TSH (thyroid test) be 5.490?
I had a TSH test and the result was 5.490. The "run of the mill range" on the Quest lab paperwork is 0.450 - 4.500. I am outside of that range. My doctor said he didn't see cause for concern, but some website say my result is clearly hypothyroidism. Someone who know about this, PLEASE if you can advise me, it would save me profusely of worry. Thank you.
Answers:
Yes, your TSH is elevated (TSH is the hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroid hormone) so an elevated level COULD be a sign that your body is trying to compensate for too little thyroid hormone. However, in the imperial scheme of things, your TSH level isn't too far outside the normal collection, and like the M.D. said, if you aren't suffering any symptoms of hypothyroidism it isn't something you need to worry just about. My guess would be that they will just monitor you more closely than they would someone who was in the common range. Source(s): Im a PhD student who studies thyroid hormone and a medical student.
If you are not experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism, this may not be significant. It is an abnormal level, but if you are sensation well, it can simply be monitored. Source(s): I'm a physician.
Thank you for the question. An excellent question at that.
Dr. Gaellon's assessment is correct.
This is a VERY adjectives clinical scenario, the management of which has become (somewhat) controversial over the last ten years.
As Dr. Gaellon points out, yes, your TSH is strangely high. Despite what the lab reports as the normal "reference range" for the TSH, a "true normal" scope is 0.5 to 2.5 mU/L.
You have a condition called subclinical hypothyroidism, provided that you do not have symptoms of "overt" hypothyroidism.
As long as your free hormone smooth of thyroxine, which is the hormone that your thyroid gland produces and secretes is normal, then you do not enjoy true hypothyroidism.
Further, as Dr Gaellon points out, as long as you do not have symptoms, and as long as your "free thyroxine" blood level is normal, consequently no treatment (i.e., replacement thyroxine) is needed.
However, you may be at an increased risk for the development of true hypothyroidism, which has been traditionally diagnosed when the TSH is greater than 10.0 mU/L. At this smooth, the free thyroxine level is often low or borderline low. It is at this point where (most) clinicians own traditionally offered to start treatment. This is where some controversy exists (when to start treatment).
So, what places you at an increased risk of developing hypothyroidism? Well, a strong family history of hypothyroidism does not bode well. Secondly, if you own certain anti-thyroid antibodies in your system, then surrounded by clinical theory, you are more likely to develop hypothyroidism.
BOTTOM LINE: I agree with Dr. Gaellon. You probably do not require treatment. I recommend that you own your TSH checked at six-month intervals for one year to determine if your TSH is "trending up". For example, if in six months your TSH is 6.3 and in one year it is 8.2, and provided that you are still free of symptoms, then it is clear that your thyroid gland is slowing down and that you are destined to develop overt hypothyroidism. At that point, you and your physician can get decisions whether to start replacement treatment well before the TSH is greater than 10.0 or you develop symptoms. I do not recommend conducting tests for anti-thyroid antibodies (other internists and endocrinologists do), because they're an expensive test and add very little to the clinical decree making. However, clinicians have slightly different philosophies and approaches to this problem.
I wish you well. Source(s): My remote medical training.
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Answers:
Yes, your TSH is elevated (TSH is the hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroid hormone) so an elevated level COULD be a sign that your body is trying to compensate for too little thyroid hormone. However, in the imperial scheme of things, your TSH level isn't too far outside the normal collection, and like the M.D. said, if you aren't suffering any symptoms of hypothyroidism it isn't something you need to worry just about. My guess would be that they will just monitor you more closely than they would someone who was in the common range. Source(s): Im a PhD student who studies thyroid hormone and a medical student.
If you are not experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism, this may not be significant. It is an abnormal level, but if you are sensation well, it can simply be monitored. Source(s): I'm a physician.
Thank you for the question. An excellent question at that.
Dr. Gaellon's assessment is correct.
This is a VERY adjectives clinical scenario, the management of which has become (somewhat) controversial over the last ten years.
As Dr. Gaellon points out, yes, your TSH is strangely high. Despite what the lab reports as the normal "reference range" for the TSH, a "true normal" scope is 0.5 to 2.5 mU/L.
You have a condition called subclinical hypothyroidism, provided that you do not have symptoms of "overt" hypothyroidism.
As long as your free hormone smooth of thyroxine, which is the hormone that your thyroid gland produces and secretes is normal, then you do not enjoy true hypothyroidism.
Further, as Dr Gaellon points out, as long as you do not have symptoms, and as long as your "free thyroxine" blood level is normal, consequently no treatment (i.e., replacement thyroxine) is needed.
However, you may be at an increased risk for the development of true hypothyroidism, which has been traditionally diagnosed when the TSH is greater than 10.0 mU/L. At this smooth, the free thyroxine level is often low or borderline low. It is at this point where (most) clinicians own traditionally offered to start treatment. This is where some controversy exists (when to start treatment).
So, what places you at an increased risk of developing hypothyroidism? Well, a strong family history of hypothyroidism does not bode well. Secondly, if you own certain anti-thyroid antibodies in your system, then surrounded by clinical theory, you are more likely to develop hypothyroidism.
BOTTOM LINE: I agree with Dr. Gaellon. You probably do not require treatment. I recommend that you own your TSH checked at six-month intervals for one year to determine if your TSH is "trending up". For example, if in six months your TSH is 6.3 and in one year it is 8.2, and provided that you are still free of symptoms, then it is clear that your thyroid gland is slowing down and that you are destined to develop overt hypothyroidism. At that point, you and your physician can get decisions whether to start replacement treatment well before the TSH is greater than 10.0 or you develop symptoms. I do not recommend conducting tests for anti-thyroid antibodies (other internists and endocrinologists do), because they're an expensive test and add very little to the clinical decree making. However, clinicians have slightly different philosophies and approaches to this problem.
I wish you well. Source(s): My remote medical training.
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