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Thyroid lab result question

Stacy0w

By Stacy0w
in Related Issues & Disorders

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Stacy0w Enthusiast
Stacy0w
Posted

My mom has hashimotos and my grandma had thyroid issues as did her mom. I have tons of symptoms so I asked to be tested. They just ran three tests. All were normal, but now I'm wondering what normal is.  As I said I have tons of issues.  Hbir loss mostly at temples, lack of umph, so tired, waking up middle of sleeping and can't go back to sleep, feeling cold, dry skin, don't want to do much of anything really. I'm wondering if I could still have thyroid problems but "normal" labs. TSH 2.06, free T3 2.6, free T4 1.6. Any thoughts?  

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

What are the lab ranges?  But, honestly, your doctor would need to run a thyroid antibodies test to see if you have autoimmine Thyroiditis (Hashimoto's if hypo or Graves if hyper).   Are you sure gluten has not gotten into your diet?   Maybe ask for another celiac panel.  What about perimenopause?  Have those hormones been tested?  

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Stacy0w Enthusiast
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not sure about lab range only that all results fell in their normal range. Could I have hashimotos and have "normal" labs with the exception of the antibodies test they didn't run?  I haven't had my hormones checked. I'm fairly certain about gluten. I don't eat out and have a gluten free home including cleaners, lotions, etc. 

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Irene Joanne Explorer
Irene Joanne
Posted
33 minutes ago, Stacy0w said:

not sure about lab range only that all results fell in their normal range. Could I have hashimotos and have "normal" labs with the exception of the antibodies test they didn't run?  I haven't had my hormones checked. I'm fairly certain about gluten. I don't eat out and have a gluten free home including cleaners, lotions, etc. 

I have within range thyroid blood work- yet my thyroid antibodies were really high.... And I definitely have lots of symptoms. I'm scheduled to see a thyroid specialist next week to talk about the high TPO levels. Exciting thing they're starting to go down since going gluten free. 

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Twenty years ago, my thyroid lab ranges were normal, but I had a slightly enlarged thyroid with nodules which caused my doctor to order an antibodies test (plus, my Mom had Graves).    My TPO antibodies were over 2,000 and anything over 35 was considered high!  My doctor put me on a tiny dose of Armour.   Over the years,  my dosage increased as my thyroid continued to fail.  Just before my celiac disease diagnosis, it was wildly swinging  (hyper to hypo).  Three years of being gluten free?  Thyroid stable (sadly, destroyed) but no enlargement or nodules left.   I have not asked for TPO testing in a long time.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
Stacy0w Enthusiast
Stacy0w
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Posted

Thanks ladies for your input. Maybe I truly don't have a thyroid problem, but knowing what tests to ask for to make sure is important. I've learned through all this celiac stuff that I need to do my homework before I go to the dr. Since my mom has hashimotos and I've mentioned that you'd think a dr would double check that, but to this point that hasn't happened. Now I know what to ask for though!

 

 

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Stacy0w Enthusiast
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On February 28, 2016 at 8:03 PM, Irene Joanne said:

I have within range thyroid blood work- yet my thyroid antibodies were really high.... And I definitely have lots of symptoms. I'm scheduled to see a thyroid specialist next week to talk about the high TPO levels. Exciting thing they're starting to go down since going gluten free. 

How'd your appt go?  My moms hashis has gotten a lot better since going gluten free. She is taking a smaller dose than she has in the 30 yrs she's taken meds!

 

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Irene Joanne Explorer
Irene Joanne
Posted
1 hour ago, Stacy0w said:

How'd your appt go?  My moms hashis has gotten a lot better since going gluten free. She is taking a smaller dose than she has in the 30 yrs she's taken meds!

 

My appointment went okay. I guess I wanted answers because I've still been ill a lot- yet all he really said is get your thyroid levels checked every six months for now because I am at high risk of needing treatment at some point. My antibodies have gone down some in the last few months being gluten free- so hopefully that keeps getting better. I was on a low dose of thyroid meds since last summer, but two weeks after going gluten free I started having chest pains. After five weeks of the chest pains I finally figured out on my own that the thyroid meds were causing it. Chest pains stopped within a few days of not taking synthroid. I guess my stomach was finally absorbing the medication and it was more than I needed. Sucks that a doctor couldn't figure it out but I had to on my own. 

