Re: TSH of 2.8 -- cause for concern?

May 26, 2004

Your TSH is within the " normal " guidelines (diagnosis starts at 3.5, I believe).

You could be becoming hypothyroid or your adrenals could be leading you there.

You're treating those, so some of your symptoms might go away (some of the

symptoms are the same). If you have already been diagnosed hypothyoid, you

might want to have your doctor check actual hormone levels...the actual T4, T3,

and reverse T3 levels, to see if some of the levels are off.

bigcolli <untmp3@...> wrote:Hey yall, I found out a few months ago that

my TSH level is sitting

at 2.8 and I do have quite a few symptoms of low thyroid function.

They include but are not limited to:

lethary

fatigue

depression/anxiety

cold intolerance (my feet are always cold, hands fall asleep easily)

puffy face

weight gain

I also have other imbalances such as low GH, low testosterone which

im taking replacement for, and my cortisol levels are 3 times the

normal. My family and I are in the process of ruling out cushing's

syndrome which is abnormally high cortisol levels in the body which

can also cause secondary hypothyroidism. Can a TSH of this level

cause any problems that im experiencing? OR should i leave it as is?

Thanks everyone

May 26, 2004

A TSH of 2.8 is certainly not optimal in my opinion. The new " normal " range for

TSH (as of last summer) is 0.3-3.0.

Seems like most people feel better with a much lower TSH (1 or lower). Good luck

& keep us posted. Hugs, Sheila

bigcolli <untmp3@...> wrote:

Hey yall, I found out a few months ago that my TSH level is sitting

at 2.8 and I do have quite a few symptoms of low thyroid function.

They include but are not limited to:

lethary

fatigue

depression/anxiety

cold intolerance (my feet are always cold, hands fall asleep easily)

puffy face

weight gain

I also have other imbalances such as low GH, low testosterone which

im taking replacement for, and my cortisol levels are 3 times the

normal. My family and I are in the process of ruling out cushing's

syndrome which is abnormally high cortisol levels in the body which

can also cause secondary hypothyroidism. Can a TSH of this level

cause any problems that im experiencing? OR should i leave it as is?

Thanks everyone

May 27, 2004

I second that. My was 2.6 and I had all the hypo symptoms to the

extreme. That was when I self-referred to an endocrinologists who

agreed and started treating based on symptoms.

My latest reading was 0.1 and I am FAR from hyper.

Sherry

> A TSH of 2.8 is certainly not optimal in my opinion. The

new " normal " range for TSH (as of last summer) is 0.3-3.0.

>

> Seems like most people feel better with a much lower TSH (1 or

lower). Good luck & keep us posted. Hugs, Sheila

>

May 27, 2004

Unfortunately TSH has nothing to do with needing medicine or not, so when

enough of us become informed consumers we can start to get proper treatment.

Look at http://www.thyroid.about.com for an article about what to do when

the doctor says your TSH is " normal " but you know you are hypothyroid. At

my sickest my TSH was 1.12 and the HMO actually wrote me a letter telling me

to stop taking thyroid meds immediately! Pretty outrageous, since I had had

a partial thyroidectomy, and thyroid meds were helping me.

Gracia

> Your TSH is within the " normal " guidelines (diagnosis starts at 3.5, I

believe). You could be becoming hypothyroid or your adrenals could be

leading you there. You're treating those, so some of your symptoms might go

away (some of the symptoms are the same). If you have already been

diagnosed hypothyoid, you might want to have your doctor check actual

hormone levels...the actual T4, T3, and reverse T3 levels, to see if some of

the levels are off.

>

May 27, 2004

Supposedly high cortisol levels indicate that your adrenals are burning out.

What adrenal test did you do, since some of them are misleading? My bloood

and saliva adrenal tests came back high, my 24 hr urine came back low. I am

taking cortef. You need thyroid meds right away to avoid further problems.

Gracia

> Hey yall, I found out a few months ago that my TSH level is sitting

> at 2.8 and I do have quite a few symptoms of low thyroid function.

> They include but are not limited to:

>

> lethary

> fatigue

> depression/anxiety

> cold intolerance (my feet are always cold, hands fall asleep easily)

> puffy face

> weight gain

>

> I also have other imbalances such as low GH, low testosterone which

> im taking replacement for, and my cortisol levels are 3 times the

> normal. My family and I are in the process of ruling out cushing's

> syndrome which is abnormally high cortisol levels in the body which

> can also cause secondary hypothyroidism. Can a TSH of this level

> cause any problems that im experiencing? OR should i leave it as is?

>

> Thanks everyone

>

May 27, 2004

Hi Gracia,

My mom, who also had a partial thyroidectomy, was told 8 weeks ago by some

stupid endo that she should NOT be on thyroid meds 'cause her TSH was ?...can't

remember but she was definitely in the hypoT range. This doc said her TSH needed

to get up over 10. Crazy! sheila

Gracia <circe@...> wrote:

Unfortunately TSH has nothing to do with needing medicine or not, so when

enough of us become informed consumers we can start to get proper treatment.

Look at http://www.thyroid.about.com for an article about what to do when

the doctor says your TSH is " normal " but you know you are hypothyroid. At

my sickest my TSH was 1.12 and the HMO actually wrote me a letter telling me

to stop taking thyroid meds immediately! Pretty outrageous, since I had had

a partial thyroidectomy, and thyroid meds were helping me.

Gracia

> Your TSH is within the " normal " guidelines (diagnosis starts at 3.5, I

believe). You could be becoming hypothyroid or your adrenals could be

leading you there. You're treating those, so some of your symptoms might go

away (some of the symptoms are the same). If you have already been

diagnosed hypothyoid, you might want to have your doctor check actual

hormone levels...the actual T4, T3, and reverse T3 levels, to see if some of

the levels are off.

>

May 27, 2004

DANGEROUS. no one should be going to a doc like this one. decreased

income might send him a message.

Gracia

> Hi Gracia,

> My mom, who also had a partial thyroidectomy, was told 8 weeks ago by some

stupid endo that she should NOT be on thyroid meds 'cause her TSH was

?...can't remember but she was definitely in the hypoT range. This doc said

her TSH needed to get up over 10. Crazy! sheila

>

May 31, 2004

Well as I have said in a previous post I know which TSH level I feel stable at

because I always ask what my level is when I have my bloods done. A TSH of 2.8

for me would mean I feel quite HypoT and would be demanding more thyroxine.

However, everyone is different, some might feel okay with a TSH of 2.8, I

personally don't. If you are symptomatic though I think it is worth getting your

meds reviewed. Or if that doesn't help then further tests could be looked into.

Ali

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June 2, 2004

Yes! I was feeling terrible, my T4 and T3 were very low, and my TSH was

around 2.5-3 this whole time. For it to get to 5.6, which at the time

was barely considered hypo, I was at a state where I had been invalid

for around a year already. Did you have your T4 and T3 tested?

Jan

TSH of 2.8 -- cause for concern?

Hey yall, I found out a few months ago that my TSH level is sitting

at 2.8 and I do have quite a few symptoms of low thyroid function.

They include but are not limited to:

lethary

fatigue

depression/anxiety

cold intolerance (my feet are always cold, hands fall asleep easily)

puffy face weight gain

I also have other imbalances such as low GH, low testosterone which

im taking replacement for, and my cortisol levels are 3 times the

normal. My family and I are in the process of ruling out cushing's

syndrome which is abnormally high cortisol levels in the body which

can also cause secondary hypothyroidism. Can a TSH of this level

cause any problems that im experiencing? OR should i leave it as is?

Thanks everyone

June 9, 2004