borderline high?

~*andrea-J*~ · 11-05-2003, 01:59 PM

My doc said I am borderline high for hypothyroidism! he said we could treat or leave it untreated for now and just watch my numbers. What do you guys think? I also get dizzy spells and sometimes my heart pounds hard! I have an appointment next week and I would REALLY , REALLY appreciate some advice or oppinions!

thanx

Rosie1028 · 11-05-2003, 04:41 PM

Andrea,
i am new to the whole thyroid thing, but I wanted to bump you so maybe someone could answer your question.

Good luck

martini · 11-05-2003, 05:45 PM

I wish my dr would have treated me when I was borderline high. I was symptomatic, otherwise I never would have had the test in the first place. I would vote for treatment. Its relatively cheap (esp if you have insurance), very easy, and you will probably feel SO much healthier.

ericschick · 11-07-2003, 04:27 AM

You can read my post : Are you Sure you have PCOS? It tells all about how much better I feel being treated for hypothyroid even though I am only considered to be on the normal high side. I immediately felt a difference the first day! Like the one before me said it is cheap: I pay $16.68 a mo. without insurance! So it is well worth the money to try. Check your numbers and beware that they "normal" range has been adjusted by the ACCE-the endocrinology people- to be a normal level of .34 -3.04 not the .5 - 5.0. Always ask for your levels and continue to request treatment until you are at a level that you feel good in! This was the best decision I have had a doctor make yet!

prunepie · 11-07-2003, 04:39 AM

erics chick is totally right...... some drs said my thryoid was fine..but i knew it wasnt and i am treating it...... everything she said is soo true and accurate.... can iask what your numbers were and the ranges? i say definately treat bc most likely you are definately hypo and not just borderline bc lab ranges are the old values...good luck xox jenn

~*andrea-J*~ · 11-07-2003, 01:23 PM

my tsh was 6.060

INTERPRETATIONS:
normal= 0.35-5.0
borderline 5.0-10.0
high >10.0

prunepie · 11-07-2003, 06:55 PM

andrea you are not borderline . you are hypo....... omg you must treat it....... if he isnt willing to...get someone else!!! did he do a t3 and t4..those are so important too..i am so glad you ahve found out....... if you get a good dr that treats it correctly..you can be feeling so much better..xoxox jenn

prunepie · 11-07-2003, 06:57 PM

ps anything now over a 3.2 i beleive is definately hypo.......hogwash..i know people at a 5 who feel like they are dying..thenget down to a 2 and feel great.... be proactive girl and remember to check out www.thyroid.about.com for more info....yeah soooo happy you are getting on the rigght path xoxox jenn

bananasmom · 11-08-2003, 07:35 AM

Quote:

andrea you are not borderline . you are hypo....... omg you must treat it....... if he isnt willing to...get someone else!!! did he do a t3 and t4..those are so important too..i am so glad you ahve found out....... if you get a good dr that treats it correctly..you can be feeling so much better..

ITA!!!

And, have them test your anti-thyroid antibodies (many of us here are auto-immune, those numbers may be raised as well). As for optimum TSH, I feel pretty crappy until I get below 2... you are clearly hypo!

Joanne cira 1973 · 11-08-2003, 08:07 PM

The speciallists kept telling me my thyroid was borderline for the last 6 years. I had been diagnosed with Graves disease at the time. Little did I know until I moved from Victoria, Aust to Queensland, Aust that I WAS NOT borderline Graves anymore. In fact I am seriously ill with Hashimotto's. My new RE, when I transferred my med file to him, automatically ordered full bloodworks to be done - that's what picked up my thyroid.

Well my result for the anti-thyroid antibodies result is 2840 instead of less than 60.

End result - RE & I are still working on a stragegy. If only I had gotten treatment sooner. Small comfort telling myself, atleast I'm getting it now; I've lost those last few years to being ill.

Moral: DONT WAIT until its TOO LATE.

~*andrea-J*~ · 11-08-2003, 11:43 PM

Ok so now I am totally crying here! I just was reading how the values have changed and now that means I am not borderline I HAVE hypothyroidism! My free t4 was 13.4 but I dont see a t3......I dont even know what the next step for me is to take or what to do!

cdcm · 11-08-2003, 11:54 PM

Andrea... I know... it just plain sucks to have any sort of disease or syndrome... but you can get treatment... and you can probably get this under MAJOR control...

I have Hashi's... which means my body acts HYPO... but my TSH is totally normal... it took 15 years to get a dx...

So... it sounds like your dr. is willing to treat it... since he said you could or couldn't... He's wrong about you being borderline... you're HYPO... it's also important to realize that a TSH of 6 for you doesn't feel the same as a 6 for someone else...

In your case... I would OPT for the treatment... which means you will be taking a thyroid replacement medication... I take levoxyl... for a while I was also taking another med... for some reason the name escapes me... it caused my heart to race... YUCK... but then my dr. and decided that I'd quit taking it... everything is MUCH better!!!!!

I feel SOOOOOOO much better...

You will also want to probably address your diet and exercise... you don't need to go agro... and perhaps you're already doing a good job.. (but chances are if you're feeling HYPO... ie exhausted all the time... you might be skipping exercise... us thyroid girls... usually do better on a low carb diet (same as PCOS girls!... 2 birds... one stone) and I've found mild exercise to be good... like walking...

Don't worry.. you're on your way to feeling sooooooooooo much better...

A GREAT thyroid website... http://about.com Go to health and then thryoid... TONS of info....

Take care.... and keep getting rest....!

~*andrea-J*~ · 11-09-2003, 12:02 AM

Thank you, thank you so much! I just recently got dx with pcos and trying to deal with that is hard enough and now we throw the thyroid problem into the mix! I have been low caring ever since I found out I have pcos and so far it has been great! As for the excersize , like you said I am tired all the time, but I will get my doc to give me some sort of treatment and hopefully things will get better! again thank you for your help!

cdcm · 11-09-2003, 12:40 AM

I know the exercise is really hard... try just getting out and just walk around the block... the fresh air will do you good... sometimes just getting out helps with the exhaustion... but you really are tired... it's NOT mental... so don't push too crazy... but if you work your way up... you'll soon be able to handle more... Again... I stress...don't even attempt to go extreme with exercise... if you do... at this point... you'll need major recovery time... 'cause it just poops you out!!!

You're probably finding that the low carbing is helping your energy a bit... YES????

Call your dr. first thing Monday... tell him/her that you would like to get treatment for your thyroid... and see if he'll call in a thyroid med to your drugstore so you can start right away...

Also... if you're not already seeing an endocrinologist... ask for the referal (I'm assuming you have insurance)... An endocrinologist will be more educated about your thyroid and PCOS...

Hang in there... you are totally on your way...

~*andrea-J*~ · 11-09-2003, 12:46 AM

I am going to get all my labs retested on the third day of my next period , and my doc said we would discuss treatment for my thyroid then. I also just printed out an article that says what the new levels of tsh are concidered normal to take to him. I am going to a gynocologist on wednesday as well. This may be a stupid question but in canada are there endocrinologists or are gyno and endo's the same thing here? Not sure if you know!

Thank you SO much for your help , you have been great.thanx for taking time to help me!