hello. this is my first post in this forum..
i haven't been well for a few years.. they have tested me for everything. the only offical dx i have is Prematur menopasue from falling ovaries. the gyno told me there is a strong link to thyriod problems and the family doctor would need to check my anti thyroid meds. at the time
my tsh was 1.35 and my t3 and t4 and fee t3 t4 were all exactly in the middle of the range normals. i didn't write them down. with my levels at that i gained 20 pounds four months before that my tsh was 1.8/... anyways we are waiting for the antibody test to come back.. two weeks ago my tsh was 3.3.. and i have lost like 8 pounds in the last two weeks.. this makes no sense to me
i am also running a low grade fever today. i haven't had one of them in over a year.. (hmm the low grade come with the lower weight.)
i was told that 3.3 was normal high. but i have read that the new ranges are to 3.. so i am very confused..
should i be worried that my tsh went up so much in a few months...can tsh go up and down that much.. any imput would be great thanks
Not only are you confused----but too many doctors are confused too. Many people feel better in the upper third of the "normal ranges". I've gone through some of the stuff you are going through. I experienced perimenopause in my early thirties---about the time that my thyroid went hypo.
If your doctor is willing to work with you, it makes treatment a lot easier. I had to constantly remind myself that I was not crazy or depressed---thyroid disease mimics mental illness.
A good book to read is "Thyroid Disease for Dummies". I went to Barnes and Noble and skimmed through it in about an hour. Lots of interesting information. The thing that I most remember, is that the Dr. who wrote the book, saw his first hypothyroid patient in the mental ward.
Don't let this condition control your life. Good luck---I hope you get the support you need.
... the family doctor would need to check my anti thyroid meds.
OK... I'm confused too. Anti-thyroid meds are given for hyperthyroidism. Was that your original diagnosis?
The difference between 1.35, 1.8, and 3.3 TSH is negligible, really. It can vary that much in only 24 hours, much less 4 months. However, if you are actually hyperthyroid, taking anti-thyroid meds, and the TSH is climbing, it might be because your dose is too high.
Which antibody test are you waiting for? What meds are you taking?
If you would clear up some of the confusion, it would help us comment further.
i haven't been dxed at all..
she checked my anti microsomal anti body..
i had gained over 15 in the last year.. then in the last two and half weeks i have now lost 10 pounds.. i feel terrible. and i am experiencing pheriphal neuropathy..in the last three weeks.. ( actaul reason i went to the doctor) she thought i had sjogren's but the anti body ssb was negative and my ana was only weakly positive..my sed rate was only 5.. i have had lupus like symptoms for 4 years now.
My blood sugar is fine .. i had some ketones in the urine but i did do a 12 hours fast . ( not sure about that one)
the only thing that was different was my tsh..
i meant to say levels not meds
That clears it up.
You definitely need more and better thyroid testing.
The tests you need are TSH, free (not total) T4, free T3, and the thyroid antibodies - TPO, Tg, and possibly TSI. The TPO and Tg antibodies tests look for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which causes underactive thyroid; the TSI test looks for Graves' disease, which causes overactive thyroid. The anti-microsomal test is outdated for thyroid disease; it was replaced by the much more definitive TPO.
You seem to lean more toward underactive thyroid, based on your TSH; but you also seem to have periods of overactive thyroid, indicated by low-grade fever and weight loss. It is possible for symptoms to 'cross over' from one condition to the other, and it's also possible that Hashimoto's disease will cause 'swings' from under- to overactive and back again.
So... in a nutshell... get those tests. Only then will you know what's really going on with your thyroid's health, or whether to look for other causes.
