Blood Test Results

[fifi6]

Hi, just wondering if anyone could tell me if my latest results mean I am being treated for my hypothyroidism correctly. I have recently had my levothyroxine reduced from 125mg to 75mg adding 5mcg of liothyronine.

ref range 0.35-5.5 result 2.93 (TSH)

ref range 3.5-6.5 result 4.1 (Free T3)

ref range 10.0-19.8 result 10.5 (Free T4)

Thank you.

[Ruthi]

You look under-medicated to me. You should be aiming for a TSH below 1 (T3 tends to suppress TSH and people on levo only aim for 1). Your free T3 should be in the top quarter of the range - so between 5.75 and 6.5.

Do you still have symptoms? I would expect so.

And I am not entirely sure why they reduced your levo, I'd like to bet it was well in range before, was it not?

[fifi6 in reply to Ruthi]

Hi, thank you for replying. Yes I still feel really tired and very cold all of the time. I am not sure what to do though as my GP says my blood tests results are all fine and within range What should I do? take more levothyroxine or liothyronine? The Gp said i had to reduce levothyroxine if i wanted to stay on the 5mcg of liothyronine.

[Ruthi in reply to fifi6]

Its so difficult, because doctors don't understand what ranges actually mean! If he/she is nice you might be able to persuade them to try getting you higher in the range.

If the T3 hasn't made you feel any better you might as well stay on the levo - they are likely to withdraw your T3 before long anyway, and you might not find it that easy to get the T4 dose put up.

If GP is heartless enough to leave you with symptoms then you have some difficult decisions. Its suffer or self treat for most of us.

[CSmithLadd in reply to fifi6]

I agree with Ruthi. You are undermedicated.

Tell your doctor there is "range" and then there is "optimal." What used to be the normal "range" has been whittled away and is getting smaller and smaller as researchers react to what is becoming increasingly evident: patients need their TSH to be very very low!

And it's never been about the TSH at all, really. Rather, it's about quelling symptoms that tell us we need more thyroid hormone.

To get you started with a better understanding, check out the articles below. Once you get a good handle on what is happening to your body and why... then you will be a patient who can lead your doctor to where he or she needs to be to give you the proper care. GPs are not in the know at all when it comes to the endocrine system--especially the thyroid--so we keep them well informed because it's in our best interest to do so.

And when we find we have a stoic GP who won't listen, we kick him or her to the curb. We don't have time to fiddle with obstinate, pompous doctors who know not what they do as we suffer along the way.

It is very important that you understand where you need to be or have a very good idea of what is optimal for you. To get you started:

verywell.com/what-is-the-optimal-tsh-level-for-thyroid-patients-3232903

verywell.com/interpret-your-thyroid-test-results-3231840

[fifi6]

Thank you for your reply will have a read through this article! Gp is adamant that all my results are within range! So frustrating that because of this I will have to carry on having all my symptoms when I could perhaps be feeling better