Is my reverse t3 too high

[Serino01]

Is my reverse t3 too high

Just wondering

My Reverse T3 is 19.9ng/dL(9.2 - 24.1)

Is this too high. Taking Wp thyroid 88 mags once a day

Tsh is 6.88. Any feedback will be appreciated

[startagaingirl]

Hi - well you are under-medicated to have a TSH that high, it really needs to be 1 or below. But since you are taking NDT the figure you really need to have is ft3 and I don't see that anywhere in your posts. Your rt3 figures are meaningless without the rest of the picture. Before anyone can really give you good advice you need to post the following results - all with ranges.

TSH, total t4, free t4, free t3, TPoAb, TgAb, folate, ferritin, vit d, vit b12

Without these, any advice would just be a guess.

Gillian

[Serino01 in reply to startagaingirl]

Ferritin 19ng/mL(30 - 400)

1/20/2017Folate (Folic Acid), Serum11.8ng/mL>3.0

1/20/2017Free Testosterone(Direct)9.2

T4,Free(Direct)1.04ng/dL(0.82 - 1.77)

1/20/2017Testosterone, Serum253ng/dL(348 - 1197)

1/20/2017Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab13u[iU]/mL(0 - 34)

1/20/2017Thyroxine Binding Globulin16ug/mL(13 - 39)

1/20/2017Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum3.0pg/mL(2.0 - 4.4)

1/20/2017TSH6.880u[iU]/mL(0.450 - 4.500)

1/20/2017Vitamin A, Serum49ug/dL(24 - 85)

1/20/2017Vitamin B12724pg/mL(211 - 946)

1/20/2017Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy43.2ng/mL(30.0 - 100.0)

1/20/2017Vitamin E(Alpha Tocopherol)20.3mg/L(5.3 - 17.5)

1/20/2017Zinc, RBC1732

Sorry my Doctor never did ft3.

[startagaingirl in reply to Serino01]

Hi - so because those are VERY hard to read I am going to pull out the most important ones:

TSH 6.88 (0.45 -4.5)

FT4 1.04 (0.82 - 1.77)

FT3 3.0 (2.0 - 4.4)

TPoAb 13 (<34)

TgAb 16 (13-39)

Ferritin 319 (30 - 400)

Folate 11.8 (>3)

Vit B12 724 (211 - 946)

Vit D 43.2 (30-100)

To me, what this picture shows is first under-medication. High TSH, low FT4 and low FT3 in combination says you need more. NDT is normally described in grains so I am not sure what 88 is equivalent to. Are you taking it either first thing in the morning at least one hour before food, tea & coffee or last thing at night at least 2 hours after food? Also do you take any other supplements at least 2 hrs away from it - 4 in case of iron and vit D?

Your antibodies are weakly positive so it is likely that you are heading into auto-immune Hashimotos. A strict gluten free diet may well help and supplementation with selenium - 200mcgs of L-Selenomethionine - has been proven to reduce anti-bodies.

Ferritin - that high a level normally signifies inflammation somewhere in the body. In order to stop bacteria multiplying the body starves it of iron by pulling it back into ferritin stores. A shortage of circulating iron will leave you with anaemia type symptoms. There are no inflammation markers in results - CRP and ESR typically - your doctor needs to investigate.

Vit B12 & folate - both OK

Vit D - that is an unusual range and units to see, the equivalent in the common units is 106.4 so that is also in the optimum range.

In this overall context no, your reverse T3 is not too high. Reverse T3 is your body's braking system on the metabolism and is a normal part of the conversion process. The fact that it is higher in the range probably reflects whatever is going on with inflammation and is your body trying to slow you down to give it time to recover.

Your blood testosterone is low - from the ranges given I am assuming you are male? I am not sure how to interpret that one.

Another point, from previous posts I see you are in UK. I also see that you were asking for sources to buy T4 yourself - could you not persuade GP to prescribe? Also - and probably more concerning - you say you self-sourced DHEA, a steroid. Are you taking this? Are you absolutely sure about how to use this? That is a very potent drug (hence the reason it is a controlled one in UK not just prescription only), with many potential issues if taken wrongly. That could be distorting all sorts of other things and, without the complete picture, any advice could very well be wrong and indeed harmful.

Gillian

[Serino01 in reply to startagaingirl]

Hi Everyone

Thank you for the replying . I am in the US. I am a male of 42 years of age. Sorry for not posting all of this. I think the vitamin D is low. I know you said it was ok. Also I wanted to describe the symptoms I'm feeling. I get a lot of muscle tightness in my legs and muscles in my upper arms ache. Can this be a symptom of me being under medicated. I also feel cold chills all over my body. Hands and feet always cold. Thank you for taking your time.

[startagaingirl in reply to Serino01]

Ok - if you want to supplement vit d then do so, however be aware that it is toxic in high numbers and, as it is fat soluble, your body has no real way of ridding itself of too much. Muscle aches and pains can be a symptom of hypo. Feeling cold can also be a hypo thing, but cold chills are more likely to be related to whatever is causing the inflammation.

