Elevated TSH, Enlarged thyroid

  • What does that mean? I went to my allergy doctor two weeks ago and he noticed that my thyroid "felt full" and recommended I have it checked out. One week later I went to my OB-GYN for a yearly, and mentioned it to her because I see her every three months for my Depo shot and they have a lab there so I figured they could do some blood tests. She said it felt a little enlarged too and said they would do the blood tests there and if anything came back not normal they would refer me to my primary care physician (whom I've never actually been to before ) So now the test results came back today and they say my TSH level is slightly elevated, they said a normal range is 0.30 to 5.30 (which I've seen different ranges on different web sites online) And mine is a 6.6. It doesn't seem like that is a really big deal, but I don't know much about it so I'm not really sure what is going to happen from here and if it's a big deal or not. I have been unusually tired the past few months, and have has some "depression" issues that I mostly blame on body image, but other than that I don't think I have any other symptoms. I have an appointment on Thursday to see my primary doctor, and to see what he thinks I should do from here.

    So anyone know what will happen? What other tests will they run?
  • TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone so when you're making too much of it (like you) your body is basically having to work to hard to force your thyroid to make the hormones necessary to run your metabolism. (if that makes sense? ) More than likely your doctor will just put you on a synthetic thyroid hormone replacement. No big deal, but getting this treated may help you with weight loss, so I'm glad you got it taken care of.
  • Low thyroid
    The range ratio is:

    TSH: 0.3 - 3.0
    T4: 0.7 - 2.0

    So the normal range for the TSH should be 1 and for the T4 is 1.3 or thereabouts
  • The ratio changed about 18 months ago. You should probably be getting treatment. It's a lifetime thing and can cause serious problems if left untreated.
  • Just a tidbit of info. Depression and tiredness are both symptoms of hypothyroid. Before I was diagnosed, i had been depressed for months, and after begining synthroid, my depression subsided.

    Also, you will find that you have more energy after you get your TSH under control, which really helps when you are trying to exercise to get fit and lose weight,