Confused About The Tsh Guidelines, Are My Levels Good?

[answerseeker]

Mine is 2.4 is that good? Kaiser uses the old range. Their range is 0.1-5.5

[IrishHeart]

Mine lingers between 2.1 and 2.4 (since DX and off gluten, but before that, it swung from 5.3 to 0.1 and they gave me drugs to try and control

it all. Just made things worse)

 

I have no hypo- or hyper-thyroid symptoms any more, do not take medication and my doc considers that TSH range ...GREAT. 

 

You are in the normal range, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, which is 0.3 to 3. 

[nvsmom]

It really varies... How do you feel with a TSH of 2.4? I personally did not feel well when my TSH was around that high. When mine was a 2.6, I was achy, dry skinned, constipated and cold (temp was 96 to lw 97F). I did not feel much different than when my TSH was almost 15.... But that is just me, others might be fine with a TSH of 2.4.

My lab's range is 0.2-6.0. I now take 150mcg of natural desiccated thyroid, and my TSH is belw a 1 and my free T3 is at the top of the reference range, and I feel much better.

If you are unsure of your TSH, check your free T3 and free T4 levels, they should be 50-75% of you lab's normal reference range, perhaps even higher f you take NDT or cytomel.

Best wishes.

[IrishHeart]

Yes,Nicole makes a good point.  If you have hypo symptoms, the TSH number is just one variable.

Answerseeker,

You did not mention if you are having any symptoms, just your test results, so I was not sure.

 

If so, another  important test (according to the doc I see anyway) is the thyroid antibodies test.

Maybe have that done, too?

[nvsmom]

I forgot about thyroid antibodies! Thanks Irish.  That's another test to interpret with a grain of salt IMO. I am on a full replacement dose of thyroid meds and my TPO Ab is still in the normal range, although after one year gluten-free it went from the top of normal to 2/3 of normal.

[answerseeker]

I have symptoms except for the weight gain. I have lost weight and have always had a hard time keeping it on. My gyn ordered the tsh because I had a 17 day menstrual period.

I'm extremely fatigued, heart rate is high, and blood pressure was high. Also my alkaline phosphate level is really low and when I looked up causes for that hypothyroidism was listed as a cause.

[answerseeker]

Oh and yes I'm constantly constipated which I thought 3 weeks of being off gluten would fix but I still have it

[answerseeker]

Oh I just looked it up. Weight loss is a symptom of hyperthyroid. Also my heart rate was 109. I emailed my dr and asked for those tests

[IrishHeart]

Hon, 3 weeks is a very short time for symptom resolution. Be patient, as it may take 6 months or longer.

 

Also, if you were HYPERthyroid, the TSH would be around 0.1-0.8, not 2.4  You are not hyperthyroid.

 

The symptoms you are describing are also celiac symptoms. ( I had all the ones you describe, too) If your TSH is 2.4, I strongly   doubt those symptoms are from autoimmune thyroiditis, but rather, from being malnourished from the celiac.

 

Give it some time for those symptoms to resolve before you start thinking

other autoimmune diseases are occurring. Many of them will straighten themselves out in time.

[answerseeker]

ok thank you, just so tired of being sick and exhausted. it's been rough

[IrishHeart]

ok thank you, just so tired of being sick and exhausted. it's been rough

 

 

I know, hon ((hugs)) I have walked in your shoes and I know how hard it is to feel so lousy for so long and to want to just feel better

RIGHT NOW, darn it! .

 

But I promise you, it gets better.

Hang in there.  We  all understand.

 

Have you tried probiotics for that big C--constipation?  Turned my gut around (and stopped the alternating C and D. which I had my entire life) I HIGHLY recommend them.

[answerseeker]

yes just started taking them

[IrishHeart]

ok, sweets..good ..now, just stay the course. Every day...is a healing day. I promise. 

big hugs, IH

[Adalaide]

My first thyroid test after I went gluten free was 2.33, a year later it was 1.86. I have also had the antibody tests and such and everything was in the normal range so I don't think I'd be worried about a 2.4 as long as all of the tests are normal.

 

And yeah... 3 weeks? I was such a mess that early. Sure I felt different, and noticeably better but that is nothing in terms of healing time. I'm not saying this to worry you about a timeline or anything, but it took a full year before I was going on a (sort of) regular schedule once a day. That isn't to say that the horrid C and D didn't stop sooner, but it just takes time for a body to adjust to what is a new normal for it and to heal the damage that was done. Give it time, you'll get there.

