Hi. Yesterday I did thyroid bloods and today these were my results today. No biotin 7 days prior and early morning test done.
TSH <0.001
T4 10 was 84, four weeks ago range 10-22
T3 12.9 was 46.8, four weeks ago range 2-6
I took 4 x 5mg tablets of PTU a day.
Dr wants to drop the dose to 2 x 5mg PTU a day. What will happen to my T4 level? Will it come back up or go lower? This causes me anxiety. I worry about how I will feel. Any help greatly appreciated and thank you to the selfless individuals who help us all.
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NIKEGIRL
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Going by FT4, halving dose is good idea as this very low. If your FT3 was also as low I’d be suggesting further reduction likely soon.
Doctor not looking as TSH so that’s good.
In theory your FT4 should rise again but your FT3 is is still disproportionately high above range, and may rise too. Was it definitely 12.9 and not 1.9 or 2.9?
FT3 is the active hormone so do you still feel hyper?
This not what we would expect to see, especially on PTU which not only inhibits the production of new hormone PTU also interferes with the conversion or T4 to T3 (whereas carbimazole only affects production not conversion).
Hopefully this will even out by the next review. How long between tests?
Have you stopped or started any other medication? When I stopped propranolol by FT3 spiked.
Hi. I can’t thank u enough for your reply. Definitely T3 is 12.9. Came down from 46.8. My Graves is pretty out there. I am only on PTU. There was 4 weeks to the day between these blood tests. I always get TSH, T4 and T3 tested. GP and Endo are good guys and are saying to halve the dose so go from 20mg to 10mg and do this for 2 weeks and then retest TSH, T4 and T3 and see where I am at. I am worried the T4 will continue to fall away. I have been feeling sad and tearful the last few days. I am feeling my emotions more. On a brighter note my palpitations are almost gone, poop is sinking, not so hot, not eating for the whole village. Definitely bruising way easier.
I have never been offered a thyroid scan. I was told my thyroid was smooth and symmetrical. I think one side is slightly bigger than the other. Just putting a thought out there. Would a thyroid nodule throw out theses unbalanced results? By that I mean T3 is disproportionate to T4? I could be barking up the wrong tree. It is a thought that has just come to me.
It’s possible. I have a nodule not Graves. FT3 was nearly double , FT4 just above range, at diagnosis. I had ultrasound & nuclear uptake scan to confirm toxic nodule. The treatment would be the same.
Sorry to hear you had/have a nodule. The Endo’s here haven’t offered a scan. Don’t get me started. I have been diagnosed with trauma from the hospital system and treatment from doctors here. Essentially what I read was Graves or nodule the treatment is the same? I just can’t believe those results. I am just shocked. Do u think I should do half the dose and then retest the blood in one week or two? Thank you again for replying
Yes. I would reduce and retest. When does your doctor recommend you be retested? Standard is about 6 weekly. Too soon won’t give you a true picture. I would go for 4 weeks and earlier if I had variation in symptoms.
Autonomously functioning nodules are treated with the same methods as Graves, with Anti thyroid medication, although a nodule will not have possibly of remission, which is the aim with Graves.
RAI was suggested early on in my treatment otherwise my anti thyroid will be life long.
If you have one sided swelling ask for a scan. It will check the health and size of thyroid and detect any nodules.
GP and Endo said do the reduction and retest the magic 3 (TSH, T4 and T3) in 2 weeks. The thinking behind this is to see where T3 is and where T4 is and agreed after two weeks it’s not a clear picture but maybe a guide as to what the body is doing and that will influence maybe their thoughts. They being GP and Endo. Both are good guys. It’s me who struggles with trust. My GP knows that I am terrified of going hypo and I have told my GP I’m not your average girl. I want to bodybuild again. I have hopes and dreams to live for and achieve.
Hi. I get a liver function test every week right now and a CBC every week right now. Neutrophils have fallen away but are ok. Alkaline phosphatase and GGT on the liver tests are just out of range. The Alk phosphate is about 13 units over the range and GGT is 6 units over range. I have been taking liver detox tea every day and milk thistle tablets to help with liver. WBC is ok as well. No other testing for nutrients getting done. I’m taking magnesium, folate, back on B complex now, zinc, B12, selenium, vit d, vitamin c. Ferritin is elevated but I suspect it’s the Graves elevating it. Not supplementing with iron. Tried it and nearly had to call an ambulance because I could pass a bowel motion. Lesson learnt.
we should add this to the diagnostic criteria for distinguishing between hyper and hypo-thyroid..... some of us (me) have only got 8 feet of garden wall painted in a year and a half...., and some of us have gone round the house twice in a couple of months... simples ! no need for blood tests.
I live in the country and our home is clad in a cedar type plank wood. I usually stain the house every other year. I am a full on woman and need a lot to keep me going. I would love to go to the gym now more for mental health. I miss the gym a lot. I love lifting weights
i used to be like that...enjoy it while u got it , once you let your muscles go it's hard to get em back. Never did weights though.... just water butt's and bits of tree
can't offer any useful advice , but just wanted to send u a hug from 'up here', cos i can understand how scary it must be to change the PTU dose if you've been starting to feel sort of better.
(and the fT3 level does make it a bit hard to know what is the obvious right move)
But i think you probably don't want ft4 to go any lower, so lowering PTU a bit at this point may well be the right thing to do.
Hope so. Fingers crossed xx
You certainly sound a lot less stressed recently , and i love the help you give to others on here .
Hi “up there” from “down here”. I sent you a message but it’s gone to god knows where. Thank you for your kindness and sweet heart. I am not so stressed. Penny Annie has been amazing. She chats with me all the time. I am off work with a concussion injury so I struggle to sleep. I have been going well on the PTU. Lots of positive changes it’s just in the last few days I have been feeling sad and feeling my emotions more than I would. Tearful and full of empathy. I hope this finds you well. I’m not a risk taker so I find it terrifying to take what I feel is a chance and cut the dose and see what happens to the blood. I dont want T4 any lower. This is very hard for me. Stay safe and love to everyone always
Thank heavens for pennyannie, she's a sweetie :)Your message not got here , probably decided to stop on the way and hang out on a beach somewhere.
Concussion not funny... my brother did that ,,,, accidentally drove car into big stone wall , cos his bootlace got caught round the clutch pedal. (he's learned to do a better job of tying his laces up now !)
that can do funny thing's to your emotions as well as thyroid hormones , he was crying /getting angry over nothing for a while... and he couldn't handle going in a bookshop for several months because there were 'too many words' and the visual stimulation gave him a headache.
But as for the PTU reduction ... take a deep breath and 'suck it and see'... you can always go back to what you're on now , but if you never take he plunge you'll be on it till you're an old biddy.
Or i suppose you could be more cautious find a way to try 15 ? maybe not , don't know what size they come in .. and also i have no idea what i'm talking about, never having been on it.
I retyped the message. It is above this message like way above. Penny Annie is a legend. That’s a very kiwi saying. The concussion has left me with sleeping problems. Cant get to sleep and stay in sleep. I am super sensitive to noise. I’m going to have to put my big girl pants on and take a leap of faith on these guys. Both are easy in the eye so that always helps.
yes , brother had the 'noise' thing too... hope you get better faster than he did , it took him months .... but then he did go from 50 mph to 0 mph and totally flattened the front end of his car.... so i'm hoping you weren't going that fast when you bonked your bonce (head)
Re the leap of faith .... don't spend too long thinking about it , just makes it harder ... simply close eyes , hold on to your Tiki .... and jump
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