Posted by KaraS on April 10, 2005, at 18:22:13
In reply to Re: My latest TSH level » KaraS, posted by tealady on April 9, 2005, at 5:54:52
Hi Jan,
> Kara what were your FT4 and FT3 (free levels?) Can you get them?
I doubt they even did those tests. This was a free clinic so you get the minimum. A couple of years ago I had a full panel done by a holistically oriented physician and all levels were normal. Nothing much has changed for me in terms of symptoms so I have a feeling all of my other thyroid tests would be normal. As soon as I have insurance, I will get more thorough testing though.
> TSH is influenced by too many things.. pdrugs I'd expect to influence, how exactly I've no idea, but I've seen some posters on the thyroid forum who seem to know about some of them...lots of things feedback to TSH..cortisol lowers it, aspirin, alcohol, your sleep, would affect it etc..That how it's supposed to work
Also, someone else posted to me that ADs can decrease free T3. I think you really do need to get more systemic testing to get the full picture of what's going on. I don't know why they only do thyroid testing in a vacuum.
> FT3 and Ft4 ain't perfect but at least they tell you the free levels in your blood...how the hormones work of course depends on the receptors and level of other things in your blood as well, sigh
>
> Staying on a beginning dose too long is a mistake made by many.
> Whether one can "get away" with it depends on how the feedback works to the pit, hypothalamus..and yes, in theory, the TSH should reflect this..in practise it doesn't seem to in many.
>
> For me 50mcg felt like it totally shut down my own thyroid production..I went way more hypo.
> But I was too hypo to go and get a blood test at the time..or even work out what to do about it. So I stopped the meds and about a month later managed to crawl(literally) into an antiaging docs office..who has said she wisghes she had a photo of me then to do the before/after shots. I looked worse than the myxodema pics I've seen on the net.Wow, that does sound really bad. I've never been that hypo.
> You don't seem that bad :-))
>
> For some , adding a small amount of T4 or T3 can just augment their own thyroid with very little or no decrease in their own thyroid's output..lucky huh? ..apparently little feedback
>
> In theory I think I'd expect the increased small dose (yes, 50mcg is a small dose) should reduce your own thyroid's output by the same amount after about 12 weeks or so...so the TSH should be similar to before starting if that is the case...never heard of this happening though
>
> Usually most need a full replacement dose after a while..at least 100mcg t4..or 75 mcg T4 & 5mcg T4, minimum. Up to 200mcg T4 is pretty usual. A typical dose might be say 100mcg t4 and 7.5mcgT3. Just giving you a comparison here.
> Your final dose should depend on your test results AND your symptoms, includings thiing like basal temperature, pulse, blood pressure etc.
> It's probably best to aim for a TSH of around the 1.0 for starters and see how you feel from there. Test your TSH, Ft4, Ft3 first thing in the morning before meds for "best" results (highest TSH then)..oh and day 14 of cycle maybe too.(estrogen binds thyroid hormones).
>Yes, I think that aiming for a TSH of 1.0 makes sense. I have taken the same dosage of thyroid hormone for over 6 years now. I've always continued to have hypo symptoms even when I took the Armour. I wish I could use the home tests that you send out to the labs. Unfortunately, in California you have to have a doctor's prescription to use these home tests. Most other states here allow it. I would have to use basal temperature, pulse and energy/mood level and anxiety levels as my only guides. I could purchase a blood pressure monitor as well.
The test I just had done was completed before I took my thyroid med that day.
> Zinc helps with thyroid hormone utilisation(which is how thyroid hormones work with receptors etc regardless of the levels)..small amounts like 8 - 15mcg a day,
> as does selenium say 75mcg a day etc.I'm covered in the zinc and selenium departments.
Thanks for all of your input, Jan. Hope you're doing well.
Kara
poster:KaraS
thread:481499
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050408/msgs/482498.html