Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 913846

Shown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Test Results

Posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 8:52:38

I got the results of my blood test back.

Cortisol 21.1 [4.3-22.40]

T3, Free 3.67 [2.2-4.0]
Thyroxine, Free 1.02 [.74-1.50]
TSH 1.39 [.35-5.50]

There are a lot of other tests, but everything falls within the normal range. Should I go ahead and order the saliva cortisol test?

Also, the first page says "Collection Info: Amniotic Fluid". I'm not a woman. Could the results have been mixed up with someone's?

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by polarbear206 on August 24, 2009, at 9:30:37

In reply to Test Results, posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 8:52:38

Since your on the high range, I would definately go ahead with the saliva cortisol, for more conclusive results.

 

Re: Test Results » Dima

Posted by Phillipa on August 24, 2009, at 9:37:19

In reply to Test Results, posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 8:52:38

Great looking thyroid. Does the sheet give results for both males and females? As when got hormone testing both were included. Why not ask your doc or did you order a test online? As for cortisol Which type of testing did you have blood assuming? And was it reviewed by the doc? Phillipa

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 11:18:32

In reply to Re: Test Results » Dima, posted by Phillipa on August 24, 2009, at 9:37:19

> Great looking thyroid. Does the sheet give results for both males and females? As when got hormone testing both were included. Why not ask your doc or did you order a test online? As for cortisol Which type of testing did you have blood assuming? And was it reviewed by the doc? Phillipa

It was a blood test ordered by my doctor. She said everything looked fine. There are a bunch of other tests on the sheet but everything is in the normal range.

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by Alexanderfromdenmark on August 24, 2009, at 12:59:01

In reply to Test Results, posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 8:52:38

> I got the results of my blood test back.
>
> Cortisol 21.1 [4.3-22.40]
>
> T3, Free 3.67 [2.2-4.0]
> Thyroxine, Free 1.02 [.74-1.50]
> TSH 1.39 [.35-5.50]
>
> There are a lot of other tests, but everything falls within the normal range. Should I go ahead and order the saliva cortisol test?
>
> Also, the first page says "Collection Info: Amniotic Fluid". I'm not a woman. Could the results have been mixed up with someone's?
>

Do you recon you've got a thyroid disorder? What are your symptoms?

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by bleauberry on August 24, 2009, at 18:51:23

In reply to Test Results, posted by Dima on August 24, 2009, at 8:52:38

I am not saying your numbers are good or not. I am saying a common and disabling mistake is for well-meaning clinicians to base their entire decision on lab results. Medicine is a clinical diagnosis more than it is a lab diagnosis.

There are thousands of people who had no need for thyroid attention according to lab reports, despite their symptoms that fit the pattern of a potential thyroid problem. Those thousands responded favorably when their doctor viewed their results as a "baseline" rather than a "bible". In other words, it is a starting point, not an ending point, and if there are symptoms, there should be trials of appropriate choices to address those symtpoms to see what happens. The lab numbers will either be confirmed or refuted by actual trial.

As my doctor told me, we can measure thyroid in the blood but we cannot measure how much of it is being received by the receptors. Are they blocked? Are they working? Sometimes we need more than we think to get past biochemical roadblocks that we can't see and can't measure, except for the outward symptoms that are obvious.

In addition, so-called "normal" ranges are extremely broad. Even more confounding, they vary from lab to lab. Each lab has its own normal range. Someone for example who tests in the normal range but a little on the low side, with symptoms of hypothyroid, could very well be hypothyroid and respond very well to thyroid medicine. With symptoms, it is very important for them to have the opportunity to try that and set the lab results on the shelf for a moment.

A one-time cortisol dose tells you nothing other than your adrenal gland is alive or dead. At the time you had the blood drawn, it was alive and well. But what about noon? What about 4:00pm? What about 9:00pm? Also, how do you know the adrenal receptors are not clogged? Maybe cortisol is on the high side because the receptors are sensing it properly? The point is, this stuff is not as straight forward as a common MD says it is. You have to dig deeper to get the big picture. A salive 4-sample test is a good start.

I don't know enough about actual thyroid numbers to make a judgement here. I do know enough about the big picture that it is not as black-n-white as most MDs make it appear to be. I can find you hundreds of stories where T3 and/or T4 alleviated symptoms in people who's lab results did not justify it, and the same with the cortisol issue. Sometimes it is the other way around...either thyroid or cortisol needs to be dampened down if it is near a high range and there are symptoms that agree with it.

The best test of all is the temperature test. Take your temperature each morning and noon for two weeks and record them in a journal. If the average is lower than 97.6, you have a likely thyroid and/or adrenal issue.

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by Maxime on August 24, 2009, at 19:21:12

In reply to Re: Test Results, posted by bleauberry on August 24, 2009, at 18:51:23

> As my doctor told me, we can measure thyroid in the blood but we cannot measure how much of it is being received by the receptors. Are they blocked? Are they working? Sometimes we need more than we think to get past biochemical roadblocks that we can't see and can't measure, except for the outward symptoms that are obvious.

I agree with the above. When I was hypothyroid I had a TSH of 10 which of course was high. But I only felt better with med therapy once I was in the hyperthyroid level. My blood levels now show that I am hyperthyroid, but I show no symptoms of being hyperthyroid. For me, that's where my TSH is supposed to be.

 

Re: Test Results

Posted by Phillipa on August 24, 2009, at 23:29:01

In reply to Re: Test Results, posted by Maxime on August 24, 2009, at 19:21:12

Agree with some of above not all as too much testing is not always good for anxiety but peace of mind can work wonders for the adreanal. Read and subscribe to Mary Shomans news letter deals with all the hormones. Thyroid, adrenals, estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, pituitary list goes on. Now Dima has to decide for herself how she feels. I do agree that how you feel dictates correct thyroid function but it's reassuring your're not dying of some hormone being horribly out of balance. One step at a time. Phillipa


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