Posted by noa on April 11, 2002, at 16:09:05
In reply to Re: Rapid cycling and thyroid disorders » Ritch, posted by HMK on April 11, 2002, at 10:53:27
> I got my TSH levels back and they were in the normal range- 3.98! Now I can't figure out why I'm on this roller coaster.
Please see info at the about.com thyroid page, or in the thyroid and depression folder at PBtips at yahoogroups. (link at top of Babble page)
There is new research that for many people the "normal" range is not really normal for them, and that any TSH over 2 is highly predictive of thyroid illness being diagnosed in the future, ie when more "obvious" signs emerge.
Remember that "normal" is a statistical norm, not necessarily the right level for a particular individual. The range is .5 to 5 or therabouts. When my TSH was over 3 I was a basket case. My endocrinologist set the thyroid med levels so that my TSH is below 1. He paid more attention to my symptoms than to the statistical norm. But too many doctors rely on the statistical norm without paying attention to the symptoms.
>Do individuals with depressive illness need to have different thyroid functioning levels than the general populace?
Good question. According to my endocrinologist's letter to my Primary Care doctor 2 years ago--YES.
Somewhere in the archives there is a post of mine with an excerpt from that letter.I really do recommend you see some of the resources. Two book suggestions, also, are Living Well with Hypothyroidism and The Thyroid Solution. There is a new one out but I don't know the title.
poster:noa
thread:102498
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102785.html