I agree -- the 4.1 jumped out at me, along with the 0.8 fT4 (just barely within the lab normal 0.7 -- 1.5).
Interestingly, the thyroid tests from July 2009 have a TSH of 0.12 and a fT4 of 1.7 -- savemylife, was your thyroxine dosage decreased after the July 2009 tests? If yes, you might want to get your endocrinologist to put you halfway between the two dosages.
I agree with greatreorx that this is almost certainly not the only thing going on, though -- but in keeping with Hickam's dictum ("Patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please") you shouldn't ignore the possible contribution of thyroid issues simply because they can't explain everything.
Re:Save My Life: an update
by savemylife on Wednesday June 09, 2010 @01:33PM
(#1417636)
It's from February of this year. It's also in my queue to look into asking the doc to consider treating me into the more narrow range. But first I want to investigate the Celiac possibility, since (as you mentioned) the Thyroid might be secondary. Thanks.
BTW, since oral thyroxine is (obviously) gastrointestinally absorbed, you may find that your required dosage decreases as your gastrointestinal symptoms improve -- so I recommend keeping your eyes open for symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
"In November 2002, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists(AACE) published revised guidelines that provided a new range for normal thyroid function. Until this time, doctors had relied on a normal TSH level ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 to diagnose and treat patients with a thyroid disorder who tested outside the boundaries of that range. AACE encouraged doctors to consider treatment for patients who test outside the boundaries of a narrower margin based on a target TSH level of 0.3 to 3.04. AACE believes the new range will result in improved accuracy of diagnosis for millions of Americans who suffer from a mild thyroid disorder, but have gone untreated." http://www.aace.com/public/awareness/tam/2004/tsh.php
Most of your symptoms don't seem thyroid related, so it wouldn't surprise me if this is more of a down stream symptom from whatever else is going on with you.