Well, my story got a little more complicated this week. To make a long story short, I have been mildly hypo and controlled with 0.05 mg of Levoxyl for the past 5 years. TSH was always in the 1.3-1.8 range. This year I swtiched doctors who put me on Synthyroid (same dose) back in Feb. The next time I got tested in August TSH was .038. They thought it might be the drug (different bonding agents) so they put me back on Levoxyl. This past month I have actually been feeling really good- energy, appetite, no mood swings, so I was hopeful that things were straightened out. I got tested again last week and my TSH was 0.018, so I have gone even more hyper. My PCP told me to stop taking Levoxyl cold turkey for six weeks then find another endocrine and get tested again. He mentioned that it is possible to be transient hypo (as in your body outgrows it). I looked that up afterwards and the only info I can find on it happening is in children who are born hypo and then outgrow it by age 3-4, no cases in adults. Now that I know the symptoms of hyper I can see that over the past month I have been hungry all the time which I thought was just from running (before I never got hungry or full). My resting HR has increased, and sometimes even at the end of an easy run I feel like my heart is racing. This time my T4 was 14.7, so too high. T3 uptake was 34% (normal). Free thyroxine index was 5.0 (also too high). This means that the T4 drug is producing too much T4 and supressing TSH formation. I am hopeful that somehow I don't need T4 drugs anymore, because that would be great. My doctor still wants me to get my thyroid ultrasounded to make sure nothing else is going on. That's my update. I didn't think you could outgrow hypothyroidism, but maybe somehow I have. I also really increased my running and added in longer distances as the TSH numbers are dropping, so is it possible that my body has become more efficient and is regulating itself??

Did anyone ever figure out what caused you to be hypo to start with?

No, I think the first time I had a complete blood workup they found it. I think it's very possible that I was hypo all along, since even in high school when I was dancing for 3-4 hours a day I had a really tough time controlling my weight. That just a speculation though, so I guess I'll never know for sure. The first time I had out of control depression was during my freshman year of college, though that could be related to the thyroid, or not.

How long have you been in Florida? Where were you living when you were diagnosed?

I've been in FL for 3.5 years. I was in college (living in the dorm) in MA when I got diagnosed (at the end of my junior year). I had recently started taking birth control, but am still on the same kind, so I don't know if that plays a role or not.

What are the reference ranges for your labs? Just curious if they are the same references that my lab uses. total thyroxine or T4 at my lab is 4.7 - 13.3. - but this represents both the bound (95%) and the free. If some one (hopefully the woman) was on BCP the total thyroxine would be a little elevated anyways - estrogen competes with thyroxine receptors. As estrogen takes thyroxine's place, the "extra" thyroxine gets bound , and you have a "normal" increase in your TT4.

Hmm, interesting. I had never heard that about BCP before, I guess that answers my question above. I wonder why no doctor ever questioned that before. I think my lab normals are the same as yours, but I will check when I get home.

In your case, the numbers all seem to line up. Great news, because then you can rest easier knowing that you are getting a good read even if you just have a TSH and FT4 checked in the future. I think it is a great idea to have an ultrasound and follow up with an endo. Will you have a choice about which endo to see? I don't remember if we talked about finding an endo that dealt primarily with thyroid rather than diabetes. These docs can be so specialized that it is tough to find the right one.

Yup, I have too much T4 which makes sense to have a low TSH, but the T3 is right in line, so that's great. I had the ultrasound this morning, so I will find out results next week. I have an appt. with a new endo in 6 weeks. She is also a diabetes/endo, but was one of two doctors recommended by my PCP (instead of just picking one off of the insurance website). I can't seem to find anyone locally who doesn't also do diabetes care, but I already have a good feeling about this new doctor, just from the interaction in making the appointment. Her staff told me to plan on being there for 1-2 hours, because as a new patient she will want to talk a lot and get my whole story. That is great compared to all the other doctors who spend <10 minutes with you. thanks for all of the links. it seems like excercise can play a role during the excercise, but not afterwards. very interesting reading, i need to go through it again to wrap my head around it more. thanks so much cheryl. you are a wealth of information and i really appreciate it. you are going to have such a wonderful time in kauai. i'd say i'm jealous, but i think you totally deserve a great trip. :) minutes="" with="" you.="" thanks="" for="" all="" of="" the="" links.="" it="" seems="" like="" excercise="" can="" play="" a="" role="" during="" the="" excercise,="" but="" not="" afterwards.="" very="" interesting="" reading,="" i="" need="" to="" go="" through="" it="" again="" to="" wrap="" my="" head="" around="" it="" more.="" thanks="" so="" much="" cheryl.="" you="" are="" a="" wealth="" of="" information="" and="" i="" really="" appreciate="" it.="" you="" are="" going="" to="" have="" such="" a="" wonderful="" time="" in="" kauai.="" i'd="" say="" i'm="" jealous,="" but="" i="" think="" you="" totally="" deserve="" a="" great="" trip.="" :)=""></10 minutes with you. thanks for all of the links. it seems like excercise can play a role during the excercise, but not afterwards. very interesting reading, i need to go through it again to wrap my head around it more. thanks so much cheryl. you are a wealth of information and i really appreciate it. you are going to have such a wonderful time in kauai. i'd say i'm jealous, but i think you totally deserve a great trip. :) >

We talked about Kauai - but we are going to LasVegas instead. I am looking into running trails/parks nearby - it will be nice to run in summer like conditions - we had snow this morning - but it was gone by the afternoon. i expect the snow will be here to stay by the time we get back. Normal for us is snow that lasts by Halloween.

Enjoy your trip Cheryl! So....are you getting married...again? Renewing the vows via Elvis or anything?

Good morning and TGIF. Here is the results of blood work I had done on 8/21. CBC W/DIF moderate anisocytosis. WBC: 13.7 RBC 4.71 HGB 9.7 g/DL HCT 33 Percent MCV 78FL, MCH 26PG, MNHC 28,5 G?DL, PLT 302, Neutrophils 58 percent, lymphocytes 23 percent, monocytes 6 percent, eosinophils 4 percent, basohils 1 percent, neutrophil count 1.8 percent, lymphocyte ct 2.1 percent, monocyte ct .02, eosinophil ct .3, basophil ct. .1, RDW 17.6 H- slight anisocytosis, TSH 33.11 H, Ferritin 3.8 L. PoeDog - moving your lab question to this forum Any suggestions on what this all means would be greatly appreciated. And I hope I am not hi-jacking this forum with all this detailed information.

I can't really help you with the CBC - but are you having any other follow up lab tests? I would ask about the anisocytosis, and maybe ask about having your B12 levels checked to see if that is contributing your anemia. If you haven't had any other thyroid tests other than the TSH - which is really high, it just might be a good idea to see a specialist to take a closer look. Your Ferritin is not just low, it is really low. Just my opinion, but I think you need to take a closer look at what is causing this and not just treating the symptoms. I want to stress that I am not an expert...I have just had to do a lot of research as it turns out that I don't have a typical response to thyroid meds. Full thyroid panel should include TSH Free T3 Free T4 Thyroxine Total T3 Thyroglobin AB (Thyroglobin Antibodies - tests for Hashi's Disease) Are you scheduled for any other labs? Please keep us posted on your progress. Has anyone else had issues with anemia that could help PoeDogRun out?

I had my blood drawn Friday for lab work and received the call this morning. They increased my Thyroid medication to 125MG and now want to put me on high cholestrerol medication. What???

Kate and Ken - this link gives some info on both hypothyroidism, anemia and cholesterol hypothyroid info

And are the adjustments always increased? How long have you been taking the thyroid medication? Do you mind telling us which medication you are on?