Hi everyone 
Got my BH thyroid test results back today. This is the second time, first time was the end of July, so 2 months later (at my doc's request) I've repeated them. I did this lot at 7.30 a.m. and fasting. You can see my previous results in one of my last posts. My TSH has now gone over-range and my antibodies have increased. The doc said she'd consider medicating me once I went over-range but I also think she wants to see my T4 drop, in which case I have my doubts over what she might do. I've a telephone consultation booked for next Thursday, so another week to wait. At the mo feeling better if anything, possibly due to starting B12 supplementation. I am feeling less tired and other symptoms have died down, for now. Whether that's just chance or the effect of supplements I don't know, but clearly I still have problems that need sorting. I'm not on any thyroid meds at present.
New Thyroid results - getting worse?: Hi everyone... - Thyroid UK
New Thyroid results - getting worse?
Your thyroid needs support whilst under attack from the anti-bodies. No point in waiting until the thyroid is completely unable to produce hormones ......
email louise.roberts@thyroiduk.org.uk and ask for a copy of Dr Toft's Pulse Online article.
Highlight the part which states that if antibodies are present you should be given hormones.
The doctors have been told to wait until the TSH is around 10 before prescribing and I think whoever made this decision must have been suffering from a thyroid dysfunction
Thousands of doctors wont/don't prescribe until the TSH is 10 and in the meantime (because they're not suffering disabling symptoms themselves) do not prescribe.
It's probably going to take your FT4 a long time to drop because, the reason your TSH is high, is that you aren't converting well, and your FT3 is too low. You could try pointing that out to her, but doctors know nothing about conversion problems - they don't believe they exist! So, your TSH will probably continue to rise, and continue to stimulate the gland to put out T4, but your FT4 stay the same and your FT3 will get lower. That's one possible scenario, anyway.
They think that all these things are perfectly calibrated - FT4 goes down, TSH goes up and vice versa - but, in reality, it doesn't always work like that, because the TSH tends to live its own life and do its own thing, it very rarely corresponds completely to thyroid status in the way they believe.
Well that's depressing. I notice my T3 has dropped from last time, from 5.64 to 4.05 so it won't take long before that goes under range. If I can persuade my doc to prescribe Levo surely it wouldn't hurt to try a low amount, and re-test after a month or something? Last time she argued she didn't want to push me into hyper.
Oh, there's not much chance of that with your FT3! lol They are so silly.
Sorry, I didn't mean to depress you, just wanted to give you ammunition to fight your doctor. No, there is no harm in taking 50 mcg levo (no less!) and retesting in six weeks.
Besides, it's physically impossible to 'push you into hyper', because you're hypo, and there's nothing you can do to make your gland make more hormone. Hyper is when the gland makes too much hormone. Yours isn't making enough, and it isn't going to. Ever.
You could, on the other hand, be over-dosed. But it's going to take a lot more than 50 mcg to over-dose you. Over-dosed is when the FT3 is well over-range. It would probably take something like 250 mcg of levo to over-dose you - but that's another story, with its own set of problems. Taking 50 mcg is not going to do you any harm at all.
I do wish they would at least read a book on the subject of T3. They really are hopeless!
I think greygoose should be given the task of educating trainee doctors as the 'specialists' have no knowledge either of the disabling systems we have, it would seem
Oh shaws! You're too kind! lol There are a lot on here that know much more than me!
It's fine, really. I see so much evidence of how stubborn these doctors can be, I guess mine is likely to be the same.
I did a bit of reading around to try to understand the T4 to T3 conversion and it's complicated, isn't it. I found this site that explains it, by a Dr Marc Ryan:
hashimotoshealing.com/5-key...
Because I was thinking, if you get more T4 from Levo but can't convert it well, won't that be fairly useless? But then I saw there are 3 forms of the deodinase enzyme and something about T3 being converted into reverse T3 which blocks the free T3. And... I need to read a lot more to get to grips with it. I should add I know I have the homozygous faulty DIO2 gene and so I might end up with problems on just a T4 replacement.... even more to ponder.
Yes, it is complicated. And, I thought with that faulty gene, you couldn't convert at all. You should really be on T3. The T4 is just going to mount up and mount up... I don't know if it can convert to rT3 with the DIO2 fault, but even so, you just don't want all that unconverted T4 sloping around. Does your doctor know about your DIO2 testing?
No, not yet. That's another thing to raise with her! I don't know too much about the ins and outs of DIO2 - I think it's 30% production rather than none?
I'm sorry, I don't know either. What's worse, I doubt if she will! Best to do some research before seeing her, I think.
Aha found a post by shaws on the subject, where she says: (this is from research)
"Because this faulty gene causes a deficiency of T3 within the cells, the usual thyroid hormone function tests will not show up a problem. This means that your TSH, FT4 and FT3 blood tests will look normal."
Well, that's a great thing to show your doctor! But, even so, your bloods do not look normal, because your FT3 is too low compared to your FT4, so you obviously have a conversion problem.
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