Graves disease - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

Web Site Search

Saturday, April 07, 2012

..:: Q & A ::..

THE Q & A

Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

Each thread represents one question with one answer and will only appear at the time it is answered. Once answered, further replies cannot be made to the same thread since each thread represents only one question. A new thread will need to be started for additional questions.

Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

Copying of any posts is prohibited without permissions.

The Q & A with Elaine Moore

Notice: No notices today.

3/1/2012 9:44 PM

rachel

Joined: 3/1/2012

Posts: 1

Graves disease

Elaine,

I was just diagnosed with Grave's disease today- and I have been voraciously reading your website. Thank you for creating such a wonderful place for people to connect and inform themselves. My question is in regards to progesterone therapy.

My results are as follows:

TSI 317, SHBG 269, total testosterone 44, free testosterone 0.8, bioavailable 1.5,

TSH .03, FT3 4.4, FT4 1.6, cortisol 17.8

normal LH, FSH, estradiol for day of cycle, low progesterone

I first went to the doctor in October with hypothyroid symptoms. He tested my TSH and TT4 and I started taking Armour thyroid which seemed to help. My symptoms seem much more severe during the second half of my cycle. I decided to see an endocrinologist and received the above lab results today. Is it possible that being on Armour for the past 5 months has created a hyperthyroid state with elevated TSI? Or was this an underlying condition all along. Can progesterone deficiency be an underlying cause of Grave's? If so what should be treated first? The overactive thyroid or the progesterone deficiency?

Thank you so much for your help.

Rachel

3/4/2012 3:14 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3374

Re: Graves disease

Hi Rachel,

Your current labs show borderline or subclinical Graves' disease. While TSH is low, your FT4 would be within the normal or reference range used by most labs and FT3 is just slightly elevated. Usual ranges are 0.8-1.8 for FT4, and 2.3--4.2 for FT4. If you're on a low dose of Armour, stopping it may be all that's needed. It could be that you have Hashitoxicosis, which is primarily a hypothyroid disorder, and that your TSI (which may have been triggered by Armour) causes transient hyper symptoms or provides you with enough hormone to correct your hypothyroidism. It's also possible that you don't have TSI since the test measures the change in thryoid hormone levels of hamster cells when your serum is added. Since you're on replacement hormone, the elevation in thyroid levels could be from your replacment hormone.

Without seeing your initial labs or knowing what dose of Armour you were on when you had your last labs drawn it's hard to say. But certainly you wouldn't need treatment for Graves' disease based on your thyroid labs.

Progesterone levels are often low in women with thyroid disorders and they often fall as we grow older, causing symptoms of estrogen dominance.

I don't think you need treatment for hyperthyroidism even if you're no longer on Armour because of only having a slight elevation in FT3. If you were on 60 mg (1 grain) of Armour or more, the dose may just need to be decreased. Progesterone could be used to correct your deficiency. Progesterone enhances the effects of thryoid hormone so you may feel better even with lower thyroid hormone levels. I wouldn't rush into anything other than adjusting Armour and trying progesterone. Repeating the TSI with a different method such as thyretain would be helpful or repeating the TSI when you're no longer on Armour. Best, Elaine

Page 1 of 1

TO USERS: Q&A posts are visible to all readers. Users can delete their own threads at any time. Users must provide information which is true and correct to the best of their knowledge as well as provide sources or references to any health / medical information if not taken from personal experience. All users including the moderator must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Advertising and self-promotion is not allowed. The moderator or site administrator has the right to ban users with or without warning for not following the basic rules of this site. All posts by default are not to be considered that of medical professionals unless otherwise indicated. As sole moderator, Moore has no conflicts of interest in the sponsorship of this forum.

Notes

New FAQ - Thursday, April 05, 2012

Having problems changing your account information? Can't figure out why your Q&A post isn't showing up? Check out our new FAQ for answers!

Milestone - Wednesday, April 04, 2012

As of this date, our membership rolled over to 1600. We'd like to take this time to thank all members for their inspiration and for making this site a success.

2nd Edition Newly Released - Saturday, March 10, 2012

Find out what's new in this edition.

HOME | ARTICLES | BOOKS | BLOG | Q&A | RESOURCES | ABOUT | CONTACT | SUPPORT

ELAINE-MOORE.COM
Elaine Moore Graves’ Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education
Copyright © 2008-2011 by Elaine Moore. All Rights Reserved.
These pages and their content, including all articles and images are not to be copied, reproduced or printed without written permission. All articles are copyrighted. All images are copyrighted or licensed to use.

SITE LAST UPDATED: MAR 10 2012

ABOUT THIS SITE
This site is self-funded exclusively by Elaine Moore. Moore has no other external sources of funds and receives no monies from government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, Amazon, or other commercial entities to operate this site. There are no conflicts of interest in the operation of this site.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

DISCLAIMER
The information at this site is true and correct to the extent that all information contained herein about the benefits or performance of any diagnostic or treatment are backed up with scientific evidence such as medical journals, reports, articles, and other relevant materials.The educational information provided within is designed to help users better understand the nature of disease and the solutions available. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as or is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Under no circumstances is a particular treatment recommended and in all cases it is recommended that a physician be consulted for any treatments. Reference to any specific commercial or noncommercial products, services, processes, companies or trademarks does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Elaine Moore does not host any form of commercial advertisement, does not sponsor or endorse any products or services that may have been mentioned at the site. This excludes mention of her own copyrighted materials, articles, and books. The opinions, views and recommendations of individual registered members of this website, specifically as it pertains to personal inquiries at the Q&A forum or comments made to blogs, are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Elaine Moore.