What Causes Sudden Weight Gain When TSH Level Is 3 MIU/L?

Posted on Sun, 17 Jan 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 17 Jan 2016 Answered on

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I take nature thyroid My tsh was 3. But my t4 and t3 low. After starting the thyroid at 60mg My tsh went up to 4.19. My T4 lower and t3 much higher. I continue to gain weight and be constipated. Also can I take it at night. Why did my tsh go up retc

Answered by Dr. Binu Parameswaran Pillai (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Not preferred at night

Detailed Answer:
Good day,
Noted your concern.
In hashimoto's thyroiditis, it is common for TSH to fluctuate for initial few years.
The TSH of 3 and 4.19 are with in the normal range. In most labs, normal range of TSH is between 0.3 to 4.5. However, most endocrinologists including myself would like to keep TSH around 1 to 2 for optimal results.
I must also stress that, nature thyroid and armour thyroid have variable amount of t3 and t4 in it and the results are very variable.
Where as newer preparations like Synthroid or Eltroxin have pure T4 in it. These newer drugs are preferred over Nature thyroid. These newer pills are easy to titrate as well. Taking thyroid medicines at night is not preferred due to less absorption from stomach.

I would encourage you to switch over to Synthroid after meeting your doctor.
I would appreciate if you could attach the thyroid blood reports.
Regards
Binu

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar