Thyroid Blood Work...

I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago b/c of ongoing nose bleeds since the birth of DS back in August of 2007. The doctor did a complete bloodwork up...She said that everything came back Within Normal Limits except my LDL was a bit high.

Today I went back to the doctor for something else and requested a copy of my workup....

My TSH level is 4.604 which is above normal according to LabCorps "range" of between .45 - 4.5. My Thyroxine (T4) level was 5.3. I was under the impression that most endocrinologists say that any TSH level above 3 is considered hypothyroid.

If you are on medication for hypothyroid what were your TSH and T4 levels?

I essentially have every symptom of hypothyroid...it would explain a lot.

Im a little annoyed with the GP b/c even if my levels were normal she never really addressed any of my other issues that I told her about.

Im going to make an appointment with an Endocrinologist and see what they do. Can anyone recommend someone in the Smithtown area?

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

Heather I am hypo when I was diagnosised my levels were 45! Funny thing the first time I went to the doc about it (knowing that my dad has it) she told me I was depressed (I was getting married in 3 months) and she blew me off. I was a mess at 45. I would call her and ask WT F? I have to look for the number of my old endo they dropped my insurance so I know longer see them.

But you are correct anything over 2.5 my endo ups my meds.

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

Every time I went for bloodwork it came back normal and they said the same thing as PP--I was depressed. I jsut KNEW it was my thyroid.

I took matters into my own hands and with the help of a naturpathic doctor have been managing my hypothroidism naturally and I feel amazing!

I was just diagnosed a Type 2 diabetic, and plan on doing the same.

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

This depression link is interesting...

I took medication for depression/anxiety many years ago after a tough time in my life. I wasnt planning on going back after Caden was born. But I went back on them this past spring....

So maybe there is a link..

I was looking online and found that high LDL could be caused by hypothyroid. My Cholesterol has always been fine...additionally I just cant lose any weight. Ive never had a problem before. I had gained a ton of weight before I got pregnant with Caden. Maybe that would explain that too...

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

I am 100% positive that there is a link between hypothyroidism and depression. Before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism I fell into a deep depression. I was in college at the time--I stopped going to class, started sleeping all day, and finished out the semester with a 0.7 GPA. I was put on Paxil, but it didn't help much. I started to have suicidal thoughts. Eventually they thought to check my thyroid levels and my TSH was through the roof.

Find an endocrinologist who will give you a reasonable number to shoot for. My old Dr. told me that when I was 4.4, I was normal. I didn't feel normal. My new endocrinologist likes to see TSH numbers below 3.

Best of luck and feel better!!!

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

Heather, you need to see my endo, even though he is in Garden City.
He's amazing and it took me forever to find him!
His name is Dr. Vaswani and he is the type of doctor that actually LISTENS to you, doesn't just look at you as a # on a piece of paper.
My levels were 12 when my GP diagnosed me about 6 years ago. I was having a hard time losing weight, my hair was thinning and I was pretty down in the dumps. I thought it was just a tough time. I looked up the condition and found that these symptoms are normal for someone who has hypothyroidism.
And every person feels best at a different level, and when I was TTC my levels had to be even lower and close to 1 I believe.
I am going in a few weeks for a follow up just to make sure, but I have a feeling I need an increase, which is common in the winter. I am currently on 125 mcg of synthroid.

Good luck, if you have any other questions, let me know.

Re: Thyroid Blood Work...

Hey Heather

For the last 12 years I've had hypothroidism which I saw a GP for. Recently I went to an Endo and it turns out I have Hashimoto's disease instead. Similiar to Hypo in that it is the same medication but a slighly different reason.

At my recent blood work I was taking .15mg of synthroid.

My T4 was 11.8
MY TSH was 1.727

My endo actually then upped my dossage to .175 because my T4 was on the higher end of normal.
I suggest going to an endo. I have a great one in Smithtown if you are interested.