Results - TSH & TSI - Help!! - *Elaine*

[Guest guest]

Hello from SF to everyone:

My test results keep going back & forth Hyper and

then Hypo (4 months) & now back to Hyper.

I have been on PTU for 25 months. Started 9 pills

a day...now down to 3 a day total. Have been on

3 per day for 9 months. Anything higher makes

me feel like a zombie.

I have never felt better since GD & GO diagnosis.

My eyes recently (past month) are so much better,

bulging much less, only double vision 1-2 hours

in morning, & less redness. This has a lot to do

with Omega 3 (1.7 tablespoons Flax oil per day).

One more note...I have been under tremendous

stress during the past 4 weeks, with a relationship

and a job problem. (anger & upsets...and I'm sure

that emotions & stress affect the GD & GO.

Anyway, I got lab tests with awful results from a

test taken last Thursday. (I convinced my doc to

do a TSI...and then he only added the TSH.)

TSH <0.01 L (range 0.40-5.50, per Quest Diag)

TSI 206 H (reference range, 125 or less)

Obviously the tests say I'm extremely hyper, but

I feel good with 3 PTU a day.....**is the TSH

sometimes " a lagging indication " ?

For the TSI...does this show that my GO is doing

really badly? Or what does the 206 reading mean?

Thank you!

Best to all,

Ron

diagnosed 4/01...taking PTU...and I cannot find

a good Endo to work with.

[Guest guest]

Ron, what I wrote about a good time to start BRT is probably not correct.

I'm not familiar enough with it to comment on it as I did. You may be a

candidate for it already. In any event, it seems like something to

seriously look into, as well as an endo whose arm you don't have to twist

to get more than a TSH.

Take care, Fay

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[Guest guest]

Hi Ron,

The TSH can be that low in very mild or subclinical hyperthyroidism. It's

also low when you have a high TSI titer.

All a low TSH means is that your pituitary gland recognizes that you have

more than enough thyroid hormone levels for your needs. Before the levels

become abnormally high, the pituitary stops secreting TSH. See one of the

last posts I wrote for more of an explanation. In fact, you can become

hypothyroid from the meds and still have a TSH of <.01. Many doctors don't

understand that TSH is not recommended for monitoring people on ATDs because

it can be misleading. To tell if you're hyperthyroid, you need levels of your

actual thyroid hormones, FT4 and FT3.

Your TSI is high and it will contribute to your eye condition. However, being

hypothyroid will also make your eyes worse and cause your thyroid gland to be

more active, increasing TSI production.

It's important to make sure that your FT4 and FT3 are in the normal range

while you're on ATDs.

Most people start out on 300 mg PTU and their dose is reduced after 6-8

weeks. There is no advantage to using higher doses, because it takes this

long for the meds to kick in. After the first 6-8 weeks, the dose is

gradually reduced with most everyone eventually maintained on a dose of

100-150 mg PTU daily. I hope your pills are 50 mg each, and that you're

taking them every 8 hours for best results.

Stress will aggravate your immune system, causing an increase in thyroid

antibody production. Stress reduction techniques are very effective in

helping your immune system heal, and so is proper diet, primarily avoiding

iodine. Hope this helps and best to you, Elaine

[Guest guest]

Hi Ron, do you have any Free T3s & 4s to report or even Total T3s and 4s?

TSH really is useless since it drags behind the T3s & T4s and can take until

you reach remission before it goes back to where it's supposed to be

sometimes.

If your doc is only going on TSH, it's no wonder you've been doing the hyper

/ hypo yo-yo thing. Only Free T3 and Free T4 will tell you if you are truly

hyper or not - that is the hormone that is in your blood right now. TSH

shows what was going on 6 weeks or more ago. I bet when you go hypo your

eyes feel worse too.

And do you take your 3 pills all together or spread out 8 hours apart? You

get a more even ride if you space them out evenly.