I have gone back through your previous posts again (did I imagine previously seeing one about sourcing DHEA? - apologies). I see you were previously advised to up your NDT dose - did you not do so? You do need an increase, everything else yuo can do will have much less impact than that.

Good luck,

Gillian

[Katepots in reply to Serino01]

I too get muscle aches and pains and for me cutting out nightshades helps a lot. So that's potato, tomato, eggplant...

Also if you're hashimotos(a lot of people have Hashimotos but don't show antibodies) gluten and casein free is a must.

The cold and chills sound like hypo signs..

I take high dose vitamin D (5,000 out) which has helped me just keep an eye on your levels.

I was listening to a vitamin D expert Michael Holick talk and he was saying that you would need huge doses before any toxicity. You must decide for yourself though.

Link

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Serino01]

Serino01 Your Vit D is not too low. Check out the Vit D Council's website, where units are ng/ml, and they say that the recommended level is 40-60mg/ml and that

"The Vitamin D Council suggests that a level of 50 ng/ml is the ideal level to aim for"

[For anyone in the UK whose Vit D is measured in nmol/L that is 125nmol/L]

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

You could take a maintenance dose of Vit D, especially if you don't get much sun on your bare skin to produce Vit D naturally, and a reasonable maintenance dose would be 2000iu D3, and don't forget to take D3's important co-factors K2-MK7 and magnesium - vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

[Jump1 in reply to startagaingirl]

Gillian

Not sure if you still around could you advise on my results:

Ft4 1y.6 pmol/l

T4 106.5 nmoll

Tsh 3.32

Ft3 4.69 pmol

Rt3 16 ng dl

Peroxidase antibodies 43

Tgab 19.4

Protein 68 gl

Vit b12 699

Active b12 61

Haemoglobom 128

Hct 0.405

Rcc 4.36

Mcv 92.9

Mch 29.4

Mchc 316

Rdw 12.4

Platelet count 239

Wcc 3.7

Neutophils 1.64

Lymphocytes 1.60

Monocytes 0.35

Eosinphils 0.06

Bassiphols 0.05

Ferritin 50

Gastric paretal cell negative

Intinsic factor antibodies 0.6

Just been treated for h pylori. Drs, endo and derm say my thyroid is fine. They only did the basic test. Endo saw the antibody results as i emailed them to him said wouldnt cause my hair loss.

[Jump1 in reply to Jump1]

Ft4 16.6

[Serino01 in reply to startagaingirl]

Sorry Ferritin is 319

[silverfox7]

How long have you. Even on medication for your thyroid? I'm assuming you are but usually taking NDT your TSH wouldn't be that high and not a result that means anything. So my other thought that you are doing something or taking something that is stopping your meds working thought I'm not familiar what happens if reverse T3 has your readings. Hopefully someone with more experience in that will comment. Vit D needs to. E much higher and possibly folate and testing B12 could also be useful.

[Katepots]

Definitelysupplement your vitamin D it is very low so will make you feel shocking.

I'm guessing your B12 may be low too asserms to run hand in hand. Should be over 500 as under you can start to get neurological symptoms.

THS should be under 1 to feel well.

Text from verywell.com

Some integrative physicians believe that elevated levels of RT3 -- even though TSH, Free T3 and Free T3 values may be within the normal reference range -- reflect a thyroid problem at the cellular level -- a condition that Kent Holtorf, MD calls "cellular hypothyroidism."

In this integrative view, elevated RT3 can be triggered by ongoing chronic physical or emotional stress, adrenal fatigue, low ferritin (stored iron) levels, acute illness and injury, and chronic disease, among other factors.

According to Dr. Holtorf:

Reverse T3 is actually an "antithyroid" -- T3 is the active thyroid that goes to the cells and stimulates energy and metabolism. Reverse T3 is a mirror image -- it actually goes to the receptors, sticks there, and nothing happens. So it blocks the thyroid effect. Reverse T3 is kind of a hibernation hormone, in times of stress and chronic illness, it lowers your metabolism. So many people seemingly have normal thyroid levels, but if they have high Reverse T3, they're actually suffering from hypothyroidism.

Hope this helps.

[startagaingirl in reply to Katepots]

Sorry Kate - vit D3 is not low, it is in a different units and hence range than we normally see. Please remember D3 is toxic at high levels, 100 in these units is the equivalent of 250 in the more frequently seen units and ranges. xx

[Serino01]

Hi Everyone

Thank you for the replying . I am in the US. I am a male of 42 years of age. Sorry for not posting all of this. I think the vitamin D is low. I know you said it was ok. Also I wanted to describe the symptoms I'm feeling. I get a lot of muscle tightness in my legs and muscles in my upper arms ache. Can this be a symptom of me being under medicated. I also feel cold chills all over my body. Hands and feet always cold. Thank you for taking your time.

[Serino01]

Thanks for all your help everyone. Much appreciated. One other question I have is that I have been on WP thyroid now for 2 weeks. Dosage 88mgs. I am schedule for blood work next week. Is this too soon. When does NDT get into blood system. I wanted to check my levels to see if I need an increase. Also I have a non alcoholic fatty liver. The range is supposed to be between 10-40 units mine is 88 units. Could this be causing my inflammation.