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What Does My Thyroid Test Report Indicate?
Posted on
Thu, 11 Dec 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 11 Dec 2014
Answered on
Mon, 29 Dec 2014
Last reviewed on
Question : Hello Doc, My tsh reading was 7.22 last December. Thereafter I was prescribed Thyronorm 25mcg. I have been taking this dose ever since and a re-test in March '14 showed the reading as 4.5. Subsequently a test 2 days back showed a reading of 2.51. I am 51 yrs old lady and have undergone hysterectomy. Do I have to continue with the dose or can I stop altogether. What happens if I discontinue. Kindly advise.
What are the side effects of this medicine, kindly inform.
PASS WORD FOR SEEING THE REPORT - 'BOSE' (in upper case ).
What are the side effects of this medicine, kindly inform.
PASS WORD FOR SEEING THE REPORT - 'BOSE' (in upper case ).
Brief Answer:
You should continue the medicine.
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for posting the concern in HCM.
You have mentioned a series of blood reports of fasting TSH level. The first one was before the initiation of treatment. The others are follow up reports. You now want to know whether you need to continue the medicine and the possible side effects. I will answer your questions one by one.
Firstly, you had subclinical hypothyroidism. The treatment of choice in this case is replacement of thyroxine hormone, which are not sufficiently being produced by your body. A gland in our brain produces TSH. This increases thyroxine production from your thyroid gland. As your thyroid gland has been producing less thyroxine, the gland in your brain has been trying to normalise the production by secreting more TSH. So, in order to keep things back to normal, we need to give thyroxine from outside. That is what your doctor actually did. And he prescribed absolutely correct dose for you. Now after getting the thyroxine needed by the body (total amount = thyroxine produced by the body + thyroxine from outside) your body doesn't need to produce extra TSH. So, TSH level has come to normal. Now, you need to continue the same dose and repeat TSH test at every 3-6 months, depending upon your doctor's advice.
If you discontinue thyronorm and your TSH level rise again, then all the ill effects of hypothyroidism will come back. It may progress to life threatening conditions like depression, heart failure and coma.
Secondly, regarding the side effects, it is a very very safe medicine. It is so safe that it can be given to pregnant women too if found hypothyroid. But, every medicine has its side effects. Common side effects are nausea, increased pulse, increase in BP, sweating, heat tolerance, tremors, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nervousness, depression, weight loss etc. You may watch for these symptoms and if they appear than you will need to visit your doctor. More serious ones include aggravation of ischaemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmia, seizure disorder etc but are rare particularly at low dosage like 25 mcg.
I think you are satisfied with the answer. If you find this answer helpful, please close the thread and rate my answer.
Regards
Dr Kaushik Sarkar
You should continue the medicine.
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for posting the concern in HCM.
You have mentioned a series of blood reports of fasting TSH level. The first one was before the initiation of treatment. The others are follow up reports. You now want to know whether you need to continue the medicine and the possible side effects. I will answer your questions one by one.
Firstly, you had subclinical hypothyroidism. The treatment of choice in this case is replacement of thyroxine hormone, which are not sufficiently being produced by your body. A gland in our brain produces TSH. This increases thyroxine production from your thyroid gland. As your thyroid gland has been producing less thyroxine, the gland in your brain has been trying to normalise the production by secreting more TSH. So, in order to keep things back to normal, we need to give thyroxine from outside. That is what your doctor actually did. And he prescribed absolutely correct dose for you. Now after getting the thyroxine needed by the body (total amount = thyroxine produced by the body + thyroxine from outside) your body doesn't need to produce extra TSH. So, TSH level has come to normal. Now, you need to continue the same dose and repeat TSH test at every 3-6 months, depending upon your doctor's advice.
If you discontinue thyronorm and your TSH level rise again, then all the ill effects of hypothyroidism will come back. It may progress to life threatening conditions like depression, heart failure and coma.
Secondly, regarding the side effects, it is a very very safe medicine. It is so safe that it can be given to pregnant women too if found hypothyroid. But, every medicine has its side effects. Common side effects are nausea, increased pulse, increase in BP, sweating, heat tolerance, tremors, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nervousness, depression, weight loss etc. You may watch for these symptoms and if they appear than you will need to visit your doctor. More serious ones include aggravation of ischaemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmia, seizure disorder etc but are rare particularly at low dosage like 25 mcg.
I think you are satisfied with the answer. If you find this answer helpful, please close the thread and rate my answer.
Regards
Dr Kaushik Sarkar
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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