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new blood results

Doc called me today to tell me my levels were in my boots!

can anyone explain the results to me

FT3 1.31

TSH 141

He has started me on 50mcg

I was prev on 150mcg since 2004 when diagnosed hypo.  Had a spell there in nov/dec when i had hyper symptoms so bad that i wasnt sleeping, was going like a train, tremor, anxiety, heart palpscrazing skipping beats, on edge, talkative, out of breath speaking felt i was going to pass out, not feeling settled in my house-just awful. now i have fatigue, sleeping more, feels like my legs hand are swollen like to much water, bloated, puffy skin, weight gain. Anyone explain the results & could i go back to hyper symptoms-i really cant stand the thought of that. thks
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Avatar universal
Well, there are those of us that think that fibro and hypo are not even two separate conditions, that fibro IS hypo.

When the ranges for FT3 and FT4 were established, the "normal"population was very flawed.  It contained a lot of symptomatic, but undiagnosed, hypos and a lot of asymptomatic Hahsi's.  As a result the whole lower half of the reference ranges for these two is questionable.  So, people test in the lower half of the ranges, their doctors proclaim their thyroids "normal" and they whack another name on it.  Oh, and by the way, there's a pill for that, so Big Pharma is getting rich.  Hate to sound so jaded...

Anyway, my guess is that you just might find your "fibro" disappears when you get your thyroid hormones right.  

Do you know if you have Hashi's?
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Avatar universal
thks for all your help, its really great to know there are others out there talking this language ie i am hypo or hyper etc etc.

i feel like i am just left to my own devices where the meds is concerned. i went to an appt with a rheumatologist & my tsh had raised yet again to 171 crazy. she said i need an urgent referral to endocrinology which she did. i have an appt for 4/4/12 it cant come quick enough. i just hope they know what to do with me. I CANT GO HYPER-it really does my head in all that sweating and heart racing, & missing beats, breathlessness after a few stairs, getting out of breath just having a conversation. and the agitation & anxiety & buzzing cant sleep etcetc. give me hypo any day at least your so tired and slowed up that you can get some rest. i hate this disease oh & while i was at the rheumy i got diagnosed with fibromyalgia & givena leaflet on it & sent away?? wtf do you think these conditions are linked?? fed ujp in bed at 9pm on a sat?? come on thats just not right. night!
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Avatar universal
That's a very unusual range for FT3.  Did it come from your lab report?  Does your doctor usually test FT4?  Do you know why he didn't this time?

You're correct, a TSH of 141 indicates that your thyroid is not producing hormones.  It's mostly T4 that is produced by the thyroid, however, T3 comes from conversion of T4 to T3, and most of that happens in the liver, although there are many sites throughout the body for conversion.  

Many of us are sensitive to meds and have to start out low and increase slowly as tolerated.  If you've been hypo for some time, it takes your body a while to get used to having thyroid hormones available again.  

It sounds like you were overmedicated in November or December.  It's very important to make small adjustments in thyroid meds.  It's likely you should have decreased your dose, not discontinued it entirely.  For example, when I was overmedicated, my endo advised me to d/c thyroid meds for three days, then resume at a lower dose (that lower dose was my previous dose, which was only 6 mcg per day lower, but it eliminated my hyper symptoms).  You've once again gotten very hypo, so it's like starting over again from the beginning on meds.

If I were you, I'd ask my doctor about moving up more slowly.  Your FT3 was so low, that it's very doubtful you are hyper...you're just feeling hyper-like symptoms because you are trying to increase too fast.  You might try a couple of interim steps between 50 and 100.  Moving from 50 to 100 is doubling your dose...that's a big jump.  You could move to 62.5 (half a 125), 75, 88, then 100.  

Did you have any blood work done in November or December when you were overmedicated?

I agree with you completely.  Having been both hypo and hyper, I'll take hypo any day...at least I don't fell like I'm about to buzz off the planet when hypo.  

It takes a new dose or a change in dose 4-6 weeks to reach its full potential in your blood.  During that time, FT4 levels are building.  The surest way to avoid going hyper is to stay on the same dose for four weeks, retest to see where both FT3 and FT4 levels are, reevaluate symptoms and adjust from there.  It can take a little longer this way, but it's the best way to avoid swinging back and forth, which is no fun.  
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Avatar universal
hi yes range for TSH is
0.4 - 4.5

& range for ft3
3.5 - 7.8

surely if my pituatry is pumping out all that tsh (141) then my thyroid is not producing t4, t3? = hypo & yes i did have hypo symptoms ie cold, swollen face/eyes etc
but why then when i start taking the thyroxine 100mcg after 12 days do i then start to get hyper symptoms?

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Avatar universal
What's the range on your FT3?  Did they test FT4 as well?

Do you know if you have Hashi's or what the cause of your hypo is?
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