soy...what happens??

[bugaboo52]

Apparently certain types of soy can affect people with thyroid problems.  What does it do to you? I would assume it affects hyper and hypo differently? I am having a very difficult time being diagnosed by my Dr.  She really doesnt want to look at my TSH of 4.12 as it is in normal range...so if I started consuming soy products what would it do to my numbers? would it make a difference in my testing??   Would soy affect people with a normal thyroid?  I was just wondering if I could get myself above that lab range, I might have a chance of someone diagnosing me and I could have a chance of this being taken seriously...sad but true  I live in canada so I dont have the option of switching family Dr's and I know it sounds odd but what could happen?

[bugaboo52]

Thanks for your reply.  I am going to print off some pages and take them to my Dr.  I will see if she can run further tests based on my last tsh and my family history.
So would you say soy and other goitrogenic foods affect everyones thyroid? or just people that have thyroid disease? I am confused. It may account for the high tsh on my last test as I was eating a LOT of raw kale at the time.  So maybe that would account for it?
I will still go to my Dr as I have many symptoms that have not been explained or dealt with by my dr.  I am having a hard time summoning up the courage to call her and go in. for so long I have been going in to her office complaining of the same things and then adding symptoms (all consistent with hypo) and it feels like I am a hypochondriac...and yet I know I should be feeling better but I am "a mother of three and that is exhausting"(dr's words, not mine)

[TamraW]

I know you said you can't switch docs, but here's a website with a recommended list of top docs:

http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/

4.1 is high, especially if you have symptoms. I know you're not in America, but the AACE (American Association of Endocrinologists) recently changed their TSH levels to include anything over a 3,0 with hypo symptoms to be considered hypo.
Here's a good article:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/testsforthyroid/a/labs2003.htm

Show this to your doctor. My TSH only went as high as a 2.74. I have Hashimoto's, with positive TPO antibodies of 221 and very low Free T3 and FreeT4. I am taking thyroid hormone. My doctor does not go by TSH for treating and determining thyroid disease. He treats my Frees, which are active thyroid hormones, unlike TSH, which is pituitary.

You need to go to your doctor and demand the FreeT4 and FreeT3 tests to determine your active levels, and demand the Tgab and TPOab tests to determine if you have an auto-immune condition, like Hashi.

Soy can bind to thyroid  hormone. That is why it is not recommended to consume soy within four hours of taking thyroid pills. Some thyroid patients avoid it altogether.

:) Tamra