Posting New Thyroid Lab Results - What are they telling me?
in [Thyroid]
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From: CK on 4 May 2008 19:12 Gail, You gave me a lot to think about here. Thank you!! I'm going to try to respond to your email systematically here... T-3 Uptake: Of the list of reasons that T-3 update may be high (due to a lack of TBG), the use of estrogen and underactive thyroid jump out at me. I use Estrace (form of estrogen cream) 2x/day for a skin condition I have (lichen sclerosis). I suppose that could explain the levels... Free T-4: You did a GREAT job of explaining why the Free T4 test is preferred and how it differs from the old tests. Thank you so much for explaining that so well! TSH: I'm like you in that I tend to feel amazingly great at .8. I'm still not there but am getting there slowly. I can't wait to see my labs taken last Wednesday! Total T3: It's reassuring to know that low T3 could cause me to feel as bad as I was feeling. I'm also curious to see whether this number came up as a result of switching to Armour. I don't see how it couldn't! Thyroglobulin: Wow...I had no idea why my doc had tested me for these. We discussed that I wanted him to retest my antibodies test. I assumed that he forgot that I wanted the Anti-TPO run and went ahead and ran the Thyroglobulin and Thyroglobulin Antibodies. So...some cancers result in hight levels of thyroglobulin? Lord, I hope that doesn't mean that there is a cancer lurking. *deeep breath* Is cancer the only reason that docs usually measure this? I really just hope that my doc is qualified to interpret the results of the tests in a competent manner. You asked whether I was experiencing high and low symptoms at the same time...as I recall I was only feeling the low, low, low thyroid symptoms. I had experienced being too high in august while on Synthroid and remember that feeling. Yuck. To make matters interesting I also have other hormones that are out of whack: progesterone (low), DHEA (low), Testosterone (low)...and more. It seems that my adrenals are also out of whack in addition to thyroid. I hope this doctor can look at the entire HPA axis/system (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals) and whatever else. I'm losing the ability to keep up with learning about what he's measuring as more and more systems and hormones get pulled into the mix. As a result I get very scared. So I really appreciate your help reading these labs! On at least two other boards/groups online I was told that the labs were "useless" because they weren't the exact ones they are used to seeing. That was very discouraging. It made me even more appreciative of your posting!! Again, thanks and Blessings! Christina
From: CK on 4 May 2008 19:17 Michael, > Now, you've done it. You've gone and made us all jealous of > such good numbers. I just wish that I felt great with labs like that! =) > You might want to look into why your thyroglobins are so > high. That could be to a number of things, including diet > (soy, broccoli, whatever), medcations (birth contol pills), > your own personal body chemistry (or time of the month). I'm thinking that it's probably the Estrogen that I use to treat a skin condition that I have. Of course I can't say for sure, but I do avoid soy and broccoli. The only goitrogenic food that I haven't cut out yet is Millet because that is the only grain I can eat right now. I guess I will have to see over time... Good thoughts, tho. Thank you! > I don't know why you switched to armour. Your tests will be > a bit harder to read on the armour. You may feel better > simply because of the higher thyroxin levels, rather than > the armour itself. I switched because Synthroid wasn't working for me. I could never find a maintenance dose. When I saw the new doctor he let me know why he recommended it for me and we made the choice together to switch. > Incidentally, doubling the dose of thyroxin or amour, except > at the lowest levels, is not a good idea. I've forgotten > what 1 grain or armour is equivalent to , but you could well > be overdosing yourself at this point. I don't have the conversions at hand, but the 1 grain wasn't close to the 125mcg of Synthroid I was on at the time of switching. We increased in very small increments and adjusted based on symptoms to avoid overdosing. I've been feeling this is a good dose to hold at for a while to see how I feel longer term. I agree with what some have suggested that it may not be good to constantly be changing up the dose. I don't know the physiology behind it or anything, but it just seems that the body needs time to adjust. I appreciate your thoughts! Thank you! ~ Christina
From: Herman Family on 4 May 2008 22:39 "CK" <Christina.Kenyon(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:19bcda04-e28f-41ee-bfaf-6f36d6f22fa0(a)b1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com... > Michael, > >> Now, you've done it. You've gone and made us all jealous >> of >> such good numbers. > > I just wish that I felt great with labs like that! =) > >> You might want to look into why your thyroglobins are so >> high. That could be to a number of things, including >> diet >> (soy, broccoli, whatever), medcations (birth contol >> pills), >> your own personal body chemistry (or time of the month). > > I'm thinking that it's probably the Estrogen that I use to > treat a > skin condition that I have. Of course I can't say for > sure, but I do > avoid soy and broccoli. The only goitrogenic food that I > haven't cut > out yet is Millet because that is the only grain I can eat > right now. > I guess I will have to see over time... Good thoughts, > tho. Thank > you! > >> I don't know why you switched to armour. Your tests will >> be >> a bit harder to read on the armour. You may feel better >> simply because of the higher thyroxin levels, rather than >> the armour itself. > > I switched because Synthroid wasn't working for me. I > could