TSH in the "low end of normal" could I still be hyperthyroid?

[kcashx3]

So, this entire month has been an absolute roller coaster for me. I had to terminate a pregnancy at 11 weeks on September 3rd, and physically my body felt fine until about 2 weeks after the procedure. I started having difficulties sleeping and blamed it on the change in hormones as I had just started taking birth control again and obviously had just terminated a pregnancy. One week later, my eyes became extremely puffy and red with almost a yellowish tint in the whites of my eyes. My face/cheeks are also extremely swollen and puffy to the point where I look like a completely different person.  This past week I've developed a sore neck and throat. I went to the doctor to test for my thyroid and the results came back as "normal" however, they were in the lower end of normal. I asked my doctor if this means I could be borderline hyperthyroid and she kept brushing me off and insisting that the results were normal. Does this still mean I could be in the early stages of hyperthyroidism or even Hashimoto's?   The doctors have tested me for mono and strep and they all came back negative with my mono blood tests showing that I've had it in the past. I'm going absolutely crazy trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I haven't been myself in over a month. Can anybody give me suggestions as to what my next step should be? I feel helpless.

[kcashx3]

I know this isn't a huge update, but two days ago I had an appointment with an internal medicine doctor who is testing me for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and also testing my t3 and t4. When I told her all of my symptoms she seemed pretty convinced that it was either lupus or arthritis. She told me to swallow and said that she didn't notice any enlargement in my thyroid and that my lymph nodes were swollen rather than my thyroid area, but I am still almost certain that I have hyperthyroidism.
I'm just terrified that I'm going to develop the bulging, painful eyes as my eyes are already puffy, red, and swollen and my vision has significantly decreased over the past month and a half. My cheeks are also puffy and swollen. This is seriously a nightmare. I don't get my test results back until the beginning of next week :/

[kcashx3]

She seemed to think that it's arthritis because of my joint pain/stiffness that occurs on and off throughout the day, but I've read that this can be a symptom of hyperthyroidism as well.

[des900]

yes

[Barb135]

The poster is not on any medication and her doctor has not provided any information other than TSH, so we have to start with that and work ahead to get the rest of the information...

[des900]

tsh doesn't able to tell if you are hyperthyroid or hypothyroid or normal etc. instead check for free t4 and free t3.

if free t4 is above 75% of your reference range then you are over medicated or might get hyperthyroid symptoms.

similarly if t3 goes above referance range also you get hyper.

tsh is just a quick pituitary hormone which can depend on many factors while free t4 and free t3 is actual thyroid hormones which body able to use thus checking this and giving more importance on this rather than tsh which is like predicting flood by looking at cloud formation rather than looking at water in land for predicting flood.

[Barb135]

You should always get copies of your labs every time you go to the doctor... they are obligated, by law, to provide them upon request...

You're right, just because a lab result is normal range, doesn't mean it's normal for an individual.

Antibodies can fluctuate, but they can be there for years before other labs (TSH, Free T3 and Free T4) indicate a problem...

[kcashx3]

Is it possible that it could be too early on to test for Grave's Disease or Hashimoto's? Would the antibodies test be accurate at this point, or is it likely subject to change?

[kcashx3]

Barb, I asked my doctor exactly what my TSH level was and she said it was 0.6. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the results but I plan to ask to see it next time I am in. I'm not exactly sure what the scale is, but after doing my own research I've read everywhere that what may be "normal" on a lab result may be abnormal for an individual. I asked my doctor if I could do further testing and she told me it would do no good since my results were in the normal range. I plan to see an endocrinologist in hopes that they will test me for the antibodies.