What is it went up a little high?

[sarajuarez2912]

My Specialist just called and said my TSH went up a little to high so from 2.5 mg of Methimazole once a day she upped it to 5 mg of Methimazole once a day. My question is, if she says it went up a little is that hypo she's talking about? I was diagnosed 3 months ago as having Hashimoto and graves. Thanks

[puncturedbicycle]

Yes, a high tsh indicates hypothyroidism. Not sure why she'd increase your methimazole; surely she should be decreasing it - ? Unless she misspoke and meant you t3 had increased?

Do you have any distinguishing symptoms (ie are you feeling hyper or hypo)?

[sarajuarez2912 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

I noticed my heart going up to 104 after 30 or 40 minutes after eating. I've woken up shaking( only when I'm asleep) other than that I've been breathing better, I was relieved, but now she called to say it was a little high..I didn't ask what was, I assumed it was TSH. Other times I've gotten blood work done, I've never fasted cause the Specialist told me not to, this time I fasted for the blood work cause I wanted to fast to find out what my results would be, I forgot to ask her my reading.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to sarajuarez2912]

'A little high' is colloquial/nonspecific. Best to get a copy of the results I think. If your heart rate is rising it is entirely possible you're going a little hyper (not that you can't have palps w uat).

Not sure about the fasting thing. I read about it here but so many things are always fluctuating anyway, I have no idea what if anything is achieved by fasting, except that you're creating somewhat more uniform conditions (if you can also have the test done at exactly the same time every time). I am not convinced it makes a difference though I am happy to be proved wrong.

[sarajuarez2912 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

No its always done at different time, not exact time, but in the mornings only. Really its just to much with Thyroid problems, my results back 3 months ago was Hashimoto and graves, I have both, the graves I believe is bad cause back then before being diagnosed my resting pulse was 125 and went to ER 4 times just to be told it was normal or that I had anxiety...5 time to ER I has my pulse up to 178, that's where I was left for the night at the hospital and diagnosed only as Hashimoto, then referred to a Specialist who said I had both Hashimoto and graves...its not fun at all. Nice if their was a cure.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to sarajuarez2912]

sarajuarez2912 I'm so sorry. I only have my experiences of having taken a little too much t3 to go by, but I remember it being unpleasant but also knowing it would not take a long time to go whereas your situation is more open-ended. Also my pulse was 110, not 175.

Shocking that they'd tell you it was anxiety *in the ER*. Anxiety is the new penis envy: everyone has heard of it, medical professionals don't have to (can't) prove you have it and they think it means they're cleverer than you that they can pat you on the head and send you home, bless you with your imaginary problems.

[Hidden in reply to puncturedbicycle]

If I am only being tested for thyroid functions I don't fast either. But I mentioned that a month or so ago and got jumped on it here. If the whole thing is being done (cholesterol, liver, vitamins and thyroid then I fast. Hasn't made a difference in my results, and I have had some tests three days apart so that we could see if there was a fluctuation. Thyroid measures came back the same each time.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I can understand the wish to make conditions as uniform as possible. The thyroid itself can fluctuate wildly (or at least mine did before and during treatment) so I guess the idea is that if you make everything as much the same as you can every time you get a 'truer' idea of what's going on, but unless someone can identify a mechanism via which eating changes thyroid levels I don't necessarily buy it. (I know fasting can change t3 levels, so maybe this is helpful if you're trying to get a dx - ? Idk. It has never been explained to me.)

Here is a very small study which seems to back up the theory that your tsh will be higher if you're fasting, so may be good if you're trying to get a dx of uat: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Anything hair-shirty that gets thrown around as a thing that can help you 'control' something is a dog whistle to me. I understand it may make us feel better that we are doing something that gives us the illusion of control, but sometimes that's all it is.

I have a special suspicion of restrictive diets (eg gf). They do seem to work for some people (some folk feel better and find their antibodies have fallen) and are well worth trying but they're not the panacea they are often promoted as.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I assume she meant that your FT4 went up, not your TSH.