Crazy Lab Results! Need advice.

nspink

So, I've been working out like crazy with Insanity and eating healthy and Have not lost a pound this week, just maintained it only. And still having hypo issues: Fatigue, tired all the time, weight gain/hard to lose weight, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, slow metabolism, and low heartrate.

My Labs came back and TSH is you won't believe it = 0.02 (Which means I'm Hyperthyroid) CRAZY or what!
My T3 and Free T4 is normal range. If i was hyper, which i used to be before surgery, I would be having HYPER symptoms and side effect. #1 would be fast heartbeat and weightloss. Which I am most definitely NOT. I had a full thyroidectomy in 02/2011 and after that I was considered Hypo since I don't have anymore thyroids.
This is crazy. Something is totally wrong.

My endo and I tested my ACTH something to do with Adrenal/Cortisol levels and it came back at 11 pg/ml
I have no idea what that means??? But, My endo wants more testing on that is I have to go back for a ACTH Stimulating Test.

Also, my endo wants to reduce my meds since TSH shows HYPER.
So, I am so worried that I am going to feel even more worse then I already am.

Thank you for listening to me vent. And if you have any advice or comments in regards to this issue.
Please post, any information will help!

Bridget28152723

Hey girl, When I first got my blood work back my TSH was 0.018, I was shocked, The dr. and I thought I would be hypo, after lots of tests I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's anyway the next time I got labs I was hypo-TSH was 7.5 So then I was put on Levo. 25 mg . Now Im on 50 mg. I did not lose weight when I was hyper and my hearbeat was fine. My dr called it asymptomatic. Have you gotten tested for Hashimoto's , sometimes you have short periods of hyper- I still cant lose and Im on 50 mg. and still have hypo symptoms...It sucks but I wont stop trying to lose.....soon my levels will be normal...I feel for you I know how awful it is to have to wait on tests for answers

kristy6ward

Thyroid symptoms aside, fatigue could be caused by your calorie intake. Are you eating to at least your bmr? I started feeling like crap after four weeks of restricted calories.

nspink

Bridget<--- Thanks, I'll bring it up.

Kristy<--- So I eat from 1200-1400 calories a Day and idk what my BMR is. But, Before I tried low-calorie, I was not paying attention to my calorie intake but just eating 5 small meals and working out and I was still gaining weight like crazy and feeling awful. Right after the surgery from Feb 2011 to June 2011 (5 months) I had gain over 40 pounds. It was unbelievable. So, I started the low calorie and so far only lost a few pounds. I don't want to increase my calorie intake because I know, I will just end up gaining more weight.

It looks like my endo and I are going to have to examine each issue or possible causes of my symptoms and hopefully get to the bottom of this. I wonder if any of you who had a Total Thyroidectomy has similar issues?

tecallahan

Wow -- didn't think about Hashi -- but if you have it you can swing between Hypo and Hyper. Some folks on this forum have both Hashi and Graves disease -- very bad combination with weird symptoms and even weirder labs. If you are fighting a cold or infection, your autoimmune response from Hashi can fire up an attack on your thyroid. It's pretty common for people that are Hypo to also have Hashi.

These are the labs recommended by Stop The Thyroid Madness:
1. TSH But this lab is only for diagnosis of hypopituitary, NOT to diagnose or dose your hypo by.
2. Free T4 and Free T3 (note the word “free”–important since it measures what is unbound and available.)
3. Reverse T3–to be done at the same time you do the Free T3. Then calculate your ratio with the results and measurements.
4. Thyroid Antibodies (anti-TPO and TgAb. YOU NEED BOTH.)
5. Four iron labs, which include Ferritin, % Saturation, TIBC and serum iron
6. Adrenal Cortisol levels (but we strongly recommend saliva tests, not the one time blood test your doctor will do. One result does not tell the whole story. See below, because you don’t need a prescription)
7. B-12 and Folate
8. Magnesium and Potassium, plus Calcium, Sodium, Glucose (All the latter are part of the Comprehensive Metabolic Profile–CMP blood test–as well. You can also ask for the RBC (Red Blood Cell) versions of Mag. and Pot, which measures cellular levels.) For potassium, make sure the rubber tourniquet is not left on more than 60 seconds, says this study. Also note that the Buccal Mg lab test is finally available and seems to be more correlated to cardiac health than RBC Mg,but is expensive and not always easy to get.)
9. Vitamin D3 (25-hydroxyvitamin D lab test…)
10. …plus others your doctor may recommend.

nspink

Wow -- didn't think about Hashi -- but if you have it you can swing between Hypo and Hyper. Some folks on this forum have both Hashi and Graves disease -- very bad combination with weird symptoms and even weirder labs. If you are fighting a cold or infection, your autoimmune response from Hashi can fire up an attack on your thyroid. It's pretty common for people that are Hypo to also have Hashi.

