Here is What Happens With High TSH

So what happens when your thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is high? Maybe you have a lab test that shows your TSH is high, and you're wondering what's the next steps?
We're going to go into what it means when your TSH is low, and give you some context around what to think about with a low TSH.
In this video, we're going to be looking at what happens with high TSH and low TSH. If your thyroid test comes back with a high TSH, this means that your brain is sending a signal to your thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones. When this signal is high, you're making too much thyroid hormone. But what does this mean for you? Well, high thyroid hormone levels can lead to symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, and thyroid problems. So if you're feeling any of these symptoms, it might be a good idea to get checked out for a thyroid problem.
So essentially, when the T4 or thyroxin level in the blood is high, it feeds back to the brain to regulate the tsh. And similarly, when the TSH level is low, the thermostat in the brain is set to a certain temperature and when that thermostat senses that it's too hot or too cold, the heat or the AC will kick in to regulate that tempera. Based on a set point, so in this case, it's your brain or pituitary that's sensing the amount of T4 floating around in your blood. And when it's low, it's kicks in and causes the thyroid to produce more.
And when the TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone is high, it tells the brain that there is plenty of T4 around, and the brain will then lower the output of Thor thyroid hormone. What's going on when the TSH is high?
Well, there are two main things that can happen. Either the brain is not getting the signal that there is plenty of T4 around, even though the thyroid is cranking out a lot of thyroid hormone, or the thyroid gland is not responding appropriately to the high TSH. If your thyroid hormone is not being produced in sufficient amounts, then generally speaking, you'll be put on a thyroid hormone support. This can be a medication or something that's boosts the output from the thyroid gland or support the bodies production of thyroid hormone. This is not always the case though. It depends on how high that TSH is and what some of the other things are looking like. So it really depends on the overall picture of the thyroid hormone and how some of the other hormones are. Interacting with the thyroid hormone.
So what do we actually mean by this picture or the overall picture? So couple things are, do you actually have low thyroid hormone symptoms? Do you actually have low thyroid hormone floating around in your blood?

It's one thing to have a high tsh. Is your thyroid actually producing enough? You have multiple thyroid tests showing that you have high TSH and low thyroid hormone? Or is it just one? Are your levels high, normal or actually high? Or are your thyroid hormone levels low, normal or actually low? These are some of the things to consider when trying to understand what to do with a high TSH and what it actually means in the sense of what's going on in your body. What is actually considered normal for the TSH and thyroid hormone production? How do you really know when it's time to start thyroid hormone replacement? What tests should you do and how do you look at those results? See the next video in this series.