Low FT3, FT4, TSH and low Sex Hormones - Thyroid UK

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Low FT3, FT4, TSH and low Sex Hormones

Lifeasweknowit profile image
6 Replies

Hi everybody, I'd really like to gather a bit of guidance, opinion, hope and thoughts on what on earth my next move is as I think I'm about to self medicate and attempt CT3M.

I have Hashimoto's and have been under a doc in oz that I trusted and she seems to get me moving in the right direction but would not give me T3. Had a little for most of last year but was still hypo due to other things or not being adequate dose(?). 

So started again and results under her in feb,

TSH 0.01

FT4 10.9

FT3 3.5

RT3 268

This was climbing in the right direction. She was concentrating on zinc/b6 for pyrrole. 

Here's the (same) position now: symptoms - feel like crap, huge weight gain, body hurts and I'm foggy, low and very unhappy, I think there is no need to express it more we all know what this is like!

Current meds: 150mg thyroid extract (compounded in Australia) believe it to be T4/T3 NDT. 

DHEA 25mg every day

Supplements: Zinc, P5P, selenium, magnesium, blah blah, pyrrole, ooh and methyl folate for MTFHR. Also a bunch of B vitamins. Beginning to be very annoyed at this cost/not fixing/helping etc. Diet pretty good, gluten free, dairy free, but beginning to binge out of not caring.

Go to a very expensive doc in London and get results:

TSH 0.05

FT4 9.8

FT3 2.9

All sex hormones are low, this bit is the part I'm really fighting as doc has prescribed estrodiol and progesterone and wants to reduce my NDT, by suggesting T4 only. I have refused and NDT compounded in Germany with T3 is apparently being ordered. So all this said I'm looking at sourcing what I want myself (hello bitcoin)

SHBG 69 (ref 27-146) apparently should be around 110.

LH 34.7

FSH 74.5

DHEA 3.0 (0.26-11.0)

Progesterone 0.9 (making me post menapause?)

17b Oestradiol 61 

All these results make my sex hormones literally in the toilet and really when I think about it results a year ago was similar then improved (dhea and 20 mg T3) and then got bad again when I ran out of T3. (even thou I was still hypo). I think I'm hanging onto a 'need for T3' as I think my sex hormones improved between this time last year and Oct last year when I had 20mg of T3 along with NDT.

However, as I am here asking for help and if it's the hormones causing crappy thyroid function I'm (slightly) open to bio hormone treatment! Please dont hold back on thoughts, your own experiences, I just think it's going to mess me up more and would  much prefer to try natural remedies first. 

Sooo thankyou in advance anyone who posts as I'm so confused and quite frankly peed off with not being able to work it out/to find so far a holistic doctor in London! Ps I have decided not to take any of the bio identical hormones at the moment. I'm 44. 

In health - AAARGH.

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Lifeasweknowit
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6 Replies

The only thing I can read into your results is that you might have a problem with your pituitary gland.   Along with the hypothalamus it controls a lot of hormones and it might account for the lack of TSH when your T4 is way too low.

Just a thought, hope it helps   

Lifeasweknowit profile image
Lifeasweknowit in reply to

Thank you jan4363, 

Strangely that was exactly what I was trying to understand during this mornings reading on STTM. Thank you so much for your thoughts.

Jazzw profile image
Jazzw

What's the range for the FT3? 

It's looking rather low but I can't be sure without the range.

Lifeasweknowit profile image
Lifeasweknowit in reply to Jazzw

Hiya Jazzw

The range is 3.1 - 6.8 so it's rather low. I think the thing that is confusing me is that both FT4 and FT3 are low with a low TSH? I thought TSH should be high if I'm hypo and low frees.  Thankx for getting in touch! 

Jazzw profile image
Jazzw in reply to Lifeasweknowit

Some people, if they're on *any* amount of T3, will have a low TSH. So the fact that your FT3 is also low means that you're significantly undermedicated. You can't gauge by TSH (no one should to be honest, but doctors believe the TSH to be infallible when it really isn't).

The FT4 is also often low when you take a combi T3/T4 drug, so the fact that's low isn't as much of a clue - it's that FT3 result that's the giveaway. You need more thyroid hormone - enough to get your FT3 up into the top 25% of its range. 

Lifeasweknowit profile image
Lifeasweknowit in reply to Jazzw

Thank you so much. I think the doc in oz was slowly raising the medication (NDT) and that's the path I should continue down regardless of hormones being low. I also think this current doc has freeked me out therefore I got worried! Thank you for your help. Do you think it's a raise of NDT with extra T3? I have sufficient NDT to be able to raise it a bit as I figure it out as I'm sure this doc is going to attempt to lower the dose and make me take bio identicals. Nah - new doctor time.

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