A friend who still has his thyroid gland has TSH 4.8 and doctor sais all OK. Is this wrong ?

w.ell the whole thing about thyroid is it is a minefield. Doctors even seem confused. I had a test  last week (25 years hypothyroid ) and it showed the following test result  (This was at a BUPA hosp )........... T4 26.30   (norm 12 - 22). TSH 0.173.... (norm 0.270 - 4.20)  this showed I was hyperthyroid.      I had a test this week..... test result T4 20.5...TSH 3.8  (norm 3.7 -4.2)..... still hypothyroid  . Dr said results showed all was normal continue with medication as usual 125 mcg levothyroxine... Two laboratories with different results and different testing scales,. I explained I was not feeling right with slight tremors in the night and a heavy head in the morning and Dr told me to reduce  thyroxine to 100mcg for 3 months  and test again. I have not had my thyroid out , but have given that info to show you that everything semms to be confused about the thyroid. I do think you ought to have a second opinion

Yes that is correct. If a person does not have a thyroid, the tsh has to be kept suppressed and as close to 0 as possible. People with a thyroid shouldn’t have a suppressed tsh as this will make them hyper. Normally a medical profession will monitor a person who has a tsh up to 10 as this is what is called ‘borderline.’ Then if it goes over , they then consider a person to have a thyroid condition that is hypo and needs medication. There is a lot of dispute about this as people can still have symptoms at 10. When I was first diagnosed, my tsh was 11 and I was very ill. I ended up in hospital. The consultant spoke to an endocrinologist who said not to medicate . The consultant told me that if it were up to Home, he would medicate as I was clearly symptomatic. 6 weeks later my tsh went up to 20 and final I was put in levo. Some stick to the 10 rule , some will prescribe meds and go off symptoms. 

Hi Canader, yes, a TSH above 2 can indicate thyroid disease. And in fact, you can have advanced thyroid disease and still have all your numbers in normal” ranges.   The function of the thyroid is so important, that the body will actually start shutting down other organs in order to maintain thyroid function- hence the illysive diagnosis combined with a myriad of seemingly unrelated symptoms as thyroid disease advances.

1) Your friend should get a full thyroid panel done . The problem is that the ranges are so broad, you really need a good endocrinologist to help you out until you have a sense of the ranges that are optimal. You can search these online, but unfortunately, there are many different opinions of optimal thyroid numbers. 

2) Your friend will need to shop around for a reliable doctor, preferably and endocrinologist.

Infortunately, the medical approach to thyroid disease is to do nothing until the condition is very severe- by this time, people generally have so many health problems it’s hard to know what’s what. And of course, non treatment eventually leads to thyroidectomy and a lifetime of medication, doctor appointments and blood tests. Nice business model, isn’t it?

Without a thyroid gland, your body lacks thyroid function. Medications do not work the same as your thyroid, they simply can’t. Once your thyroid gland is removed, you are at high risk for hypothyroid related disease, which amounts to rapid premature aging. So yes, your numbers should be watched closely and you should monitor by full thyroud panel, not just TSH. Keeping your thyroid numbers in a tighter range following thyroudectomy is an effort to curb further disease.

Here in Ontario they treat you if the TSH goes above 4; and 10 is well into hypothyroid range. That’s the bottom line. If you feel fine on the lower dose, OK, but if not, go with the dose your doctor recommended.

I had my thyroid removed  due to graves disease my t4 and t3 are good but my tsh is 20.930 Had been taking 200 mg of Levothyroxine  changed me to 200 mg Synthroid ordered blood work to be taken after been on a month  . I have hair loss extreem hot flashes body aches normal tempature last several month 96.7 dry skin  anger  and  brain fog 

do you have round patches of dry skin