Fluctuations in TSH

[o_kaye]

Hello everyone, :)
just wanted to say that I have gained much insight from reading your posts on thyroid disease.

I was curious if anyone had had dramatic fluctuations in TSH over short amounts of time?

I had my TSH tested last November and my levels were well within the normal range. I have a family history of hypothyroidism (my grandmother and mother had it) and have felt really awful for some time. The main symptoms of hypo- that I seem to have are (1) lack of energy/motivation and depressiom. I have been sleeping 12hours + and still feel tired all the time. I wake up in the morning and I am tired.....this is really unusual for me as I am the 'go gettem' type of person. (2) I have also lost a lot of hair. I don't see my family very often, but when I do one of the first things people comment on is how much hair I have lost! Being a woman, that feels really awful!! (3) the last thing that I have noticed is that it is hard for me to lose weight anymore. I have actually been gaining. I weighed 138lbs at the beginning of the year, and now jump around the 155lbs mark. that is actually why I embarked on this WOE, to try and lose some weight and regain my energy.
Hope someone can help me with the question above.
Take care, Kaye

[bookwoman]

Ug. First of all, did you get your TSH test at a regular Dr or an Endocrinologist? The "normal" range on a test is actually very large and many people, especially women, feel better with a number in the lower end of the range (which means you feel healthier if you have more thyroid hormone -T4- circulating in your body). Unfortunately MANY MANY Drs are not able or willing to tweak around to find YOUR best level. SO, to make a long answer short: although you test "normal" you may not really be - for you. Go see an Endo if you can...or at least somebody with LOTS of experience in Endocrinology...not just a family physician.

Also, it IS possible to have fluctuating TSH levels depending on what is going on in your thyroid. If it's not outputting correctly, your TSH output will be trying to compensate. Stranger things happen. Personally, with me, my thyroid was not responding well to the TSH and so my T4 was all over the place. I had thyroid nodules that were making this happen. Had to have the thing taken out.... So, go get a FULL thyroid panel taken - TSH, T4 AND T3(which can cause problems too) and talk over the results in an confident manner (get REALLY educated yourself - I leared EVERYTHING in the Thyroid section of about.com) with a Doctor who will listen to you and be willing to explore all the possibilities with you.