Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Hi everyone - i have read this thread (and the old one) through and so much of it sounds just like me. I feel lousy and am exhausted ALL of the time, no matter what time of day or night or how much rest or sleep i have.
I have been having severe palpitations for a few weeks now and very bad dizziness.
I work in my local hospital kitchen so after my shift last thurs i went down to a&e convinced i was having a heart attack - my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest and the dizziness was constant.
After an ECG they confirmed i wasn't having a heart attack but did lots of blood tests. They told me when i left that all the results seemed normal but the thyroid test wasnt back and would be sent to my GP. Today, after the results not arriving at my GPs, I went to pathology and now have my results to take to the docs.
My thyroid test results are Free T4 12 and TSH 0.97. What do you think? I can google til the cows come home and convince myself of good or bad results but mainly I want to know that when i go to the docs i'm not going to be fobbed off. I kinda hope the results are bad cos i just cant face going on feeling like this every day!:(

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Ah, um... ok. Have you got the results in front of you? There should be a 'range' which is next to the results. Can you post those here? Every lab is different and it's hard to tell without the range.

Your TSH seems very low... and your Free thyroxine (free T4) seems high - which may suggest you're hyper... which would match with your description of palpitations and dizziness.
Did they test your Free T3 too?
You really need to know what the converted hormone Free T3 level is. T3 is responsible for how you feel... The T4 is converted to T3 in your system.

I suspect you're right, you are hyper and you require a full thyroid panel, liver function, cholesterol etc test.
Do you have any thyroid malfunction in your family history, specifically hyper?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thanks Tiddly.
Yes I have the results here they read:

Free T4 12 pmol/L (9 - 19)
TSH 0.97 mU/L (0.40 - 4.00)

There is nothing about T3 so i presume that wasn't tested.

As far as I know there is no history of Thyroid problems in the family but I will be asking the question when I call my Mum tomorrow.
I didn't mean to belittle anyone suffering by saying that I hope the results are positive, it's just that if they say something isn't right at least there is a cause to me feeling so terrible all the time. :(

I have to make appointment to see doc in the week and I just wanted a bit of inside knowledge before I go see them and you seem to be very well informed on the topic:thumbsup::wub:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Ok, with that range, your 12 isn't massive but it's still slightly elevated. It would indicate you're hyper or there's possibly another issue going on which your doc will suss out for you. Sometimes high T4 can be indicitive of a pituitary gland condition, though this is usually matched by high TSH too.
Your high T4 is pushing down your TSh, which is why it's so low.

Your doc needs to know the uptake of that T4 and how it's converting, which can be done with Ft3 test. Once you have that, there'll be a clearer indication of what's going on for you.

It's easier to get diagnosed if you are hyper, as hypo can be disguised as other things, like depression.
It's important your doc tests for low cortisol too... as you need see how your adrenals are functioning. Hyper often sends them a little awry!

Family history can be things like crazy maiden aunts, who were known to make sudden and rash decisions... heart attack, family history of very thin, highly active people, perhaps relatives who had bulging eyes, etc.
Sometimes it's hard to spot. You don't need a family history of hyper to become hyper though! Just helps if other people have had a diagnosis for you to refer to the doc with.

Hope that helps. Good luck at the doc. Tell us how you go on. He may give you a prescription to help slow things down a bit if he agrees.
Usually thyroid tests need to be repeated several times in a few weeks to get an accurate description of what's going on, as the test results vary, so don't be surprised if he wants to repeat.
Do push for a full thyroid panel though, which inc cholesterol, liver function and all the Free's I mentioned.
Let us know how you get on. :)

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

woah that all sounds a little confusing! :blink: The crazy aunt could fit anyone of my relatives lol though i will check it out tonight.
Thanks Im going to make a docs appointment for later in the week and ask for the full work over, i will certainly let you know the outcome.
Thanks once again for your help x:thumbsup::wub:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Have just spoken to my mum and it would appear my grandmother (her mum) had an overactive thryoid and that my mum is currently awaiting tests back on her thyroid as they suspect she may have a problem. Feel I may have a bit more 'clout' when insisting on more detailed tests now:fingerscrossed:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Well there you go. Strong family history there.
Hope it goes well at the doc.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Yes and it now transpires that my mums sister (my aunt) and 2 of her adult children also have thryoid conditions. Thanks I will let you know how it goes - not expecting them to roll over and agree to more testing easily though as according to them everythings 'normal'!! Well if this is normal i dont know what out of the ordinary is!

