TSH hormone
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Targeting TSH? It’s not as specific or as sensitive as people claim.
Patients and doctors are often told there’s an ideal “target” for TSH levels. Some believe that in thyroid therapy, your TSH should be below the upper reference limit, some say it should be below 2.5, and a minority will even say it should be suppressed entirely whether or not you are a thyroid cancer patient.…
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As of 2019, still no proof that low TSH causes harm to bones
Many research studies have shown a strong association between low TSH and low bone mineral density or osteoporosis. As a result, many guidelines strongly caution against the risk associated with low TSH. Some doctors and thyroid patients have jumped to the conclusion that a low TSH “causes” osteoporosis. Some even believe a low TSH must…
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Pregnancy thyrotoxicosis vs just a low TSH due to hCG hormone
Table 17.1 in Braverman & Cooper’s 2013 chapter in Werner & Ingbar’s The Thyroid textbook, 10th edition, lists many causes of thyrotoxicosis. One of the interesting causes of thyrotoxicosis, rarely mentioned in public discourse, is “Circulating hCG or Mutant TSHR [TSH receptor] hypersensitive to hCG.” What is hCG? “Human chorionic gonadotropin” is a hormone produced…
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How TSH ultrashort feedback works, and antibody interference
This post takes a closer look at the “ultrashort feedback loop,” the biological mechanism by which the TSHR stimulating antibody (TSAb) can oversuppress or inflate TSH in any autoimmune hypothyroid patient. The antibody’s effect alters the normal TSH-FT4 relationship. It may look like the patient has another thyroid condition: It may mimic “Resistance to thyroid…
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TSH “can be very misleading” during thyroid therapy, say researchers
How many treated hypothyroid patients’ TSH has fallen below range even when both their thyroid hormones are in normal range and when they have no symptoms or signs of hyperactivity or hypermetabolism? In my observation on thyroid patient forums, the answer is “too many.” It’s common among thyroid patients to resort to such forums for…