Need help !

[carolbrit]

Hi everyone, I posted earlier but think I forgot to hit the send button or maybe it went into cyber space. I would really appreciate if someone could take a look at my recent blood test and give me some advice on what is going on. I've been hypo for nearly 18 years and feel pretty good most of the time although Tinnitus is raging at the moment and the odd bout with tachycardia frightens me somewhat. Colestrol is elevated despite walking 5 miles a day and eating a plant based diet (so bloody unfair!) Anyway, here are my latest results and I would be eternally grateful for some insight:

TSH  0.023. (0.36-5.4)

FT3. 3.9. (2.77-5.27)

FT4. 1.89 (0.78-2.19)

T4 total 10.4. (4.5-11.5)

I am currently on 125mg of Levo since increasing this past year. Most of the time it was 100 and I felt good on that dose.

Sorry if some of you have seen this twice. Thanks for your help.

[Roadrunnergreg]

Hiya, ok your FT4 is ok, FT3 a bit low ideally should be about 4.6 or 75-80% of the range! Cholesterol how high is it? Also it's common for cholesterol to be a bit high or as I call it high/normal, bear in mind the body makes about 75% of the cholesterol so why is it making so much if you think it's high mine is 6.5 and it's where I'd expect it to be with hypothyroidism. 

As for the tinnitus it's common usually grain/gluten related, but I'm not convinced of that as the cause for everyone that gets tinnitus. As for your T4 medication being raised and not feeling so good as when you were on 100mcg, have you discussed this with your doctor, or thought of cutting it back as a test to see if it is that, that's the reason your not feeling so well as before? Hope that helps... 

[carolbrit in reply to Roadrunnergreg]

Thank you so very much Roadrunnergreg for your quick reply and much needed advice. My cholesterol is 203; HDL 56 and LDL 117 (we use the U.S. standards in the country I live in) What I need to know is with such a low TSH,should I lower my dose.? Thanks again for your input.

[Roadrunnergreg in reply to carolbrit]

What are the reference ranges for your cholesterol, not just your levels important to evaluate 

[carolbrit in reply to Roadrunnergreg]

Sorry, forgot to include those:

HDL. 56 (more than 50)

LDL. 117 (should be less than 100). Total cholesterol 203.

[Roadrunnergreg in reply to carolbrit]

I'd say based on those figures, in the conversion in the comment below, of 5.26 I'd say that's good not to worry about that... Hope that helps... 

[ITYFIALMCTT in reply to carolbrit]

Converting to UK units:

TC 203 mg/dL or 5.26 mol/L; 

HDL 56 mg/dL or 1.45 mol/L; 

LDL 117 mg/dL 3.03 mmol/L

Was this a fasting cholesterol test? If not, the triglycerides might have been artificially inflated by a meal and this affects the LDL calculation. From LabTestsOnline: "A test for LDL-C typically requires a 12-hour fast, with only water permitted during this time...Strictly speaking, if LDL-C is being measured directly, rather than calculated using an equation, fasting is not necessary – however, fasting will be required for other components of the lipid profile which are usually measured at the same time". Very few labs do a direct measurement rather than the indirect method.

[Heloise]

Hi Carol,  It appears your latest dose is gaining a fair level of FT4 but you aren't achieving good conversion into the active FT3.  I'm wondering if your 5-mile walk is causing this.  I know it seems wrong but you may be burning through your T3 or your adrenals will sometimes cause reverse T3 to form to slow you down (which reduces FT3).  I think your heart may be a symptom of that rather than a cardiac problem.   It could also be an adrenaline rush which adrenals send out when cortisol is low.   If you have time, this video explains how they interact.

 

youtube.com/watch?v=T_Re4ja...(Not working as expected?)

[carolbrit in reply to Heloise]

Heloise, thank you so much for the video. I will look at it when I get home but I appreciate your taking the time to send it and help me. Thanks again.

[greygoose]

Carol, your cholesterol level has nothing to do with how far you walk, and very little with what you eat. It's made in the liver - because your body needs it - and how much the liver makes is adjusted to how much you ingest with your food. So, eating a plant-based diet won't change much.

Your cholesterol is high because you are hypo. When T3 is low - as yours is - your body won't be able to use the cholesterol as it should - and the body needs cholesterol for many, many things - therefore it mounts up in the blood. But it will not cause heart attacks or strokes, that is Big Pharma propaganda, so Don't worry about it. When you optimise your T3 level, the cholesterol will go down.

However, you do have a slight conversion problem - your conversion isn't at its maximum. That could be because of nutritional deficiencies. People who Don't eat meat are often deficient in B12 and iron - especially if they're also hypo! It would be a very good idea to get your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested. They all need to be optimal for your body to be able to use the hormone you're giving it, efficeintly.

Tinnitus can be caused by low thyroid hormones, or low nutrients - especially magnesium or iron. Tests for magnesium are unreliable, so Don't bother asking for that. But get the other things tested first, before you start taking magnesium.   

[Hoxo]

Don't worry about your tsh level and don't let doctors scare you into reducing yourthyroid  hormone dose because of it.  It's your thyroid hormone levels that are important. My tsh has been suppressed for years but my t3 and t4 are within range and I up or reduce my dosage dependant on how I'm feeling.

Good advice above to get vitamins tested. Low B12 can be a cause of Tinnitus. Worth reading up on B12 deficiency symptoms. 

[Eddie83]

Your FT3 is about 45% up in the range.  If I were you, I would drop levo back to 100mcg, then add in 5-10mcg T3 to get that FT3 above 50%.  As for tinnitus: Dr. Mark Starr, author of "Hypothyroidism Type 2", says that the typical pattern is that, after you have been significantly hypothyroid for about 10 years, tinnitus will set in; and you cannot correct it later by becoming euthyroid.  This is exactly what happened to me ... I have a low-level whine in my ears all the time in spite of the fact that I am now euthyroid.  This is one of two minor disabilities I have that resulted from having celiac-triggered hypothyroidism for a very long time.

[Roadrunnergreg]

Your FT4 levels ideally about 55-60% of the range, and FT3 75-80% of the range are optimal, without a conversion issue then they should rise together. Another thing, if your low on B12 it's also indicative you have low stomach acid as its needed to utilise B12 and others too. If you have muscle aches n pains odds are your magnesium deficient, also magnesium is needed too for t4 conversion...