Thyroid Question
UpdatedI started taking levo....about 3 years ago. Off and on really, i am terribly bad at taking medication. In February I stopped taking my levo (Don't ask me why but I couldnt tell you), fast forward to last week when I go in for my doctors follow up (not all due to the thyroid), I didn't say anything to the doctor about not taking the levo and proceeded to have my blood work done. I get the call a couple days later that my thyroid levels were perfect. So i tell them that cant be right and we should retest, I retest and the same results, perfect. How can they be perfect when I haven't taken my meds in 5 months? So either i was taking it before and not needing it or my body just happened to heal itself? Doubtful. Anyone have any insight?
1 Reply
There are a few reasons why such things could happen, as you said your body may have healed itself, since we do change with time, or you may have been misdiagnosed. If you read the various NIH and FDA articles on this subject, you will see that many medical conditions and various medications can cause false readings on such blood work.
My cardiologist and PCP both usually require 3 tests, before they decide someone has any given health problem, unless it is something obvious, like an infection, or there is something in front of them that may be life threatening.
Just to give an example, the nurse practitioner that my husband sees did blood work and said his cholesterol was high, but upon further research, I found that the 2 medications he takes regularly can cause false readings on such tests. Many doctors/practitioners don't know all the possible side effects, so you usually have to be your own best advocate. I will never tell my husband, or anyone else what they should, or shouldn't take, I just share the relevant information, then that person and their medical practitioner must decide from there..... we also found out that he should have been fasting for the test they do there, but he was never told that and had eaten/drunk stuff before the test. Even if you ignore the medication side effects, you usually have to be fasting for 9 to 12 hours for such tests to be accurate, and that is going by NIH directives. Thus, better testing conditions that took medications into account, and had him fast showed that his levels were not dangerous, in any way. We eat healthy and try to stay to active, just to be safe, but you must look into things yourself.
One time, I had my blood work done and my cardiologist said my triglycerides were high, upon chatting further, we realized that I should have also been fasting for their blood work, so the result was thrown out, and upon later retesting, it was found that my levels were actually low. I've had similar things happen with my kidney levels being high, though it turned out was only due to dehydration, and my calcium levels were high due to a supplement I was taking that didn't agree with me.
While such instances do not apply to everyone, it is always best to get a second opinion, request more testing, as you did, or whatever you need to do to be sure.
While there are some of us that try to help people and want to advocate for them, what it really comes down to is you. No one else is going to really understand you and your body, it is on you. I mean we can hope doctors, nurses, and other practitioners can help, but we also have to remember that they are not specialists in everything, and they don't always know every detail. It just isn't possible for anyone to remember every single detail on any given subject, so we all have to help, if we can and give our practitioners some room to be wrong, or not know something, sometimes.
Once again, I will add the caveat that if your doctor feels your life may be in danger, you should always follow their instructions to be safe!!!
How are you doing, now? Has there been any change? I think it would be best to have your levels checked over several intervals to be sure.
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