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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

..:: Q & A ::..

THE Q & A

Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

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The Q & A with Elaine Moore

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7/15/2010 5:17 PM

Aileen

Joined: 7/15/2010

Posts: 1

Labs results

After a year on ATD latest labs are 17.06.10

FreeT3 4.07 pmol/L Norm 3.00-7.80
Free T4 13.4 pmol/L Norm 11.OO-23.0
TSH 1.090 uUI/ml Norm 0.27-4.20
Antibody TSH 3.70 Norm <1.50

Dr suggests that I am looking at RAI or surgery as she doesn't seem to be under the impression that I am acheiving remission. As I have some eye problems (not severe at the moment) I would probably opt for surgery. I did not start out with an enlarged thyroid but on measuring last appt she noted it had increased slightly in volume. ( was taking five x 5mg and 2x 10mg per week, after one and a half years ATD) (too much ATD?)
Now I have reduced to alternate days of 2.5mg and 5mg.
I feel absolutely fine , only very mild eye discomfort.I am told I should not remain indefinitely on the ATDs and feel now a bit pressurised to make a posotive decision to initiate a more aggressive treatment plan. I don't see why!! Blood results a month ago normal, only MCHC 32.9 g/dl Norm 33.0-36.0.

7/16/2010 2:08 AM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3173

Re: Labs results

Hi Aileen,

Your ATD dose has been too high (based on your labs and on recommended dosing), and this likely caused your eye symptoms and thyroid gland enlargement. The idea is to use the lowest dose needed to keep FT4 at least at mid-range and preferably higher regardless of the TSH level. A low TSH is expected....TSH only rises if you're near remission or are using an ATD dose that's causing your thyroid levels to be too low for your body's needs.

I'm not sure why your doctor would think you're not moving toward remission, especially since studies show the highest rates of permanent remission are with long-term (average 4 years) low doses of ATDs. Meds wouldn't be needed indefinitely as most everyone achieves remission and your good response to meds is a definite plus.

MCHC has to do with the amount of hemoglobin in an average red blood cell. Your slightly decreased result isn't significant.

Best, Elaine

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