# Lab Results Questions



## annarogersre (Jul 16, 2012)

Hopefully Someone can help with my questions. About two year ago I had my thyroid removed as a result of Thyroid Cancer and RAI treatment. After years of being told there was nothing was wrong with me because my labs were always normal I ended up in the ER because I could not breathe or swallow, my trachea was deveiated to 7mm. Apparently I had several small and one large nodule. Now 2 years later i have been having some diffuculty again. My lips tingle, my hands and feet go numb and tingle, my arms and legs hurt, almost feel like I have been socked, my hair and skin are very dry, my muscles seem to twitch and I have been getting headaches amongst other things. I have not been able to lose weight despite healthy eating and gym work outs 5-6 tines a week with 30- 60 minute cardio and 20-30 minutes of weight training. My TSH levels are .05 mIU/L and Free T4 1.6 ng/dl and free T3 3.3, vitamin d is low at 21 , calcium normal at 9 mg/ dl and blood glucose 104. The doctors are wanting to lower my Levothyroxine despite my symptoms and perscribed Vitamin D. Are there any other test that I should ask for, I do not think I am hyperthyroid as they say. What is a normal range of TSH for a person with no thyroid? Should my parathyroid be checked? I don't feel like the doctors are listening to me as an individual and rather just reading the results? Any suggestions?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

annarogersre said:


> Hopefully Someone can help with my questions. About two year ago I had my thyroid removed as a result of Thyroid Cancer and RAI treatment. After years of being told there was nothing was wrong with me because my labs were always normal I ended up in the ER because I could not breathe or swallow, my trachea was deveiated to 7mm. Apparently I had several small and one large nodule. Now 2 years later i have been having some diffuculty again. My lips tingle, my hands and feet go numb and tingle, my arms and legs hurt, almost feel like I have been socked, my hair and skin are very dry, my muscles seem to twitch and I have been getting headaches amongst other things. I have not been able to lose weight despite healthy eating and gym work outs 5-6 tines a week with 30- 60 minute cardio and 20-30 minutes of weight training. My TSH levels are .05 mIU/L and Free T4 1.6 ng/dl and free T3 3.3, vitamin d is low at 21 , calcium normal at 9 mg/ dl and blood glucose 104. The doctors are wanting to lower my Levothyroxine despite my symptoms and perscribed Vitamin D. Are there any other test that I should ask for, I do not think I am hyperthyroid as they say. What is a normal range of TSH for a person with no thyroid? Should my parathyroid be checked? I don't feel like the doctors are listening to me as an individual and rather just reading the results? Any suggestions?


Your TSH should be kept suppressed. What is the range for that FREE T3? Different labs use different ranges; sad but true.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I would suggest finding out if your thyroglobulin level has been checked.

1. Was it checked relatively soon after surgery/RAI? 
2. Was is checked recently? 
3. How do the results compare? If it has gone up, you may have cause for concern.

Also, have you had a body scan, say... a year and two years after your diagnosis? (This would have been with a small dose of RAI, probably around 5 millicuries.)


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## annarogersre (Jul 16, 2012)

Free T4 Normal lab range is .8-1.8 my results are 1.6
Free T3 Normal Lab range is 2.3-4.2 my results are 3.3
TSH I am not sure of the range but my results are .05 what should it be without a thyroid? My doctors always seem to go back to my weight, I am 5'3 150 lbs a size 6 and work out and eat very healthy. My body aches and it is not the same ache as when one works out, it feels like my bones. I don't have any hyper symptoms but more than 10 symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have another appointment with my endo on Wednesday and was hoping to get an idea of some questions I can ask him. I am really afraid to lower my meds especially since I already feel so horrible, wont lowering them increase my symptoms? Could I have left over thyroid in my system? I have not had any test done since my RAI two years ago, ultra sound, uptake etc? Should they not do some of those test to ensure there is not any regrowth or reoccurance of the cancer? Can my parathyroid show damage after two years? I know one of them was totally removed then reimplanted? I just feel like everytime I go to the doctors they just see the results not me as an individual, maybe someone has some suggestions. Thanks.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

annarogersre said:


> Could I have left over thyroid in my system? I have not had any test done since my RAI two years ago, ultra sound, uptake etc? Should they not do some of those test to ensure there is not any regrowth or reoccurance of the cancer? Can my parathyroid show damage after two years? I know one of them was totally removed then reimplanted? I just feel like everytime I go to the doctors they just see the results not me as an individual, maybe someone has some suggestions. Thanks.


Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. You should absolutely be checked for recurrence of the cancer...without a doubt. The re-check should include a scanning dose of RAI (about 5 millicuries), followed by a body scan 3 to 5 days later. If anything "lights up" in the scan, it will be thyroid tissue.

What was your dose of RAI before?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Octavia said:


> Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. You should absolutely be checked for recurrence of the cancer...without a doubt. The re-check should include a scanning dose of RAI (about 5 millicuries), followed by a body scan 3 to 5 days later. If anything "lights up" in the scan, it will be thyroid tissue.
> 
> What was your dose of RAI before?


This, absolutely. You should have yearly scans for a couple of years after the initial treatment, too. Many of us had surgery AND RAI just to make sure we got all the cancer and there's still a chance of recurrence.

Here are the guidelines for TSH suppression: http://thyca.org/tsh-suppression.htm


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Just to clarify...if anything lights up on the scan, it will be thyroid tissue, and could be thyroid cancer tissue. That will mean a "treatment dose" of RAI to kill it off.


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## annarogersre (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks to all with the replys,it helps to get advice from others, as for my RAI I do not remember the exact dose, but I do remember them telling me it was a very high dose, I was in the hospital in isolation for 4 days. I had an uptake about a week after RAI but nothing since then. I just switched doctors about 2 months ago and I have been trying to get them to order the test but they haven't seen an importance in doing so. Before I didn't have insurance and the county hospital had a 2 year wait list for exams. I explained to my doctors that I haven't had any follow up test since my 2010 RAI and surgrey.


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