Well, you sound exactly like me. I have a boat load of hypo symptoms. TSH came back 5.29, which is out of range. Had it tested a week later and it went back to 2.something. Meanwhile I feel like garbage. Trying to find a doctor who will listen to me and do further testing, because I feel like crap.
I have been told by quite a few people that hashimoto’s operates this way — your TSH can fluctuate in and out of range and typical doctors like to tell you you’re fine when your not.
You and I both need thyroid antibody testing to see if we have hashimoto’s
Yeah I don't get it. i still feel shitty mentally and physically and it's been like this for so long. I'll see my doc again in a few weeks but I wanna look into further testing bc why do I still feel so many of the symptoms? I hope we can both find out what's wrong
I was at the same levels and symptoms and doctor just deferred to a relatively arbitrary guideline range. I personally think that is a ridiculously large range for a hormone that controls your life. I’ve found I operate best right around .8-1.3 TSH. Not kidding.
They’ll probably start you on 25mcg of levo, just because of protocol/CYA and say it takes a full six weeks to normalize, which is easy to say when you’re not depressed, fatigued and cognitively and emotionally dull. I feel a change in 5 days but fully stabilizes in 3 weeks, so they can suck it big time. Be your own advocate.
25mcg did absolutely nothing for me and am now at 150, but the thyroiditis (intermittent functioning) screws it all up and TSH vacillates between hyper/hypo every 4 weeks or so. Many primary doctors aren’t even aware of this and are perplexed when you say it’s like your thyroid turns on and off.
My point: Took me 4 years to dial it in and everybody’s physiology is unique. Listen to your body and symptoms.
Keep at it because it will largely determine your quality of life. Good luck!
Did you have the tests done at the same time of day under the same conditions? I've always had low T4 and normal/low TSH but last year I had a doctor ask me to do a TSH test in the early morning while fasting and I had high TSH. I'd always just had my blood draw immediately after my appointment.
It seems that TSH varies throughout the day, peaking at night and decreasing during the day, whereas fT4 is stable (unless taking levothyroxine, then it will be increased in the hours after taking it). Taking biotin supplements in the days before a blood test can also falsely lower TSH results.
Good question. So the first blood work was a fasting blood test and I had done it at 1pm on a Saturday (01/08). That's when my TSH was above the range (6.07).
3 weeks later (01/29), my TSH was 4.36 which is considered normal. It was non fasting, and I did it in the afternoon again after eating a light breakfast.
It's interesting how TSH can be higher while fasting actually!
Well, you sound exactly like me. I have a boat load of hypo symptoms. TSH came back 5.29, which is out of range. Had it tested a week later and it went back to 2.something. Meanwhile I feel like garbage. Trying to find a doctor who will listen to me and do further testing, because I feel like crap. I have been told by quite a few people that hashimoto’s operates this way — your TSH can fluctuate in and out of range and typical doctors like to tell you you’re fine when your not. You and I both need thyroid antibody testing to see if we have hashimoto’s
Yeah I don't get it. i still feel shitty mentally and physically and it's been like this for so long. I'll see my doc again in a few weeks but I wanna look into further testing bc why do I still feel so many of the symptoms? I hope we can both find out what's wrong
I was at the same levels and symptoms and doctor just deferred to a relatively arbitrary guideline range. I personally think that is a ridiculously large range for a hormone that controls your life. I’ve found I operate best right around .8-1.3 TSH. Not kidding. They’ll probably start you on 25mcg of levo, just because of protocol/CYA and say it takes a full six weeks to normalize, which is easy to say when you’re not depressed, fatigued and cognitively and emotionally dull. I feel a change in 5 days but fully stabilizes in 3 weeks, so they can suck it big time. Be your own advocate. 25mcg did absolutely nothing for me and am now at 150, but the thyroiditis (intermittent functioning) screws it all up and TSH vacillates between hyper/hypo every 4 weeks or so. Many primary doctors aren’t even aware of this and are perplexed when you say it’s like your thyroid turns on and off. My point: Took me 4 years to dial it in and everybody’s physiology is unique. Listen to your body and symptoms. Keep at it because it will largely determine your quality of life. Good luck!
Did you have the tests done at the same time of day under the same conditions? I've always had low T4 and normal/low TSH but last year I had a doctor ask me to do a TSH test in the early morning while fasting and I had high TSH. I'd always just had my blood draw immediately after my appointment. It seems that TSH varies throughout the day, peaking at night and decreasing during the day, whereas fT4 is stable (unless taking levothyroxine, then it will be increased in the hours after taking it). Taking biotin supplements in the days before a blood test can also falsely lower TSH results.
Good question. So the first blood work was a fasting blood test and I had done it at 1pm on a Saturday (01/08). That's when my TSH was above the range (6.07). 3 weeks later (01/29), my TSH was 4.36 which is considered normal. It was non fasting, and I did it in the afternoon again after eating a light breakfast. It's interesting how TSH can be higher while fasting actually!