Hi all, this is my first time at HealthBoards and I'm not sure whether to be glad I found it or not. This is scary stuff! I have been feeling exhausted "all" the time lately and even though I am excercising I am still gaining weight. I am also on blood pressure medicine for approximately 1 year now, it is keeping it controlled very well.
My Dr. decided to run TSH blood work to make sure everything is ok, the results are 4.927 within a range of .35 to 5.5. Because I am at the upper end of the range, she is offering to send me to an endocrinologist. After reading quite a few of these threads, I'm not so sure that exhausted isn't better than the side effects I'm reading about from the meds.
Can I get an opinion? Are my results high enough to go to an endo? Is there anyone that has had "good" results with small doses of meds?
My TSH was 4.83 when I saw an endo. Yes, it's worth it.
You should remember that the people who come here for advice and support are usually in the beginning stages of treatment or still trying to get a diagnosis. I can't lie and say it's all downhill from the first dose; it isn't. It takes time to get adjusted and to find the right medicine and dose. Sometimes, symptoms even become worse for a while, or altogether new ones can appear. But given enough time, and with enough patience and the right MD, treatment can make a world of difference. Besides, without it, permanent damage will occur to the heart and bones. You really can't afford not to give it a try. Someone here [Sorry... I can't remember whom to give credit.] recently told someone else that the longer you wait and the sicker you become, it will be that much harder to get adjusted once you try. I also think that's true.
Midwest1
Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it. I'm not really sure what to expect so reading all of these posts really started to scare me, it didn't seem like anyone had had a good experience and thought it was worth it.
I did call my Dr. today and told her to get me a referral, hopefully I'll get this started soon and get any adjustments done and over with.
Become educated. I am just a couple of weeks ahead of you. I am learning that I cannot leave this up to the DRs. If I am not informed than I cannot expect to get the proper care. Most Drs are not informed about the new guidelines. Even yours is using the old guidelines for your tSH. My daughters TSH was about where yours is & the Dr said that she did not have a problem with her thyroid. This is not something that you can leave to a Dr. The more that you learn the better that you will feel.
I think a lot of us are doing well without funny side effects, people don't tend to complain or seek advice if things seem to be going well!
I started on Thyroxine a year or so ago with a TSH of 2.8 and it helped me loads, after a while I realised that some brands didn't work as well for me as others so now I know what to ask the pharmacist for. I'm still on the road to recovery and after seeing a specialist am going to try Armour out, but the thyroxine was definitely a step in the right direction for me.
There's no harm in going to see the endocrinologist and seeing what they think, if they think you'll benefit from thyroxine then try it for a month, you can always stop taking it after that.
How does this look? 
