hey gang! I have been doing a lot of research on hypothyroidism over the past year bec my son's thyroid is so low, and mine is also low (shwankie - I am like you - I had almost all of the symptoms but it wasn't showing up in the blood work - which I will explain in a minute), and my mother's is low. So I've been trying to research the stuff and find out all that I can about it.
I am really busy and don't have time to get into everything, but wanted to say that a lot of docs are still using the regular old thyroid tests, instead of the newer more accurate tests, and also that on the TSH - the ranges has changed and very few labs or doctors are recognizing the new lab ranges yet.
The old TSH ranges were 0.5 to 5.5 and the new ranges have been changed to 0.3 to 3.0, so when you look at your TSH readings, (and I would ALWAYS GET COPIES OF MY BLOODWORK) be sure to keep in mind and tell your doctor about the new ranges. It is also very likely that the ranges will be changed soon to 0.3 to 2.0 - because there are those that feel that anything over 2.0 is hypothyroidism.
IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT WHEN YOU ARE HAVING BLOOD WORK DONE TO CHECK YOUR THYROID THAT YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING TESTS RUN:
TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone from the pituitary gland)
FREE T3 (available active thyroid hormone)
FREE T4 (available storage thyroid hormone)
and the anti thyroid antibodies tests would also help
(TPO – Thyroid Peroxidase which detects Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroid disease
and Thyroid Antithyroglobulin)
Some doctors are reluctant to run the Free T3 and Free T4, and will want to simply run the old thyroid tests. THIS IS NOT SUFFICIENT and can be very misleading and miss the problem!
Request or beg or demand the Free T3 and Free T4, TSH and the anti thyroid antibodies tests. If you do not want to go thru a doctor or cannot afford to, you can order the tests (Comprehensive Thyroid Panel II and Anti Thyroid Antibodies) yourself at
www.healthcheckusa.com It is very easy to do and then they will send you the paperwork in the mail for you to take with you to the nearest lab to draw your blood and you can look up your results online in a few days and also receive them in the mail.
After the correct tests are done, if a low thyroid problem is found, it is usually best that you be treated with Armour Thyroid, and not the synthetic drugs like Synthroid, because Armour Thyroid contains BOTH T4 AND T3, and the others do not have T3. Some research indicates that T3 is needed especially for those with psychiatric symptoms such as depression.
there are articles that explain all of this and I am just giving my brief and condensed version of all of this, but you can find excellent info at
www.thyroid.about.com
and there is an excellent book by Mary J. Shomon called "The Thyroid Diet" with a wealth of solid info that is easy to understand.
be well,
Cathy