thyroid results

[savvanah]

I got a print of my last two tsh results in feb it was 10.4 above normal then in april was 0.11 below I found out on line that a low tsh means over active and high tsh means under active I had a routine check in feb my dr upped my thyroxine from 100 to 125 for 3months this made me ill and my result was then that my thyroid was over active so was told to take the 125 ervery other day but I get very bad head aches and I keep losing my voice on these days I can not wait 3 months so made appointment to get bt on tues then I think I will go back to 100 every day as I feel better those days even though my results said I was under active when taking that in feb

[Clutter]

Savvanah,

Is the 25mcg tablet the same make as the 100mcg tablet? Sometimes a change of make causes adverse effects.

[greygoose]

Savvanah, is your doctor just measuring your TSH? He cannot tell from just that if you are over-medicated. (Not over-active. When you are on thyroid hormone replacement, it's because your thyroid is under-productive, it isn't suddenly going to become over-productive.) You can suppress your TSH by taking a high dose of T4, but that doesn't mean you are over-medicated. It means nothing. Only by testing the FT3 will he know if you are on too much Levo. Never agree to lowering your dose due to a low TSH alone. You must voice your disagreement. If you say nothing, it's taken to be consent.

[savvanah in reply to greygoose]

don't really understand i just believe the doctor the result i got in april gave a t4 of 17.8 and tsh of 0.11 the one feb just gave tsh which was 10.4 {0.2 -4.0} and said ideal t4 replacement therapy indicated by tsh0.2.-2.0

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[greygoose in reply to savvanah]

What I'm saying is that when you are on thyroid hormone replacement (levo) the TSH measurement isn't very helpful. It isn't a thyroid hormone. It is a pituitary hormone, and very unreliable. So, it doesn't always tell you what's happening with your thyroid.

The thyroid hormone tests are FT4 and FT3. The NHS never tests the FT3 when you're hypo, I'm afraid. But, you say you had your FT4 tested and it was 17.8. But, I'm afraid we need the range to be able to make any sense of that.

Hyperthyroid is when you have a low TSH - usually lower than 0.11 - more like 0.01 - and an FT3 over the top of the range. You become hyperthyroid because, for some reason, your thyroid is making too much hormone.

Hypothyroid is when you have a high TSH - yours was 10.4 in the beginning, which is well over the range, and means you are hypo. I expect your FT4 and FT3 were very low because your thyroid gland was having trouble producing hormone naturally.

So, then you started taking thyroid hormone replacement - Levo (commonly referred to as 'meds', but are not medication in the strict sense of the term, because they are hormones) - to bring your TSH down, and your FT4 and FT3 up. Levo is not a treatment for the thyroid gland, as such. It is just replacing the hormone your gland can no-longer make, and which you cannot live without.

Once you start taking levo (or something similar) the TSH is no-longer a reliable test. So, if it goes very low - like 0.11 - but your FT4 stays within the range, it does not mean that your gland has suddenly resurrected itself and is producing too much hormone, all it really means is that you are taking thyroid hormone replacement. And, it does not mean that you are taking too much hormone, because your FT4 is still in range.

I don't know if that makes it any clearer - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask - but keep reading on here, and all will soon become clear.

Glad you had your FT4 tested, anyway. Don't worry about the TSH;

[Glynisrose]

TSH is a pituatary hormone NOT a thyroid hormone and as such can be ignored when you are taking any form of thyroxine. Its how you FEEL that is the most important, not numbets.