Question about T4 (levothyroxine) and my thyroid...

[JackTorrance]

Hi guys... I know bodybuilders sometimes use T4 and are knowledgable about hormones so I thought I'd turn to you for help.

I had a number of blood tests somewhat recently which all showed that my TSH is elevated at around 5.5 mu/L to 7.5 mu/L (but T4 was in the upper third of the range). As a result I was given 25 mcg of Levothyroxine (T4) to be taken daily. I've been taking it for a few weeks now and am having some concerns as I believe that it may be a mistake and that my thyroid function might actually be fine.

I have been taking finasteride (Propecia) for about 6 months to a year when I took those tests that showed an elevated TSH and I think the finasteride might have caused the TSH problem? But I'm not sure. I also eat about 250 g of broccoli each day now and I don't know if that would intefere.

Before finasteride my result for the test was 2.45 mu/L TSH and 11.6 pmol/L T4 (9 - 19 range here). I took that test in the morning fasted (though it isn't specifically a fasting test). Most of the others which showed a high TSH were after a long day.

I don't know if I have a thyroid problem or not and it's driving me crazy. I have symptoms of both hypo (fatigue and cold feet) and hyper (palpitations mainly) which come in waves but zero antibodies and I can't remember if I had the same symptoms before finasteride or not. I have had no help from doctors and they haven't said anything about finasteride or explored any possible causes for the elevated TSH.

Hope somebody can shed some insight.

 

[muskate]

Finasteride will have no effect on your thyroid. It prevents testosterone from converting into DHT. It has nothing to do with the thyroid gland.

Your T4 and TSH levels aren't overall that important. TSH signals your body to product T4. That's why your doctor prescribed you T4. The high TSH levels show that your body is struggling to produce enough T4.

T4 needs to be converted to the active form T3 to be used in the body. It's your T3 levels that really matter. That is the active form of the thyroid hormone. How were your T3 levels?