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Low TSH, Normal Free Thyroxine?

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Thyroid Disorders
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Posted 7/13/2021 8:17 AM (GMT -8)
Over the past few months I've experienced 10+ pounds unexplained weight loss and now have daily chronic diarrhea as well (for the past 2 months). My GP ran blood work, all of which came back normal except for a few of the thyroid tests. She is away until next week and I'm wondering if anyone has an idea what this might mean. She only ran TSH and Free T4 Thyroxine. The TSH came back as slightly low - .37. The Free Thyroxine is normal at 1.2. What should I expect given these results and my current symptoms? BTW, I'm a 59 y/o woman, if that matters. Thanks.

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Posted 7/13/2021 9:13 AM (GMT -8)
Hi,

Having this border line low TSH might be incident, any way, ask your doctor to test for the thyroid antibodies, those are anti-TPOab,TGab and TSI, if either is positive then you have an autoimmune disease that might be the reason for the low TSH.

In that case, there are three treatment options; anti thyroid medications that suppress the thyroid gland and brings your TSH higher, there is the RAI which will make you hypO for the rest of your life and will need to take Levothyroxine for the rest of your life and there is also the possibility of an operation to take all or part of your thyroid gland out, that said , each treatment option is suitable for certain conditions of the patient, for example operation is usually done if you have tumor or nodules that are growing despite normal TSH .

Best,
Posted 7/13/2021 10:19 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks very much. I will ask her about these tests. My only question is all of the tests you are suggesting seem to be for hypothyroidism. I really don't know much/anything about thyroid disease but I think if I had hypo I would most likely be gaining weight, not losing weight, am I right? I'm not sure about the low TSH - whether that can indicate either hypo or hyper, but my symptoms seem more in line with hyper if they are thyroid related at all? Thanks again.

Post Edited (blazemom2012) : 7/13/2021 12:28:17 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/13/2021 10:37 AM (GMT -8)
anti-TPO and TGab cause hashimoto's disease which can cause both hypO and hypERthyroidism,
TSI causes Graves which causes hypERthyroidism.

Low TSH indicative of being hypER(over active) and high TSH is indicative of being hypO(under active thyroid).

As for the symptoms, hypO mostly causes weight gain but it can cause weight loss also, and hypER can cause weight loss.

You can check the link below for 300 possible hypO symptoms:
https://hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypothyroidism-symptoms-yes-really/

Best,
Posted 7/13/2021 10:43 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks. That's really helpful. Hopefully I can get my doctor to do the additional tests. Otherwise, if we don't find any other cause for my issues, maybe I'll consult an Endocrinologist. Thanks again.
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