Doctor frustration

[Roadtrip]

Sending positive wishes your way Indy.

Shannon

[WindingRoad]

Hi Indy, glad to hear you are feeling ok. Keep us posted and take good care.

[indysteel]

Mother of God, this just gets more and more confusing. I stopped all anti-thyroid meds in April. Last week, I had my first bloodwork done since then. I expected my TSH to be lower and hopefully well within the range of normal. And I define normal as being between 0.3 to 3.0.

Nope. It's at 4.47, which suggests that it's even more suppressed, i.e., hypoactive, from when I was on actually on the meds that were supposed to be suppressing it. Uh, what? It's going in the wrong direction. Plus, the message my doc's office left telling me to just recheck it in another 7-8 weeks, which leads me to believe that she saw nothing weird about this. So, I guess I'm back to feeling like I need a new doc and some logical explanation as to why someone who was initially diagnosed with Grave's Disease, albeit a mild form of it, now has a thyroid that's underactive even after going off meds.

I'm so frustrated.

[Catrin]

Yes, it is frustrating! Would it be difficult to get a second opinion? I don't know what medication they had you on, but I understand that some thyroid medication can suppress the thyroid for longer than expected. I am no expert, and there may be nothing to that but perhaps your body needs more time to work this out?

[indysteel]

Yes, it is frustrating! Would it be difficult to get a second opinion? I don't know what medication they had you on, but I understand that some thyroid medication can suppress the thyroid for longer than expected. I am no expert, and there may be nothing to that but perhaps your body needs more time to work this out?

There are really only two antithyroid meds used in the States, and I was on the more common of the two. It should have left my system entirely weeks ago. And I was on a tiny dose to begin with. The only thing that gives me comfort is that my Total T4 and Free T4 are within normal ranges. But if my TSH continues to trend up, then I'll need to address it. I just wish I understood what my autoimmune system was up to.

[Catrin]

There are really only two antithyroid meds used in the States, and I was on the more common of the two. It should have left my system entirely weeks ago. And I was on a tiny dose to begin with. The only thing that gives me comfort is that my Total T4 and Free T4 are within normal ranges. But if my TSH continues to trend up, then I'll need to address it. I just wish I understood what my autoimmune system was up to.

I hear you...autoimmune system stuff can be so frustrating. It took me a long time to understand that my Graves Disease was a symptom of a deeper problem, not the actual problem. I don't remember what I was taking, I tend to remember the massive amount of beta blockers they had me on rather than the actual thyroid medication...but all of this was in the 80s's. My situation was quite different however, thankfully for you. It is good to hear your other numbers are normal and may your next test be in the normal range.

[OakLeaf]

Oh boy. That stinks. Subjectively, do you feel hypothyroid, consistent with the test results? Or is it possible something's just off with the lab?