I'm going to ask my GP for T3 Test today. Any tips?

[Gerry1969]

Already diagnosed with under active thyroid and being treated with Levothythyroxine. The increasing weight gain is worrying so I'm going to ask for a T3 test today when I see my GP a s I don't think the Levo is fixing my problems even though TSH is dropping.

Is there anything else I should be asking for?

I read a lot about Hashimoto's. Is it important to know if I have that? Is it treated differently? What's the difference between that and Hypothyroid?

Any advice must be simple and easy to relay. My brain isn't too good at retaining information right now!

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Gerry

Weight gain is a clinical symptom of hypothyroidism and should resolve when you are on an optimum of levo as it is important to raise our metabolism. If the dose isn't sufficient it can be difficult to shift weight.

It is a Free T3 test which is best but some labs wont do it if TSH is in range. I think it is also maybe more expensive to check.

Sometimes weight gain is connected with the TSH and for it to be around 1 or lower might do the trick.

Hashimotos is an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. For that diagnosis you have also to have antibodies so you should be tested for antibodies but treatment is the same - levothyroxine.

The link below informs us about the Free T3 test as well as the others.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

[Jazzw]

There's a good chance you're simply not on enough levothyroxine. How much are you on?

See if you can get your actual thyroid blood test results - and their reference ranges - today. Many GPs make the mistake of thinking "in range" is good enough, when most feel better with a TSH below 1.0. If yours is any higher, ask for a raise in levothyroxine. If it isn't, then yes, see if FT3 can be tested. But as Shaws says, many labs overrule the doctors and won't do an FT3 if the TSH is found to be in the rather large range of 0.4-ish to 5.0-ish.

[Gerry1969 in reply to Jazzw]

I've had my dose upped from 75 to 100mcg.

I can't remember which was which but the two figures my doc told me from my last tests were 12 and 14. I have trouble retaining information. I think I'll have to ask for an actual print out next time!