Dr. Doug;
I feel that I have low thyroid, as my symptoms match the lists I read on the Internet.
I have: fatigue, feeling cold much of the time, breaking nails, thinning hair, weakness, poor sleep, short of breath at times
But….you said my thyroid test is perfectly normal. Your wrote me…..”Your thyroid is normal…normal TSH.” What am I to think? How is this possible that I seem to match the symptoms so well but supposedly my thyroid is normal?
I still think I’d like to take a thyroid supplement.
Patient ‘S’
Dear S:
Thyroid testing is simple and complicated at the same time.
Happy to supplement your thyroid if you want to see if that will help you, but I promise you that your thyroid function is in the proper and normal range for your body.
How do I know? The TSH is the way, and is confirmed by the T3/T4.
TSH is a small protein made by the pituitary gland, a grape-sized organ at the base of the brain made of a combination of hormone secreting cells and nerve endings from deep withint the brain. TSH is produced by this organ at levels based on the pituitaries sense of thyroid level. In other words, this is the perfect biological monitor of thyroid level and is produced in amounts to maintain that level. If thyroid hormone is low….TSH goes up. High TSH means low Thyroid. If THyroid is high, then TSH is lower. This is the opposite of what you might think. Lower TSH means higher thyroid sensed by the pituitary.
So….if we gave you excess thyroid…the TSH will become 0. If we vacuum up all the thyroid hormone in your body, then THS is 100 (+).
So…..you have the perfect monitor for thyroid level in your own body…and it says….Thyroid Is Normal.
Still…we can supplement beyond the normal. In my experience you don’t feel better, but we can do this and you can see for yourself.
The symptoms you describe are no doubt real, but I don’t think they are a function of thyroid level or lack thereof. Sorry.
PS…..Here is a fine website for accurate thyroid information
There are so many sites that cover this topic, but they often are selling products for weight loss. Be careful what you read on the internet from unknown sources.
Dr Doug