Can someone please interpret these results for me please?

[Karispitit]

I have been self medicating now for 2 years due to lack of interest from my GP surgery. I had my yearly blood test at the GP which I ordered myself and the results have come back as follows. (I remembered not to take any T3 the day before.) Can someone please interpret the results for me. I take 250 mcg daily of T3 (Tiromel).

Serum free T4 level 1.7 pmol/L [12.0-22.0]

Serum free triiodothyronine level 5.9 pmol/L [3.1 -6.8]

Serum TSH level 0.02 mlU/L [0.3 - 5.0]

Thyroid autoantibody level 39 IU/ml [<101.0]

[Heloise]

Hi Karis, I haven't really found expert advice on what T3 only should look like on test results. I hope someone else has and can post. Certainly FT4 will be very low and hopefully FT3 is high and along with low TSH, I think your results look excellent. I'm a little surprised at the dose of Tiromel you are taking. Is that the timed release form? How high is each tablet?

If you are feeling good, it seems to be all right. If you are pooling too much T3 though, I think you may have some sort of symptoms eventually but I'm not sure what it would be except low thyroid symptoms.

[Karispitit in reply to Heloise]

Hi Heloise,

Thanks for your quick reply. My tablets are 25mcg each. I was taking 225mcg for about a year up until a week ago and started feeling exhausted at the slightest thing so I increased my dose to 250mcg daily and I am fine again now.Interestingly last year my free T3 level was 6.8 so its come down a bit even though I am on a very high dose of T3.

[Heloise in reply to Karispitit]

The only other thing would be to check your cofactors like ferritin, folate, B12, etc.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Karispitit]

I think your blood tests look fine. Particularly so if you are also feeling well.

As we are not producing T4 and taking T3 only, that's the usual result very low TSH and T4 and I think your T3 is fine as it's towards the top of the range.

Glad you are adjusting your hormones against how you are feeling. Seems to be working very well for you.

[Heloise in reply to Karispitit]

Perhaps you took some T3 closer to the test time??? last year. I think I last read that twelve hours would be appropriate. I only take 1 1/2 tablets. You take 10 tablets all at once? Wow. That appears to be more than 5 grain of NDT, right? It must get expensive at that rate as well. I'm happy you are getting results with it.

[Karispitit]

Many thanks for your comments both. Much appreciated.

[Karispitit]

It costs me £66.00 a month and a lot of times I can't afford it but I tell myself its a lot of money but a small price to pay to stop me ballooning out all over which is always what happens as soon as I stop taking the T3 even for just one day.

I always stop taking my T3 24hours earlier before I know I'm going for a test which only happens once a year as my GP is not interested and leaves me to treat myself. Even if they referred me to a consultant now I would refuse as I know the consultant would want me to come off my dose and the T3 and I would refuse. So they have done me a favour really as I was forced to get myself well in the end after 10 years of trying to get the GP to help me.