high TSH level and high diastolic bop reading

[Nena1958]

hi

I’m wondering if a TSH level of 5.6 is high and whether it would affect my blood pressure reading .

[greygoose]

Well, considering the TSH of a person with no thyroid problems (euthyroid) would be around 1, yes, 5.6 is quite high - too high, certainly.

But it wouldn't directly affect your blood pressure. TSH doesn't cause any sort of symptoms itself, whether high or low. It is just an indication of your thyroid hormone levels: FT4 and FT3. However, high blood pressure can be a hypo symptom, and with a TSH of over 5 you are definitely hypo.

Was TSH all that was tested?

[Nena1958 in reply to greygoose]

hi thanks for your feedback. My T4 was 17 and I’m feeling jittery and have tremors in my left arm and a twitchy left foot!

I think my doctor suspects I have Parkinson’s .

Going for a dat scan and have had an MRI which was normal. Really getting a bit fed up now. Due back to the docs in July .

[greygoose in reply to Nena1958]

Was the range for the FT4 12 - 22? If so, it's only 50.00% through the range, so doubtful that would cause the type of symptoms you describe. They sound more like hyper symptoms than hypo. And, of course, it's on that high because of the stimulation of the TSH, so your thyroid is not firing on all cylinders.

But I can't work out if you actually have a diagnosis of hypo and are medicated for it, or if they're trying to tell you your TSH is 'normal' so no need for treatment.

[Nena1958 in reply to greygoose]

Hi there,

Thank you soo much.

I was on 100mg levothyroxine and had a TSH of 2.4 and T4 of 21.5

So

Then levothyroxine dropped to 100mg

Which is giving th reading T4 5.6 and T4 of 17 this is after about 6 weeks on the reduced amount of levothyroxine.

I feel I’m still on too high a dose of levothyroxine but who knows?

I’m trying to content myself hoping that this adjustment will gradually level out my TSH levels and my T4 will ideally drop a bit further ?

Tanks for trying to advise you seem to have a good knowledge of thyroid issues.

Hope your having a good day

[greygoose in reply to Nena1958]

I was on 100mg levothyroxine and had a TSH of 2.4 and T4 of 21.5 So Then levothyroxine dropped to 100mg

Do you mean levo was dropped to 75 mcg?

Well, that sounds like a drop too far because your FT4 is now too low.

If you had a TSH of 2.4 with an FT4 of 21.5 then it's more than likely that you are a poor converter and your FT3 is very low. So that would probably be the cause of your high blood pressure. But, you need full thyroid testing, including FT3, to find out.

[Nena1958 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for your patience and all the information you’ve given me.

No one seems to mention T3 when I see nurse or doctor?

I will speak to them and ask about T3 and the fact that I might not be converting the levothyroxine well enough.

It’s very helpful to be able to get feed back from someone who understands the thyroid I’m still grappling with it.

Thank you

[greygoose in reply to Nena1958]

No, they wouldn't mention it. They probably have no idea what it is. For that reason, they believe that testing FT3 is unnecessary, and will come up with all sorts of excuses to cover their ignorance. The know nothing about conversion, and if the T3 does turn out to be low, the last thing they want to do is treat you with it! They are totally out of their depth when it comes to T3.