This is what Ha****oxicosis looks like....in black and white....

[NastyHashi]

Just got a huge slew of bloodwork done and once again, 5 years later and STILL no meds, I have the Trifecta of antibodies, including those for Graves' Disease AND Hashi's.

Notice how my TSH is WAYYY up there yet my Free T3, Free T4, total T3 and Total T4 are all in the normal range? Typical push/pull situation in the fight between Hashi's and Graves:

http://www.thyroidboards.com/images/2008LabSummarySmall2.jpg

[sharris123]

Hello Nasty, okay, I have a silly question. I was diagnosed in November with Graves, I had RAI done. I see all of your blood work listed, I get copies of what my doc tests me for, but it is TSH T3 Free and T4 Free...

should i be getting tested for all of that too?

I went to see my endo for the first time on meds 100 of Levothyroxine-8 weeks in, he said good to treat you now good bye. I told him my symptoms were still here....aren't they supposed to get better? he said my TSH was perfect and that was that.....

Im still new to this, but I dont think my problem is quite gone (or better) yet

thanks for any information.

Sandy

[NastyHashi]

Hi Sandy,

You already got RAI without looking into it too much it appears. That's a pretty fast, big jump.

I will hope that your Endo knew what he was doing although my experience is that few do. If he did know what he was doing, he must have had some signs or symptoms that clearly told him you were hyper thyroid and that your thyroid needed to go. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting diagnosed and nuked so quickly but on the positive side, your troubles should be over and you can now get regulated.

At this point, since you already swalled the pill or radioactive juice, your thyroid is going bye bye so to look back now and question the tests will only bother you.

Have you ever had a radioactive scan? A thyroid FNA (biopsy)? A thyroid ultrasound?

Those couple of tests are usually protocol when it comes to deciding to permanently destroy someone's thyroid.

Most of my tests listed are specific to me - 37 year old male with really low testosterone, really high TSH yet "normal" component parts like T3 and T4. I posted my typical workup.

It's good for everyone to get a complete workup every so often to see what else is going on.

Do you know exactly why the doctors decided to nuke your thyroid so quickly? I would imagine they found a nodule or took a scan that showed really hyper or the tests you did take were probably off the charts.

Have you had any bad experience with the RAI? How did that go? How do you feel now versus before the RAI?

[sharris123]

Hi back, I did have a scan, my numbers were off the charts, and I thought this was the best option for myself. I went very hypo, have been on Levothyroxine for 8 weeks now, my symptoms have not completely gone away yet. I dont get dizzy any more, my memory is not as bad as it was, but now I am experiencing horrible pains from my hips down, trying to figure out what that is.

I am just afraid of not finding the right doctor, or relaying my problems across as they need to be. My endo, at my first check up five days ago, said it was good to treat you and good bye. this is why I was asking about your tests, I got copies of all of my results so I could see what the differences were, but it was nothing like your tests. Just trying to educate myself more :o) and find out if there are other levels of what ever I should be asking for?

thanks Nasty, Sandy

[NastyHashi]

Well since the damage had already been done so to speak, all you really need to do is monitor the thyroid regularly.

TSH and Free T4 are good enough tests once you are regulated for a while. In the meantime, while you are still getting adjusted, I would like to see TSH, Free T3, Free T4, total T3 and total T4 every time until you have a set dosage for a while.

If your endo is not paying enough attentrion, you can always spring for the $40 and get an at home TSH test from ebiosafe.com.

I've taken several of their TSH tests and they come up with the same exact numbers as when they draw blood from my arm. They are very accurate and pretty affordable. Its a good way for you to test "in between" tests the docs order for you so you can be assured your numbers are ok.