate levels.

The implication of the Warmingham TSH Hypothesis is clear: In general, if the clinician denies the patient more exogenous thyroid hormone because his or her TSH level is suppressed, the clinician will deny the patient enough thyroid hormone to increase the circulating pool of the hormone to a level adequate for maintaining normal thyroid hormone-driven cellular metabolic processes. But if the clinician continues to increase the patient's thyroid hormone dosage based on relevant measures of physiological function, such as the basal temperature, then the patient's health will be properly served despite his or her suppressed TSH level

web.archive.org/web/2010082...

The very best way to know if you are taking sufficient hormones is that you feel well, not just better. The blood tests are meaningless except as a guide i.e. for diagnosing, and therefore giving the patient a decent dose of hormones. If you begin to feel overstimulated, i.e. too hot, fast pulse, you just lower the dose slightly the way you increase slightly.

Don't let doctors ruin your life by developing other more serious diseases than a failing thyroid gland of which complications they are truly unaware.

NDT is the original medication given to patients before blood tests were introduced and they contain all the hormones our body requires, i.e. T4, T3, T1, T2 and calciton. Levothyroxine contains T4 which is supposed to convert to T3. Sometimes it doesn't convert enough and other times the dose provided is too low so that your Receptor Cells aren't 'saturated' with T3 which is the active hormone which our body needs to function properly.

hormonerestoration.com/Thyr...

[Silly in reply to shaws]

Just re read my post about the Dr and gastric surgery she didn't advise me about it just said she would refer me , sorry I ddnt make it clear .

[shaws Administrator]

Another link for your information:

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Silly in reply to shaws]

Thank you for replying , my tsh is over too now it's 2.78 . Looked at older test and in April tsh was 0.08 and ft4 was 12.1 . Ranges are 0.2 -4.0 and 9.0 - 19

[shaws Administrator in reply to Silly]

You need more medication.

[Silly]

Two Dr s tell me I'm fine I even took my husband with me and he told I don't over eat and I'm always tried or in bed but still they won't listen . I've been on medication for 14 months now and only just had my cholesterol tested ! Do I just print these papers out and take them with me ?

[shaws Administrator in reply to Silly]

The above links were only to give you information as we have to read and learn ourselves when we're obviously not feeling better and doctors don't appear to listen to us but only take notice of the TSH.

Doctors wont read things we take from the internet. They only go by the guidelines by the British Thyroid Association.

But you can email [e-mail] and ask for a copy of the Pulse online article. You can send this copy to your GP and say you'd like to discuss an article by Dr Toft who was President of the British Thyroid Association and if he could read questions 6 please. (Ignore the last para on this q.6 as that's what many of them really think). Make your appointment for with the GP.

[Silly in reply to shaws]

Thank you

[Heloise]

Hi silly, Am sorry to hear you have been stuck with a GP who only uses the TSH score to treat you. Of course, you are under medicated which means your weight will go up, your cholesterol will go up, your blood pressure will possibly go up and even exercising or dieting will also make these go up. The knowledge doesn't seem to be understood. Many of us have decided to treat ourselves because there are options to obtaining hormone now. You will probably need 125 to 150 mcg. of Levo at the very least.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...