Thyroid disorder

[rains]

dimsum:

sorry sorry!! Pls accept my apologies! I misunderstood your post. When u said the list is not exhaustive, I assumed you were referring to those 结拜姐妹 and thus you have many many sisters.[/quote]

haha, I see. No need to apologise lah.

[D3-n]

grownupbaby:

May I know what it means if TSH is too low and out of the range and the rest of the readings are ok. Is it considered as thyroid problem?

Two readings are important to see if there is any thyroid issue.
One is the TSH, the other is the T4.
So if your TSH is too low, it is a case of hypothyroid. Your thyroid is not producing enough of the hormone.
Minimum is 0.36, so what is your reading?
Also, do you experience the symptoms like sleepiness, fatigue, weight gain etc?

[Mdm Koh]

My TSH was slightly low (about 1 unit below the minimum) but all other indicators were ok. The doctor said it was fine. No treatment needed.

[rains]

I came across this web page when I was wondering what Free T4 and TSH are:


http://labtestsonline.org/understanding ... /tab/test/

It states the possible symptoms of hyper and hypothyroidism.

It also has a table stating the conditions you may have when your T4 and TSH are high/normal and low.

[D3-n]

Generally, as we age, our thyroid will become less active. So someone who may suffer from hyperthyroid at one stage of his lives may end up with hypothyroid in his golden years.

So yes, usually the doctors will be more concerned only if the reading is higher.
The consequences of hyperthyroid is definitely more serious than hypothyroid.
And that’s the reason doctors encourage patients to remove the thryoid, as hypothryoid is easier to treat than hyperthryoid. But I won’t advise that.

[Jennifer]

rains:

I came across this web page when I was wondering what Free T4 and TSH are:


http://labtestsonline.org/understanding ... /tab/test/

It states the possible symptoms of hyper and hypothyroidism.

It also has a table stating the conditions you may have when your T4 and TSH are high/normal and low.

:thankyou:

[Jennifer]

D3@n:

Generally, as we age, our thyroid will become less active. So someone who may suffer from hyperthyroid at one stage of his lives may end up with hypothyroid in his golden years.

So yes, usually the doctors will be more concerned only if the reading is higher.
The consequences of hyperthyroid is definitely more serious than hypothyroid.
And that's the reason doctors encourage patients to remove the thryoid, as hypothryoid is easier to treat than hyperthryoid. But I won't advise that.

Why?

[rains]

A friend’s friend got her thyroid removed when she had hyperthyroidism, at the doctor’s advice. Unbeknownst to her, she has to take medicine for thyroid hormones for the rest of her life since without thyroid gland, the body can’t produce thyroid hormones anymore.

[Jennifer]

rains:

A friend's friend got her thyroid removed when she had hyperthyroidism, at the doctor's advice. Unbeknownst to her, she has to take medicine for thyroid hormones for the rest of her life since without thyroid gland, the body can't produce thyroid hormones anymore.

Is it really very difficult to treat hyperthyroidism?

[rains]

If I remember correctly, there was a growth in her thyroid, so the doc advised the removal. But I thought she could use a second opinion.


In most cases, hyperthyroidism is treated with long-term medication. I don’t find it too bad. The pills are tiny and hyperthyroidism can be fully treated, so there’s hope. It is not terminal and doesn’t cause too much inconvenience except that I find wearing black and dark colours makes me feel intolerably warm now. But that’s all right. I do find that my temper is short and feel the fatigue but I just have to live with it.

I don’t feel like a patient except for the need to take medicine, but it’s just once a day.