Really High Tsh - Praying For Surgery!

[miswoo 23]

Well the week before last I went to my PNP and got lab work done and my TSH was 96.5 (Normal 1-5ish)! She said she is not sure how I am even moving around right now. What really sucks is my level was actually right on about 6-7 months ago on 274mcg of levothyroxine but my old PNP made a mistake and told me that I was Hypo again, but really my TSH number was low. So I decided to switch from levothyroxine to Armor Thyroid (60mg twice a day) and kept forgetting to take it regularly.

Anyway True Results re-drew my thyroid levels yesterday and were supposed to call me back today to let me know what they were. They didn't and now they are closed until Monday morning and I am left worrying if I will even have surgery on Thursday. The real kicker is I started my preop diet today...as if this isn't hard enough!

Anyone else had experience with True Results and high TSH levels? My patient advocate said she would still try to get it approved because the Dr. normally doesn't care as long as it's not something that will affect your actual surgery.

[mylynn1377 93]

I know my clinic that I'm going through doesn't care either about the hormone level as long as it isn't something that can clot or cause a bleeding issue. I would say try to remember your meds this weekend and keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully if it's their policy to not worry about it, then they won't worry about it as long as they know you are trying to get things under control.

[miswoo 23]

I know my clinic that I'm going through doesn't care either about the hormone level as long as it isn't something that can clot or cause a bleeding issue. I would say try to remember your meds this weekend and keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully if it's their policy to not worry about it, then they won't worry about it as long as they know you are trying to get things under control.

Thank you for replying, I am definately taking them now but I think part of the problem is I just saw on the bottle not to take it within 4 hours of taking Iron and I was taking it with a Multivitamin. The patient advocate said she has seen it cause people problems and that is why she was going to try and get clearance from a certain dr.

[Cocoabean 430]

I would think they'd want that # more normal before proceeding. That makes you extremely hypothyroid. If the cause is known, then treatment and re-running the test is good. Sorry you have to wait to find out the results. You cannot see them on-line?

[miswoo 23]

I would think they'd want that # more normal before proceeding. That makes you extremely hypothyroid. If the cause is known, then treatment and re-running the test is good. Sorry you have to wait to find out the results. You cannot see them on-line?

I wish I could see them online but have no info on that. I know it will most likely still be way out of range but I guess my real issue is that I don't think it is anything that would cause an issue during surgery. They also did an EKG and pulmonary functions and everything else looks fine. Just seems silly to me if I couldn't get weight-loss surgery because I have hypothyroidism...duh, lol

[Sue G 0]

I had to wait an additional 4 weeks until mine went back down. I too was very bad about taking the pills every day. Being told I couldn't get the surgery until it went back down REALLY kicked me into taking it every day from then on!! Get yourself a daily pill box if you don't have one. You should be taking your Multivitamin daily too, so put those in there too. Definitely helps.

[miswoo 23]

I had to wait an additional 4 weeks until mine went back down. I too was very bad about taking the pills every day. Being told I couldn't get the surgery until it went back down REALLY kicked me into taking it every day from then on!! Get yourself a daily pill box if you don't have one. You should be taking your multivitamin daily too, so put those in there too. Definitely helps.

Thank you Sue. You are right it does kick you into gear but I am really confused on whether to switch back to levothyroxine or stick with the armor thyroid. I just don't know how much of it is the med and how much of it is my fault.

[Cocoabean 430]

I would stick with the armour. It is a T3 T4 combo pill and better suited if you have trouble converting t3 to t4 on your own, They can pump t3 (levythyroxine) into you all day long, but if your body cannot convert it to t4, then you are sunk. Downfall of strictly t4 meds is they are short acting. So you have to have frequent dosing.

[miswoo 23]

I would stick with the armour. It is a T3 T4 combo pill and better suited if you have trouble converting t3 to t4 on your own' date=' They can pump t3 (levythyroxine) into you all day long, but if your body cannot convert it to t4, then you are sunk. Downfall of strictly t4 meds is they are short acting. So you have to have frequent dosing.[/quote']

It is actually why I switched but does it work for everyone? I am just second guessing it because my level has never been that high on levothyroxine

[Cocoabean 430]

Armour is short acting, at least the t4 part. That is why there is twice daily dosing. So you really don't have any fall back if you miss a dose. But if you were put on it due to conversion issues, then that is what you need. Or levoxyl and cytomel. But ti would be the same idea of NOT being able to miss a dose or three.

