thyroid levels (what is normal?)

The optimal TSH level varies for each individual. But I think doctors typically consider the range of 0.4 - 4.0 to be normal for the population as a whole. Which is a shame because some doctors fail to realize that you could have an underactive thyroid with a 2.5 TSH or an overactive one with a 0.8 TSH.

its a shame the doctor's don't know what they are doing and you do....perhaps you should be a doctor.

Californian wrote:

The optimal TSH level varies for each individual. But I think doctors typically consider the range of 0.4 - 4.0 to be normal for the population as a whole. Which is a shame because some doctors fail to realize that you could have an underactive thyroid with a 2.5 TSH or an overactive one with a 0.8 TSH.

how would someone get diagnosed with ranges like that?

Also, doctors will typically treat your TSH lab *number* and not your symptoms. Once they get your *number* in the upper quartile with Synthroid, they say "you're NUMBER is within the normal range - come back next year for another blood test".

It is often the case that Syntroid - (synthetic T4) is not broken down into T3 by the patient's body, which is key to treating many hypothyroid SYMPTOMS ... but the synthetic T4 will reduce the TSH *NUMBER*, and do nothing for the SYMPTOMS.

Clarification for you.

Overactive thyroid - HYPER-thyroid: low TSH number

Underactive thyroid - HYPO-thryoid: high TSH number

TSH = Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - A high number is telling your thyroid "wake up and get to work".

Doctors look at dozens of patients each day & don't have the time to examine each patient's individual circumstances. I'm concerned with my own health and not the health of 20 other people on a given day - so I have time and desire to figure out what my optimum TSH level is. My point is that if someone is feeling tired and think they might have a thyroid problem, being in the "normal" range doesn't mean that they don't have a thyroid problem.

wow????? wrote:

its a shame the doctor's don't know what they are doing and you do....perhaps you should be a doctor.

If you've never been on thyroid medication before, it's going to be difficult to get a doctor to prescribe it when you are technically within the normal range. You would probably need to exhibit various strong symptoms of underactive thyroid. Not sure what happens with an overactive thyroid.

afdsa wrote:

how would someone get diagnosed with ranges like that?

There's more than just the normal T3,T4, TSH test to diagnose a thyroid problem.

Depending on what the problem is you may also have a radiactive isotope test and a thyroid antibody test and maybe one or two others to see what actually is going on.

A couple older threads if you haven't already seen them:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=367006

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=673698

You'd have a better chance of getting more specialized, expert attention from an endocrinologist than your regular doctor. In my experience even my endo's first instinct is to focus solely on the TSH number and to feed me T4 but not T3; but at least she's also willing to consider my input - so I get T3 too, and try to aim for feeling and performing best not just having TSH in an "acceptable" range.

i've been extremely tired/fatiqued over the past month so i'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

i have a really hard time believing it's iron issues as i take an iron supplement daily. i actually switch between liquid and pill form every other day.

i've been doing a little bit of research and have found that thyroid issues could also be causing problems.

it is not overtraining as i am not training more than normal.

any other advice???

afdsa wrote: i've been extremely tired/fatiqued over the past month so i'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

i have a really hard time believing it's iron issues as i take an iron supplement daily.

So to clarify: you've not yet had a recent blood test to determine your levels of iron, thyroid, etc? That's generally considered a better first step than pure deduction. Even by some of us who are critical of paint-by-numbers medicine.

Get the bloodwork!

Californian wrote:

The optimal TSH level varies for each individual. But I think doctors typically consider the range of 0.4 - 4.0 to be normal for the population as a whole. Which is a shame because some doctors fail to realize that you could have an underactive thyroid with a 2.5 TSH or an overactive one with a 0.8 TSH.

I'm not saying you are wrong. If you have scientific evidence that this is true, you would be giving alot of runners some great advice. But can you provide some research to back this up...and not a website with weight loss ads done by a "patient advocate".

pendejo wrote:

So to clarify: you've not yet had a recent blood test to determine your levels of iron, thyroid, etc? That's generally considered a better first step than pure deduction. Even by some of us who are critical of paint-by-numbers medicine.

Get the bloodwork!

this is not pure deduction....i am getting it done this evening. sounds like your doing some deducting yourself...

is it not a good idea to have a frame of reference as to what is normal or not when getting the test done??? i have always found it better to be one step ahead.

i have had plenty of experiences where doctors have told me that nothing is wrong because i'm in the normal range...the normal range being for a normal person.

Best evidence I have is that I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid about 13 years ago (my TSH was 314 when I gave the blood sample for the test). Over the next 8 years, I had my TSH checked every 6-8 weeks. After doing 50+ tests over time and keeping track of how I felt every day, my training level, racing performance, etc, I found that for myself, when my TSH was over 2, I was having problems in training and feeling far more tired outside of training than I ordinarily would, all things being equal. I also found that in general, I was training/racing the best when my TSH was in the 0.3-0.8 range. I don't have any links to provide you on articles, but I remember reading a few articles in 2001/2002 postulating that optimum TSH level varies in individuals. I am much too busy to look for the links at this point (and honestly, I don't care much because I don't run competitively anymore), but I'm sure a simple google search would reveal some good in-depth info.

noname wrote:

Californian wrote:

The optimal TSH level varies for each individual. But I think doctors typically consider the range of 0.4 - 4.0 to be normal for the population as a whole. Which is a shame because some doctors fail to realize that you could have an underactive thyroid with a 2.5 TSH or an overactive one with a 0.8 TSH.

I'm not saying you are wrong. If you have scientific evidence that this is true, you would be giving alot of runners some great advice. But can you provide some research to back this up...and not a website with weight loss ads done by a "patient advocate".

VIC should Perish wrote:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

this site states alot of things that we may suspect to be true. but until there is evidence behind it, it's not something that should be taken seriously. if i were to show a pseudoscience websites/blog to a doc there is no way he/she is going to say "okay, i'm going to follow this advice". if he/she did, you'd question them as an MD.

also, the whole 'supplements' side of this is a rash of shit. what is the rationale behind this thyroid/supplement relationship? if you are taking levoxyl/synthoid because your thyroid is not functioning properly, why would you need other supplements?