Blood results for Thyroid

[1mollycat]

Hi every one I only just joined this site , just wonder if any one can help me understand my blood results

my free T4 was 21.4 pmol/L

my free T3 was 3.7 pmol/L

mt TSH was 0.07 mIU/L

Im on 100mg of Levothroxine a day

do you think i am need of lowering my dose or increasing or do are these in normal range

Thank you

[puncturedbicycle]

Welcome! Do you have the lab ranges? Off the top of my head your t4 looks good but t3 looks low, but you need the ranges to know accurately. What is your doctor saying about results? And how do you feel?

[1mollycat in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Hi Thank you for quick reply can you download pictures on here as i have a printout of the results x

[puncturedbicycle in reply to 1mollycat]

Others have done so but I'm afraid I don't know how.

[Jazzw in reply to 1mollycat]

If you edit your original post (see the arrow at the bottom of your post next to the recommend box?) you should see there's an option to upload a photo.

[thyroidgriffin in reply to Jazzw]

Do u mind relling me how to go directly to a response when I get the email alert for it? I am new n spending so much time trying on my tiny phone to flip thru hundreds of posts when I click on the link in the email to read more..is it possible to mark a post for later reference also?Not in mood for more techno stress right now but love this forum n want to reply directly to responses to me wt spending 20 mins on ea response trying to find the original post!!!

[Jazzw in reply to thyroidgriffin]

On your phone, can you see the green bar at the top of the screen? If someone's responded to you or recommended a post you'll see a bell symbol light up. If you click on the bell symbol, you'll see a link to the post in question (all responses to posts you've made, in fact).

[thyroidgriffin in reply to Jazzw]

Hi..just found a way to respond!maybe bec I am using a phone bec I am in middle of moving,but I do not get the blinking bell,just 3 bars w a number next to it..if I click on cont reading it goes back to the top of my original post! Maybe after I am not so tired I can get on computer soon...thank you everyone

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, 1mollycat.

Your TSH and FT4 look ok but FT3 is low in range. How long have you been on 100mcg?

[1mollycat in reply to Clutter]

i been on the 100 mcg for a couple of years

[Clutter in reply to 1mollycat]

Mollycat, Ask your GP to check ferritin and vitamin D. Good levels of ferritin aid absorption of Levothyroxine and good levels of vitamin D aid conversion of T4 to T3.

Your B12 and folate are low. Supplement 5,000mcg methylcobalamin B12 sublingual lozenges for 6 weeks and then reduce to 1,000mcg daily and take a B Complex vitamin to improve your folate and keep the other B vitamins balanced.

[marram]

Hi Mollycat, quite a few have said that your T4 looks reasonable but the T3 is low. Even without the ranges, which are very helpful but are not absolute unless you know how the range is obtained, it is very clear the the ratio of T4 to T3 is between 5:1 and 6:1. This means that for every 5 - 6 units of T4 in your system you are managing to convert only I of T3. I had a similar problem.

There can be many reasons for this, and initially it would be good to ask for your vitamins and minerals to be tested. Iron, ferritin, folate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, could all stop you feeling well, or hinder conversion from T4 to T3, the active hormone which your body needs to function. It is now known that Selenium is important for conversion too, and many doctors and endocrinologists overlook this essential mineral. If your Selenium is low, supplementation can help tremendously and can also have the effect of reducing antibodies if you have Graves' or Hashimoto's disease.

Even a very low TSH can hinder conversion, so sometimes a small reduction in Levo can help because the TSH rises a bit and conversion is improved, but that should be done only if all the other things mentioned have been checked.

Marie XXX

[1mollycat in reply to marram]

Hi Marram I have just posted the vitamin results had to take the other results of to do this not sure how to get around this site thank you and every one who has commented .

[marram in reply to 1mollycat]

Well the low iron stands out like a sore thumb - well below the minimum, so it would be a good start to get that sorted. Some people take Spatone for this because it is kinder on the stomach than iron tablets, and more of the available iron is absorbed. Two sachets per day could bring your iron up gently. You can get it from Amazon, which I where I get it from. I was low on iron - not as low as you, about 9 which is still low. I have been taking one sachet of Spatone in fresh Orange juice for a year. Last time I had it tested it was 14.3!

I will leave others to comment on some of your other results, but just briefly your folate is low, too. I attach a list of foods high in Folic Acid:

globalhealingcenter.com/nat...

Some of those should be eaten in small quantities by those who are hypothyroid (mainly the greens, cruciferous veg.) but the rest are good to raise your folate levels.

Marie XXXX

[1mollycat in reply to marram]

Thank you Marie

I am on 1 200mg of Ferrous Sulphate Tablets once a day have been on these for about 3 years seen Doctor this afternoon and he has told me to double the dose to see if this improves but i might try Spatone to see if that is better Ann x

[greygoose]

Well, I can see the ranges. lol And I agree, you aren't converting. And, I agree, you need to get your vitamins and minerals tested - as many as your doctor will agree to do!

You are bound to have nutritional deficiencies being hypo, because stomach acid is usually low, and this affects absorbtion. This, in turn, affects just about everything, and things like B12 and magnesium can make you feel very ill if low.

Hugs, Grey