What Causes Elevated TSH Levels Despite Being On Medications For Thyroid Disorder?

Posted on Wed, 25 Mar 2015

Question: I have taken thyroid medication since I was 16 because my thyroid gland has been removed. However, I recently had a thyroid blood panel done and though my thyroid levels were normal the TSH came back at 12.5 which is way out of range. Should I consult an Endocrinologist?

Answered by Dr. Binu Parameswaran Pillai (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
TSH rise: reasons

Detailed Answer:
Good day,
Noted your concern.
You have not mentioned your weight. However, i can see that you were just on a tiny dose of Synthroid ( 30 mcg). This means that atleast some part of your thyroid tissue was left behind even after surgery and that probably was the reaon you could manage with this small dose all these years. The recent rise in TSH could be due to a) Increase in weight b) Stopping Synthroid atleast for few days in between c) The remaining thyroid cells stopped functioning.
These are the possible reasons behind the recent TSH rise.
You may not necessarily meet an endocrinologist of you have an experienced Internist near by. However, if you have easy access to endocrinologist, then that would be the best.
Regards
Binu

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar