Thyroid Profile

[bjkoch11]

My TSH is 7.030 what does that mean? My Thyroxine (T4) is 4.4 I have been prescribed 25 mcg of Levothyroxine. What should I expect?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hi bjkoch11 Are you in the UK? Do you have ranges for those results? Has your doctor not told you anything?

Your TSH will definitely be over range. Over range TSH indicates hypothyroidism, you have an underactive thyroid. For whatever reason your thyroid is no longer producing enough thyroid hormone and you have probably been having symptoms including fatigue plus others.

The thyroxine (T4) is probably Free T4. T4 is a storage hormone which produces T3 which is the active hormone every cell on our body needs. It would be interesting to see the range to see just how low you are. Ranges differ from lab to lab so it's important when interpreting blood tests to know the range as well as the result.

You have been given a starter dose of Levothyroxine at 25mcg. Your GP should re-test after six weeks, raise your dose by 25mcg, re-test after another six weeks,, raise dose by another 25mcg, etc, until your TSH comes right down in the range and your FT4 rises and your symptoms are alleviated.

When having future thyroid tests, always make the appointment for the blood draw as early as possible in the morning (first appointment), fast (nothing since evening meal the night before), water only and breakfast when you get home. Also, always leave off your Levothyroxine for 24 hours, take it when you get back home after the blood draw. This way you'll get the highest possible TSH which is what you need when looking for dose increases.

Have a look around ThyroidUK's main website (this is ThyroidUK's forum on Health Unlocked). Start here 'Getting a diagnosis and starting treatment' and then work through the menu on the left hand side thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/diagno...

Any questions, just ask

[bjkoch11 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for your response. No I am not in the UK, I am in Texas. The TSH is 7.030 the range is 0.450-4.500 She did tell me that we needed to test the blood in 4-6 weeks and then increase the dosage.

The main thing I have noticed is weight gain. I some high blood pressure issues, she mentioned that could be caused by my Thyroid imbalance. I read about side effect issues...I'm very anti-pharmaceuticals and want to deal with the situation as naturally as possible.

I truly appreciate your suggestions.

Thank you so much for your response.

BJ [e-mail]

[Musicmonkey in reply to bjkoch11]

As this is a public forum, it might be advisable to edit your post (use the little arrow at the bottom of your post) to remove your email address. Members can reply on here, or private message you via the forum.

Your TSH is above the range. Treatment with throxine should aim to bring the TSH to around 1. Doctor's should test after 6 weeks to see if the blood results and symptoms have improved.

You will need Thyroxine for life.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to bjkoch11]

bjkoch11 You may find you do very well on Levothyroxine once you reach the optimal dose, many hypo patients do. When on the correct dose, your weight gain, high blood pressure and other symptoms should resolve. The main problem is getting our doctors give us the correct dose, they get hung up on numbers rather than how the patient feels.

Levothyroxine isn't a 'drug', it is a synthetic hormone which replaces your own that your body isn't producing. However, the most 'natural' way of treating hypo is with natural dessicated thyroid (NDT) which is made from pig's thyroid and contains both T4 and T3 and apparently T2, T1 as well. Levothyroxine is T4 only. However NDT goes through a manufacturing process and contains fillers and many non-natural ingredients, see the different brands and ingredients here stopthethyroidmadness.com/a... . Being in the US you may have more success in being prescribed NDT than we are here in the UK. You cannot treat hypothyroidism without replacing the missing thyroid hormone in some way.

[lidoplace]

Hi

As you are in the US you may find you can get a prescription for Natural Dessicated Thyroid , hormone from pigs, which suits some people. Armour is a well known brand and there is a generic named NP Thyroid which is much cheaper and is very good.

Good luck