In medicine, there is no one size fits all. Do they know why your TSH went that crazy? If it were me, I would want to know that before proceeding with surgery. If the cause is something that needs intensive treatment, that should be handled first. WLS can wait.

Or, do you already know why you are Hypo, and you were non-compliant with your meds?

For example, I had radiation on my thyroid, it no longer functions. If I stop taking my levoxyl, my pituitary will start screaming for thyroid hormones..the TSH goes up. And up, And UP. I don't know how long it would take to reach 96, that is pretty extreme. But if mine were that high, I would KNOW the cause if I were not taking my meds.

I would want to be assured by my PCP or endocrinologist that I was OK for this surgery with my TSH that high. Did they do a full thyroid panel? It could be that the TSH is wonky, but your ACTUAL thyroid levels in your blood are normal.

[MeredithMcFee 98]

Denise is so right on all of the above. I had my thyroid removed in 2004 due to thyroid Ca. The most important thing is to take your meds daily, best at the same time, never with your Iron pills and always an hour before you eat or 3 hours after you eat and go for periodic check ups {blood tests} with your Endo or PCP to keep an eye on your levels. That innocent little butterfly shaped gland is not so innocent and can wreak lots of havoc throughout your body. And to add to Denise's comments, Medicine is not an exact Science in general, let alone on the individual. Good luck with both thyroid meds and upcoming WLS surgery.

[Cocoabean 430]

Denise is so right on all of the above. I had my thyroid removed in 2004 due to thyroid Ca. The most important thing is to take your meds daily, best at the same time, never with your Iron pills and always an hour before you eat or 3 hours after you eat and go for periodic check ups {blood tests} with your Endo or PCP to keep an eye on your levels. That innocent little butterfly shaped gland is not so innocent and can wreak lots of havoc throughout your body. And to add to Denise's comments, Medicine is not an exact Science in general, let alone on the individual. Good luck with both thyroid meds and upcoming WLS surgery.

Don't take it with Calcium (milk or creamer) or other minerals, either. Such a pain in the patootey medication!

[Mariaband 11]

Hi

I hope results will come back to normal soon…I am hypo as well.. I think the issue is not the lap band surgery itself the issue is that with unbalanced thyroid level you will not be able to lose that much weight if any so for me it is waste of money and time if you do it with a high level of thyroid you will struggle to lose a pound…Actually I never been over weight in my whole life.. I was always 132 pounds till my thyroid and pregnancy take place and I am now 240 pounds… So Thyroid really affects your metabolism if it is unbalanced. You can go ahead with the surgery and your doc maybe will not stop the surgery but I were you I would wait till my thyroid level is balanced as most of the weight lose will be in your first year so don’t waste this year because your thyroid is not balanced..

For the medication it has to be daily first thing in the morning same time daily and no Vitamins with them especially Iron and Calcium and never eat anything that has calcium 2 hrs after the medication (milk, cheese ,…) and not to eat for an hr in general.. some people taking the medication at night before bed if they can’t wait for Multivitamins, Breakfast and coffee for that long ask your doc about this option… not a good idea to forget your bills because this is you have stressing your body one day you give your body the hormone another day not…

At the end don’t worry I am sure everything will be all right.. every time I got pregnant my level goes dramatically up and it goes back to normal when I change my dose…

[miswoo 23]

So to clear up a few questions...I had radioactive iodine done in 2003 and have been chasing the thyroid level every since which is what landed me at 274mcg of levothyroxine. That dose finally gave me a normal level but my NP made a mistake and thought I was low again. I got frustrated and asked to switch to armor. She told me to take it twice a day WITH MEALS. It was harder for me to remember and after reading more that says not to take it with certain things, I think the doses I did take were probably ineffective. I was always extremely compliant with the levo and honestly the forgetfulness got worse lately (which is a side effect of a really high tsh level).

Is anyone else having good results on armor and how are you taking it?

[miswoo 23]

So to clear up a few questions...I had radioactive iodine done in 2003 and have been chasing the thyroid level every since which is what landed me at 274mcg of levothyroxine. That dose finally gave me a normal level but my NP made a mistake and thought I was low again. I got frustrated and asked to switch to armor. She told me to take it twice a day WITH MEALS. It was harder for me to remember and after reading more that says not to take it with certain things, I think the doses I did take were probably ineffective. I was always extremely compliant with the levo and honestly the forgetfulness got worse lately (which is a side effect of a really high tsh level).

Is anyone else having good results on armor and how are you taking it?