Re: Thyroid Function Labs..

[Guest guest]

Hi Prue,

Your labs are pretty typical hyper. TSH is usually very low, FT4 and FT3

high. It's good your doc started you on the ATD's. It takes a while for your

body to use up all the stored thyroid hormone, but once that happens you

should start to feel better.

Terry

>

> Reply-To: graves_support

> Date: Sun, 25 May 2003 21:41:40 -0000

> To: graves_support

> Subject: Thyroid Function Labs..

>

> Hey everybody,

> Thank you for the good advice received. I saw my doctor again on

> Friday and because my symptoms were beginning to really affect my

> life, she has decided not to wait for the scan, but to start me on

> ATDs. I have been taking Carbimazole 5mg, two twice a day since

> Friday night, there has been no difference in my symptoms but I guess

> that would be asking too much after such a short period of time.

> My labs are as follows (on May 8, 2003).

> Free Thyroxine (FT4?) 29.5 pmol/L Ref: (10.4 - 23.2)

> TSH: <0.02 mIU/L Ref:(0.35 - 5.50)

> FT3: 16.73 pmol/L Ref:(2.60 - 5.70

>

> Can anyone help me with this data, obviously two are higher than norm

> and one lower? Any help and advice gratefully received. I should be

> having the scan sometime this week.

>

> Many thanks and good wishes to you all

>

> Prue Bowen

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

> I have been taking Carbimazole 5mg, two twice a day since

> Friday night, there has been no difference in my symptoms but I

guess

> that would be asking too much after such a short period of time.

> My labs are as follows (on May 8, 2003).

> Free Thyroxine (FT4?) 29.5 pmol/L Ref: (10.4 - 23.2)

> TSH: <0.02 mIU/L Ref:(0.35 - 5.50)

> FT3: 16.73 pmol/L Ref:(2.60 - 5.70

Hi Prue,

Your doctor sounds conscientious and it's great that you can have any

labs run. Every four weeks at first would probably be a good idea.

Also, your doctor should run a baseline liver function test and CBC

(complete blood count) because (very rarely) the carbimazole can

cause side effects and you need the starting values to refer to. In

addition, there is an antibody test that can confirm it's Graves'

though many people do without that.

The Free Thyroxine and FT3 are your available thyorid hormone levels,

which are too high right now. The TSH is a pituitary hormone that

orders your thyroid to make more thyroid hormone as needed. That's at

rock bottom because you already have plenty.

You may also have gathered that Graves' is an autoimmune disease, in

which our bodies incorrectly attack the thyroid and eye tissues. The

antibodies involved can also keep the TSH reading abnormally low, but

you don't need to worry about that at this point.

Elaine 's book, Graves' Disease: A Practical Guide, is available

on Amazon.com and covers lots more about dealing with Graves' and

about steps to remission. This is a problem that responds well to

methods of stress reduction and also to reducing iodine in your diet.

The files in this group's archives have a list of iodine in food,

which can help, too.

As Terry said, as your thyroid levels normalize over the next few

weeeks, you should start feeling better. In Graves' feeling better

physically and feeling better mentally/emotionally go hand-in-hand.

Best wishes,