Is a TSH of 1.3 or 1.5 too high?

Hi my doctor wanted to run thyroid blood test

and she wanted to stop thyroid for a week. Are these levels 1.5 or 1.3 too high?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

SollyOno

Why on earth does she want you to stop your thyroid meds for a week. That's going to give a false result. What's she looking for? Are you under or over active?

What thyroid meds do you take?

TSH of 1. 3 or 1. 5 too high for what?

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yeah she was trying to get a baseline reading. The diagnosis is hypothyroidism. I take Levothyroxine 0.50 mcg.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

SollyOno

Why does she want a baseline reading? Making you come off your thyroid meds is going to make you very unwell, and for what?

You've been diagnosed, put on Levo (presumably), all you need is your current levels of TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus thyroid antibodies testing if not already done. Why isn't that good enough for your doctor.

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

SeasideSusie I really youre response and I will keep this in mind. She also claimed the thyroid can regenerate itself.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

"She also claimed the thyroid can regenerate itself."

Oh Blimey! Can you see another doctor?

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

I agree with SeasideSusie change your doctor as you will end up in a poorer state with lots of symptoms and may even develop other problems which you do not want.

If she is also going by the TSH alone print on the following and give her a copy so that you can educate her at the same time. You can say you've had advice from the NHS Choices for help/advice about dysfunctions of the thyroid gland, i.e. Thyroiduk.org.uk.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Read from 'Dear Thyroid Patients'

TSH is not a thyroid hormone and is not an appropriate guide to thyroid replacement therapy. The hypothalamic-pituitary secretion of TSH did not evolve to tell physicians what dose of levothyroxine a person should swallow every day. A low or suppressed TSH on replacement therapy is not the same thing as a low TSH in primary hyperthyroidism. If you have central hypothyroidism, the TSH will necessarily be low or completely suppressed on T4/T3 therapy; your physician must treat you according to symptoms and the free T4/free T3 levels.

hormonerestoration.com/

Also click on he left-hand side on 'The Hormones' and read about T3.

Once diagnosed and on thyroid hormones it doesn't matter if TSH is suppressed. It is how 'we feel' that is the priority.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Thank you, Shaws! I really appreciate the advice.

[bantam12 in reply to Hidden]

She doesn't know what she's doing !

[Hidden in reply to bantam12]

Bantam 12 thank you for the advice. I’m now paying the price for her bad judgment.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

They appear not to know that we, the patient, has a lack of 'hormones' and without proper replacements our body cannot function and our brain and heart need the most T3. The are so poorly trained and interfere with their patients' health and are not restoring everything to 'optimum' but guesswork.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Please change doctors without delay. I trusted a GP back in 2000 and because of her poor judgement lost the sight of my eye.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

That is really awful - to lose an eye due to doctor.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Yes it was at the time I rarely went to the doctors I had a fall downstairs and sometime after noticed that I wasn't seeing properly out of the side of my eye.

I actually had to go back as it was getting worse I wanted something done.

I had a detached retina which she missed, I had by then gone to the Eye Hospital in Southampton and the next day was operated on. Because of the time lapse the surgeon could not recover my sight as the retina by that time was too creased up.

He actually phoned my doctor and complained she in turn phoned me to say sorry but I just told her that it was me that had suffered she was not doing her job properly.

[FancyPants54]

Well it's obvious she doesn't know what she's talking about because if she wanted a baseline reading you would have to be off your meds for many weeks due to the half-life of T4. Don't do it. I tried to wean off Levo. in February because my doctor thought I might not need it. I felt awful and lost a lot of hair. I got as far down as 25mcg every other day and bottled it. I just felt to unwell. I'm never doing that again. If my own thyroid want's to up it's game in future I'm sure it will tell me by adding to my medication and making me feel over medicated, at which point I will be able to reduce my dosage until I feel well again.

[Hidden in reply to FancyPants54]

Hi FancyPants54

When you had mentioned that you lost hair. Did you lose leg and arm hair?

[FancyPants54 in reply to Hidden]

Not at that time. I hadn’t had leg or arm hair for years anyway. Thin pubic hair, half of one eyebrow gone. But when I tried to wean off Levo I lost loads from my head.

Now on 100 Levo I am seeing tiny, fine hair regrowing on my arms and I occasionally have to shave my legs again. Not optimally dosed yet though so hoping it will continue to improve.

[Hidden in reply to FancyPants54]

FancyPants54

I really appreciate your response and I just had missing patches of hair on my forearm and legs. I never had eye hair problems but I do notice head hair grows slow.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Slightly too high (meaning you need a dose increase), or OK if you feel well. The important test are those for actual thyroid hormones: free T4 and free T3. Why on earth does she want to stop your meds? You could become very ill. that won't give so-called baseline reading - you'd need 6 weeks off for that and our "baseline" readings were the one done before you were first prescribed levo. Find another doctor before this one kills you you care not a guinea pig in her sadistic experiment lab.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Hi Angel of the North

I really appreciate your comment and I am definitely going to look for a new physician.