Thyroid Testing Results

I had my thyroid appointment last Thursday. I went to Dr. O. I really liked him. He actually sat and spoke with me for 30 minutes which most doctors that I have seen have not done that. He was very easy to talk to and was in agreement with everything that I am doing. He also has treated a patient that has the same thing I do so I really feel like he gets it.

I received my test results this morning. My thyroid is mildly underactive with a mildly elevated TSH. Ideal is 0.7 - 1.0 and this number elevates if your thyroid is underactive. Mine is 2.74 so it is elevated. So I have officially been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. He is suggesting I start a trial of Armour thyroid - I will take one pill a day for 6 - 8 weeks and then get my hormone levels tested again. We spoke last week about the pill as well - it is a more natural pill so I like that aspect of it, it goes along with my path that I am taking. He told me that he likes to start dosages out low and go through a trial period and then increase it if we aren't seeing results. My pill that I will start out on is 30mg.

He also told me that I don't have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I was so sure that I had it that I wasn't prepared at all for that answer. I was fine initially finding out about it. But, the hard part for me is telling people. The first thing I did was call my husband and I just broke down in tears. Each time that I have to tell him this isn't it just kills me. I just feel like when there is a problem I should be able to fix it. And I can't do that with this.

I asked the lab since they were taking my blood if they could test my FSH and LH while I was there. FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) is the hormone that they tested at the beginning, since it was so high that is how they diagnosed me with POF. The highest it has been is 123, then it has also been 114 and 104 so I guess a positive would be this is the lowest reading I have had - 94. However, in order to get pregnant they say it should be under 10. Other things that I have researched say that it isn't a true reading anyway unless it is on day 3 of your cycle and since I don't have one it is an inaccurate reading. I guess it is all in the way you look at things.

All of this and the fact that it is freezing cold and dreary outside, my husband is out of town on business and I feel like I am coming down with a cold didn't make for a great day. Lots of tears and disappointment. I normally try and be positive but this is real life and I am blogging so that I can look back once I am pregnant and see all that I have been able to overcome. So, I am just putting all the truth out there, even if it isn't pretty.

Below are all of my test results:

Test	Result
TSH	2.74
Free T3	3.5
Free T4	1.28
Reverse T3, Serum	14.1
Thyroid Peroxidase	8
FSH	94.5
LH	34.3

I picked up my pills this evening and am going to start taking them in the morning.