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
3 hours ago, Irene Joanne said:

My appointment went okay. I guess I wanted answers because I've still been ill a lot- yet all he really said is get your thyroid levels checked every six months for now because I am at high risk of needing treatment at some point. My antibodies have gone down some in the last few months being gluten free- so hopefully that keeps getting better. I was on a low dose of thyroid meds since last summer, but two weeks after going gluten free I started having chest pains. After five weeks of the chest pains I finally figured out on my own that the thyroid meds were causing it. Chest pains stopped within a few days of not taking synthroid. I guess my stomach was finally absorbing the medication and it was more than I needed. Sucks that a doctor couldn't figure it out but I had to on my own. 

Six months?  Usually, with a thyroid medication change or a change in lab results, your doctor should re-check in six weeks (google what endo association guidelines say).  I had thyroid testing (excluding TPO antibodies) done every six weeks when I was first diagnosed until everything stablized (the same applied after my celiac disease diagnosis).    If you are still having symptoms, you should go in sooner than six months!   Even if you are not supplementing with thyroid hormone replacement, you can swing hyper.   

Read this article about whether you should skip your thyroid meds in the morning in order to get an accurate lab result.  Mary Shomon is a trustworthy resource.

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Irene Joanne Explorer
Irene Joanne
Posted
1 hour ago, cyclinglady said:

Six months?  Usually, with a thyroid medication change or a change in lab results, your doctor should re-check in six weeks (google what endo association guidelines say).  I had thyroid testing (excluding TPO antibodies) done every six weeks when I was first diagnosed until everything stablized (the same applied after my celiac disease diagnosis).    If you are still having symptoms, you should go in sooner than six months!   Even if you are not supplementing with thyroid hormone replacement, you can swing hyper.   

Read this article about whether you should skip your thyroid meds in the morning in order to get an accurate lab result.  Mary Shomon is a trustworthy resource.

Open Original Shared Link

 

I agree- but it's hard to find a thyroid doctor that agrees? The doctor doesn't believe I would swing from hypo to hyper because I had a hyperactive thyroid when 17 and the meds I took for that made me hypo active. Doctors theory is that there isn't enough thyroid left to become hyperactive. My symptoms disagree.... 

Thanks for the link- I have read stuff by her before. Doctor also wasn't worried about the TPO level because he claims lot of people have high TPO without any problems at all. Plus he said the TPO levels go up and down a lot- if I got tested twice in one day- my levels could be quite different. . 

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  • 4 months later...
1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I have been reading books about thyroid and have discovered that many people have "normal" lab results that have thyroid trouble.  I highly recommend Suzy Cohen's  book Thyroid Healthy.     A full thyroid panel includes:  TSH, T3, T4, Reverse T3, Reverse T4.  The TPO antibody test, and one other antibody test that I don't know the name of.  I had slipped through the diagnosis cracks until I made a diet mistake.  I am glad they finally caught it.  Please read Suzy Cohen's book or look up her articles.  Suzy Cohen is a pharmacist who experienced thyroid battle herself.  She was told that she was depressed and prescribed anti-depressants.  She believed that her doctor was wrong and kept looking for someone that could help her.  Her before and after pictures were amazing with pictures taken 10 years apart, in which she looked older in the earliest taken picture.  Isabelle Wentz is another pharmacist who went through this and wrote a book. I don't remember the name of her book, but I enjoy her facebook posts.   One last book is called, Why Do I still Have Thyroid Symptoms?  When My Lab tests Are Normal?.  This book is by Datis Karrazian DHSc, DC, MS.  I found Suzy Cohen's book to be in my language, she seemed like my best friend.  She had been in a similar spot and got better!  I felt that Datis Karrazian  gave a more detailed account of the thyroid, problems and remedies.  Both were helpful and I am being treated with herbs as a first attempt to solve my thyroid issues.

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  • 3 weeks later...
1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted
On 2/27/2016 at 4:33 PM, cyclinglady said:

What are the lab ranges?  But, honestly, your doctor would need to run a thyroid antibodies test to see if you have autoimmine Thyroiditis (Hashimoto's if hypo or Graves if hyper).   Are you sure gluten has not gotten into your diet?   Maybe ask for another celiac panel.  What about perimenopause?  Have those hormones been tested?  

Thanks we did run the antibody test.  Upon retesting the thyroid had made improvement it came out okay.  I did make a mistake and had soy, which evidently triggers my celiac.  I took it about 200 days!

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
1 hour ago, 1desperateladysaved said:

Thanks we did run the antibody test.  Upon retesting the thyroid had made improvement it came out okay.  I did make a mistake and had soy, which evidently triggers my celiac.  I took it about 200 days!

Are you saying that the soy you consumed was contaminated with gluten?  Or that you have developed a soy intolerance?  When was the last time you had a celiac antibodies panel?  

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