Archie or anyone else, I have a question for you. As you may know had a TT in June and subsequent RAI in August - pap cancer. Doc wants my TSH to be 1. Am on Levoxl and am having some potential issues with increasing it - heart palps, racing. (150 - 175mcg)
Anyway, went to see endo today and he said he really wants the numbers to be around one since I had cancer. But, may send me to an arrythmia specialist about the heart. I didn't really think about it when I was there but once I got in the car I started thinking about why the number should be "low". Would the cancer come back, or is there a risk of something else. Anyone have any clues about this one.
Re: Question for Thyroid Cancer People - Archie, etc.
It depends upon a lot of factors, your age, the size of your cancer, etc.
Mine wants mine "undetectable" below .1, and I asked what if that was too hyper for me---in terms of making blood pressure go up, he said then he would try Beta Blockers with me.
You might want to ask your endo. about that.
You could also ask the endo. further if your TSH could be a bit higher. Basically, he doesn't want your body calling for more hormone, becuase if it does, thyroid tissue will start growing. If the thryoid tissue grows, it can be/turn cancerous.
I'm sure there's play in the numbers there though.
Re: Question for Thyroid Cancer People - Archie, etc.
Reece:
thanks for the response. I thought about that and not wanting to have a chance for the body to think there was thyroid growing. But wouldn't the RAI have killed everything? I got zapped really good.
Re: Question for Thyroid Cancer People - Archie, etc.
I'm sure you zapped it and took care of everything. Your doctor is recommending you keep suppressed as a precaution.
The reason behind the suppression is an extra precaution because thyroid tissue can/does grow back. The RAI may have missed a couple of stray cells, so they keep the TSH suppressed to prevent any stray thyroid cells anywhere in your body from growing back to provide hormone. In fact, when you go for thyroglobulin or scans in the future, they will be searching for thyroid tissue. That doesn't mean that the thyroid tissue is cancerous, yet it's still considered a "recurrence"
There was once a person here a year or so ago, who's doctor did not keep her TSH suppressed, allowed the TSH to get too high for years, and she had a "recurrence" (not necessarily cancer) and had to have RAI again.
Your doctor is doing everything appropriate, but since you are experiencing the heart issue he should consider how high he's comfortable with that TSH going with your history, and consider the beta blockers as well.
