Re: Suppressed TSH?

[Guest guest]

,

I'll attempt to answer this. At least from my point of view,

suppressed TSH means close to 0. My TSH is below 0.1. That was on the

lab report yesterday. When I have had a sensitive TSH test, it showed

my TSH to be 0.022. This is done a lot for Thyroid cancer patients.

Endos especially want the TSH to be as suppressed as they can get it

without showing hyper signs like hands shaking, for cancer patients. I

have heard that Hashis patients should have a suppressed TSH, but I have

never had Hashimotos so I can't answer.

The new TSH range is down to .3, so .5 shouldn't be considered too

low. It depends on which ranges they are going by. Some of the labs

and unknowing doctors haven't embraced the new range for TSH and

Hypothyroid. This has left a whole lot of people sick.

Actually Armour has calcitonin which is believed to help bones. When

you were taking Armour, the TSH test is worthless. Armour should be

dosed by looking at FT3 and FT4 and not TSH. Even on Levoxyl the TSH is

pretty worthless. It is a pituitary hormone. Most doctors are

clueless. Since Armour has all the hormones produced by the thyroid

(T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin) it is better for most people than

straight T4 (Synthroid and Levoxyl). A good doctor looks at Ft3, Ft4

and symptoms among other things like adrenals, Vit D, B 12, ferritin,

sex hormones etc. since all of those factors can affect how well you

absorb thyroid hormone. My personal opinion is that the Levoxyl will

cause you more bone loss and leave you still feeling hypo even with TSH

numbers in range. I felt hypo on Synthroid with a TSH of 0.022. I feel

much better on straight Armour. I managed to lose weight and I'll bet

that my bone loss isn't any worse.

Most Endos (not all) won't prescribe Armour and swear by Synthroid. I

went to a different doctor to get Armour, adrenals, and sex hormones

addressed. I also have a new endo for cancer follow-up that admits that

some people do better on Armour and will prescribe it.

Hope this helps,

Pat

I switched to Armour a year ago. Last Feb (before I started Armour and

had been on Synthroid), my bone density showed that I had some bone loss

in my right hip. It had nothing to do with Armour. They wanted me to

take Actonel, but I tossed the script.

Now yesterday my doctor (actually my doctor's PA) told me that my Ft3

was too high. It was 5.7 with a range of 3.2-4.5. My doctor said that

a Ft3 that much over could lead to bone loss, but said nothing about my

very low TSH.

>

> I've seen several people mention suppressed TSH - can someone explain

> this to me?

>

> I am honestly very confused... have been hypo for the past 20+ years

> (since age 11 or 12) and have been to so many different docs. I

> frequently don't feel the symtoms when I am hypo, I think largely

> because I learned to ignore them from a young age since the docs told

> me " take this pill and you'll be fine " . It's usually the weight gain

> that clues me in that something is up.

>

> I know people here are not endo fans, but I had switched to an endo in

> April, who told me that having a low TSH (below 0.5) can contribute to

> bone loss and loss of muscle mass. He took my off of the Armour and

> left me on 0.2mg of Levoxyl, but now I am definitely hypo (don't have

> my lab numbers wtih me or I would post them...) I did feel better

when

> on 0.2mg of Levoxyl and 90 of Armour, but certainly don't want to

> sacrifice my health. he did a bone scan and it showed and 14% loss of

> bone in my spine, so that freaked me out a bit.

>

> Just trying to gather a little more information to make an informed

> decision...

>

> Thanks!

> in Dallas

>

[Guest guest]

Pat-

Who is your endo who admits that some folks do better on Armour?

>> ,> I'll attempt to answer this. At least from my point of view,> suppressed TSH means close to 0. My TSH is below 0.1. That was on the> lab report yesterday. When I have had a sensitive TSH test, it showed> my TSH to be 0.022. This is done a lot for Thyroid cancer patients. > Endos especially want the TSH to be as suppressed as they can get it> without showing hyper signs like hands shaking, for cancer patients. I> have heard that Hashis patients should have a suppressed TSH, but I have> never had Hashimotos so I can't answer.> > The new TSH range is down to .3, so .5 shouldn't be considered too> low. It depends on which ranges they are going by. Some of the labs> and unknowing doctors haven't embraced the new range for TSH and> Hypothyroid. This has left a whole lot of people sick.> > Actually Armour has calcitonin which is believed to help bones. When> you were taking Armour, the TSH test is worthless. Armour should be> dosed by looking at FT3 and FT4 and not TSH. Even on Levoxyl the TSH is> pretty worthless. It is a pituitary hormone. Most doctors are> clueless. Since Armour has all the hormones produced by the thyroid> (T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin) it is better for most people than> straight T4 (Synthroid and Levoxyl). A good doctor looks at Ft3, Ft4> and symptoms among other things like adrenals, Vit D, B 12, ferritin,> sex hormones etc. since all of those factors can affect how well you> absorb thyroid hormone. My personal opinion is that the Levoxyl will> cause you more bone loss and leave you still feeling hypo even with TSH> numbers in range. I felt hypo on Synthroid with a TSH of 0.022. I feel> much better on straight Armour. I managed to lose weight and I'll bet> that my bone loss isn't any worse.> > Most Endos (not all) won't prescribe Armour and swear by Synthroid. I> went to a different doctor to get Armour, adrenals, and sex hormones> addressed. I also have a new endo for cancer follow-up that admits that> some people do better on Armour and will prescribe it.> > Hope this helps,> Pat

[Guest guest]

Dr. Verdonk at & White in Temple.

> >

> > ,

> > I'll attempt to answer this. At least from my point of view,

> > suppressed TSH means close to 0. My TSH is below 0.1. That was on

the

> > lab report yesterday. When I have had a sensitive TSH test, it

showed

> > my TSH to be 0.022. This is done a lot for Thyroid cancer patients.

> > Endos especially want the TSH to be as suppressed as they can get it

> > without showing hyper signs like hands shaking, for cancer patients.

I

> > have heard that Hashis patients should have a suppressed TSH, but I

> have

> > never had Hashimotos so I can't answer.

> >

> > The new TSH range is down to .3, so .5 shouldn't be considered too

> > low. It depends on which ranges they are going by. Some of the labs

> > and unknowing doctors haven't embraced the new range for TSH and

> > Hypothyroid. This has left a whole lot of people sick.

> >

> > Actually Armour has calcitonin which is believed to help bones. When

> > you were taking Armour, the TSH test is worthless. Armour should be

> > dosed by looking at FT3 and FT4 and not TSH. Even on Levoxyl the TSH

> is

> > pretty worthless. It is a pituitary hormone. Most doctors are

> > clueless. Since Armour has all the hormones produced by the thyroid

> > (T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin) it is better for most people than

> > straight T4 (Synthroid and Levoxyl). A good doctor looks at Ft3, Ft4

> > and symptoms among other things like adrenals, Vit D, B 12,

ferritin,

> > sex hormones etc. since all of those factors can affect how well you

> > absorb thyroid hormone. My personal opinion is that the Levoxyl will

> > cause you more bone loss and leave you still feeling hypo even with

> TSH

> > numbers in range. I felt hypo on Synthroid with a TSH of 0.022. I

feel

> > much better on straight Armour. I managed to lose weight and I'll

bet

> > that my bone loss isn't any worse.

> >

> > Most Endos (not all) won't prescribe Armour and swear by Synthroid.

I

> > went to a different doctor to get Armour, adrenals, and sex hormones

> > addressed. I also have a new endo for cancer follow-up that admits

> that

> > some people do better on Armour and will prescribe it.

> >

> > Hope this helps,

> > Pat

>