Just wondered if anyone else feels like I do.
My doctor told me that my levels are fine, though I can not lose weight despite keeping fit and eating healthy. I seem to go through peeks and troughs with my illness. I can feel really good for a week or more and then hit rock bottom for a short while where I'm totally exhausted and suffer from all the typical hypo symptoms and then seem to pick up again? And then back down I go 😕 Is this typical?
Andyp13 Have you ever had your thyroid antibodies tested ie Thyroperoxidase (TPO) and/or Thyroglobulin (TG). If these are high over range that confirms autoimmune thyroiditis aka Hashimoto's disease. With Hashi's the antibodies fluctuate and cause symptoms and test results to fluctuate too.
If they've never been tested then I'd ask your GP to do an antibody test, I think the NHS only do TPO. You can also get them tested privately through Blue Horizon.
What are your thyroid results?
TSH = 0.72 (0.27 - 4.2)
Free T4 = 19.1 (10.0 - 21.0)
Free T3 = 4.8 (3.5 - 6.5)
Andyp13 The aim with a medicated hypo patient is for the TSH to be 1 or below or wherever is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their ranges, typically FT4 in the upper third and FT3 in the upper quarter.
Your FT4 is 82% through the range, and FT3 is 43% through range, so your TSH is good, your FT4 is good but your FT3 is lower than it could be which would indicate you are not converting all that well.
The ratio of FT4:FT3 should be 4:1 or less for good conversion. Your ratio is 3.97 : 1 so could be a bit better.
It's possible that the addition of a small amount of T3 may help, in addition to having the antibody tests mentioned to see whether you have Hashimoto's.
Wish I was this good at maths!
Hi, sorry to jump in - I wondered if the OP does indeed have Hashi's, would the conversion problem be treated a different way, not with T3? Apart from gluten/dairy free diet, I mean. Thank you in advance.
winallthethings With Hashi's (and without actually), if there is poor conversion my first thought would be to get vits and mins at their optimal levels to see if that helps conversion, also selenium as that helps as well. This may be what the OP needs as his conversion is just a bit poor rather than dire.
I go through periods where I can stay awake in the evenings (when I get home from work) and sleep for around 4 - 5 a hours a night then boom, I hit low periods when all I want to do is sleep, I sleep all evening when I get home from work, sleep right through the night and wake up shattered....
Andyp13 As mentioned above, ask for antibodies to be tested to see if you have Hashimoto's.
I wonder if your cortisol is higher during the night and maybe taking 1,000mcg of Vitamin C would help.
Also if you do physical exercise before you're on an optimum of hormones, it reduces the T3 in your receptor cells and T3 is the only active hormone our metabolism requires.
Two excerpts:
How does all this relate to Adrenal Fatigue? Well, those long-term stressors can eventually deplete the nutrients and precursors that we need to produce cortisol and other hormones. In other words, chronic stress will raise your cortisol levels for a while, but eventually your body is unable to continue producing cortisol in such high amounts. At this point we start to see declines in not only cortisol, but also key hormones and neurotransmitters like aldosterone, testosterone, epinephrine and more. Additionally the diurnal rhythm of cortisol production is often disrupted, resulting in late-evening spikes that cause insomnia.
This dysregulation of hormone production is the ‘burnout’ that follows long periods of stress. The body is no longer able to regulate cortisol levels effectively, which leads to symptoms like fatigue, a lack of enthusiasm, insomnia, and a general lack of vitality.
adrenalfatiguesolution.com/...
The consensus from research and clinical observation is that it is necessary to sleep an average of eight hours per day. Some people need even more in the beginning phases of recovery from adrenal fatigue. A saliva cortisol test done at night and compared with daytime levels and with the test standards for those times will help determine if either high or low cortisol may be interfering with sound sleep. If cortisol is a likely culprit, cortisol levels will be significantly higher or lower than normal for those times.*
Do you snore?
I can only really comment from my own experience. ( but there are lots of people on here that can give you very informed advice) when I was on Levothyroxine. I too would have days when I felt fine but others when I was exhausted. I ached, I could not think clearly, I was depressed. Alongside all the weight gain and hair loss. I was constantly at the doctors to be told my levels were fine and it was the menopause ( going on 12 years apparently) or I was depressed or my job was too stressful. So I suspect your experience is sadly all too common. I switched to NDT and I am doing much better. The advice offered on this site helped me an incredible amount. I wish you luck.
Hi Andyp, I was exactly the same. On a good period I was waiting for the bad to hit. Then I could not tell how long the bad period would last. I found this forum and they guided and taught me. I had new blood tests, posted them and with the advice went back to my doctor who said everything was fine. Once I told her that I had other advice and that my medication was too low and that my TSH was too high she backed down and gave me a higher dosage. I have not had a bad patch in a month, but as soon as I do (or rather if I do) I will be back at the doctors. This forum is the best, and more knowledgeable.
Have you had vitamin d, b12, folate and ferratin levels checked?
These all need to be at good (not just average) levels for thyroid hormones to work
If not, ask for them to be done. If GP won't then, like many on here, you can get these done privately
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...
Blue horizon thyroid plus eleven test will check all these plus both antibodies
If you have high antibodies this means Hashimoto's, the mist common cause of being hypo. Adopting 100% gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms
It's useful to know stuff like :
- What treatment your on. Type & dose.
- What your numbers where before treatment. So we can see what's changed.
The fact your t3 is lagging behind t4 somewhat could suggest some Reverse T3. You could do Blue Horizons Thyroid+12 test. NHS won't test for rT3. If your test shows it, that might get you moved onto t3 added to your existing treatment or t3 only.
With regards weight loss, age & sex is useful. As we get older we lose lean tissue, so burn less calories.
Also "healthy diet" means different things to different people. "Low Fat" food was a marketing master stroke. Cheap to produce, addictive food that caused an epidemic of obesity & diabetes. And yet they're still getting away with it. Too powerful to challenge.
Healthy means good fats (animal, olive, coconut, fish etc..), protein, vegetables. Plenty of water.
Small amount of fruit (it's sugar), as little grains as possible.
Andyp13 - I sympathise. I also cannot lose weight and have been going through peaks and troughs for years. A few months ago I found out that I have Hashimoto's (from private testing), which, now I know more about it, explains a lot. Now that I have that knowledge I feel in a better position to try and do something about it. So testing for antibodies might be helpful.
You are not alone, I go through the same thing, I would feel terrible for about a month or to and then I would feel pretty good for about two weeks and then I'm down again. And my doctor says but you said you felt better the last time, three months ago. All I get is, I may have to tweek your levo here and there. This is the worst roller coaster ride, you never know how you will wake up feeling.
Given the TSH and FT3 you report, it appears that your FT3 is a bit too low. The other two major things that could be going on are (1) nutritionals like B12, ferritin,selenium and (2) Hashimoto's. Has this doc not tested you for TPO and TG antibodies? Raging Hashi's has its own set of symptoms, separate from plain hypothyroidism. If your Hashi's has precipitated a gut disorder (enteropathy, dysbiosis, whatever), you will need to make major dietary changes.
So many symptoms & genetic history but tests say I'm normal?
They say my results are normal, but...
Feeling rough but GP says my thyroid is in the 'normal' range
I'm looking for an answer, my doctors are apparently useless.
Why does my blood tests say I'm not taking any thyroxine when I'm taking 50 mg a day