 

And don't stress. You'll just give yourself wrinkles and who needs those!

[IrishHeart]

 

 

And don't stress. You'll just give yourself wrinkles and who needs those!

 

and don't I always say this?  what's the point of worrying, you just get wrinkles and who needs those?  yes, I do!!

You should see me now, almost 3 years post-DX...I look like I have been to a plastic surgeon...wrinkle free! 

[nvsmom]

I have symptoms except for the weight gain. I have lost weight and have always had a hard time keeping it on. My gyn ordered the tsh because I had a 17 day menstrual period.

I'm extremely fatigued, heart rate is high, and blood pressure was high. Also my alkaline phosphate level is really low and when I looked up causes for that hypothyroidism was listed as a cause.

 

Have you had your blood checked? I bet you are anemic - 17 days is a long time,  Was it a heavy flow? I once had super long, and extremely heavy periods; it turned out I had thrombocytopenia (ITP) which means that I had an autoimmune attack against my platelets (which are responsible for clotting). Other symptoms included extremely easy bruising and petechiae (tiny red dots/hemorrhages) on my arms and legs, as well as severe anemia.  If you have those symptoms, or seem to be menstruating more often than not, see you doctor about a platelet check... you might want to check your iron, ferritin, B12, and RBC anyways.

 

Hope you feel better sooner rather than later, but I do agree with Irish (again), three weeks in is really early in your recovery. Best wishes.

[answerseeker]

I'm waiting for bloodwork to come back because I do have 3 bruises that came from nowhere. One really ugly one on my arm and I have no idea how it got there! That alerted my ob/gyn and she ordered some tests. When I had my son he was born with very low platelet counts so I'm curious to see the outcome.

My ferritin was low before going gluten free and now it went up to 34 so they say its ok. Iron was 80

[answerseeker]

Yes it was heavy. My husband made sure I ate red meat and drank red wine and took extra iron so that probably helped.

I was in the hospital in June for a severe asthma attack and the meds they had me on may have messed my cycle up

[nvsmom]

Has your son's counts come up?

 

Good luck with the blood work. Let us know how it goes, okay? 

[IrishHeart]

The more you tell us, the more you sound like me--and Nicole---and so many other women on here. The heavy bleeding, the anemia, etc.

 

Hon, give it some time to turn around. Check the B-12, folate and Vit D levels when the labs come back. Those deficiencies, along with a Vit K deficiency can also cause bruising, but eating green leafy vegs, broccoli, brussel sprouts, prunes should get that back up. I often looked like I had gone 10 rounds with the champ.

Docs looked at the hubs suspiciously. 

 

Unless I do something silly to bang myself somewhere (which happens often 'cause I'm not paying attention and going too quickly)  I hardly ever have a bruise now. 

 

Just know this: every day is a healing day. Hang in there. 

[answerseeker]

Ok here are the thyroid results. Looks normal to me

TSH 2.42

t3 total 106

Free T4 1.2

TpoAB <10

IrishHeart did you have a fast heart rate from celiac? Is it caused by malabsorption? My dr said it could be from anemia but my iron level was 80. Ferritin was at 22 but its gone up now to 34 in the last 3 weeks

[nvsmom]

Do you have the normal reference ranges?

[answerseeker]

Free T4 ref range 0.8- 1.7 mine is 1.2

T3 range is 50-170 mine is 106

And TpoAB is <=35 mine is <10

For the other tests mentioned

B12 was 482 Kaiser uses a low ref range of >200 but I've read 482 is fairly low

Ferritin was 34

Vit D 38ml (20-79)

My folate was actually high >24 the reference range they use is odd. It just says 3-

[IrishHeart]

My heart races from gluten exposure.

Does your heart race constantly?

[answerseeker]

no off and on. my dr. visit for followup after the hospital stay it was at a normal 85 then this last appointment last week it was 109. In the hospital it was anywhere from 125-130 but I was on a lot of breathing treatments.

 

My heart races from gluten exposure.

Does your heart race constantly?

 

it also has an irregular pattern. they took like 3 EKG's in the hospital because the pattern was all over the place. I'v had bloodwork done for my heart and it's fine. My son, 8yrs old, gets the same thing. He was hospitalized at 18months old and they couldn't get his heart rate down. They admitted him for 2 days and 3 nights. He was also born with low platelet count (ok now) and was only 5lbs. My other 3 children were healthy as can be.  Makes me think I've passed this along to him