Hypothyroidism
- Thread starter Little K
- Start date
Be aware Sieg that if you run bloods for your thyroid it could be in the 'normal' range but slower than it needs to be for your age and activity level. My ND helps me to keep my thyroid closer to the hyper side of the spectrum vs. the hypo side through the use of iodine and diet.
SEMPER FI
Exactly. My TSH is considered to be in the normal range because it's under 4.0 but for my age and lifestyle it's actually low. It doesn't show up anywhere on my bloods as "out of range" but my doctor knows my goals and my diligence with tracking. I'm very lucky to be able to pretty much tell him which blood test(s) I want to run and he gives me a script.
Burrr
Guest
My wife's DR does the same thing... just because Quest says its in range does not mean your Dr agrees. She gets the t3 t4 combo, I forget the dose but enough to put her just above the high end of normal</p><p> </p>SemperFi said:
Our thyroid function is determined by TSH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone. Our TSH is what produces T3 (three Iodine molecules) and T4 (four Iodine molecules). T4 is thyroxine and is produced in larger quantities than T3. T4 converts to T3. The way these 3 hormones work is that TSH is responsible for telling our bodies to make T3 and T4. Doctors use TSH levels to see how hard our bodies are working at this. What's important to understand off the bat is that TSH levels and thyroid function are opposites. They work inversely. If your thyroid is under performing, your level of TSH will rise. If your thyroid is over performing, TSH will lower. It's not like getting on the treadmill and more minutes spent running equals more calories burned. Less is more here.
The term "normal range" is quite broad. Usually, in most labs, it's around 0.4 to 4.0 mU/L, though I switched labs and normal is now 0.5 to 4.5. My friend who is a phlebotomist often sees normal range up to 5.0 mU/L. However, within this "normal range" there is a preferred normal that many primary care doctors, including my own, like to aim for. This is 0.5 to 2.0. When I first got tested back in September 2016, my TSH came in at 3.43 which was on the higher end of the normal range. This indicated that my thyroid was functioning at the lower end of the optimal range. (Remember, higher level means lower function.) When it comes to TSH, a low normal level is generally sought, which explains the 0.5 to 2.0 range my doctor is looking to keep me in. In September, my free T4 (unbound to protein) was also low. It showed 1.0 ng/dL on a "normal range" of 0.8 to 1.8. Now with T4 (and T3, because 4 converts to 3,) low is low and high is high. There is no opposite meaning here like with TSH.
So with both my TSH and free T4 results showing low thyroid function, my doctor started me on the lowest dose of synthetic T4 available, 25mcg of levothyroxine. After 8 weeks on, my TSH went down to 2.81 and my free T4 up to 1.4, showing that my thyroid function improved.
I hope this all made sense and cleared up some questions.
Mister A
Guest
Excellent information. +2.
I know studies are showing that the .4 or .5 range that is deemed the "low end" is actually lower than preferred. Just like moving the high end down the low end is coming up. The issue is that few people complain that they have an overactive thyroid. As a teen I was wrestling 103 pounds as a sophmore. Not a hair on my nuts. dr acknowledged over active thyroid and i had growth hormone treatments. Kicked me into puberty.
Now as an old man I have a reading of .94 I am beginning to believe more that this is pushing the bottom end as well.
I got my routine blood work results back last week. My thyroid seems to have taken a plunge. My TSH came in at 5.82 mU/L and my Free T4 is still only at 1.0 ng/dL. My doctor is concerned there is more than just hypothyroidism at play so I am going for an ultrasound of my thyroid. Hopefully everything comes back normal on that. If not, we will be testing for anti-thyroid antibodies to rule out any autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto's or Graves'.
Mister A
Guest
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5222856/
This study and many more have shown the hormonal effects contest prep has on natural competitors. Decreased thyroid function is one of the things we expect to see in women competitors during contest prep.
Adhering to the thoroughness of your physician is paramount, of course. Only after more threatening possibilities are eliminated can we attempt to conclude the decrease is the result of significant reductions in body fat in a short period of time.
Thanks for sharing this study. It was an eye-opening and educational read that I'm sure I'll look to again in the future. For now, prep is continuing as is because I'm seeing great progress. Ultrasound is Saturday morning and my belief is that nothing is wrong with me. I'm just kicking ass at getting lean.
My dosage of levothyroxine has been increased to 50mcg for the next 12 weeks. Working on finding a maintenance dose.