Hi Malbers,
When did you see your endo last?
My thyroid shrunk irregularly after RAI. Prior to RAI I had the neck of a "" Pro-football player"".
I'm not quite sure whats causing your symptom changes like that but the symptoms you are experiencing seem to point to signs of going hyperthyroid. Talk to your endo about this for sure! Don't let the symptoms get worse.
will be thinking about you my friend!!

Karla

0.746 hypo??? Ah hyper anxiety night sweats is what you would have with that range. And when the goiter is enlarged with hyper or hypo you will feel terrible. Night sweats and anxiety for sure. How much of the med are u taking??

My thyroid glands have always been large since the start of this whole thing. And my right has always been larger than my left. Never got an answer as to why, I guess I've kind of accpeted it. If you're concerned, talk to your doc.

but why is her FT4 below normal? Sometimes a low FT4 can have symptoms like hyper but it's hypo, you're below the range,have you questioned the doc about this low FT4? Your tsh isn't that low. My husband always tried to explain the tsh like dollars, cause I'm bad at math! If 1.0 is a dollar, which is considered the best tsh, them 0.746 would be like 75 cents. Has your tsh ever been lower or higher?Did you feel like this when you were first diagnosed, and what was your tsh then?

Malbers

'Hyper symptoms' as you call them can be very misleading as these symptoms also occur in some people when Hypo.
It seems your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is being suppressed and this can be caused by medications but also it is common knowledge that the 'TSH' can take years to come back up.
My personal guess is that you are Hypo and that the thyroid is trying to produce Tsh and isnt doing so.This is where you are getting the Hyper symptoms.
Are you on antithyroid meds and if so, have you consulted your Doctor about 'block and replace' to bring the FT4 up into normal range?
If not, then I suggest you ask your Doctor (as Bransnana said) if the FT4 is from being Hypo and to replace with some thyroid hormone.
A way of finding out if your thyroid is 'burning out' is to have the Hashimotos antibodys test as this can cause the FT4 to drop as it is blocking the Tsh.
Just a personal opinion.

Yes good answer Milko. Also some docs will overdose you on the meds in order to see that tsh! Which results in the low FT4.What dose are you on? Sometimes it'll even result in a enlarged thyroid.The tsh is often suppressed because of the stimulating antibodies,and is not a good test to go by in graves.

Most Endos will force hypo with atds as it is easier to treat hypo (so they think) than to keep track of hyper and the risk of A-Fib.
Blood tests should be done 4-6 weekly to avoid hypo and to decrease atds as the levels go down, eventually resulting in a maintenance dose that may result in remission for some.
Usually Atds are decreased in 5mg doses until the levels are stable and not hypo. Hypo just defeats the purpose of Atds as then they are cut down and stopped and a vicious cycle evolves of hypo to hyper and the same cycle being repeated over and over.
Remission cannot be gained this way. A maintenance dose is keeping the levels at the same dose.
This can be beneficial if the antibodies are low in count.

I ahvent seen my endo in a year, the Ft4 is low becuse we wanted to say force the Tsh up to a readable level. It is the first time in 14 months that I have had any TSH. He wants to keep the FT4 at 8 to keep the tsh.I only take 5mg of tapazole daily reduced from 7.5 one day and 5 the next. When I was diagnosed my FT4 was 58.4 and the thyroid was 5 times normal size. I looked like a bullfrog!! My range for FT4 is 7.5- 21.1 so i am not too far below range. My endo did force hypo at first until they admitted me but since then he has tried to keep me at the low end of the range. I think with the dose change i will have slightly higher #s when i go next time. I have always kept up on labs going aleast every 4 weeks sometimes sooner. Thanks for all the great info.Usually even the smallest dose change sends my numbers out of whack. The last test before this one the FT4 was 18.4 in sept in aug it was 21.9. Both had TSH of 0.003.

I called the endo this morning ang he claims that my TSH is normal he says range is from 0.2-4.0 mine was 0.746 ., but for the first time myFT3 is low range is 3.5-6.5 mine was 3.2 . So both FT3 & FT4 are low but TSH is good. I asked about block and replace and he told me that there is no proof that it works and pretty much brushed me off on that subject. When asked about the size of my thyroid he says that because it was so large i really have no chance for remission and that my thyroid should still be the same size as before if not he says it could be a lymph node? Makes no sense to me because it would be bigger than not smaller! He again told me that I could have " the iodine treatment." When I told him no he kinda got snippy.I told him when and if Im ready for permanent treatment I would like a TT, He then told me he knows 4 great surgeons. So he really crushed my hopes of anything good coming. He says I should discuss all these issues with my gp, isnt he the one who should have the answers?

Malbers,
Don't be crushed.. those endos all(pretty much) talk the same way. If youcan be controlled on meds, and you feel okay and your liver is fine etc...you can stay on meds. If you feel like crap and your liver acts up or something else,then you can make a permanent decision if you want. We've all been there, that's why people switch endos so much, most seem pompous, snippy and judgemental. They usually talk down to you too, I never went to another type doc who did this, it made me feel very uncomfortable. My GP told me to drop him and he'd treat me or I could find another endo, which I am in the process of.

Thank brans, I really was disapointed after talking to him, its the first time in a year he was rude. My goal is still remission even tho he says never. My liver is good i had it checked on oct 23. Really I have been feeling pretty good except i am freezing always and now getting sick. We put up our Christmas lights yesterday and i was so cold I had to come in twice. Its 2 degrees celcius, Cant wait until it minus 40.

your endo thinks because your tsh isn't that high that you won't go in remission, but that's not true. The thyroid stimulating antibodies mimic the tsh and keep it down.With treatment(but not being made hypo like you are) the tsi can go down. It might take months or years. Most endos don't realize this. Making you hypo just makes more antibodies cause your body tries to correct the low FT4 making your gland over work and stimulating it further. I had this done to me too. That is why you are so cold, you're hypo,even though the tsh isn't. It's the FT4 that endos should go by in Graves.

Thats exactly what I tried to tell him but he knows everything,not. I think that if my TSH stay the same or gets a bit higher maybe he will change his mind. Since this is the first time i have had any TSH in over a year I think hes jumping the gun. I go for bloodwork again on the 10 of Dec. if I still feel the same if I start feeling worse or colder I will go sooner. I think that hes so not willing to even listen to me anymore now that i have refused RAI 3 times, everthing I say he just brushes it off. Time for a new endo!!!!

How much meds are you on now? at what dose? Your doc is trying to force your tsh, this isn't good, but they all try to do it. I had tsh so the doc didn't od me at first. He started to OD me last year and then his dosing of the meds was stupid. 3 times a week, 5 times a week. I go to my gp now but he is stumped, just sees labs in normal range even though tsh is too high for me.I am looking for a new endo too. My niece has a woman who she says is great, she has Hashimoto's disease and the doc put her on meds (Synthroid) for her symptoms and antibodies, not her labs, they were still normal, she feels so much better now.Most docs wouldn't do this with normal tsh, low normal FT4, so she must be open minded. Most are not!!Make sure you ask before if they have Graves patients on meds and know how to treat us and don't try to force RAI if we are stable.

I have only been takin 5mg one and 7.5 the next of tapazole. Im going to start the 7.5 every third day. 5mg daily sends me a little hyper. My endo is really pushing RAI saying MOST of his patients do well. What about the rest? Today both sides are smaller I cant even see it in the mirror even if I hold my head up and swallow. I am just so confused Why doesnt he think that my thyroid will shrink with treatment?