increase of TSH year after surgery

[valeriev]

I was diagnose with papillary carcinoma last june 2008 had thyroidectomy july 2008, had RAI august 2008 my doctors told me that im all clear of cancer and im monitoring my TSH levels, my TSH levels  are the following Dec2008  .19uIU/ml    March 2009 - .01 uIU/ml    June 2009  - .31uIU/ml... so it slightly increase and im scared cause my doctor told me that it wasnt good and it should be lower than .2 uIU/ml and be maintained there or else my cancer may be activated again?is it true.. what are the possible causes of the increase of TSH and possible side effects of increasing the dosage of Levothyroxine sodium this early?

Im 25 years old have a sendentary lifsetyle, í dont smoke,i dont drink, but sometimes stay up late at night.

Valerie


This discussion is related to Does it get better?.

[valeriev]

hi thanks for the information... well the doctor was the one who increased my dose ...... this gives me peace of mind thanks ....

[redheadaussie]

Hi there. TSH is not an indicator you are getting cancer again. Only a thyroglobun test taken at regular intervals can show this.
  The units of measurement for testing TSH that smilerdeb is referring to is mIU/L, which is the standard used. Your results will be different if tested here. Many different countries use different test references.
Don't increase your medication without discussing it with your doctor. You may end up very hyperthyroid.
   you also need to keep an eye on your Free T3 and Free T4 as these are far more reliable tests for knowing if you are taking the right dose.
If you are really concerned about it I would suggest you talk to your doctor.
Cheers

[valeriev]

hey there... thanks for the comment and ummm well probably it depend on the units...can i ask whats the unit that is?im from the Philippines... so maybe we used here a different on...

i really appreciate your reply i hope u can answer my question

[Smilerdeb]

maybe I am wrong but I was always told the TSH in cancer patients should be kept be 2.0 not 0.2.
This is something you should ask others.
Usually the TSH is kept below 1.0 to avoid cancer cells again.