I am confused! I am taking 75mcg and have been since September. In Nov TSH was 0.75 and I was feeling well, mid-Feb it was 1.3 and I still felt pretty good, and now it's 0.139 which is the lowest it's ever been - yet I am having hypo symptoms, not hyper. This is the first time I've had a full profile done (at the request of my naturopath) so I don't have anything to compare with.
Any thoughts on low TSH and low FT3, and what I should do about it, would be very much appreciated. My naturopath is getting some supplements for me which support FT4 to FT3 conversion, has anyone had success with similar? Should I go back to the doctor?
Many thanks in advance,
Emma
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mountaingoat83
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Emma, it does appear you have a conversion problem since the best result of your tests would be a decent FT3 but it is the lowest. There are cofactors that assist the conversion which often have to do with iron levels or proper cortisol output. Perhaps your naturopath is going to add selenium or folate or ferritin but there are many things that can be "off" so that your hormone doesn't work for some reason. This man thinks there are 22 issues that could be interfering. Some of those have to do with antibodies which don't appear problematic. Some have to do with female hormones. I'll post his first short video that give you an idea of the whole process. Also this website give good advice.
Thank you for the response Heloise, I will watch the video when I get home from work. I have had a test for cortisol but the result is not back yet, the naturopath suspects it will be off though. I also have PCOS so female hormones are also haywire!
Did you have a saliva test for cortisol as the blood test is not reliable (if you look at the Optimal Labs page from my earlier post). In functional medicine they look at Hashimoto as an autoimmune condition rather than strictly thyroid. After 20 years, I think that theory is correct but you have to get to the source of the immune attack. These are only 5 minutes in length and I have studied all 22 of them. It explains why many people do not really recover even while reducing their TSH and taking thyroid hormones. Since you are seeing a naturopath, I wonder if they look at the whole picture rather than just the thyroid. For instance your thyroid could be putting out T4 but the attack may be against your own T4 and T3.youtube.com/watch?v=2xm60Lb...
Thank you, I will check those out too. Yes I had the saliva test, where you do 4 samples in a day. My naturopath is keen to help me get to the bottom of it all, hence the two sets of tests and I'm also taking all sorts of supplements (I'm rattling!). It's just all so complicated!
I think you are doing the right thing. It's important to take a large part of recovery on your own behalf because you are right, it's complicated. I wish I had known these things twenty years ago. You can implement some of these ideas yourself. Some have gone gluten or dairy free and seen improvement. It does take effort and I guess that's where many of us fall down. Since you also have a job, you have more of a burden and I'm sorry for that.
Thank you Heloise. I have cut out cow's milk but I'm still having cheese and yogurt, and I'm having a maximum of one wheaty thing a day. I think I would struggle to cut both of those out completely though. Plus I had a blood test for coeliac disease and it was negative. I've also cut down on sugar and always eat protein with meals and snacks to keep my blood sugar balanced. Fingers crossed a combination of all these things will help!
I commend you for your efforts. I just hope you can get the doctors to cooperate Your vitamin d level is also very important. If you need to supplement yourself get a vitamin d3/k2 combination. New findings on K2 consider a lot of people also deficient in that.
That is fantastic. Have you had the A1C test for glucose? If you can also rule that out, that would reduce the major problems. If you are around menopause either way, perhaps you that area could be investigated but you also may be just needing a little hormone.
Thank you. I had a glucose test one day when I went for a thyroid test, I didn't know I was having it so I hadn't fasted. When I saw the doc he said, your fasting glucose is fine, to which I said I hadn't fasted, and he said well in that case it's excellent. I am 30 so not menopausal, but have had no periods and other issues since coming off the pill 14 months ago.
I'm not sure that glucose test is as reliable but I really don't know. In the states, the A1C is a blood test that tells you the approximate level of glucose for the last 3 months. It seems to be the definitive test for diabetes but maybe your test is sufficient for your condition. Do you ever feel shakey due to low blood glucose levels?
I haven't heard of that one but I job there are better ones than the one I had. Yes I do, but I manage that by eating protein with meals and snacks and not letting myself get over-hungry. My mum gets the same but there is nothing wrong with her so I don't know if it always means insulin resistance?
I don't know if you are getting anything out of the videos. Some people don't agree with the views but I think they are spot on. He talks about glucose levels in #1 youtube.com/watch?v=nZ_CP7l... and I think he discusses insulin resistance perhaps in the same one. I hope you looked at your adrenal saliva test results. If even on of these are too low or two high, you do have a problem.
I've got to be honest and say I haven't had a chance to watch them yet but I will make time to. The adrenal results were all in the normal range, though at the lower end. My naturopath said they were fine though and she knows a lot more than I do! Many thanks for your help
LOL, I didn't mean to force you into watching the videos but I am glad you did. I hope you notice that he mentions the failings of other types of medicine. The reason there are soooo many people are on this website because of those failings and while you don't know as much as your naturopath, this does not necessarily mean she is infallible. You should always get your own copies of tests which you are entitled to.
I'll leave you with one last link. I admire the way you are going about this but keep learning and questioning. I've heard too many frankly bazaar explanations from people reporting on their doctor visits. I do hope you start feeling better very soon:)
There is also a link for the saliva test within this article you might look at as well.
You've been a great student, MG. I wish you the best.
Not at all, I just have to pick my moments with these things as my boyfriend tends to think I do too much research and worry about all sorts of things to excess. He is mostly lovely and supportive, but I don't think he really gets the importance of being your own expert/advocate in all this. Anyway many thanks for your support, it is much appreciated.
You are even wiser than I thought. Healthy people will never understand this. I think you are at a very important crossroads and MUST be assertive and knowledgeable. I was much older when Hashimoto set in but paid a huge price for not only my ignorance but also THEIR ignorance. We have great support from people like Dr. Lowe (posthumously)
Mary Shoman and many in the UK who can enable you to help yourself. I hope you will post any progress you make to encourage others.
Ok I am up to date now! The vids are useful, thank you, particularly the third and fourth ones. One of the supplements I'm starting has selenium in so maybe that will help. I do eat a lot of Brazil nuts though!
Thank you Jo, I very much doubt my doctor would agree to that though given how low my TSH is at the moment. He's mentioned before that he'd be concerned about bone density etc if I had to much levo. I was hoping my TSH would have gone up rather than down, then he could have given me some more! x
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