I've been told that Hashimoto Thyroiditis can cause a person to go from Hypo to Hyper. Have you ever been diagnosed with that?

I am not familiar with Hashimoto Thyroiditis. I didn't even know I had a thyroid problem, but because of gradual weight gain and no bad eating habits, I decided to ask my doctor for a blood test. How would one test for Hashimoto Thyroiditis?

They way I was diagnosed was checking my antibodies through blood work. Here read this..
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Antibodies (TPOAb) / Antithyroid Peroxidase Antibodies

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) antibodies, are also known as Antithyroid Peroxidase Antibodies. (In the past, these antibodies were referred to as Antithyroid Microsomal Antibodies or Antimicrosomal Antibodies). These antibodies work against thyroid peroxidase, an enzyme that plays a part in the T4-to-T3 conversion and synthesis process. TPO antibodies can be evidence of tissue destruction, such as Hashimoto's disease, less commonly, in other forms of thyroiditis such as post-partum thyroiditis.

Its estimated that TPO antibodies are detectable in approximately 95 percent of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and 50 to 85 percent of Graves disease patients. The concentrations of antibodies found in patients with Graves' disease are usually lower than in patients with Hashimoto's disease.
http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/bloodtests.htm

i have the same problem, technically im hypo right now, but some of my symptoms seem hyper..i dunno. but if your levels are showing that your hypo, then you are.. go from there. how long have you been on meds?

My doc said that people can show signs of either hyper or hypo for either... the symptoms for both can be quite similar. I have gone back and forth a lot lately due to med changes. One will make my thyroid slow down another will speed it up. that means a lot of blood work, but i fortunately have a doc that wants to keep me real balanced....

Well, I am not on meds... so I guess my body is just fluctuating on its own. I was unaware of a thyroid issue until Jan., and I believe my level is at 5.4, which the doctor is saying is low-normal.

Hi! If this is your tsh it's high which means your thyroid hormones are low, or your thyroid function is low. Make sure she /he checks the Free t 3 and 4 also.Always get copies of your labs to see what levels you feel good at.(or lousy at)

How often is it recommended to check T3 and T4 levels? My doctor recommended re-checking in 3 months.

Doxie - so your doctor didn't want to medicate you either? At least I know there is another one like me out there...sucks... Did you get your antibodies tested yet?

Did he tell you what your results were exactly? Is the 5.4 level your tsh? You can ask for copies of your lab results. Do you know what the Free levels were?

I am not really sure what all the lab results mean. I was sick in December with a sinus infection and as I had gone in a few times, I figured I would also ask about my thyroid. My heart rate has always been quite high - in the high 90s to over 100. Kinda scary. And I tend to get a lot of anxiety and lately, the past two years, I have put on around 15-20 pounds without changing any of my diet. All my life I have fluctuated up and down on the scale but lately, my energy level has been zilch! I mean, it is hard just to stand sometimes, and since there has been weight gain and my face appears swollen at times with a lot of retention of water, and the heart rate is high, I thought I would ask about thyroid. My lab results read: TSH w/Reflex to FT4 = 5.85, range: 0.4-4.5. T-4, FREE = 1.1, range 0.8-1.8. Does anyone know what all this means? I am not on any medication and it would appear that my throid is hypo yet my heart rate symptoms are those of hyper, right?

Your tsh is over the range high meaning hypothyroid. Your FT4 is low, but not out of range. You need the free t-3 tested too. Sometimes with Hashi's at the beginning people feel hyper and can even have hyper labs but it is usually short lived and your labs show more hypo after awhile. You wouldn't have a high tsh or low FT4 with hyper or Graves disease.I know both Hashi and Graves patients both have symptoms of heart irregularities but most are fine when levels are in the normal range, there's usually nothing wrong with their hearts.

Good to know. Thank you for the information. Next time I have lab work done, I will definitely make sure to ask for the T3 to be tested, too.