Thyroid Levels

[mina86]

Just an FYI for everyone...

Maybe you think you have a thyroid issue but your doc saya your blood work came back normal... did it really? Get a copy of your results and check yourself.

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Currently, most laboratories in the United States still use the old 0.5 to 5.0 range as their normal reference range for the TSH test.
This means that when the doctor gets the test report back, and they look for results flagged as abnormal, anything between .5 and 5.0 will not be flagged.

Doctors who don't know about the new guidelines, and rely on the flagging of results by the lab as high/low/abnormal, are not practicing according to the new recommended guidelines.

In other cases, doctors have deliberately chosen not to follow the recommended new guidelines. These doctors will not diagnose hyperthyroidism in people with TSH levels between 0.3 and 0.5 -- and also will not diagnose hypothyroidism in the many millions of Americans with a TSH level of 3.0 to 5.0.

This means that being told your TSH test is "normal" doesn't really mean anything... because you can have a TSH anywhere from .3 to 5.0, and be told your test is normal. You can have a TSH of 4.0, and be told by one doctor that you are normal, and by another that you are hypothyroid and require treatment.

[historyteach]

WOW! That's really interesting!
Thanks for sharing!

Shalom!

[Morning Glory]

I've gone through this. It's true. I was finally able to get on thyroid medication. They didn't even want to give it to me when it was flagged a little low, but I insisted.

Thanks for the information.

[mina86]

And the great thing is, it isn't just one medication for you, no matter what your levels are.. there are different dosages they give you to get you to the right levels. It took a year to get my levels "normal".

[mistt]

I felt sluggish and had many of the symptoms of hypo but was not diagnosed for 5 years. When they finally put me on meds., I felt a lot better but it took at least a month.

[mina86]

EM,

I believe she's trying to say that 3.0 is boarderline. It also depends on how you feel physically about your body. Do you feel like you have any of the symptoms? Do you feel more sluggish and fatigued that you used to years ago?

My TSH is 2.50 right now. The normal range on my results reads: 21 weeks-20 years old: 0.70-6.40. I guess it depends on what your doc thinks based on your symptoms and what you feel.

If you're not sure, get it checked every few months, see if there's any change in your levels and how you feel.