NEw Thyroid Info

Found this on another board and its very helpful I think.

My own Dr missed keeping track of my Thyroid levels and my RE said with my numbers on the high side they should have been all along. In the 3 years from when Iw as last tested from my PCP, my # went from somewhat high to VERY high above normal and am currently on Snythroid...

The *new* standards for TSH have been out since 2003 but apparently some docs are still behind. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) have new guidelines of what a normal thyroid range is. The new range for TSH is .3 to 3.:AACE TSH Announcement

I get sooo mad when I see people here posting that their Dr. told them their thyroid was normal when they have a TSH above 3 and they feel like crap! Is it so hard for a Dr. to keep updated on TSH numbers? Also, do any of them consider that the "high-end of normal" may be that persons "abnormal" in some cases? TSH range is, after all, just an average of the population. It isn't perfect. Another issue is that many labs are still using the old standards and to make matters worse, standards vary from lab to lab!

You may also want to ask your Dr. to test the "Free T3 and Free T4" levels of thyroid. Some people with normal TSH numbers will test hypothyroid when these more sensitive tests are used. They more accurately measure the circulating thyroid hormones in the blood. Some Drs. believe that the body will automatically convert T4 into the needed T3 so they will not prescribe thyroid T4/T3 combo drugs such as Armour or Thyrolar, or add in a T3 drug such as cytomel to take in combination with the T4 drug. The problem is that some people do not convert T4 to T3 properly. I must be one of those people because after a very short time on T4 alone, I felt awful. I now take 2.5 grains of Armour now and feel so much better.

Thyroid problems are a factor in infertility, baby IQ, and miscarriage rates, especially second trimester miscarriage. For a women with a low functioning thyroid who is not being optimally treated with medication, the risk is 3.8 percent compared to .9 percent for women without a thyroid condition. A study in the Journal of Medical Screening attributes six out of every 100 late term miscarriages to a thyroid condition that has gone undiagnosed: Thyroid and Miscarriage

Re: NEw Thyroid Info

Great Post Donna...I have been saying this for the longest time :)

In Austrailia they actually narrowed down even more.

http://www.sensible-alternative.com.au/sensnews05.pdf#search='low%20estrogen%20and%20low%20bbt'

TSH= .5-2.5

Re: NEw Thyroid Info

Wow!!! Thanks for the info. I'm going to my endocronologist this week for a check up. My TSH was 150 in June, and in August it was 40. So hopefully it's come down even more. I'm on TTC hiatus though until it's in the normal range.

Re: NEw Thyroid Info

This is precisely why we have to be our own healthcare advocates. I find it so sad that nowadays we can't have full confidence in our doctors.

Before I had my thyroid removed, my PCP told me all of my problems were "gynecological" and that he was not referring me to an endocrinologist.

Needless to say 1 year and and new doctor later, I had a tumor the size of a golf ball that was removed immediately.

Thank you for posting this, I have my next endo appt. in 2 weeks. I will definitely ask her exactly what my levels are.

Re: NEw Thyroid Info

Re: NEw Thyroid Info

Im going to an endo nov 21 here are my levels that were detected as off:

T4 16.2 (reference range should be 4.5-12.0)

so that is too high

but my T3 was normal at 25.8 and my TSH normal at 1.15

so I dont know what the hell is wrong with me???????
edited to say wait there are numbers for "free" and for "total"

my T4 free is 1.3 normal
my T4 total is high 16.2
my T4 free, calculated 4.18 high

my T3 uptake 25.8 normal
my T3 total 197 high

my doctor took so many thyroid test

Message edited 11/6/2005 2:42:41 PM.