# Big TSH jump in 4 months. Why??



## gkygrl (Jun 16, 2007)

I was dx with Hashimotos in 2005 or so and had my GINORMOUS thyroid removed in 2007-2008 (cen't remember). I'm also a person with Multiple Sclerosis, so that tends to take focus away from anything else going wrong with me and tends to be the catch-all disease for problems too. Blame MS.

Well, I've been dealing with rashes, hair falling out and really thinning nails (from the skin and hair side). Also achy hands, fatigue, vertigo and mood lability. I could blame a lot on MS of course. I often do. I thought I might have been heading towards the road to lupus given the hair and skin stuff. But surprisingly, I received results from my TSH and FREE T4 and I actually have a TSH of 15.46 (free t4 was 0.94)! Now my symptoms make a bit more sense to me.

My real question is, I had a thyroid panel done 4 months ago that showed I was euthyroid at 2.647.

Why the drastic jump in 4 months. Nothing in my life really changed - except losing hair by the fist fulls. I am on my same .137 dose.

Headed to the doc tomorrow - just curious if anyone could shed light on the jump.

Thanks in advance!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Have they ever run your free t3?

That's actually a pretty high TSH (the 2.647 result). I would say you've been hypo for a while!


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Make sure to get the doctor to run Free T3 and Free T4 on your next labs. Those are the important ones to dose by after you've had your thyroid removed and are on medication. What type of thyroid meds are you on and what dose?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Do you lab at the same time everyday?

Levothyroxine absorption is affected by food, calcium, magnesium and iron supplements.


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## gkygrl (Jun 16, 2007)

jenny v said:


> Make sure to get the doctor to run Free T3 and Free T4 on your next labs. Those are the important ones to dose by after you've had your thyroid removed and are on medication. What type of thyroid meds are you on and what dose?


Hi Jenny V

I went to my primary today - she is useless and really doesn't know what she is doing. I'm a Vet and was seeing her through the VA but she is ridiculously lazy and doesn't want to do much. She was a bit clueless today ... but I digress and am looking for a primary and then and endo OUTSIDE the VA here.

I am on .137 Synthroid right now and she upped it to the next level .150. I have been losing hair for the last year or so and it has gotten much more prevalent. My moods are nuts and I am tired with vertigo. I'm thinking like Joplin, I have been hypo for a while.

And endo won't see me here in FL without a Primary referral. I'm working towards it.

Thanks for the advice ... in the past when I had an endo doc ... they did all those special blood tests. Now it's been not so good and I am definitely not feeling myself. Hope to be back on track soon and will just have to wait for the new meds to arrive in the mail.


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## gkygrl (Jun 16, 2007)

Lovlkn said:


> Do you lab at the same time everyday?
> 
> Levothyroxine absorption is affected by food, calcium, magnesium and iron supplements.


Yes, I take the meds like I always have and these two labs were in the morning...


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

You should be able to order your own labs in Florida, if no doctor will check your Frees. There's a cheap one here for $80: http://www.healthcheckusa.com/thyroid-tests/panels/thyroid-panel-ii-t4-free-t3-free-with-tsh.aspx

A lot of us have found success with integrative physicians or DO's, rather than endos. Endos seem to be stuck in the TSH rut and don't have a lot of willingness to test or treat by Frees.


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