Hello …new to forum would love thoughts regarding test results….serum TSH 1.72 mu\l range 0.3 to 4.5.. free T3 2.89 range 2.1 to 4.2….

DHEA sulphate 104 range 80 to 480...Free T4 1.18 range 0.7 to 1.8…….

anti tpo <28

anti Thyroglobuline 20

free cortisol 3.7 range 7 to 25

pregnanolone 1.26 range 0.98 to 7.67

Urine test shows …

Low iodine 93 range 170 to 280

T3 553 range 800 to 2,500

T4 695 range 550 to 3160

also low in sex hormones but too many to write.`soooo result is I now take ... I grain or armour... 50 mg pregnanolone …. ten drops of iodine, ….. progesterone day 16 to 23 of cycle.

. ….melatonin as aid to sleep.plus liquorice ten drops for adrenal support.

I am a dancer overworked … too much exercise … not enough food … I have gained weight feel , have swollen face, skin rashes, itchy legs have done a dysbiosis treatment things have improved regarding itchy legs and skin rash but can't loose weight… hair thinning and swollen face really hard to deal with. will i be on armour forever now … also have really high b6 and b12 cant understand why . most ends or doc would not treat my symptoms as serum range ok …. however urine test shows low everything SOOOOO am i hypothyroid . or is it adrenal exhaustion stressing thyroid etc… oh to feel normal again.sorry for the bedtime story folks….

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Whiteheart.

Hypothyroidism is a lifelong condition requiring daily medication. You don't have autoimmune thyroid disease. I don't think you're taking enough Armour. Most people on thyroid medication feel better when their TSH is just above or just below 1.0. Ideally FT3 will be in the top 75% of range ie >3.67 in your case. Try an extra 1/2 grain and stick with that for 4 weeks before increasing again if your symptoms haven't improved. Make sure to take your thyroid meds 2 hours away from other medicines and supplements and 4 hours away from iron, calcium and oestrogen and probably all sex hormones.

I hope you'll feel better soon.

[Hidden]

Thanks for taking time to reply … the blood test was taken before `i started any med ….and I have been taking armour for just one month started 10 days on quarter then half and after another 10 days 3 quarters and now 1 grain should I re test or keep increasing …. saw Dr Hertoghe in Belgium was told to work up to one grain and return in 4 months mmm don't know how i feel about that…..

[eeng]

You say you are a dancer, you want to lose weight, you don't eat enough and you exercise too much. Can I ask how old you are and what your BMI is? I wonder whether your body is beginning to struggle with your lifestyle. I have heard that many dancers control their weight so fiercely that their periods disappear (you said your sex hormones are low) and they live their lives permanently at weight levels that most people would consider borderline anorexic. This can be tolerated by some peoples' bodies for a while but in the end it takes its toll. Maybe you need to consider what the long term consequences will be for you and plan a career change in the medium term. Not eating enough and exercising too much suppresses your metabolism. Revving it up by taking Armour is not sustainable in the long term.

[Hidden in reply to eeng]

Hi thanks for reply …. not quite sure what you mean by" revving it up with armour "I have been told my thyroid is under active like many other people on this website so treatment is needed. My BMI was just about normal but yes little on low side as most classically trained ballet dancers ….however I have gained one and a half stones in weight very quickly… far from a healthy weight gain as I tried to explain to my GP … BMI is well within normal range …. and yes my hectic dance training has put my body under a lot of stess… however I have never missed my period …. thyroid problems seems to be an issue with the women in my family…. I am in my early 20 s so this is a big shock for me as… this last year I have rested and stopped dancing …. note the weight gain happened during the final part of my dance training.. not when I stopped. I am not and never have been borderline anorexic.. as a dancer I would not have lasted two months let alone 5 year you have to be really quite fit to meet the demands of a dancer…I started monitoring my food intake when in a matter of two to three weeks I suddenly gained 10 pounds in weight, I could not understand how or why this was happening so I think any girl in my situation would have done the same …. I realised very quickly that this was some medical problem and started my quest to find answers ….I have seen 7 doctors, a harley street professor , a harley street endocrinologist, a haematologist , had brain scan, bone marrow aspiration , duodenum biopsy. and finally a hormone specialist in Belgium … he tested urine and found low T3 T4 and cortisol. etc etc etc. all other doctors say my TSH is fine etc etc etc after great expense, a lot of time….. and almost a year without help... finally some light on this distressing situation .. my main reason for writing on this forum is to tell others that serum results give a snap shot and do not reflect what is happening at cellular level if people have symptoms yet serum results all return normal ask for 24 hormonal urine test.

[eeng in reply to Hidden]

I am sorry if I sounded like I wasn't taking you seriously, I just wanted to clarify your situation. You must have met people in the category I was describing. I'm glad you aren't one of them and your answer to my comment has clarified your situation so more members will be able to respond helpfully. As you say, 1.5 stones weight gain for no reason is not normal. I agree you probably need more medication. You don't say whether taking armour has had any affect on your symptoms. Do you feel any less cold, tired etc? On this forum we are used to commenting on peoples' blood test results more than urine test results. There shouldn't be a problem with increasing your Armour dose (do it very gradually) so long as you watch out for hyper symptoms. Apparently before the TSH test and Thyroxine the system used by doctors was to increase medication until hyper symptoms began to appear, then decrease the dose slightly. You could do that yourself. Losing the weight is another matter. It can take much longer when hypothyroid. I hope you get sorted out soon and that you can resume your career. All the best.