In November my TSH came back as <0.05, which is below the normal lower limit of 0.35. Free T4 was 1.6, just one tenth of a point higher than the normal upper limit for that lab. Even so, I felt horrible: shaky, weak, bruised-feeling thighs, nervous as a bug. I had the attention span of an Irish setter.
In December I got to see an endocrinologist who ordered a thyroid cascade. The TSH came back as <0.05 again, and the free T4 was the same, too, although just within bounds of the lab's normal range. Free T3 was 5.2, just outside a normal range of 2.1–4.1. So . . . not so bad!
I tested positive for only TSH receptor antibody. I don't know the number, just that the titer was "high."
The endocrinologist also looked at my palms and declared them thickened. He wondered if I didn't have too much growth hormone on board, "Although you don't look like you have acromegaly" to which I added a silent "Amen!" Acromegaly is the result of too much growth hormone after the growth plates of the bones have tossed in the towel, and results in a coarsening of features. Think "Lurch" or Andre the Giant. It most commonly strikes middle-aged people, too.
So, he ordered IGF1, or insulin-like growth factor, a test that indirectly reveals the amount of growth hormone pumped out of the pituitary. I told him why bother—I actually have the more delicate hands of the women in my family. Surprisingly, though, my IGF1 levels came back low. Sweet. So I'm becoming prematurely wizened from the inside out? We will recheck IGF1 when I'm euthyroid and go from there.
No comments:
Post a Comment