Would this blood test be useless as using low dose T3 and worried about being hypER

[Giagal]

Hi Folks,

MY GP did blood test few days ago as I said I was concerned about going hypER based on awful symptoms. Have not told GP using T3 only - christ we have duck and dive so much with this disease! - (quite low dose and only took quarter of tablet in morning before blood draw. And have only been taking 20mcg per day before that.

I have hashimoto's so I know I can swing from hypo to hyper.

The results came back as

TSH 18.4 (0.25 - 5.00)

FT4 1.4 (12 -25)

I know this won't be accurate but are figures sufficient enough to say I have NOT gone hypER.

Thanks

[PinkNinja]

Going by your TSH, I would say you are hypo rather than hyper. Your TSH is high. Your symptoms are likely due to too little thyroid hormone. However, without a free t3 test, it is difficult to know for sure.

I hope that helps.

Carolyn

[Giagal in reply to PinkNinja]

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for that prompt reply. My symptoms felt very hypER - jittery, unable to sit still, constant tremors, hot hands, some severe muscle twitching/cramping, having to fidget all day as cannot sit still due to the tremor - bloody awful,. And sleep - what sleep! - heavily drug induced and waking with a jolt after one or two hours.

Then this heat on top of everything else. Finding it hard to monitor body temperatures due to heat!!

But relieve that your first reaction is I have not gone hypER. Am also dealing with adrenal stuff and low gut absorption - ad infinitum.

Again thanks for reply. BTW my name is Carolyn as well - not a very common name!

Cheers

Carolyn

[PinkNinja in reply to Giagal]

Hi Carolyn

Your hyper symptoms may well be adrenal symptoms. Although t3 can work really well to recover adrenals, it can be hard to tolerate when your adrenals aren't good. If this is the case, a lot of patience is required as only very small increases in dose will be tolerated.

Being hypo can also produce hyper symptoms, especially in cars of adrenal insufficiency.

Are you on any treatment for your adrenals? You may be interested in Paul Robinson's book "Recovering with T3". It explains a protocol using t3 to help your adrenals recover. It involves the timing of the doses and often requires less t3 than other protocols.

I hope you start to feel some improvement soon.

Carolyn x

[Clutter]

Giagal, you're very hypo as Carolyn said. If you were hyper your TSH would be very low/suppressed and your FT4 above range. How much Levothyroxine were you taking before you switched to T3.

By the way you should not take thyroid meds on the day of blood draws until after your blood test.

[shaws Administrator]

Never take thyroid hormones before a blood test, as it can skew the results a lot. The test should be done as early as possible and take medication afterwards. If you've eaten you must leave 2 hours each side of taking meds.

You need an increase in medication as symptoms can appear similar i.e. hyper, hypo when undermedicated. 20mcg of T3 is equal to around 80mcg of levo. Up your dose gradually.