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

I'm sure you'll be fine. This is Aus... not the NHS. I've found them better here. If your doc won't test what you want, then you just go to another one. ;)
Always good to look on the top docs list too, for someone in your area who can treat you expertly:

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi.../australia.htm

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Didnt realise this thread is still going strong.
Hi Tiddly,any thoughts on this,currently have whooping cough and reg dr tested thyroid and its TSH 0.2 (0.40-4.00)
FT$ 20 (10-20)
Am still on my NTH meds but have not been taking the as regulary as i should,but i had taken them on the morning of the test.
Thx
Donna x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Borderline hyper, but you must take the meds regularly, they take a few days to even out and give steady results, so the results you got are almost certainly skewed by the lack of meds. The problem is that our doc will alter dosage on the basis of those results, so you should come clean about not taking them as you should. (for interest I worked in a Path Lab doing and reporting thyroid test for many years, so am talking from knowledge)

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

results are within the reference ranges, so would be classed as normal, for a true hyperthyroid you would expect a TSH of less than 0.1 untreated.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Hi Mike, thanks for your input. However, results can still be 'within range' and the subject can still be sick, so please be careful if you're giving advice. One person's well certainly isn't another person's well, even if the numbers add up, as some doctors and all thyroid patients know! Given daunted's family history and symptoms, her lab tests are merely an indicator of what's going on and without the FT3, it's impossible to know. Only her doctor will be able to help her get to the bottom of it.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Hey hon. Part of your NTH will actually hang out in your system for about 7+ weeks so it's important that you take them every day. Your FT4 is top of the scale there... are you feeling ok?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

It's because of doctors who rely soley on blood tests and "normal" ranges that so many of us suffer for so many years, and end up on threads such as this.

Hello everyone :) I've been reading with interest but Tiddly is the expert so I left it to her.

I've got yet another new doc :rolleyes: Moving to the South Side meant Asquith's just not feasible but, after one false start, I've found a woman round the corner from my office. She took one look at the bloods from my original diagnosis and was gobsmacked that anybody, let alone an endocrinologist, could deny I have an autoimmune thyroid problem.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

I'm only an expert on 'me' ... but thanks. x

Glad your new doc is on the ball... sounding good.

Has anyone here gone to a naturopath in Aus as well as a conventional doc? I was thinking of trying one out to see if there was anything I could improve on...

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

im usually underactive,so i dont know whats going on there!
Hard to tell really Tiddly cos ive been ill with this whooping cough and run down for a few weeks now.Am tired and lethargic most of the time still, but havent had the hairloss and a lot of the other symptoms i usually have with hypo.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

i went to one a few years back and i felt great whilst i was being soo strict,but i had to cut out soo many bloody good things i was bound to.I couldnt live my life being so restrictive.Now the one i see is a naturopath with conventional training as well .

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Donna, with your FT4 that high in the range, I'd be wondering if you're not swinging a little hypo instead? Seems odd... but I'd be looking at what your FT3 is to get the total picture. Did your doc test that?

Ok, well I might give it a shot, thanks. Not planning on giving up coffee or wine though but the rest I can live without. ;) Saying that, I feel pretty bloody good and have lost 3kg recently and continue to lose so... if it ain't broke....

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

I have found an endocrinologist that I am really pleased with on Brisbane's Southside. He seemed very on the ball when I saw him which was a relief after being messed about by quite a few GP's regarding my underactive thyroid. If anyone would like his details, pm me and I'll be happy to pass them on.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thanks! Sounds good. Nice to find someone who takes you seriously, eh?! : )

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Try: http://www.wholisticmedicalcentre.co...rs_deborah.htm

I started seeing a GP at that clinic but found she wouldn't prescribe what I wanted, bit too straight down the line. Deb however has an uncanny knack of "knowing" things.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Is there anyone else on the thread who has had a total thyroidectomy for cancer?
I just don't know how I should be feeling!
I had two surgeries within 6 days, 3 months ago & had radioactive iodine treatment a few weeks ago. I got the all clear after that which is great.
My thyroxine levels are being run high to suppress the TSH & apparently my blood results are great.
Yet I feel so tired & low. I don't know if my expectations of myself are too high or if I am having symptoms of hyperthyroidism. I wish I could be having the 'run around very active' or the 'weight loss' symptoms if nothing else!:o Is it usual after surgery to have fluctuations, even when I have no thyroid left?
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Mrs Jackaroo is your lady. I shall summon her for you.

