 |
NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
|
|
|
NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
|
Thyroid Diseases |
Worries About TSH Levels10/01/2009 |
I have a history of Graves. Was on medication until 2 years ago exactly. Have been taking blood tests; ---9 months ago: TSH:0,9 T4;16,3 ---4 months ago: TSH:0,44 T4:16,8 ---Now: TSH:3,68 T3:5,5, T4:16,6My question is: Should I worry because of the fluctating TSH? Does TSH go through any "typical pattern" before people go either hyper- or hypothyroid? (For an example, like here, first goes down and then climbs up rapidly and then....?)
Thank you
The TSH doe fluctuate a little bit due to time of day, pulses of TSH secretion, and the normal responses to slight rises and falls of thyroid hormone levels in the blood stream as their secretion is regulated by TSH. The bottom line is that I wouldn't worry about any TSH that was within normal limits. A TSH near the upper or lower limit of normal might indicate a trend that will eventually result in an abnormal value, or it might just be part of the normal fluctuation of TSH levels. I might repeat a TSH level a little earlier if it were near the upper or lower limit of normal (say, in 3-4 months).
There is no typical pattern that would predict hyper- or hypothyroidism other than a trend toward TSH levels closer and closer to the upper or lower limit of normal. Your level of 0.44 might have made me want to repeat the test earlier than usual, but the return of the TSH to a point well within normal limits indicates that the TSH of 0.44 did not, in fact, predict a trend toward hyperthyroidism.
|
Thomas A Murphy, MD, FACP, FACE Director and Associate Professor Endocrinology Division MetroHealth Medical Center School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
|
|
|
Please note: only your personal physician or other health professional you consult can best advise you on matters of your health based on your medical history, your family medical history, your medication history, and how information from any of these databases may apply to you. Neither University of Cincinnati (NetWellness) nor any party involved in creating, producing or delivering this web site shall be liable for any damages arising out of access to or use of this web site, or any errors or omissions in the content thereof. (More) 
|