These are the labs recommended by Stop The Thyroid Madness:
1. TSH But this lab is only for diagnosis of hypopituitary, NOT to diagnose or dose your hypo by.
2. Free T4 and Free T3 (note the word “free”–important since it measures what is unbound and available.)
3. Reverse T3–to be done at the same time you do the Free T3. Then calculate your ratio with the results and measurements.
4. Thyroid Antibodies (anti-TPO and TgAb. YOU NEED BOTH.)
5. Four iron labs, which include Ferritin, % Saturation, TIBC and serum iron
6. Adrenal Cortisol levels (but we strongly recommend saliva tests, not the one time blood test your doctor will do. One result does not tell the whole story. See below, because you don’t need a prescription)
7. B-12 and Folate
8. Magnesium and Potassium, plus Calcium, Sodium, Glucose (All the latter are part of the Comprehensive Metabolic Profile–CMP blood test–as well. You can also ask for the RBC (Red Blood Cell) versions of Mag. and Pot, which measures cellular levels.) For potassium, make sure the rubber tourniquet is not left on more than 60 seconds, says this study. Also note that the Buccal Mg lab test is finally available and seems to be more correlated to cardiac health than RBC Mg,but is expensive and not always easy to get.)
9. Vitamin D3 (25-hydroxyvitamin D lab test…)
10. …plus others your doctor may recommend.

Looking at these test, I've done about half already. I'll be asking for Thyroid Antibodies, IRON, B12/Folate. Thank you so much!

Farfelue

I don't think this is crazy.
My TSH is at 0.02 and I always feel better when it's pretty much suppressed.
My Endo doesn't have a problem with it. And I can assure you I'm not hyper.

My T4 and T3 are within range, and being Hashimoto I feel it's good it's nearly suppressed, this way my thyroid doesn't make any hormones, and therefore, it being an auto-immune, my cells don't attack themselves.

Ama

nspink

I don't think this is crazy.
My TSH is at 0.02 and I always feel better when it's pretty much suppressed.
My Endo doesn't have a problem with it. And I can assure you I'm not hyper.

My T4 and T3 are within range, and being Hashimoto I feel it's good it's nearly suppressed, this way my thyroid doesn't make any hormones, and therefore, it being an auto-immune, my cells don't attack themselves.

Ama

WOW, our Endo really see things differently.
My endo's main concern is why it is still Surpressed.
I know that before my surgery I was REALLY Hyper but after the surgery I was Hypo. I was thinking that because I was Hyper for so long without knowing could be the reason why its surpressed. But it is odd because I don't have any thyroids and I talked to my endo about Hashimoto and she says I don't have that.

It's a good thing that your endo is not treating your labs and is treating your symptoms. But I am concerned to why my TSH is showing Hyper, it means somethings off.

I am schedule for more labs on Saturday... I'll wait and see if there are any issues with my adrenal/cortisol levles.

Just wondering, Did you undergo any treatments on your thyroids?

Farfelue

No I didn't. It's still all there albeit kaput!
Straight Hashimoto Hypo.

Do post your results when you have them,and your T3 and T4 too. TSH alone is not that meaningful.

Ama

tecallahan

TSH is basically useless for diagnosing Hypo or Hyper -- they need Free T4 and Free T3,

nspink

Yes, I will post my results once I get it. Thanks!

missigus

TSH is the most worthless test in my opinion. Mine is completely supressed which means I should be hyper through the roof... if my Dr. went by TSH only. Are you only on t4 meds, synthroid or levoxyl? Some people have conversion problems. The body must convert the t4 to t3. T3 is the active form of thryroid in the body, it's what regulates our whole metabolic system. When you are not converting properly you wind up with way too much t4 in your system that does nothing for the body. You will remain having hypo symptoms. It just floats in the blood stream doing nothing and knocks down tsh levels, which means that yes- you have enough t4, but a low tsh doesn't mean you have the active form of thyroid present. It doesn't measure that at all.