Your TSI doesn't look that bad to me - but you do have a different reference

range than me so I maybe I'm not comparing it right - Elaine will know

better. Was it in %? Mine was about 500% which is why 206 looks better to me

but maybe it's just a different measure or something.

And yes, stress can make you hyper. Do you practice any stress relievers?

Meditation, yoga, exercise? It really helps. Here is a little trick I

learned from Donna Eden's Energy Medicine class: When you are feeling really

stressed, place your hand on your forehead and hold on to your forehead

until you can feel the blood pulsing under your hand... and hold longer if

you have the time too. It can take very little time or a few minutes before

you feel the pulses. What you are doing is bringing the blood to your

forebrain where you do the problems solving thinking (and away from your

extremities where you do your stress reacting) and this helps you to focus

and usually think of a solution and/or feel less stress about the issue.

Another good stress releiver is to lay down flat and pretend that you are

sinking into the floor or the bed - visualize each body part starting with

your feet and working up to your head sinking into the floor, part by part.

.. and do deep breaths in and out until your whole body is completely relaxed

and you are one with the floor. This is the dead man pose in yoga and my

very favorite yoga pose

Hope that helps, and hope you get some better lab work soon!

Pam

[Guest guest]

Hi Ron,

You do not have any test results there to tell you if you are hyper or hypo.

TSH can remain in the 'zip' range for various amounts of time , and give NO

reflection as to your thyroid status. TSH is not a thyroid hormone.

I am a perfect example. My TSH remained .002 for three years despite my

being hypo due to anti thyroid drugs.

TSI will tell the thyroid to make more hormone. Plus it will FOOL the

pituitary into thinking it does not need to make TSH to ask the thyroid to

make more hormone. ( thank goodness -grin )

Do you have a TSI baseline reading. This will tell you how far down the TSI

has come since you began treatment. If you do not have a baseline reading,

it is still safe to assume your TSI was much higher to start with. Remember

it must be less than 2 % before you start the final weaning off of the PTU

for true lasting remission.

You need FreeT4 tests at a minimum every 4 weeks. In time I found where

within the FT4 'normal' range I was at my set point to not be hyper or hypo.

By getting this test done every 4 weeks I was able to regulate my dose of

PTU.

As the PTU slowly reduced the number of TSI, I then required less PTU to

remain at my personal set point.

In the beginning I also had T3 checked. Since PTU restricts conversion of T4

from being changed into T3 most using this brand do not have T3 problems.

This turned out to be true for me, so after a few T3 tests in the beginning,

I saw my T3 always politely followed along , matching my T4 ... going up or

down in unison, I then did not check T3, except once a year, because cost

was a factor and nothing odd came up . Though you do need to check it in

the beginning and see if T3 happens to be a problem for YOU.

Getting FT4 tests every 4 weeks is the key. $28 a month is not too much to

spend to know you are on the correct dose of medication. ( TSH... usless now

that you are diagnosed is $45 )

You did good getting the TSI though... $300 !

No real need for it again now till the question of remission comes up...

when 1/2 a pill of PTU is keeping you hypo. That could be in a few months (

unlikly but possible ) or a few years. But who cares, as long as we feel

good and the eyes improve.

( yos... I am one that had horrid TED which has completly resolved over time

on PTU )

Also you must be on one steady dose, exactly the same amount, for 4 weeks,

in order for the test results to CLEARLY reflect what that dose does for you

They 'say' two weeks, but that never worked for me, and added a lot of time

not being well that could have been avoided.

Remember, once you are in the maintenance dose range, where you are now, the

change in dose needs to be much smaller to get the results you want. Now 1/2

and 1/4 pill changes will show in how you feel when you wake up every

morning... and even more in how you feel by the end of the day ! = :-o

-Pam L -

3 1/2 years Graves', TED, and PTU. Remission due to SLOW reduction of PTU

(despite an incompetent endo ! ), improved lifestyle, excellent nutrition,

herbs, and looking at the big picture.

Pills alone only help the symptoms. We must help our bodies to heal.