New test results - are things improving - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

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Tuesday, February 07, 2012

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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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New test results - are things improving

8/27/2010 12:52 PM

crazybusymom

Joined: 7/27/2010

Posts: 6

New test results - are things improving

Elaine,

In early August I posted a question asking for suggestions for me - a newly diagnosed Graves patient who was allergic to Tapezole and didn't want to take my doctor's advise to get RAI done immediately.

For the past month I've been following a number of the suggestions you gave me and my symptoms have been reduced significantly. So I asked to have my FT4 tested again. My doctor also wanted to test my TSH level, because she believes it to be a more sensitive test.

The test results are back:

FT4 is 1.3 (normal range is 0.7 to 1.5)

TSH is <0.01 (which I know is still very, very low)

My doctor's conclusion is that I'm still hyperthyroid, but I thought I'd read somewhere that it takes a while for the TSH to return to normal after T4 levels have come down. Is that true? Either way, I'm hoping things are moving in the right direction.

What do you think?

8/29/2010 5:40 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3166

Re: New test results - are things improving

Hi,

TSH will stay low or suppressed for a very long time, and a low TSH doesn't mean that you're still hyperthyroid. In Graves' disease your thyroid status is based on your FT4 level regardless of the TSH. Since your level is in range, you'd be considered to have subclinical hyperthyroidism, a condition that is watched but not treated since subclinical disorders often resolve on their own. You'd want to continue doing whatever you've been doing and continue to have regular checkups. This means having thyroid hormone levels every 2-3 months or sooner if symptoms worsen.

Best, Elaine

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New test results - are things improving

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