Needs some help

Pam9210 · 03-04-2003, 11:31 AM

I am a 37 years old and last summer I stopped getting my periods and was having awful hot flashes. I thought I was going through the change of life early. My GYN ran some blood work and told me that I was hypothyroid and that I needed to see my primary dr. She also said my levels were high I think they were 7.9(TSH). I went to my dr. he said that that was not that high and put me on .50 mg of Levoxyl and told me to come back in month. I did he ran another test and my levels went down to 3.9 he told me that was good come back in 6 months. I went back last week and he ran some blood work and his nurse called and said that my levels were 7.6 and he wanted to increase my Levoxyl to .75. I have been having symptoms but just thought I was tired from being busy etc. In the beginning I asked my dr. to give me a referral to an endo. and he told me that is not necessary the can control this. So my question to anyone is what kind of doctors do you see and is 7.6 high? Should I demand to see a doctor that treats this or continue with my primary care dr.

Thanks
Pam

jannie_b · 03-04-2003, 10:38 PM

The new TSH reference ranges are 0.3 to 3.04. Please see my previous post. You could print out the press release and show it to your doc.

New TSH Reference Range

amshum · 03-05-2003, 03:23 AM

Well, according to the new levels, I think many people who thought they were fine are now out of range.

I was dx'd with Hypothyroid at age 16. I took the synthroid for about 2 years, and stopped around 18 or so. I wish I hadnt. When I finally had my TSH tested again at 22, my TSH was 64! My Internist told me that he feels my thyroid is pretty much dead.

Now it is within the normal old range with meds, but since I can't remember what it is exactly, I'm going to call my doc tomorrow and make sure I'm within the new range. (Thanks for posting that!!)

Seeing an endo isn't necessary unless the GP or Internist you're seeing isn't helping you with your problem. If you don't get the care you feel you need, then I suggest you go see another doctor, possibly endo!

If you're symptoms continue and you're within the current TSH range, then your symptoms could be steming from something else. This happened to me. Everyone thought everything was caused by my hypo-thyroid, when in fact it only contributed to it.

Good luck!

kellysms · 03-05-2003, 11:00 AM

It's very typical of hypothyroidism for patients to attribute their symptoms to being busy and tired. It sneaks up on you and you just gradually feel worse until you're miserable.

I was in grad school and also working when I was diagnosed and everyone around me was tired, so I thought I was just normal. When I went in for a routine physical and they did blood work, they could not even measure my TSH with their equipment, so they thought it was a lab error and asked me to come in again for another test. Same result. They were shocked I was functioning at all. It literally took years to bring my levels to where they should be.

7.6 is still too high, but your doctor seems to recognize that and is increasing your meds. I have my levels now below 1.0, and that's where I feel best. I wish you luck in feeling better and getting appropriate treatment. I think your primary care doc should be able to treat this, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to an internist or endo if he doesn't continue to adjust your medication to levels where you feel better.

Kelly

jannie_b · 03-05-2003, 07:36 PM

At this point, he seems to be doing the right things to get your hyopthyroidism under control. When you are first diagnosed, there is often a "trial and error" period when they get your dose right. My doc asked me to return 8 weeks after a change in dose to see how things are going and to repeat the TSH. Unless he or she has troubles getting you into the normal range, I don't think you need to see an endo.

7.6 is not a hugely high TSH, but it is certainly outside the normal range and it can certainly tire you out. Some women feel lousy at 4 but much better at 2. Because we all experience tiredness at some points in our lives, we don't realise how much it affects our lives when it is constant. I feel so great now that my TSH is about 1. I have lots of energy and only need "normal" amounts of sleep (7-8 hours).

Hope this helps. Be patient because thyroid replacement takes time to "kick in" so you just need to put up with the repeated doc visits.

Good luck to you!

Janet

Shel · 04-06-2003, 06:50 AM

I am newly diagnosed hypo and am on the same doese meds you'll be on. At least your doc is upping the dose for you! make sure they do an unltrasound of your thyroid. I have a "mass" on mine that is being looked at surgically- you can have cysts on your thyroid too that can cause this...(sigh) yet more cysts to think on huh?