Received lab results with following thyroid results (requested free T3, also, but Dr would not include):
TSH (range .4-4)
current 1.8
1 year ago 1.61
Free T4 (range .7-1.5)
current .8
1 year ago 1.22
I know T3 is preferable at top half of range, is it same with T4? I know my dr will say I'm in normal range, but is this an issue being at the bottom of T4, and also the decline in last year? Also, I see that the top of the normal range guidelines of both of these tests has come down in last year. (TSH from 5 to 4, Free T4 1.85 to 1.5)
Also, one other thing came up-trace leukocyte in urine. Is "trace" considered UTI, and will antibiotic be recommended?
Lisa
Help interpreting thyroid results & urninalysis
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Hi Lisa,
You are in the same boat that I'm in — normal TSH and Free T4 either low, or near the bottom of the so-called "normal" range.
The thyroid produces thyroxine (T4). T3 (triiodothyronine) is the form that the body actually uses to regulate metabolism, and many other functions, including the regulation of certain other hormones. The body makes T3 from T4. The pituitary gland produces thyrotropin (TSH). The pituitary gland tells the thyroid whether to increase T4 production (by means of a higher TSH level), or whether to reduce T4 production (by means of a lower T4 level).
So the fact that your T4 level appears to be declining (while your TSH level is increasing) suggests that your thyroid may be beginning to run out of capacity. IOW. it may be operating near full capacity, and slowly losing it's ability to respond to higher than normal demands for additional thyroxine (T4).
Test results can fluctuate, so it's too soon to be concerned, but if the trend continues, and your FT4 drops below the "normal" range, you may need to do as I do, namely treat the T4 level, rather than the TSH result. Many doctors don't understand that situation, nor do they understand how to treat it, but hopefully your doctor will be knowledgeable about it.
IMO, Free T4 trumps all of the other parameters, because if FT4 is insufficient, then there is no way that the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis is going to work correctly. (The hypothalmus is involved because it derives feedback from blood levels of thyroid hormone, and sends hormonal instructions to the pituitary when thyroid output needs to modified).
Tex
You are in the same boat that I'm in — normal TSH and Free T4 either low, or near the bottom of the so-called "normal" range.
The thyroid produces thyroxine (T4). T3 (triiodothyronine) is the form that the body actually uses to regulate metabolism, and many other functions, including the regulation of certain other hormones. The body makes T3 from T4. The pituitary gland produces thyrotropin (TSH). The pituitary gland tells the thyroid whether to increase T4 production (by means of a higher TSH level), or whether to reduce T4 production (by means of a lower T4 level).
So the fact that your T4 level appears to be declining (while your TSH level is increasing) suggests that your thyroid may be beginning to run out of capacity. IOW. it may be operating near full capacity, and slowly losing it's ability to respond to higher than normal demands for additional thyroxine (T4).
Test results can fluctuate, so it's too soon to be concerned, but if the trend continues, and your FT4 drops below the "normal" range, you may need to do as I do, namely treat the T4 level, rather than the TSH result. Many doctors don't understand that situation, nor do they understand how to treat it, but hopefully your doctor will be knowledgeable about it.
IMO, Free T4 trumps all of the other parameters, because if FT4 is insufficient, then there is no way that the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis is going to work correctly. (The hypothalmus is involved because it derives feedback from blood levels of thyroid hormone, and sends hormonal instructions to the pituitary when thyroid output needs to modified).
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Donna,
No, I only take Armour, and only a 60 mg dose. It doesn't totally resolve my symptoms, but it does well enough for all practical purposes, and I feel pretty darn good at that level. Even though my body temp is still about a degree to a degree and a half below normal, I seem to tolerate cold surprisingly well (better than most of the "normal" people around me, apparently).
I've tried doubling the dose, and while that seems to help minimize symptoms (it brought my body temp up to only about a half-degree below normal, for example), I went back to my regular dose after about 3 or 4 months, because even at 60 mg, my TSH is often below range, and the higher dosage didn't actually help me to feel significantly better. And it's probably safer to be slightly undertreated than to be overtreated (but of course I'm just guessing about that, because despite all the negative press doctors give to higher doses, there doesn't seem to be a heck of a lot of data out there about actual negative health effects.
).
The double dose promptly knocked about 10–15 pounds off my weight (within about 3 weeks) and held it there at a stable level for several months. When I reduced the dose back to my regular rate, I promptly gained the weight back. It's tempting to view that weight reduction as "healthy", but I'm not convinced that being skinny necessarily improves longevity, or long-term health in general. Research shows that longevity is better at the upper end to slightly above what "experts" consider to be the optimum body mass range.
