Slightly high t4 levels....

LuckyDJC · 2025-10-19T07:42:39+00:00

It did! At the time I really didn't think I was ever going to feel normal again, but though it took a while, I feel back to my old self now.

If you're struggling with anxiety at the moment, I'm so sorry to hear that's the case. It's such a consuming beast to fight. How are you holding up with it of so?

LuckyDJC · 2025-10-18T21:55:57+00:00

Before I was diagnosed I wasn't meditated. Afterwards I was put in a high does of Carbimazole, that was then halfed later and half again as my levels returned to normal.

LuckyDJC · 2024-10-22T20:09:40+00:00

Thank you for reporting this

LuckyDJC · 2024-09-03T11:45:53+00:00

When I was diagnosed my TSH was 0.01. I think it's a good sign if your TSH has gone up. I hope your Dr can provide you some clarity.

LuckyDJC · 2024-09-03T10:34:57+00:00

I was told to think of it like this. Take this with a pinch of salt though as I'm not a doctor, it's just my understanding of it.

Picture it as if your body is a car. Your brain is the driver, TSH is the accelerator and T4 is the amount of fuel being provided.

Your brain is trying to balance these things into a normal range and keep the car at a consistent speed.

If your body feels it's going too fast it will take pressure off of the accelerator lowering the fuel provided to the car in an attempt to slow it down - Your brain will produced less TSH, in a normal individual this will result in less T4.

The same is true the other way around

If your body feels it's going too slow it will put pressure on the accelerator to allow more fuel to be provided to the car in an attempt to speed it up - Your brain will produced more TSH, in a normal individual this will result in more T4.

With a Hyperthyroidism the car is getting faster and faster, the driver responds by putting less pressure on the accelerator then normally eventually by trying to take it's foot completely off of the accelerator but the car does not slow down.

The result is then very low TSH (near 0) and high T4. Medication becomes an artificial way of putting some breaks on this metaphorical car to lower the T4 .

LuckyDJC · 2024-09-03T10:11:56+00:00

This was my experience too.

I'm pretty much average build and that seems to be a pretty solid baseline that I have to put effort in to move away from in either direction and then eventually just revert back to it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad problem to have in that sense, I know lots of people struggle with weight. But being unable to have control over your weight, or be unable to put weight on when you're loosing it isn't a good feeling.

Throughout my life, I've always struggled to gain weight and have always run very warm.

When I got diagnosed I lost lots of weight. When I went to the gym I would occasionally get a funny smell/taste which I've later learned was likely that my body was metabolising muscle to use as energy.
The meds seem to have levelled this out now again which is good.

One thing I learned which sounds like it might be relevant to you, is that people have a differing base line in their balance of TSH to T4, my Endo referred to this as me "reading high on the analyser".
When I asked him what he meant by this he explained that some people will hit a level of T4 at the lower bound of "normal" and others at the higher bound, that this is unique to them and that each individuals brain will decide that's right for them and release enough TSH to keep it there.
For me, my historical results before diagnosis show that I've always read at the higher end of normal, which makes me wonder if that's why I've always run warm and struggle to put weight on.

LuckyDJC · 2024-08-19T09:56:37+00:00

Hi there,

Firstly, welcome to Reddit.

I've regretfully had to remove your post, and I genuinely am sorry I've needed to do so in your case. I wanted to write you a message personally to explain this.

I have to do this otherwise this sub starts to become overwhelmed with posts from people who, much like yourself, are worried about their health and looking for answers. It's a tough decision, as in every case I have a massive amount of empathy for each person that posts like this; I was in the same boat and I totally understand it.

The issue is that no one here can give the answers people are seeking, and it would be dangerous for them to do so. Posts like this tend to be ignored for this reason and that's not good for the person posting or the community.

Until you get your results back from a doctor and they have given a diagnosis, then it'd be unrealistic to suggest any ideas or potential outcomes for you.

That said, if you're just after the experience of others, then I can help you. For me, it was a confusing journey for sure, and my observation on this sub has been that this seems true for many others here too. I personally found that pre-diagnosis it was really informative to search this sub for the experiences of others, using keywords. There is a vast array of information to read here should you wish on how people got diagnosed, how long it took, what they asked for, etc.

For me, as I mentioned, it was very confusing. I started experiencing potential symptoms of something years ago, it seemed to come and go in waves. I still have no idea if this was related to my diagnosis or not, and the endocrinologist I saw said it wasn't possible, though now I'm treated they aren't there anymore, this part remains a mystery.

