Self medicating hypothyroidism, advice??

[Nessiam]

Hi everyone! (: I'm new here so I hope I'm doing this correctly. I could really use some advice.. my doctor is useless(what else is new), I know pretty much 100% that I have hypothyroidism. It runs in my family and I have struggled severely with *every* single symptom(including the more specific ones). It's taken my life and now I'm planning on self medicating with nature-throid starting with 1/2 grain and working my way up till I reach my ideal dose(going off how I feel). I need my life and health back.

Also, these are my blood test results:

Iron defeciant anemia, ferritin low, t3 low, cortisol high, positive ANA test, high cholesterol, low vit d, within normal range for TSH and t4.

ANY opinions/advice is very welcomed and appreciated!! TIA!

[greygoose]

Hi Nessiam, welcome to the forum.

Could you possible give us the numbers, please - result and range. Low, normal, etc, doesn't mean very much. We need to be much more specific.

[Nessiam in reply to greygoose]

Oh sorry! Yes!

Free t3 was 2.3 out of 2.3-4.2

T3 was 24 out of 24-39

Ferritin was 10 out of 70-90

Cortisol was 17 out of 2.3-11.9

TSH was 1.6 out of .4- 4.5

T4 was 9.7 out of 4.5- 12

Free t4 was 1.2 out of .9- 1.6

[greygoose in reply to Nessiam]

Nessiam, what time of day was that test done? And was it fasting? Had you taken your levo beforehand?

[bluebug in reply to Nessiam]

You haven't included:

1. Your haemoglobin test result and range - this will show if you are anaemic and will alter how much iron you need to supplement with to raise your ferritin

2. Your vitamin D result and range/units - the exact number indicates how much you need to supplement

Cholesterol result isn't relevant as if your hypothyroidism isn't properly medicated then it will be high. Also it is the ratio between HDL and LDL your doctor should be looking at IF they believe it is useful not the total number.

[Nessiam in reply to bluebug]

Those are on another test that I don't have on me, but I am already treating the anemia and vit d defeciancy. My doctor helped me with that. I just really need advice as far as self treating thyroid goes. He even said we could consider an only t3 option, but I've read it's better to take NDT which has everything?

[bluebug in reply to Nessiam]

A word of caution on the vitamin D check that the doctor is giving you or recommends a high enough dose as lots don't. They presume a level of 50 is optimal and say 2,000IU is enough there as you want a level around 100.

[shaws]

Welcome to our forum,

Yes, you are correct - doctors nowadays ignore and don't know clinical symptoms and also diagnose by the TSH alone which can leave us high and dry.

If you could get a print-out of your actual results with the ranges, it would be very beneficial for comments to be made by members. We are entitlted to copies of our blood test results and should always get a copy from now on for your own records.

[Nessiam in reply to shaws]

Thank you so much, I've been on this forum all night and for the first time feel like I am not alone and have hope! It is amazing. I do have pictures of it! How can I add them? There are 3.

[shaws in reply to Nessiam]

I haven't added photos etc myself so someone will come along to help you.

I am not medically qualified by the way. Only have hypothyroidism which was undiagnosed for years.

Looking, first all at your FT3 and T3 results they are at the bottom of the range. T3 is the only active hormone required in all of our receptor cells, without sufficient our body cannot function as it should. T4 or the synthetic replacement levothyroxine is T4 is inactive and has to convert to T3.

Your T3

Free t3 was 2.3 out of 2.3-4.2

T3 was 24 out of 24-39

Due to the fact that it is rare to get FT3 or T3 taken I think doctors are unaware of its importance.

As your TSH was 1.6 out of .4- 4.5 your doctor wouldn't say you are hypothyroid as they've been told not to diagnose until the TSH is 10 and in other countries it is 3.

I shall give you a list of clinical symptoms which you can tick. Many doctors wont prescribe for you due to the TSH but some might due to your low T3's.

When we have blood tests for thyroid hormones, the test should be the earliest and fast although you can drink water. This helps TSH remain highest as it drops throughout the day.

If you were taking thyroid hormones you'd allow approx 24 hours between last dose and test and take afterwards.

Also, you need your doctor to take thyroid antibodies, as if you have antibodies attacking your gland you'd have hashimoto's the commonest form of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

You can think about self-medicating after absorbing the info you get but I do know many have clear symptoms and remain undiagnosed so they do self-medicate.

[Nessiam in reply to shaws]

Thank you, I appreciate it! The more information the better. Do you think I should look into a t3 only option, since those came up low on my test? Or stick to starting NDT which has everything?

[shaws in reply to Nessiam]

I should start with NDT - as it does contain all of the hormones our health body would produce.I am not medically qualified but the starting dose of any hormones is approx 50mcg of levo. So 1/4 tablet of NDT is approx 50mcg and increase by 1/4 every two weeks until your symptoms are relieved and you feel better.

Before you begin you should take your temp/pulse several times a day for a few days and when you begin NDT (our pulse is usually low as is temp when hypo) you'll have a starting point. Sometimes when we feel quite hot, when we take temp it is not high. Also, sometimes our temp may not return to what we had before becoming hypo.

I'm sorry for the delay in replying but was offline.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Nessiam]

Nessiam When you make a post (first one in thread), just under message box there is 'Add a photo'. Click on that and there are three options, camera, camcorder and documents. Choose the one you want and go from there. It can only be done with the first post when you make a thread, not in any following posts.

You may be able to add one to your first post here by clicking on the down arrow underneath the text in your post and the option to edit will come up, click on that and see if you can add a photo. If not you will need to make a new post.