And research also proves that if we have to undergo major surgery, or have to endure some other major health trauma/crisis, a few extra pounds significantly increases our odds of survival. Having been through emergency major abdominal surgery on 2 different occasions during the last 10 years, I'm a little gun shy about allowing body fat reserves to fall too low.
Tex
No, I only take Armour, and only a 60 mg dose. It doesn't totally resolve my symptoms, but it does well enough for all practical purposes, and I feel pretty darn good at that level. Even though my body temp is still about a degree to a degree and a half below normal, I seem to tolerate cold surprisingly well (better than most of the "normal" people around me, apparently).
I've tried doubling the dose, and while that seems to help minimize symptoms (it brought my body temp up to only about a half-degree below normal, for example), I went back to my regular dose after about 3 or 4 months, because even at 60 mg, my TSH is often below range, and the higher dosage didn't actually help me to feel significantly better. And it's probably safer to be slightly undertreated than to be overtreated (but of course I'm just guessing about that, because despite all the negative press doctors give to higher doses, there doesn't seem to be a heck of a lot of data out there about actual negative health effects.
).The double dose promptly knocked about 10–15 pounds off my weight (within about 3 weeks) and held it there at a stable level for several months. When I reduced the dose back to my regular rate, I promptly gained the weight back. It's tempting to view that weight reduction as "healthy", but I'm not convinced that being skinny necessarily improves longevity, or long-term health in general.
Research shows that longevity is better at the upper end to slightly above what "experts" consider to be the optimum body mass range.And research also proves that if we have to undergo major surgery, or have to endure some other major health trauma/crisis, a few extra pounds significantly increases our odds of survival. Having been through emergency major abdominal surgery on 2 different occasions during the last 10 years, I'm a little gun shy about allowing body fat reserves to fall too low.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
If you get much vitamin D from sun exposure, that drop in your vitamin D level might be attributable to the difference in the sunlight available in your part of the country between the times of the 2 tests, but IMO in most cases a drop that significant is probably due to something else (some inflammatory event). For example, my vitamin D level dropped almost 40 points (from 95 to 58 ng/ml) between May and October, even though I was taking 3,500 IU of vitamin D daily during the summer. A week or so after the October test, I had an episode with a kidney stone, and a second kidney stone event a couple of weeks later, which caused a mini MC flare. Kidney stones definitely are a source of inflammation, so I have a hunch that my vitamin D drop was associated with those kidney stones, but of course I'm only guessing.
Unless you want your vitamin D level to be higher than it was previously, 5,000 IU daily will probably be adequate (at your latitude). I take around 7,500 IU during the winter, but that's because I try to keep my vitamin D level higher than that.
I can only guess at the answer to your question about K2, also. I recently started taking a small dose of K2 (and vitamin A), because of my calcium level rising to near the top of the normal range. I don't even take a calcium supplement (other than a small amount in a multivitamin). Hopefully this will lower my blood calcium level.
My 23andme results, run through the promethease program, shows that I have a gene mutation that prevents me from properly converting beta-carotene to vitamin A, so this suggests that my hunch was right about my vitamin A level being low.
Also, I apologize, but I forgot to address this question in your original post:
Tex
Unless you want your vitamin D level to be higher than it was previously, 5,000 IU daily will probably be adequate (at your latitude). I take around 7,500 IU during the winter, but that's because I try to keep my vitamin D level higher than that.
I can only guess at the answer to your question about K2, also. I recently started taking a small dose of K2 (and vitamin A), because of my calcium level rising to near the top of the normal range. I don't even take a calcium supplement (other than a small amount in a multivitamin). Hopefully this will lower my blood calcium level.
My 23andme results, run through the promethease program, shows that I have a gene mutation that prevents me from properly converting beta-carotene to vitamin A, so this suggests that my hunch was right about my vitamin A level being low.
Also, I apologize, but I forgot to address this question in your original post:
Normally, trace amounts are considered to be environmental contamination (IOW, the sample was accidentally contaminated during the collection process, or immediately afterward). In that case, unless symptoms are present, normally no treatment is indicated.Lisa wrote:Also, one other thing came up-trace leukocyte in urine. Is "trace" considered UTI, and will antibiotic be recommended?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex, interesting on the conversion to Vit A. I don't take A, as I eat a lot of high beta-carotene foods-sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, but who knows if I'm converting it. I was trying to get my Vit D level higher, which is why I increased my dose earlier this year. My vitamin D level was 44 last Dec, 45 in Aug, and 36 now, so the change is not due to winter.
Hopefully your Vit D level will increase the next time you are tested. That's a huge decrease from the kidney stones.
Lisa
Hopefully your Vit D level will increase the next time you are tested. That's a huge decrease from the kidney stones.
Lisa