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Post by 1234 on May 31, 2011 16:30:28 GMT -5
I hope this is the right thread! I was wondering if I could get some help getting my thyroid numbers interpreted. The lab has a VERY broad range for normal, and I can't find reliable information on the internet. the doctor apparently tested all sorts of thyroids; I'm just having difficulty finding solid facts, so thought I would ask the experts . Thanks a ton! TSH: 2.53 Thyroxine (T4) : 6.1 T3 UPTAKE : 36% Free Thyroxine Index : 2.2 T4 FREE CALCULATED : 1.07
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Post by Karen on May 31, 2011 17:16:54 GMT -5
Funny, I was just thinking about this the other day! You mentioned your results came back normal but I forgot to dig deeper as the definition of 'normal' varies A LOT!
Although your TSH is within the typical 'normal' range, normal range has been reduced in recent years. Some labs still consider under 5 normal, but the range has since been lowered to 2.5 or 3, depending on who you talk to. According to my doc, she treats anyone that's above 2.
Any chance you have the ranges for the rest? That'll at least help a bit.
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Post by 1234 on May 31, 2011 20:29:42 GMT -5
Sure! thanks.
This is what I have. It looks like I'm completely normal, which is great, but does make the low temps funny. I kept googling and couldn't find anything that was definitive. I had no idea thyroids were so frustrating!
TSH : 2.530 : uIU/mL Range: 0.450-4.500 Thyroxine (T4) : 6.1 : ug/dL Range: 4.5-12.0 T3 UPTAKE : 36 : % Range: 24-39 Free Thyroxine Index : 2.2 Range: 1.2-4.9 T4 FREE CALCULATED : 1.07 : ng/dL Range: 0.82-1.77
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Post by Karen on May 31, 2011 21:01:33 GMT -5
Let me do a bit of digging around. TSH is the only thing that stands out to me.
And, yes, it's TOTALLY frustrating! I read an entire book about it and it's incredibly complex...
Any chance she did/could check your cortisol levels, too?
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Post by 1234 on May 31, 2011 21:25:33 GMT -5
I'm a little bit glad that you're frustrated by it too, because you seemed to be an expert. But the more I read the more confused I got!!
Would cortisol be called cortisol? That wasn't on the list of numbers. A lot of it was liver, kidney, cholesterol stuff. But the list was very confusing to me. I had no idea there were so many different types of WBCs, for instance. Apparently only one of mine is high and the rest are normal. I'm fascinated, actually!
I really appreciate your help. The doctor was very surprised that my thyroid was normal so that's when I started looking in to it.
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Post by Karen on Jun 1, 2011 5:26:17 GMT -5
Yup, cortisol would be cortisol! Unfortunately, I'm finding that the blood test isn't a very good indicator, at least for me. Both urine and saliva tests for me, though, have shown some low cortisol values. The adrenals and thyroid kind of work hand in hand, and IF you have adrenal problems AND thyroid problems, best to get the adrenals under control first.
Give me a few days to dig around!
Oh, and I should add, I'm sure Jenaya will chime in after she gets back from vacation. She just happened to be studying the thyroid in her endocrinology class when I was getting some wonky results. She knows how the thyroid works in great detail!
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Post by 1234 on Jun 1, 2011 5:52:37 GMT -5
Thanks, Karen! I really appreciate the research. And, I have already decided that Jenaya's endocrinology professor is a genius.
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Post by Karen on Jun 6, 2011 18:56:05 GMT -5
TSH : 2.530 : uIU/mL Range: 0.450-4.500 Thyroxine (T4) : 6.1 : ug/dL Range: 4.5-12.0 T3 UPTAKE : 36 : % Range: 24-39 Free Thyroxine Index : 2.2 Range: 1.2-4.9 T4 FREE CALCULATED : 1.07 : ng/dL Range: 0.82-1.77 Ok, so here's what I know/looked up. The pituitary gland keeps an eye on thyroid function and reacts to any changes by releasing more or less TSH. Essentially, your TSH doesn't really measure your thyroid function directly, but it measures your body's perception of thyroid function indirectly. TSH = thyroid stimulating hormone. Your thyroid will release more or less thyroid hormone based on the amount of TSH your pituitary releases. The more thyroid hormone you need, the more your TSH your pituitary will release. If your body needs less thyroid hormone, your pituitary will release less TSH. So the higher the number, the more thyroid hormone your body is wanting. Although your range is within 'normal', the normal ranges have been modified and many studies show that a TSH above 2 or 2.5 signifies your body needs more thyroid hormone than it's getting. Once your thyroid senses the TSH levels, it will then release more or less thyroid hormone. T4 is a thyroid hormone that your body converts into T3. T3 is the active form of the hormone. If your body doesn't convert T4 into T3, or if there's not enough T4 to convert into T3, you're not getting enough thyroid hormone and may be symptomatic. T4 and Free T4 are different, though. A lot of T4 is bound up to a protein, TBG (thyroid-binding globulin) is not available for conversion to T4. Free T4, though, is readily available for the conversion. So I believe your T4 value doesn't really tell you much because it doesn't show how much is active for use. T3 uptake doesn't measure the amount of T3 available in your system, it measures the amount of TBG, which can then be used to interpret how much active thyroid hormone you have in your system. This is where things start to get fuzzy for me, and perhaps Jenaya may be of more use.... It doesn't look like your doctor directly measured your free T3 levels. With your TSH level, you might want to consider asking her to consider treating you for a slight thyroid imbalance. With your history of miscarriages, even a slight imbalance of thyroid hormone can, indeed, throw things off significantly!
