what is considered normal on lab tests may not necessarily be normal for you. let me give you some background information. the test they usually perform to initially diagnose hypothyroidism is tsh or thyroid stimulating hormone. it has an inverse relationship with your actual thyroid hormone. think of it as a bill collector. if you don't respond when the bill collector knocks on your door they will start to knock on your door or call you with increasing frequency until you do respond. the tsh is the bill collector and if your thyroid "isn't paying the bills" aka isn't producing enough thyroid hormone (t4); tsh levels will continue to increase until the thyroid responds or your pituitary (master) gland decides its a hopeless cause and tsh production decreases or stops. the reason for this diatribe is because people get confused when they are told they have hypothyroidism and their tsh is too high. they don't realize the tsh is not actually the thyroid hormone (which is the hormone that will be low in this case). i just want to ensure there is no confusion when your provider gives you lab results. some providers don't realize that if your tsh is in the upper range of normal people and especially women may still have symptoms. thus you may want to work with your doctor on getting your tsh down to the lower ranges of normal (0. 7 -2 approximately). . the range used to be 0. 5 to 5 for tsh. the national board of endocrinology now suggests the normal range be changed to 0. 3 to 3 because people are still having symptoms despite being within "normal range". i prefer to keep my tsh around 1 because that's when i feel normal. " everybody is different so that may not work for you. what it boils down to is you are a person not a lab result; if you have symptoms tell your primary care doctor. do some research write down questions/symptoms when you think of them and talk to your pcp about it. if you do not think he or she is taking you seriously get a second opinion.
19 year old female synthroid. 25 for approximately one year and my symptoms are still not alleviating. why is this? . i have been on synthroid. 25mg for over a year now for diagnosed hypothryroidism. i go for blood work every three months and it always comes back normal now that i am on medication. on the other hand my symptoms still exist and affect my day to day life. i am always exhausted and i can't seem to lose the weight that i put on when i was not diagnosed even though i work out and eat right. i can't strengthen my medication. why is this happening and how do i fix it?