Posted by Jumpy on November 11, 2002, at 16:26:28
In reply to Re:I got my thyroid lab results, posted by Chloe on November 11, 2002, at 9:29:14
> I am not sure exactly what these values mean. But my pdoc said my T3 is "definitely not too high." I do know that the lower the TSH, the more hyper-thyroid one is. Isn't 0.58 on the *hyper* side? If anyone feels like explain what these mean, I would be all ears! Thanks everyone for all your info and support. This thyroid stuff is so new to me...
Dear Chloe,
This is what I learned about the thyroid in college. Thyroid hormone controls metabolism, the higher the level in the blood the faster the metabolism. The active hormone is T3, it goes in to the cells and speeds them up. The inactive hormone is T4, it must be converted in the blood to T3 before it can work. If the thyroid hormones get too low, the brain secretes TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) to cause the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone. So if the TSH is high, the thyroid is level is low. If the TSH is low, the thyroid is high. (Unless, you have some weird disease like Graves, thyroiditis, etc.)
So the important thing is that 1. the T3 be normal and 2. the TSH needs to be checked 6 weeks after adjusting your dose of thyroid medications ... takes that long to adjust.
Jumpy
PS I would never take thyroid meds, I am far too jumpy
poster:Jumpy
thread:124779
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021108/msgs/127269.html