My mother has goitre but has never had an out of range thyroid test. I test positive for high levels of TPO antibodies and was previously hovering with TSH higher than preferable (about 4.2 I believe - range 0.5 to 4.5) and T4 at lower end of normal (13.5 - range approx 10 to 25).
This was about 20 months ago. 10 months ago I joined a new GP and they retested and I was told T4 about the same, TSH down to about 2.0, which I took as good news.
They just retested again (needed a blood test for something else so they moved up by 2 months for my convenience to save going twice). And here's the kicker.... I'm now apparently subclinical hyperthyroid. T4 is still staying pretty steady (now at 15) but TSH 0.05. I'm a bit confused as I am definitely not having weight drop off me. But maybe that's because the T4 is still low end of normal? If anything I am slightly overweight and really struggle to lose it even with calorie counting and exercise. Has anyone had this happen / been hyperthyroid without the weight loss?
I have Graves Disease and did not lose any weight with it but I am also menopausal. I was diagnosed early before my T3 and T4 were too much out of range but my TSH remained at less than 0.001 for two years while I was treated with the thyroid hormone blocking drug Methimazole. With high levels of TPO antibodies and the high TSH value you have, I would question whether you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Although Hashimoto's usually ultimately results in HYPOthyroidism, it can begin with Hyper and patients bounce from High to Low and back again because the drugs used (both thyroid hormone blocking drugs like Methimazole) and (thyroid hormone replacement like Levothyroxine) are too strong for this condition. In Hashimoto's the autoantibodies are attacking the thyroid gland directly whereas in Graves disease the antibodies are attacking the TSH receptors in the pituitary gland. One lady who posted to this Board had it and had difficulty controlling her symptoms and values bouncing from high to low and back again with the prescribed drugs. She then tried taking 3,000 mg of Regular L-Carnitine, an amino acid normally found in the body and was able to achieve stabilization with this. It is purchased at vitamin stores. She knows her body and takes her temperature in the morning and adjusts dosages based on that. L-Carnitine has been found to block excessive thyroid hormone production but I would imagine it is by different means than prescribed medications do. I will email you privately with some links you can do your research with. The other thing you need to know is whether you have a conversion problem, converting your T4 to T3, the active form of thyroid hormone in the body and your doctor can check you for this.