# Hyperthyroid? Odd labs/symptoms.



## iwrotethese (Sep 29, 2017)

Hello, all!

I am a 24 year old woman of relatively good health. The only persistent problems I have had have been mental illness (diagnosed as Bipolar and with anxiety 14 years ago, with slight OCD tendencies), migraines, PCOS, and GERD. All of these things have been present for at least a decade. I am very petite--5'0". I have always fluctuated between around 95lb and 110lb--the past few years I have stayed within 105-110 for the most part, never going above 110. My metabolism has always been, as far as I can tell, fairly high--I have always been able to eat a lot of food without gaining.

This year, a lot has changed. Despite treatment, my anxiety (specifically more than my depression) has been off the charts. I am never able to turn my brain off unless I smoke marijuana. I have also had a resurgence of chronic nightmares.

I also began experiencing distressing gastrointestinal symptoms (both constipation and diarrhea, as well as extreme abdominal distention and an array of other symptoms.)

I went to the ER and was weighed at almost 125 pounds! Whoa! I definitely noticed that I had gotten "fluffier" but had not realised to what extent. (Note, I also started a new medication at the beginning of the year--an anti-psychotic that can cause weight gain. To me, it was between this and my thyroid as the cause). Also, it was no longer realistic to lie to myself about the amount of hair I was noticing coming out of my head in the shower. At this point, I began to worry that I might be hypo.

A little background: My mother was diagnosed with both Hashimoto's and Graves. (The Graves is definitely dominant.) She had her thyroid removed just after I was born, when she was 27.

I had a series of standard blood/lipid panels in which my TSH and Free T4 was taken back in 2015, almost this exact time of year.

These were the results/ranges:

TSH: 0.97 (Range: > or = 20 Years: 0.40 - 4.50)

Free T4: 1.5 (Range: 0.8 - 1.8)

A couple of weeks ago, I had a new thyroid panel done. These were the results/ranges:

TSH: 0.84 (Range: > or = 20 Years: 0.40 - 4.50)

Total T4: 13.0 (Range: 4.5 - 12.0)
T3: 126 (Range 76 - 181)

The other day, at a gyno visit for my PCOS, I was weighed at 116. (The frequency at which I have taken my anti-psychotic pill has slowed. I am wondering if this is the reason for the sudden drop in weight?? So confusing.)

What do you guys think of this? Why would my T4 be so high, and my T3 right in the middle? I hope this all made sense! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Happiness and health to you all.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Total 4 - is a useless test in my opinion. I have both Total 4 and Free T-4 run and the Total 4 does not seem to track with "free T-4" levels

I suggest you retest and have both FT-4 and FT-3 run, those are the free and unbound thyroid hormones in your system at time of draw.

Since your mom has autoimmune thyroid disease, you definitely should be tested for TSI and TPO as well as thyroglobulin antibodies. It's a struggle to get a doctor to do these tests these days due to insurance - I know because I struggle to get my own kids tested as they only seem to rely on TSH which irritates me to no end. Antibodies can skew thyroid results so it's important to know if you have them.


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## iwrotethese (Sep 29, 2017)

Lovlkn said:


> Total 4 - is a useless test in my opinion. I have both Total 4 and Free T-4 run and the Total 4 does not seem to track with "free T-4" levels
> 
> I suggest you retest and have both FT-4 and FT-3 run, those are the free and unbound thyroid hormones in your system at time of draw.
> 
> Since your mom has autoimmune thyroid disease, you definitely should be tested for TSI and TPO as well as thyroglobulin antibodies. It's a struggle to get a doctor to do these tests these days due to insurance - I know because I struggle to get my own kids tested as they only seem to rely on TSH which irritates me to no end. Antibodies can skew thyroid results so it's important to know if you have them.


Thank you so much. I was given this exact same advice by two others this morning and will be calling my PC on Monday morning.


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