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Post by 1234 on Jun 7, 2011 7:46:16 GMT -5
Thanks, Karen. I really appreciate this.
Based on my understanding of what you've said, I seem to be slightly low on the T4s, a bit off on the TSH, and T3 is unknown because what was measured was the percent bonding. However, everything seems to be in range. If this other supplement (acetyl l-carnitine/alpha liphoic acid) hadn't already helped so much with the fatigue and stupid feelings, I'd be really suspicious. I still feel stupid, but not nearly as stupid. I think I'll give it a few weeks to see how less stupid/tired I become, and then start asking for a T3 investigation.
thanks again, so much!
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Post by Heather on Sept 15, 2011 1:03:23 GMT -5
Last year, my gynecologist said my thyroid felt slightly enlarged. This year, she said the right side felt bigger than the left. She mentioned possible cysts. Had me get bloodwork and an ultrasound. Well, the letter she sent me says my bloodwork and US came back "normal". I saw the ultrasound--the right side is about twice as big as the left. I don't think that's normal. I certainly don't want something to be wrong with me, but I don't want to miss something either. Should I be worried about this?
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Post by Karen on Sept 15, 2011 6:09:52 GMT -5
Can you get a copy of the blood work and U/S report? I'm curious what she tested, and I'm curious what the actual levels were. You can do a neck check on your own, see if you can see what she felt. Here's a quick description. thyroid.about.com/library/howto/htthyroid-check.htm I'm not sure you need to be worried just yet, but I do think you should do some more investigation. It could be a possible goiter. Or, she could have been way off and not really known how to do a neck check... In the reading I've done about thyroid issues, it was noted that doing a neck check for thyroid issues is often not even included in medical school curriculum. Whether that's changed or not, I'm not sure, but whatever the case, getting your hands on the actual tests may help get a better handle on what's going on (or not). Interestingly, autoimmune disorders of the thyroid (Hashimotos and Graves) are more common in people that have other autoimmune disorders, such as endometriosis...
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Post by Karen on Sept 18, 2011 8:09:28 GMT -5
So my acupuncturist sent me home last week with a book about iodine and why we need it... For those of you with hypothyroid symptoms, whether your blood tests reveal something or not, you might want to do some digging around into iodine. It's something our bodies need, and in the 1920s, salt suppliers went so far as to add iodine to our salt supply at a level that would prevent most goiters. But... because we're told to use less salt, or the salt we use may not have nearly enough iodine available for our bodies to use, a lot of us can become deficient. Iodine levels are most concentrated in the thyroid gland, and the thyroid gland NEEDS iodine to make thyroid hormones. See where I'm going here?... Essentially, without adequate iodine levels, the thyroid gland can't produce enough thyroid hormones. Even if on thyroid treatment, iodine supplementation may be necessary, and may eventually mean you need to decrease your thyroid levels. (Obviously, you should be working with a doctor if you're on thyroid meds.) The book I read is "Iodine - why you need it and why you can't live without it" by David Brownstein. It's a fast read and a little bit of it is dense, but most of it is understandable to the regular person. He goes into detail about why we need it so bad, why we're so deficient in it (particularly due to bromine and fluoride in our food and water supply, which compete for the iodine receptors in our bodies), how we can increase our iodine levels, and why the RDA isn't nearly enough. There's also compelling research about iodine deficiency and breast cancer, fibrocystic breasts, and thyroid disorders, including autoimmune thyroid disorders. Here are a few links I found that summarize iodine: www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/oct2009_Halt-on-Salt-Sparks-Iodine-Deficiency_01.htmwww.lef.org/magazine/mag2011/oct2011_The-Silent-Epidemic-of-Iodine-Deficiency_01.htm?source=search&key=iodine%20thyroidwww.naturalnews.com/024566_iodine_thyroid_deficiency.htmlMy doc put me on iodine a few months ago, but after reading this, I'm not sure I'm on nearly enough. I did a bunch of google searches yesterday and there's a LOT of good reviews for people on Iodoral, a mix of iodine and iodide... and a lot of them report increase in energy levels and weight loss since they get their thyroid working properly. I'm curious to see what my acupuncturist has in store for me...
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Post by Heather on Sept 18, 2011 19:37:26 GMT -5
I have fibrocystic breasts, which is really bad news for me. On a mammogram, they will show up as very white and obscure any small tumors. I haven't started mammograms yet, but I'm not really looking forward to what will be (for me) a useless, painful annual test. I don't use table salt anymore, just sea salt, so I wonder if this contributes.
Tomorrow I will stop by the doctor and get them to release the thyroid info to me--seems ridiculous that I have to sign a release form to have it sent to me. It's my own stuff. O well. I'll let you know what the results say when I get them.
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Post by Karen on Sept 24, 2011 10:40:04 GMT -5
Did you get your thyroid test results yet?
If you have fibrocystic breasts, please do some research on iodine supplementation!
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2011 14:34:49 GMT -5
They haven't sent them to me yet. Funny, whenever I send them a check it's cashed in two days. So I know the mail doesn't take a whole week to get here from there. I'll look into the iodine.
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