Hyperthyroid/Hypothyroid - please explain this to me!?

[OceansEve]

*Edited after reading some of the links out of the thyroid thread. So I guess I'm actually Hypo??*

I saw the thyroid thread(s) but with three young ones, I don't have enough time between now and tomorrow morning to read it all. My bloodwork last week returned with high TSH around 7 I think it was, My T3 was sitting in the middle of normal but my T4 was barely in the low side of normal. The nurse called to say the dr wants me on meds, to which I responded - alternatives? After a long silence he told me to come in to talk to the dr.

Can someone explain all this to me? What are my alternatives? What is this about an antibody test? Iodine? I have been drinking white tea leaves, can't that increase your metabolism so could that be the cause? Could this test be wrong? I have been losing weight and working very hard at it IMO, but I can gain or lose 10 lbs in a week Lately I've been losing so could it be it's fluctuating? I'm exhausted all the time, but I can live with it for a few months if it means losing another 30 lbs .

I did read the first few pages which honestly made me tear after reading the anger/rage stuff because my mood swings are nuts sometimes. I have been doing really well tho lately, but I do notice a regular fluctuation in my ability to cope with my anger.

I'm getting more sleep now than in the past, but still feel run down most of the time.

My cycles are way off, running 40+ days with very light periods, neither of which are normal for me. I am nursing, but after my previous pregnancies it returned to normal quickly.

My libido died. Seriously. There is a reason I have three kids so close together, I enjoy it, a lot. Shortly after the birth of DD3 my libido died. I don't want to be touched at all.

Sorry for the novel. Does this sound like I am hyperthyroid or just an exhausted mama? Should I cancel this dr appt. Even if he gives me an Rx the chances of me taking it are slim, I hate meds.

Help?

[tanyalynn]

High TSH means your body is saying "thyroid, send out more hormone, more I say, more!" because the feedback system says there's not enough circulating now (so that's hypothyroid). TSH will go down when that feedback loop wants less thyroid hormone. It's backwards from what you'd expect, but if you think about it this way, you'll get it.

Your doc likely thinks that thyroid problems (hypo or hyper, and high TSH means hypo) are a fairly permanent problem. Alternative-type HCPs may not view the issue the same way.

IME, thyroid problems are symptom of other things out of whack, and a thyroid supp can help you feel better, and various things will be healthier in your body (there are pregnancy/baby implications, sometimes milk supply as well, plus other stuff), but you may also want to look into why your thyroid isn't making enough thyroid hormone.

You can start a supp and then look into other things, you can just look into other things, or you can just take a supp.

The ref ranges for thyroid hormones are pretty wide. Most people seem to feel best with a TSH between 1 and 2.

The rage/anger stuff may be more adrenal related, which isn't something you should bring up to your doc. The long adrenal fatigue thread is somewhere, adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system along with the thyroid, they tend to get out of whack together. My cycles get more messed up when my adrenals are more stressed, you may get overlapping improvement.

I'm seeing an acupuncturist right now to help with my adrenals, I think it's helping. But I also had to do stuff to help with why my thyroid and adrenals were struggling. Diet stuff can help--cutting out gluten and dairy was really helpful for me, and I think helps the acupuncture work better.

There's nutritional stuff involved with thyroid function--I think I was pretty low in minerals like zinc and magnesium and selenium.

Oh--antibodies. If you've had a test for antibodies, and it showed up high, you can google for a study that showed that 200mcg of supplemental selenium (which is a reasonable dose IMO) reduces antibody levels significantly.

If you don't have one, a good multivit at this point wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't be a miracle, but it could be a start.

[SandyMom]

You've gotten great info from TanyaLopez, and there is tons more on the looong thyroid threads. I just wanted to second the adrenals connection.
They often go hand in hand and are often overlooked by doctors.
You can read more about adrenals and thyroid here:
https://sites.google.com/site/natura...adrenal-health