Please have your dr. look at your t3, t4, reverse free t3, and your reverse t4 levels. Those will give you a much better idea as to how and if your body is converting your synthetic meds. Not all of us do well in that area and will actually get better once we take a natural med that has both t3 and t4 already in it, and then adjust that med based on both t4 and t3 numbers, NOT tsh. I wish you the best.

shawnaf77

You all have me wonderIng if I may have some of these other issues. I have been taking thyroid meds since 6th grade. Recent dosage was 150mg and they just reduced to 125mg. I am so frustrated with it all. I currently don't have an endo since
I was referred to a wacko endo and won't go back. I am constantly struggling with exhaustion among other symptoms. Have found in the last several years that my test results are all over the place. Doctor says she thinks it's going haywire due to stress etc.... I have also been watching my calories and exercising and find myself stuck. It's sooooo frustrating and makes me want to give up at times. Wondering if I will ever be normal....

shawnaf77

You all have me wonderIng if I may have some of these other issues. I have been taking thyroid meds since 6th grade. Recent dosage was 150mg and they just reduced to 125mg. I am so frustrated with it all. I currently don't have an endo since
I was referred to a wacko endo and won't go back. I am constantly struggling with exhaustion among other symptoms. Have found in the last several years that my test results are all over the place. Doctor says she thinks it's going haywire due to stress etc.... I have also been watching my calories and exercising and find myself stuck. It's sooooo frustrating and makes me want to give up at times. Wondering if I will ever be normal....

tecallahan

You all have me wonderIng if I may have some of these other issues. I have been taking thyroid meds since 6th grade. Recent dosage was 150mg and they just reduced to 125mg. I am so frustrated with it all. I currently don't have an endo since
I was referred to a wacko endo and won't go back. I am constantly struggling with exhaustion among other symptoms. Have found in the last several years that my test results are all over the place. Doctor says she thinks it's going haywire due to stress etc.... I have also been watching my calories and exercising and find myself stuck. It's sooooo frustrating and makes me want to give up at times. Wondering if I will ever be normal....

Time to reshuffle the deck -- T4 replacement only doesn't work on a lot of people -- I've seen only a few that respond well to it.
Find a doctor that prescribes Natural Dessicated Thyroid -- or at least one that will check all your other thyroid levels -- not just TSH. Most of all, if he won't agree to treat you -- not just your labs -- fire him.

All endos are not created equal and many have their heads stuck in the sand (or up their *kitten*)... so find one that will listen - thyroid disease is very complex, and they have tried to dumb it down to TSH only, but that just doesn't work.

Terri

nspink

Okay finally got my labs results:

TSH=0.03 (0.10-5.50)
Free T4=1.2 (0.8-1.7)
T3=76 (50-170)
Cortisol = 9 (Endo says its normal)

So, my endo says my TSH is suppressed. But, she reduce my T3 cytomel because with the T4/T3 combo she's says I am on too high of a dosage and she says sometimes being too Hyper can cause fatigue too.

So, I reply with the request of just reducing the T4 meds since I didn't do well with it alone. And the T3 works so great-no converting. I also mention to her that she should be addressing how I feel and the symptoms i'm having rather than just looking at numbers. If she disregards my suggestions or doesn't take into consideration... I will for sure be switching to a different endo!

Thanks for all of you guys sharing your experience and knowledge on this issue!

klmnumbers

As others have said in this thread, my TSH is generally the only measure that's ever 'off,' and my endo has said the same - it's the least important indicator of what's up. Although, with that in mind, sometimes your labs just change.. especially if you've lost weight since your last visit. My dosage has been all over the place. Sometimes nothing changes, and my numbers are off. I've been on 137 mcg (taking an extra half pill on Sundays) for a looooong time. I had blood work done in January (and my TSH was off), and my endo just wanted to keep monitoring it as a dosage change would be too much. Then, I had work done last week, and it was totally normal.