TSH level

[tuckerdog]

You have to go by the normal range posted by the lab that ran the test.  The normal range is specific to the methodology used for the test because immunoassays are dependent on the specificity of the antibodies used.  What the normal range means is when that methodology was set up they tested a very large population of people and 95% of people tested with that methodology did not have symptoms of low thyroid using those that methodology.  If the population shows a Gaussian distribution, that is typically how reference ranges are established.  Cross studies are run between methodologies.  A sample that is in the normal category run by one method should also be in the normal category run by the second method and visa versa.  The immunoassay with the narrower normal range is now preferred but for determining if a result is normal or not you have to go by the published reference range for the methodology used for running the test.

To answer your question directly, there are several methodologies for any lab test so the one used for your test is just another methodology, not one of the two referenced by Dragonfly.

TD

[DragonflyC]

Tuckerdog is correct that lab methodology determines the ranges they use, which is why your lab uses 0.4--4.  That doesn't mean, however, that it's necessarily OK that you are on the high end of the normal range.  It's a range based on averages, but an autoimmune condition can create a slightly different situation than that faced by your average, healthy person.

Most important, BeBe, is how you feel. The thyroid is sensitive, especially for those of us with autoimmune thyroid diseases.  We generally need to stay on the lower end of the normal range for TSH (regardless of the range used by the lab).  I really think that you should ask your doctor for a TPO test.  If your thyroid is being attacked by your body, it may be affecting you in ways that the TSH test doesn't reveal.  It would also give you a better picture of what's happening.  If your antithyroid antibodies are normal, then you can start looking at other potential causes.  Even SJS can cause a lot of weird symptoms, as can other autoimmune conditions.  As I said, if you have one, it's not unusual to develop another. 

Now, a person's TSH level can change, even within the course of a day.  A jump from 2 to 4 within a few months isn't shocking.  Scottie's experience of a TSH of 42 isn't even the highest I've heard of.  That said, Patze and I both got quite sick with TSH levels right around 5.  I've heard of doctors insisting that people can't be sick with TSHs under 11, but my doctor's first diagnosis of me (before seeing my TSH of 5.6 and my high antibody levels) was that I probably had R.A. so bad that I'd be in a wheelchair within three years because I could barely move when I came to see him.  Only my antibodies revealed the whole, and thank goodness better, story.

[tuckerdog]

I agree with Dragonfly.  I never had any idea how badly one could feel from a thyroid problem.  I have been on both ends of that stick.  First my thryoid was too low and I was tired all the time and my skin was dry and there were cracks on the skin of my feet, bbut my mind was ok.  Then a bad prescription sent my thyroid over the top.  My TSH went to zero (that means my thryoid concentration was too high).  Talk about brain fog!!!  I couldn't think, I was hot all the time, tired all the time and I was very depressed - thinking I was getting sicker with SJS.  I was at the point where I thought I would have to be put in a nursing home for dementia because I was so confused.  Once the thryoid was adjusted I felt a whole lot better.  Thyroid is powerful.

Tucker

[Billydude]

I've gained a little weight too I think but I blame it on my new love of Eskimo Pies.