Ouch, I feel with you,cora;
found some info you may find interesting;
"Certain circumstances, including stress, trauma, medications, infections, and temperature fluctuations change the amount of thyroid hormone required by the body."
SHOULD WE SCRAP THE TSH TEST ENTIRELY?
Dr. David Derry thinks so. In this interview, he looks at the real
history of thyroid testing, and why he believes "the TSH [test]
needs to be scrapped and medical students taught again how to
clinically recognize low thyroid conditions." Find out more about
his provocative ideas and why he thinks it's time for a return to a
more valid way of diagnosing and treating thyroid disease.
http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa072500a.htm
Other notes: don't get scared when the doctor says things like:
(1) "You have nodules and we have to check to see if they are cancerous." Thyroid cancer is extremely rare and is probably also correctable through nutrition.
(2) "We need to do a RAIU (radio
Iodine uptake test)." It doesn't do any good that I can see and may cause problems.
(3) "Your ultrasound shows definite structural abnormalities in your thyroid gland." This is what my doctor said to me and I got a little scared, but everything corrected just fine.
(4) "We need to do a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) on your thyroid." This involves sticking needles into your thyroid to get tissue samples. I'd really avoid this insult to your thyroid. Some people have really bad reactions to this procedure and it doesn't matter what they find--it doesn't help your thyroid.
(5) "We need to do a ______test." My advice is to avoid all tests and procedures. They don't help the situation. There's only one way to correct the underlying problem that creates hyperthyroidism: nutritional correction. Every other method treats symptoms and doesn't correct the causes.
http://www.ithyroid.com/thyroid_test_interpretation.htm
HYPERTHYROIDISM
http://www.ithyroid.com/hyperthyroidism_theory.htm
Here is a list of what I believe are the possible causes of hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease), in my "best-guess" rank order:
1. Inadequate copper in the diet.
2. Excessive cadmium intake such as from smoking or excessive consumption of green leafy vegetables.
3. Excessive zinc intake for the amount of copper intake. (Too high a zinc/copper ratio)
4. Excessive aluminum intake.
5. Low vitamins which metabolize copper.
6. Low minerals which work with copper such as iron and sulfur.
7. Celiac disease or other digestive deficiencies.
8. Progesterone use, including progesterone-based birth control pills.
9. High estrogen levels or estrogen replacement therapy combined with smoking, consumption of excessive green leafy vegetables, or inadequate copper intake.
10. Estrogen mimics from environmental sources including consumption of canned food.
11. Lithium, sodium, and potassium imbalances.
12. Inadequate intake of protein or fat.