What Does High TSH Level Indicate?

Posted on Tue, 13 May 2014

Question: My mother is 62year old, yesterday as per the instruction from ortho we have given the blood test for to get following report and also the report readings are mentioned below. ESR (Westergren's method) - 42mm at 1hour, Serum Creatinine 1.5mg/dl, Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) 43.33mclU/ml Please suggest me the steps to be followed in resolving the issues one by one.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (20 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Describe her symptoms.... Detailed Answer: Hi, I am concerned about the very high TSH numbers. Can you describe her primary symptoms for which those tests were ordered. Based on what I see, she needs further evaluation of her thyroid. She may asked to consult a physician or endocrinologist for its management. Serum creatinine of 1.5mg/dl and ESR of 42 rarely bothers me. However in the background of high TSH it may be related. Please provide addition information about her symptoms and be prepared to consult an endocrinologist. Hope this answers your question. Let me know if you need clarifications. Regards

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (20 minutes later)

Hello Doctor, Thanks for your quick reply, she is having leg pain (both the knees pain from long days, say few years) and recently she has severe pain in her ankle with swelling, hence we went to the doctor.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (7 hours later)

Brief Answer: Hypothyroidism explains swelling and pain... Detailed Answer: The pain and swelling can be due to hypothyroidism. As I said initially that needs to be investigated further. Pain and swelling should come down as her thyroid is corrected. Endocrinologist will do a better job in managing this problem. Raised ESR may or may not be related. His specialist after the initial evaluation will be shine light on this entity. Do not be worried. She can be managed well. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask for clarifications before closing the discussion. Regards

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (5 hours later)

Doctor, Iam sorry to ask this, but i need this who is the best doctor / hospitol to be consulted in bangalore, who can help me in this regard (please suggest his name and address to be contacted) , to be contacted on tomorrow, please suggest at the earliest. Thanking you, XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (11 hours later)

Brief Answer: Nearest Multidisciplinary hospital... Detailed Answer: Hi, Thyroid issues can't be addressed in a single consultation. It will require multiple follow ups. She will also need to follow up this doctor regularly may be for life to adjust her medicines. Therefore if I were you, I would choose the nearest multidisciplinary hospital and initiate therapy. I will think of a second doctor if initial doctor is not effective in getting TSH values down. Alternatively you can try this list http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/Endocrinologists-in-Bangalore/L18862S12 Good luck!!

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