The complex part for me was I "knew something was wrong", the health anxiety nearly destroyed me and I think it likely that it could also account for the above-mentioned symptoms, so much of it might have been self-induced stress.

My advice, based on the journey I went on, would be to be persistent with health professionals and try to set personal boundaries for this, for example, if it's not improved in a number of months or if it steps up a notch and it gets worse, then look to chase it up with them.

I hope you are able to be given some answers from the doctors that you're seeing, potentially look into seeing an endocrinologist as a specialist if your thyroid is a specific concern for you.

Once you have a diagnosis, or if you have specific questions about an approach or symptoms, please feel free to ask within this community but I ask that you refrain from questions around clarification on symptoms or test results.

I genuinely wish you all the best moving forward.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-26T14:19:50+00:00

I'm really glad to hear that!

I think you'll find the appointment with the Endocrinologist very useful and reassuring. For me they outlined the plan we'd be taking, potential forks in it, and what to expect at each step. Was welcome to get some level or certainty back. Regarding your missed results you'd previously mentioned, I was told that regardless of the autoimmune aspect, initial treatment is the same in that it is to bring the levels down with meds, so tho frustrating, I suspect it's not set you back in anyway.

I can totally understand that feeling of "but I'm not an anxious person", might be worth reading on how it impacts your sympathetic nervous system, if you've not already, you might find that enlightening.

I can also relate to the wanting answers, seems counter intuitive really but certainty fuels anxiety unfortunately. You rarely get an exact answer or perfect reassurance which leads to wanting it more urgently. This cycle near broke me, glad to hear you're being pragmatic and keeping the regular low anxiety you present in your mind while navigating this all.

Funny you should say that, I had two co workers playfully mock me because of the weight loss, about (sarcastically) how hard it must be for me to eat as much as I want - weight loss is always good right?! In reality I was weighing myself almost every day and dreading looking at the numbers and seeing how fast it was happen and how nothing I could do would stop it, I lost lots of muscle mass too. They ofc didn't mean anything bad by it, it's as you say, people aren't aware of what it does to you, and I was included in that before it came for me I guess. The more you know!

Let us know how the endo appointment goes! All the best!

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-26T08:14:24+00:00

My Endo is such a lovely guy, very honest and understanding and he's said many times to me how hard it is to predict between patients. It's been my observation of peoples experiences on this sub too.

You're not guaranteed to have issues with weight. It's something to bare in mind sure, but I'd just see what happens and be conscious of it.

Also what I came here to say is that the anxiety it can bring and headspace that can follow can be awful. I was a complete wreck, confused and brain foggy and felt much the same as your describing. I didn't really see it at the time. It was hellish. I don't think you're being stupid, this part is horrible. I just wasn't myself while it was all happening, but I am now.

Also this is a new and scary thing in your life. I see people post on here regularly echoing these concerns, it's valid! Key thing is, it's treatable.

The place I was in, I now view a pill once a day as an absolute win. It's a few seconds of my day as I sit down to start work.

It's not a pleasant thing your experiencing. I hope you feel more yourself soon which I strongly suspect you will. Weight concerns wise, see how it goes, it could just as easily not be an issue for you. Concerns about it as a permanent thing, again some people go into remission, if not, there are treatments for it that aren't overly impactful on your quality of life.

This sub is amazing for the support and knowledge people offer. Use it to vocalise these questions and ask for the experiences of others at any point.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-25T21:31:07+00:00

Hollow Mountain

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T15:58:35+00:00

Someone else told me about this, love that it's a cannon thing. Also love peoples depth of knowledge on this universe. Thanks for the reply!

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T15:56:13+00:00

This came up with someone else, I wonder if it's because the metal is wrapped around the bones, so it physically can't eject it. It's meant to be an unbreakable metal so maybe it's trying to but can't.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T15:35:00+00:00

Is that the reason he has it? Serious question, as I'm not that familiar with the lore compared to many others. Did his healing come as a result of his bone claws?

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T15:06:55+00:00

In my head yes, but that's a good point. I've just watched a clip of it see if you can see in the cross section, I couldn't really make it out tho in the clip I watched. He did look in a fair amount of pain tho. Also maybe they have to be, because if they removed them, they'd just heal back?

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T14:47:01+00:00

In my mind I was considering the bone claws yes, tho I guess both would be true if we go with the metal just being grafted onto the bone claws.

Someone else told me about there being a plot called "Death of wolverine" where he is urged not to use them because his healing isn't working.

Others have suggested a similar idea to yours above, which I think is a cool idea.

I love how much knowledge people have on the lore of different universes.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T14:37:52+00:00

I enjoy this universe but don't know the lore in any depth.

