Experts on hypothyroidism, please help!?

I went to a gyn for my yrly and she had thyroid labs done on me. (My 2 sisters have hypothyroidism). My labs - T3, T4, and FSH are all fine! But my TSH-thyroid stimulating hormone is 11.19, with normal range= .5-5.50, so mine is high. My thyroid peridoxase antibodies is 221, with the normal being less than 35, so it too is high. This supposedly indicates I have hoshimoto's? Hypothyroidism? I am 53, going thru menopause also. Could menopause be causing this? My insurance is horrible and I can't really afford to go to Dr if don't need to. MY QUES is: Do these 2 levels that are hi MEAN that I do have hypo? I can't tell if I have a little goiter going on or not. I do not understand how my T3 + T4 is normal if I do indeed have thyroid. And if I do have to go to Dr, I do not want to return to a gyn Dr who is NOT specialized in this area. So, should I go to an Ears, nose and throat specialist or a Endrocrinologist? Please ONLY advise if you KNOW about these things, no guessing.

Honestly, the first thing I would do is visit the library. The latest books on Nutrition and Health have some amazing antidotes for certain conditions.
Like I had a friend who was battling Diabetes and had severe symptoms. I was amazed at the simple diet changes that could drastically change his illness to mild. There are certain do's and don'ts for many physical problems.

you need to see an endocrinologist. i was diagnosed with hashimoto's too.

the energy around hashimotos is:

- immune system destroying body -
the question you need to ask yourself is why are you so hard on yourself and beat yourself up. when you are gentle to yourself and love yourself you will heal.

- thyroid gland -
the question you need to ask yourself is what truths are you keeping to yourself or are you being honest. speak your truth and you will heal.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism about 15 years ago.

This often goes undiagnosed, and is commonly caused as a side effect of pregnancy.

What your results mean, is that your body has attacked your thyroid gland and destroyed part of it. Your TSH is high as your body makes the remainder of your thyroid gland work overtime to maintain normal T3 & T4 levels.

At the moment, this is working for your body, but putting strain on it.

See an endocrinologist and get a prescription for the correct dosage of thyroxine to hold your levels in balance within the normal range.

These are very easy to take, tasteless tablets, needed each morning, and once your dosage is correct, you will only need to see a normal Dr to get repeat prescriptions, with a yearly bloodtest to check your dosage requirements haven't changed.

This often creeps up on you so you will feel better with the medication, without realising how below par you are feeling now!

I can answer at least part of the question, I have hypothyroidism, and you see an endrocrinologist for that, he can make sense of your readings. By the way, an underactive throid is hyPO, and over active is HyPERthyroidism...

I had my thyroid removed and am not a doctor. You should see an endocrinologist . I saw an ENT at first but my situation was different, but they can handle problems here also.

An endocrinologist specializes in both diabetes and metabolism which includes the thyroid. I see one now to adjust the dose in my medication and look at my blood. The ENT was prepared to do the surgery I needed, until I went to an oncologist specializing in thyroid cancer. I had cancer that spread to a lymph node in my neck.

T3 and T4 are 2 hormones that the thyroid produces for metabolism. They can test for total or free amounts. TSH is a hormone to stimulate the thyroid, when it is high it generally indications your thyroid is not producing enough hormones or is now having trouble doing so. TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone and is produced by your pituitary.

My guess which I know you said you didn't want is you are not currently hypothyroid, but may be soon. You thyroid is being pushed harder to produce the hormones you need. The increased antibodies needs to be checked out also.