# New to Thyroid issues, Hashimotos and labs. What does it mean?



## Courtcourt (Sep 9, 2013)

I have had Hypo for who knows how long, but it was diagnosed in December. Ive gone up and up on Armour starting at 15 and I'm up to 60mg.

At the time of this lab, I was on 45.

TSH 3.25
t4- 0.8 0.8-1.8 ng/dL
t3- 76 76-181 ng/dL
Thyroglobulin Antibodies <20 <20 IU/ML

I originally had a TSH of 9 something, but that doctor was really bad. She was a PCP that had no patients, seriously. I was the only patient almost every time I went, and always felt like she was laughing at me. I originally went for an illness and it turned into weight, which led to a thyroid check. Now I'm seeing an endo and received my first in depth results and after an ultrasound a diagnosis of Hashimoto's.

What exactly does the nd/dL mean, and the antibodies? She wants to see my TSH closer to 2, so I go back in 6 weeks. I understand the TSH but are my t3 and t4 levels very off? I mixed up my appointments today and she had to squeeze me in, so I didnt get a lot of Q&A time this visit!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Yes, a TSH of 9 is pretty bad.  Most people try to target a TSH of around 1...but you just have to experiment to figure out what worked best for you.

With Armour, you'd expect a low free t4 number, so that's not a HUGE deal. Do you know if that t3 number is total t3 or free t3? It's imperative that it is the free t3 number. In any case, that's quite low and you'll want it 50-75% of the range. So its good you had an increase.

The thyroglobulin number is one of the thyroid antibodies. It looks like you don't have much, which is good. But she should be running TPO and TSI (other antibodies) as well. Have you had an ultrasound of your thyroid?


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## Courtcourt (Sep 9, 2013)

joplin1975 said:


> Yes, a TSH of 9 is pretty bad.  Most people try to target a TSH of around 1...but you just have to experiment to figure out what worked best for you.
> 
> With Armour, you'd expect a low free t4 number, so that's not a HUGE deal. Do you know if that t3 number is total t3 or free t3? It's imperative that it is the free t3 number. In any case, that's quite low and you'll want it 50-75% of the range. So its good you had an increase.
> 
> The thyroglobulin number is one of the thyroid antibodies. It looks like you don't have much, which is good. But she should be running TPO and TSI (other antibodies) as well. Have you had an ultrasound of your thyroid?


TSH is 3.25 now, and I definitely feel better, but I'm expecting another small bump up when I go back in November! I wish this was as faster process, lol. In any case Im SO GLAD I have some answers and starting to feel closer normal again 

I did leave out the part about Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies, which is listed at 536.

The t3 listed on my results says total t3! I'll ask for this one next time!


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