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[trinacutie]

Im 4 months post op ( complete thyroidectomy) and just got some blood work done because of my night sweats and heart palpitations.

Can anyone tell me what these numbers mean? My doctor is away and Im anxious to know NOW

TSH     0.02   (0.34-4.82)

Thyroglobulin Antibody  <20   (<41)

Thyroglobulin  <1   (<60)

Antithyroid Peroxidase  *268  (0-60)

Free T4  *

Comments

[drucat]

They're deliberately keeping your TSH levels suppressed to below-normal levels to prevent recurrence of the cancer, which means they're deliberately keeping you in a slightly hyperthyroid state. "Normal" TSH is generally considered to be .3-3.0, but in cancer patients they generally try to keep it as close to 0 as possible, so you're probably at around the levels they want you to be at. I don't know enough to tell you what they're aiming for in the last couple of numbers though. They're both highlighted as abnormal, but I don't know whether that's because you're aiming for abnormal as a cancer patient or whether something needs adjustment. My guess is that they *might* consider decreasing your thyroid hormone dosage or put you on a beta-blocker for the palpatations. Not sure because I honestly just don't know enough. Sorry.
I have papillary thyroid cancer too and I'm petrified of having my thyroid removed. I need to have surgery, like, yesterday, but I'm just panicked and there's no one in my life whom I can talk to about it or who can help me work through this because my mother died two years ago and I've never had a good relationship with my father. I just don't want to lose my thyroid. I know I don't have a choice, I know by delaying I'm being an idiot, but I just can't deal.