never > find a maintenance dose. When I saw the new doctor he let > me know why > he recommended it for me and we made the choice together > to switch. > >> Incidentally, doubling the dose of thyroxin or amour, >> except >> at the lowest levels, is not a good idea. I've forgotten >> what 1 grain or armour is equivalent to , but you could >> well >> be overdosing yourself at this point. > > I don't have the conversions at hand, but the 1 grain > wasn't close to > the 125mcg of Synthroid I was on at the time of switching. > We > increased in very small increments and adjusted based on > symptoms to > avoid overdosing. I've been feeling this is a good dose > to hold at > for a while to see how I feel longer term. I agree with > what some > have suggested that it may not be good to constantly be > changing up > the dose. I don't know the physiology behind it or > anything, but it > just seems that the body needs time to adjust. > > I appreciate your thoughts! Thank you! > > ~ Christina > > > > > > > I see that the doctor did it the right way. Do you only eat millet because of digestive problems or allergies to other grains? If so, I wouldn't be surprised to find a linkage there to how you are feeling. Incidentally, the uptake is in seconds. A low number means there are lots of globins, hormones, or whatever ready to grab the thyroxin. A high number indicates a lack of them. One would expect your estrogen to be lower with a high uptake number. Michael
From: Gail on 5 May 2008 06:18 Hi Christine, Actually what I did mostly was to google the terms and cut and pasted the explanations that I found. It really helped me to understand a bit more about the whole balance of it all. On May 5, 7:12 am, CK <Christina.Ken...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > T-3 Uptake: > Of the list of reasons that T-3 update may be high (due to a lack of > TBG), the use of estrogen and underactive thyroid jump out at me. I > use Estrace (form of estrogen cream) 2x/day for a skin condition I > have (lichen sclerosis). I suppose that could explain the levels... > I was thinking that a 33 was heading towards top of the range which would suggest heading high rather than hypo - so that didn't make sense to me, but then I glaze a bit when things start getting complicated - I need one step at a time when I work on puzzles. > So...some cancers result in hight levels of thyroglobulin? Lord, I > hope that doesn't mean that there is a cancer lurking. *deeep > breath* Is cancer the only reason that docs usually measure this? Yeah, sorry about putting that explanation in - I almost didn't because I know that panic.... "oh no, that must mean I've got cancer". I've got know idea about this level, mine has never been tested. But definitely ask your doctor to explain what it does mean potentially and, if it's ok with you, I'd be interested to know what he says. > You asked whether I was experiencing high and low symptoms at the same > time...as I recall I was only feeling the low, low, low thyroid > symptoms. I had experienced being too high in august while on > Synthroid and remember that feeling. Yuck. Definitely keep a note of the symptoms you were experiencing at the time of the test so you remember, it helps to be seen as logical and sensible with facts at your fingertips so you can talk with your doctor as an equal. > > To make matters interesting I also have other hormones that are out of > whack: progesterone (low), DHEA (low), Testosterone (low)...and > more. It seems that my adrenals are also out of whack in addition to > thyroid. I hope this doctor can look at the entire HPA axis/system > (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals) and whatever else. Are your cholesterol levels too low? That's where we get a lot of our hormones from. > I'm losing the ability to keep up with learning about what he's > measuring as more and more systems and hormones get pulled into the > mix. As a result I get very scared. > It helps to just take things step by step - your doctor sounds like he is taking you seriously so that's definitely a good first step by him on your behalf. If he knows to measure all of these things maybe he does have an expertise you can trust, and it sounds like he does consult with you rather than just telling you what he is going to do for you. Stress leads to increased cortisol which sends us into overwhelm to encourage us to escape from the situation. So all the stress relievers you know are going to be very useful for a while. Light regular exercise sometimes just 10 minutes at a time - more can cause stress and increase cortisol levels, but 10 minutes relaxes and uses it up. Vit C (use sodium ascorbate) upto 1g every 4 hours while you're awake, Extra magnesium - probably more than 300 mg in a day - take it 2 or three times a day our bodies need lots of magnesium when we're stressed, Epsom Salt baths - even foot or hand bathing in it can help to calm (this is a source magnesium, we asbsorb through the skin) Drink green tea and avoid coffee Use Rescue Remedy Bach flowers or have a specific flower remedy made up for you If you can keep plants alive, potter around in the garden Thinking about a supportive person in your life, even if it is a grandparent who is no longer alive You will probably know the things that ease your soul - so do whatever it is you need to cope as you go through it. Gail.
From: Gail on 7 May 2008 10:35
Hi, Just discovered some old notes about the T3 uptake test. The total T3 includes both active and inactive T3. T3 uptake indirectly helps to measure activeT3: If T3-uptake is high then active T3 is low. So in your test the T3 uptake is on the high side of normal, (which could mean that there is less active T3) and the total T3 is on the low side of normal anyway, so not only is there not a lot of T3 to spare, but it's dubious that much of what is there is usable. Steroids cause the body to convert T4 to Inactive T3. Gail. |