Thank you for the condolence.
Any of the thyroid medications can cause over medication, if you take too high a dosage, not just cytomel.
Signs of over medication may include, but are not limited to, weight loss, diarrhea, fatigue, heart palps, rapid heart rate, heat intolerance, irritability, and others. Be aware that some of these symptoms can "cross over" and be present when hypo, too. I had all of them, when I was hypo, except weight loss and diarrhea.
TSH is a pituitary hormone and, naturally, fluctuates greatly, even intraday, so the fact that yours went from 1.92 to 2.13 (not a huge change) is not surprising. It's not just hypos, whose TSH fluctuates; most people do.
Sorry..another question. Please answer at your leisure..
My question is..why did TSH go from 7.040 at diagnosis to 1.92...then, back up to 2.13? I saw a video, where some doc said he would like to see high norms go to 2.5, even 2.0.. But, regardless of that statement, do we hypos fluctuate a lot, even while on meds?
Signs of over medication are what?
Sorry for your loss.
...for signs of over medication. Do you mean because of cytomel? She added that when I was on 60 mg for about 8 weeks. Labs showed low t3 she said. Then at last weeks appt. She said t3 was okay, but t4 had gone low..so, more Armour..that's good to know some people have hashis without even showing antibodies. Doesn't seem like she wants to commit to a diagnosis (of hashis) for some reason. But, if it's all treated the same, I guess it doesn't matter. Thank you for all your help! Take care of yourself during this tough time : )
Sorry I haven't responded, but I've had a recent death in the family and haven't been on the forum a lot.
Antithyroglobulin is the same as TGab - just another way to say it.
"Trilodothyronine,Free, Serum- 2.7 ref range 2.0-4.4 " This is Free T3 (FT3) and yours is quite low in the range, indicating that you could use an increase in your thyroid med.
Hashimoto's is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world and some people even have it, without antibodies, at all. There is no treatment for Hashimotot's, itself. The hypothyroidism resulting from Hashimoto's is what is treated. Once the damage has been done to your thyroid, it can't be undone.
"She did tell me to avoid gluten, very important. Her words."........ There are some doctors that follow a certain protocol that requires one to go gluten free; however, there is no scientific basis for this. Gluten free is only necessary if you have celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten.
In my opinion, you do have Hashimoto's AND your FT3/FT4 are both too low in the ranges, so the increase to 90 mg Armour was definitely warranted. I'm not sure I'd go with the 5 mcg cytomel, because Armour has 9 mcg T3 for every 60 mg, so your FT3 should come up, with the increase in Armour. You will need to watch, closely, for signs of over medication.
Sorry for rambling on.. : /
Hey! Maybe TGab is the same as antithyroglobulin ab?! And that one says < 20, so does that mean no antibodies? No hashis? But, the TPO has high ? So, confused..
I just realized TPO was high at 45 at one lab..then, she said, oh, great news..it's down to 30! But, that was at a diff lab with diff ranges! And 30 was high for that lab! Arghhh..
I just checked all 3 labs for last few months..I don't see anything called TGab? Nope..she never tested that..so that's why she's wushu washy about if I have Hashis? I'm assuming..but, why wouldn't she make sure? Is it treated the same either way? Maybe? She did tell me to avoid gluten, very important. Her words.
5mcg cytomel, I meant to say..
I see on the 2 nd lab another couple of tests if they tell you anything..
Antithyroglobulin, ab - < 20 ref range 0-40
Trilodothyronine,Free, Serum- 2.7 ref range 2.0-4.4
? Thanx
Hi Barb..
I started back in June with a TSH of 7.040 ref range 0.450-4.500. Just to give a starting point. T4 was at that time 0.91 with a high ref as 1.77
I don't see the T3 for June...hmmm
Then for august testing...
TSH 1.92 T3 "uptake" 31. FT4 .93 TPO ab 46 High ref range 0-34 ( same lab as before)
Then just last week, diff lab..
TSH 2.13 ref range 0.300-3.700. FT3 2.7 ref range 2.4-4.2. TPO ab 30.0 High ref range 0.0-9.0. FT4 0.76 ref range 0.53-1.43
DHEA-S has been, 93.3 ref range 35.4-256.0. Then, she didn't check 2 nd time. Then, last week at diff lab, 56.2 ref range 18.9-205.0
I did a saliva, she said adrenals were good in a.m., plummeted around 11 am, and struggled to get up in p.m.
In June, after diagnosis, she started me on 30 mg Armour, then raised it to 60 mg after first 2weeks...I was on that until 2 days ago, she raised it to 90 mg. She added 5 mcg after 2 nd bloodwork, so in Aug.
Boy, that's a lot of info..can you muck thru all that? Lol..thank you
I'm not convinced your doctor knows a lot about thyroid conditions.
What are the exact levels of T3 and T4, and are they free or total? There's a difference. Please post the results of your latest tests, and be sure to include reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
Did she test for Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab)? That's a different type of antibody that will help diagnose Hashimoto's. Without both TPOab and TGab, you really can't tell for sure, because some people only have TPOab, some have only TGab and still others have both.
Was your DHEA tested before she told you to take it? While selenium can be toxic at high levels, most people have no problem at all, with the standard dose of 200 mcg.
There is no reason to go gluten free, unless you have celiac or a sensitivity to it, as there is no scientific evidence that gluten has any influence on thyroid levels. Soy and soy products should be avoided, because they can inhibit absorption of thyroid medication.