Blood Test opinion - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

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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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4/24/2009 3:31 AM

Danzen

Joined: 4/24/2009

Posts: 2

Blood Test opinion

Hello Elaine,

I will try and keep this short and to the point. I wish I had found out about your site 4 years ago when I was diagnosed with Graves D. I am 35 now and making progress. I have been on Methimazole for 4 years. Last year I had pretty high liver enzymes to the point where I stopped the meds for six months and became very active again. I chose to start the meds again as well as have a biopsy done on my liver. They found nothing.

After starting the methimazole again I have just decreased dosage to 5 mg/day am &pm after the test on 4/16. Here are my last three tests:

4/16//09 TSH = 0.44, ft4 = Doctor did not order this, dosage = 7.5 mg methimazole

4/1/09 TSH=0.41, FT4= 1.4, dosage was dropped to 7.5 mg

3/16/0 TSH= 0.18, FT4=1.3, dosage was 10 mg

2/18/09 TSH <0.05, FT4=1.6 dosage was 10 mg

I have also started taking Carnitine, Vit E/selenium, milk thistle(liver), vit c as well as eating goitrogens. Is there anything else you can reccommend to reach remission and stay there.

I have little faith with my Endo as I feel like a number to him so I wish to kindly ask your opinion of what you think my numbers indicate. My liver has stabilized but my ALT is a little high. I will do anything to avoid RAI or surgery as well as avoid liver problems. Its been rough.

Thanks so much for your time. I can't belive there is someone out there that relates and can offer advice. You are wonderful.

Dan

4/26/2009 3:57 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3174

Re: Blood Test opinion

Hi Dan,

Liver enzymes rise for many reasons, including acetaminophen (Tylenol), alcohol, antibiotics and any drugs metabolized by the liver. The general rule is as long as they don't rise 5 times the high end of the range, the dose doesn't need to be stopped. In liver disease, enzyme levels rise into the thousands.

It's always best to stay on the lowest dose of methimazole needed to keep FT4 within range, preferably near the high end of the range, regardless of TSH. A low TSH while on meds doesn't mean that someone is still hyperthyroid.

I'd add CoQ10 to prevent muscle weakness and I'd make a point of avoiding processed/junk/fast foods as much as possible. It's often impossible to avoid these foods completely but even cutting back and adding more fresh and raw foods can make a big difference.

Best, Elaine

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