TSH levels

I became hypo after my thyroid was killed off due to Grave's disease. Monday is just around the corner and I will find out what I need to be up to with the med.

So, 3.0 is optimal for weight loss?

My TSH was 109, (yes one hundred and nine) when I was diagnosed in 2009 but I have been on the same dose since before surgery 4 months ago.  I am seeing my PCP in march for a physical and will have my TSH drawn for that appt.  Do you think I should have it drawn sooner?

To those on you on medication for hypothyroidism?  How quickly after surgery did your synthroid dose have to be adjusted?

Thanks!

Kady,

WOW. You should address your concerns with your doc office on the early blood draw. Only they can answer that for you.

My thyroid went haywire well after my RNY so I cannot answer your last question. The fact of my numbers that I have right now just brings a lot of ?? to mind for me. My shower has a lot of hair on the bottom of it for quite a while now, sleep patterns, weight  . . .  I will get to the bottom of it with my new primary doc. I am "tired" of not sleeping through the night in more ways than one.

 TSH levels will not change with weight loss, they will only change in relation to your thyroid function.  If your thyroid is not working your TSH goes up to stimulate it to work (THS = Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)

If your levels had stabilized after your diagnosis in 2009 there would be no need for excess testing, just the normal 6mo/yearly testing your doc prefers.

Pup

Pup, actually I was diagnosed in 2005 after developing Grave's disease. My thyroid was killed off with nuclear meds in Feb of '05. I have no thyroid function at all (& never will) and will need to take meds for the rest of my life. The doc that first diagnosed me had me come in every three months for testing. I also needed to come into see him for other things so @ that time he did my 3 month testing for thyroid levels. I do not think that I am going through excess testing.

Thanks for your input, Chris

for someone who has such a history of hypothyroid, you should be seeing an Endocrinologist, not a PCP for this -they specialize in thyroid disorders.  109 that is dangerous and I am sure you got back to normal prior to surgery or atleast I hope so.

It is very common for us to need multiple adjustments during the first year especially.  Please get your level checked ASAP -not in March.  Anyone on synthroid should have there levels checked atleast every 3 months - waiting 6 months after surgery is way too long especially with your history.

I had mine changed 5 times during the first year and for the first time 1 or 2 months out

I was sleeved 12/5 and my levoxythyroxin was reduced from 274mcg to 200 at 6 weeks out.

I had an early 2month follow up and have lost 47#.

I was diagnosed with Graves' in 1993, and I underwent I-131 therapy i***** I have been on Levothyroxine for 18 years since. I also have severe eye disease and dermopathy, just as an FYI. My antibody levels remain very high after all this time.  

I take 224mcg of Levoxyl each day as I have no thyroid function.  It's completely dead per uptake scans.    I generally feel "BEST" with a TSH of less than 2, and I generally sit at around .5 to .7.  I am more tolerant of 'high normal' than I am of 'low normal.'  Current recommendations are that anything over 3 is considered overtly hypothyroid nd anything under .3 is hyperthyroid.  Having said that, TSH is a very rough measure particularly for those of us who do not produce thyroid hormones.  Low TSH does not necessarily mean hyperthyroidism.

Per my endocrinologist, bariatric patients with Graves'  need to have full thyroid panels checked every three months. There are a lot of things that can interfere with conversion of T4 to T3 including stress, calorie deficiency (i.e., weightloss), vitamin/mineral deficiencies, infections, etc.  You can be hypothyroid at the cellular level  even with 'normal' or even 'low' TSH levels if you have issues converting T4 to the active hormone, T3.  I ran into this recently after a bout of Tonsilitis. 

To answer one of the questions in the thread, I take as much Levoxyl at 132lbs as I did at 291lbs.  I don't know that would be the case with  Hashimoto's, for example, where the thyroid still functions. 

Thank you for the reply. I am not sure what I-131 therapy is. My Grave's fortunately was found fairly fast. I went in for a physical due to my first plastics and with it being January and Nat'l Thyroid awareness month the doc did a full panel on me and found it. I had been having problems before that but did not know what was going on with me. This same doc recently retired and I swear that the doc that took over for him is a gold digger and did not even look @ my thyroid numbers as his medical staff changed my med levels to 100mcg 6 days a week and 200mcg (Synthroid) on Sunday's. I think he wanted me to just keep coming back for more office appts. He did the same with my cholesterol numbers which are excellant for HDL & LDL - he wanted to put me on meds for my cholesterol! I made him look @ my #s while on the phone with me (I already knew what the numbers were) and he then said "oh, I guess you are doing really good, you don't need the drug". Jerk, that is why I changed primary docs. The new primary doc will be monitoring it but she has said that if there is anything that she cannot handle she will refer me to an endo to handle my situation. She knows of my weight issue and sleeplessness. I did not tell her about the hair situation because I just happened to think of it this afternoon.

I will print out yours and everyone else's responses and be armed with info when I go in for my next appt. in mid Febr. Thank you again. i look forward to being able to sleep the whole night through.

for anyone with such severe disease like yours, a PCP really isn't qualified to treat you properly.  You should be seeing an Endocrinologist every 3 months for followups and proper testing.  there is more to thyroid testing than TSH