Comments on: The Focus on Thyroid Lab Test Results is Failing Patients

By: Deborah

Deborah

The TSH test alone doesn’t tell you much. My daughter (an RN) had graves and her TSH test came back, just fine. She insisted on the FT 3 and FT 4 and sure enough, graves!! Now she just gets tested whenever she feels like it because we know how we feel.

I really got tired of the doctor’s claiming I’m okay on not enough Synthroid. I finally stopped going( 2008) because I found a OTC supplement that works for me.

By: 1Cedar

1Cedar

In reply to JD.

The idea is to use the blood TSH level, as well as visible clinical signs, and the patient’s report of their symptoms, as sources of evidence for diagnosis. Your TSH level won’t be high if everything’s working as it should.

Once treatment begins, though, low TSH isn’t to be relied on as evidence that you’re well.
Medication with Levothyroxine, synthetic T4, suits most people. However, those users who can’t break down T4 to its useable form, T3, or can’t get T3 into the cells, won’t trigger high levels of TSH, because TSH responds to what’s in the blood. It doesn’t tell us what’s going on in our brain or liver or other essential parts.

You can have low TSH, plenty of blood T4, and still be starving.

By: JD

So how do I KNOW if I am hypothyroid? If my labs are normal, how do I KNOW that the symptoms aren’t from some other disease, like a vitamin deficiency or poor sleep? To just assume and start taking different thyroid medications seems a bit nuts. I’m sure speed would make me feel better too, but that doesn’t mean I should do it. It’s all so confusing!