i have under active thyroid with last reading t4normal13.2 though tsh slightly elevated at5.8 what does this m

Question

what is tsh and what does it do

Answer 1

Both values are considered normal if within certain range - this varies from hospital to hospital but is roughly t4 9-24 and TSH 0.5-5.0.

Your results show your TSH slightly high which could mean your thyroid gland is trying to produce more thyroxine to increase level further. A small increase in dose of thyroxine should correct this and still keep you t4 within the normal limit.

I too have an underactive thyroid and have had for many years - ifind i seem to function best with my t4 at high end normal and my TSH at low end.

Good luck with getting the dose right.

Answer 2

TSH is the "thyroid stimulating hormone", what it does is it stimulates your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones (T3 and T4). When you have hypothyroidism (under active thyroid gland) and not enough T3 and T4 are produced, the TSH might elevate as a way of your body trying to stimulate the producion of thyroid hormones with the TSH, thats why it might be a little elevated, although you probably take medicines to supply the thyroid hormone deficit.

Answer 3

It means you are still hypothyroid and need a dosage increase. The morning TSH should be below 2.0. You need more medication. I'll post some thyroid sites below. Please read up on hypothyroidism, so you get the best treatment. It sounds like your doctor is going by the outdated range for TSH of 0.3 to 5.5. The new range is 0.3 to 3.0.