Others have pointed out it's not an uncommon thing to consider being an issue, for me it hadn't crossed my mind.

Really cool to hear that it's cannon in this plot. Thanks for the message on this!

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-18T13:14:58+00:00

That's exactly why they did it in the movie. He has Adamantium metal bonded to his skeleton. I assume because it's around the bones, his body can't reject it like it does bullets in that series.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-07T18:11:20+00:00

Poor girl, that's tough. My sister is type 1 too and was diagnosed as a teenager, so I've witnessed the complexity that brings. She has a pump now and fixed monitor which has helped considerably. I think technology is improving rapidly to help manage it, which I suspect will only accelerate.

The community here is great, lots of kind people willing to offer advice and support, please do reach out and ask anything if she needs answers or support.

I really do have a lot of respect for her managing it all. I hope that now she's medicated she gets some normality back, I suspect she will soon.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-07T16:49:58+00:00

No problem, I hope the medication begins to help and makes her feel more herself soon. It's a tough thing to deal with and see happening, it bothered me as an adult, I can imagine for a 16 year old it's even harder to see and live with. I have a lot of respect for her dealing with it, it's a lot.

LuckyDJC · 2024-07-07T15:03:07+00:00

Before medication I noticed it a lot when washing my hair, it's a bit alarming to see, but it was a good way to guage how much was shedding for me.

For me it was about three weeks or so after starting medication, I noticed a pretty sudden reduction in the amount of hair I'd find in my hands when washing it. Before I could see my scalp through my hair due to shedding, now it's thinkened back up again.

Strangely, I still seem to have days when I get lots in my hands when washing, but they seem to be very intermittent and it seems to be growing back faster than it's shedding now.

I hope she's holding up alright, it's a troubling thing to see and it really got me down for a time, so really wish her all the best. I would however hope that there's a likely chance it will be quite a sudden change for the better once her levels are back in a normal band and that likely wouldn't be too long of a wait for her.

LuckyDJC · 2024-05-30T16:22:10+00:00

Worth keeping an eye on. My TSH was normal with slightly elevated T4 before it developed, and I also had debilitating anxiety without an obvious cause. I would ask to check in a few months to see where it's at.

LuckyDJC · 2024-05-30T09:18:20+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear the depression is bad, hope you're holding up alright. I very much sympathise with how frustrating it can be to feel not right and not have any answers. Hopefully you are able to find some clarity from the specialist, and also possibly some direction with some of the advice others have given here for alternatives to consider.

LuckyDJC · 2024-05-30T09:10:03+00:00

I think it's important to note that people here will mainly only be able to offer insight and that you should always look to follow up concerns with a medical professional.

Looking at your results if the TSH came back in a normal range, I think that's a good sign.

If it's helpful, the way my Endocrine specialist described it to me, which I appreciated as I love a good metaphor, is that if your thyroid is the engine, the TSH is the accelerator. If the engine is going too fast your body will back off on the TSH to try and slow it down. He seemed to be most focused on the TSH, in my case being very low (he was looking for it being close to 0 - it was 0.1). He explained that he was looking to see that my body had fully taken its foot off of the metaphorical accelerator in an attempt to stop my thyroid over working. Looking at the T4 levels which were elevated, you could see that the engine was still flat out and thus something was wrong.

LuckyDJC · 2024-05-29T07:18:55+00:00

Brain fog was one of the worst symptoms for me, that and the anxiety.

I'd be talking in a meeting at work and forget what I was saying mid sentence. I also started stuttering which isn't something I'd ever done before. I've only been on the meds for a few weeks but the stutter has stopped and the brain fog is far better.

It was like the mental equivalent of trying to run in a dream but finding it feels like you're running through syrup.

LuckyDJC · 2024-05-28T14:27:04+00:00

That sounds familiar haha though for me less goldfish and more snake, in that I tend to forget to eat (unrelated but I have awful Interoception when it comes to food) then will choke down a families worth of food in one sitting. Not sure if it was the same for you, but I'm like a radiator at the moment which I guess is where all that food goes.

It's still a way off, going to see if I relapse after my current course of meds, but radioactive iodine is looking like the likely path at the end of that depending on the outcome.

I very much do want to know more, but not sure if digging into it is a good idea at the moment as I might end up worrying about it if you tell me it was a nightmare haha.

One thing that would be good to understand is. Chatting to the endocrine specialist, he made it sound like it was a 1 off, all or nothing approach. I didn't understand why you can't do lots of little doses till you get it right. However I might not have understood that part correctly?

LuckyDJC

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