How do I interpret my Blue Horizon results?

[N1mble]

After my GP was instructed to stop prescribing T3 to his patients I took the advice from this forum and obtained my T3 from Cyprus which costs 20p per 25mg tablet(£9/20mg tablet on NHS!!) and started to try and find an optimum balance of treatment.I am now self medicating and have gradually increased the 10mg dose that my GP previously recommended 2 yrs ago to 50mg (25 morning ,25 afternoon)with a relative gradual improvement to my feeling of wellbeing. I still take my prescribed dose of 100mg of T4 (at bedtime)which I have taken for 8yrs. since being diagnosed with hypothyroidism.I also take the recommended vitamin supplements. I am 71 and had a thyroidectomy at the age of 19.

By following the advice of this forum I feel better than I have felt for many years but feel their is still room for improvement.

Recently I had a Blue Horizon blood test to check out reverse T3 and any other abnormalities. I would welcome an interpretation of the results which were :-

CRP 3.5mg/L (<5.0)

Ferritin H 233.7 ug/L (20-150)

TSH L<0.005 IU/L (0.27-4.2)

T4 Total 80.7nmol/L (64.5-142)

FreeT4 12.36pmol/L (12-22)

Reverse T3 H25ng/dL(10-24)

Reverse T3 ratio L14.51 ratio(Normal>15, Borderline12-15)

Anti-Thyroidperoxidase 20.8klU/L(<34)

Anti-Thyroglobulin Abs 17.2kU/L(<115)

Vitamin D(25OH) 159nmol/L(50-175Normal)

Vitamin B12 434pmol/L(250-725 normal)

Serum Folate H>45.4nmol/L(10.4-42.4)

All your comments welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

[Clutter]

N1mble,

Do you have FT3 result and range?

[N1mble in reply to Clutter]

Free T3 5.57pmol/L (3.1-6.8).Sorry for missing such an important measure.

[Clutter in reply to N1mble]

N1mble,

TSH is very suppressed, FT4 is low because you are taking proportionally more T3 than Levothyroxine, and FT3 is good in the top third of range.

Thyroid antibodies are negative for Hashimoto's.

rT3 is mildly over range. You may be able to reduce rT3 by reducing Levothyroxine dose.

VitD level is good. If you are supplementing you could reduce dose because you don't want vitD much higher.

B12 is probably best >500. You could supplement 1,000mcg methylcobalamin with a B Complex vitamin to support the other B vits.

Folate is good. There's no problem with it being over range as long as B12 is in normal range.

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I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[N1mble in reply to Clutter]

Thank you once again Clutter and all others who responded.

[greygoose]

I'm not surprised you have high rT3, that's rather a lot of T4 you're taking. Some will inevitably be slopping around unconverted to T3, and get converted to rT3.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Interesting, comment, reminds me I should ask to have rT3 tested last time (I'll just tick that box on the lab sheet myself...). I have mid-range FT3 levels on high doses of NDT, along with FT4 levels at bottom of range (24 h after latest dose), and a completely suppressed TSH. My doctor said that is just the way I work (with regard to my mid-range FT3 and low FT4), and that as long as my TSH is suppressed, she knows the NDT is working...but I have been wondering lately about rT3. From the info available on the STTM, it seems not only T4, but also T3 can cause high rt3...and you get both when you take NDT...

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

How does T3 cause rT3?

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Sorry about that, I read that article (see link below) a little too fast. It states: "If on synthetic T4 and synthetic T3 with high RT3, patients are known to scrap the T4 for awhile" but of course the rT3 comes from T4, not T3. Sorry about the confusion!

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Indeed.

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I'd be interested in the link where STTM says T3 can cause high RT3.

The raw material needed to make Reverse T3 is T4.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

stopthethyroidmadness.com/r...

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Sorry, see above my reply to GG, but I provided a link to the article anyway as I find it quite interesting, and mentions causes of rt3 that you don't usually hear about.

[Issy]

You're high in iron, do you supplement?. Maybe get checked for haemotomochrosis?

[N1mble in reply to Issy]

Thanks Issy. I take iron supplements so perhaps I should cut down a little.