: )

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thanks TP. Really could use some advice/reassurance right now x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Oi, I told you to speak to her before the op :sneaky::D If I remember rightly, she felt fairly crap for quite a while after hers. :fingerscrossed: you start feeling 'normal' soon hon.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Oh did you MP? Sorry, I really am. My memory is shot sonce I have been going through this x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

You mean it wasn't before? ;) Been feeling crap with my issues but they're nothing compared to yours so kind of know where you're coming from. :wub:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Well, maybe I am just going senile but I really rather hope not!
Somewhere, there is light at the end of the tunnel for both of us MP, keep the faith x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

I sent her an email so she may pop by.

x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thanks TP! x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

been and retested again
TSH is now 5 and Ft4 is 15,he didnt do my T3 but i will go back to my thyroid dr,also chlolestral is high along with bicarbonate levels?
WTF!

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

High cholesterol is a symptom of low thyroid. TSH gone way up and FT4 is still high... . you must be feeling a bit rubbish!
High bicarbonate can be due to adrenal problems actually and once again, linked to thyroid. .. though is usually low if it was Adrenally linked such as Addinson's...
The bicarbonate tests how much Co2 you've got in your blood serum btw in case you didn't know, but it's usually done with others in an electrolyte panel. Here's a link:http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders.../co2/test.html

Donna have you had your blood sugar tested recently? Any tests for diabetes?
Also, are you drinking enough water? Dehydration will knock them up too.
I suspect your doc's thinking something adrenal. Ask him what he thinks.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

How are all you lovely ladies? :wub:
Well I finally got myself back to the doc today to discuss my results and exactly how c*** I am feeling. Coultdn't afford to go earlier as they don't bulk bill:blink:
It was a new doctor and he was fantastic. He agrees the family history is reason enough to do another test so am off tomorrow for Thyroid antibodies. s fe studies, U e creatinine, LFT, TFT, Lipids, HDL, BSL, FBE, CRP, S Ferritin, s urate, LH, FSH, and something else he scribbled which i cant read :rofl: Don't think I'm gonna have much blood left in me after that lot! If that all comes back ok he wants me to go to sleep clinic cos suspects sleep apnoea! Anyone wanna come share my bed to see if i snore???

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Oh yes, I'm due a few of those soon myself :) Will go when I get back from the UK. My optician is also writing to my doctor as I apparently have a small bleed in the back of one eye, that's often linked to high blood pressure or diabetes.

I know I don't have high blood pressure (it's low) and I've always tested OK for diabetes; I don't think it's that long since I was tested either.

There's always something :rolleyes:

Sounds like your new doctor knows his stuff though, daunted.

How you doing now, Sally?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Ah ha! Good news. I like this doctor very much. Stick with him.

Seasider, hope you get that sorted soon. Insulin resistance can come along with thyroid illnesses. Low carb diet can, over time, allow more insulin receptors to grow on cells which will mean sugars are handled better... the way to grow those is to stop eating sugars...
Easy, eh?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Err, no thanks Daunted!:lol:
Good luck with the blood tests, sounds like you have found a thorough GP there.

Don't like the sound of a little bleeder! Is there nothing to do for it?

I'm getting there. Have started exercising but slowly. Still getting very tired easily but I am definitely feeling better than I was a couple of weeks ago.Finding it difficult to know if I am having thyroid symptoms or starting menopause or if there is something else altogether. Seeing GP next week. Thanks for asking x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

A lot of the symptoms I have can have different causes, so I share your pain. (I put all the thyroid stuff down to the early menopause for quite a few years.)

Slowly but surely, hey?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

I think the problem is that I underestimated the collective effect of two ops & the radiation treatment but I am on the up now:thumbup:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Sal, it takes weeks to get levels back up to where they should be. Not only that, you've had major surgery which takes the body weeks if not months to recover from... plus radiation treatment.
I think the key here is to not expect too much from your body too soon. Just focus on healing and don't push anything.
x