Blood test results on NDT, Thyroid-S. Advice please!

[Crazy_CatLady]

I have Hashimoto's, diagnosed a year ago. Until recently, I've been on Levothyroxine, 100mcg. My last blood test result on Levo was as follows:

FT3 4.14 [3.1-6.8]

FT4 16.49 [12-22]

TSH 1.09

I tried increasing my Levo dose to 125mcg a little while ago, but it made me feel rubbish. I started taking Thyroid-S just after those results above, and have just got my latest test results back since starting Thyroid-S:

FT3 4.3 [3.1-6.8]

FT4 10.7 [12-22]

TSH 0.12 [0.27-4.2]

I'm on 1.5 grains per day, taken in the morning. Whilst reaching this dose, 1 grain made me get hypo symptoms, 2 grains made me feel a bit "buzzed" so I concluded it was too much.

I'm a bit taken aback by these blood test results. TSH looks really suppressed but FT4 is below range, which it wasn't even when I was first diagnosed and before starting any medication (it was at the low end of the range then). FT3 is about the same as it was when on Levo (it generally ranged between 4.12-4.26). It was 24 hours after my last dose of NDT when the blood was drawn, so I realize FT3 is perhaps lower than it might be after taking it, as the half life is quite short.

On the morning I took this blood sample, I was suffering from one of my old hypo symptoms, insomnia. I woke up after about 2 hours sleep and just couldn't drop off again, not sure if that would have any effect on my results!? (Blood was taken at 6am). I've also been suffering from weird aching pains just down my left side (armpit, torso, arm) over the last week.

I'm not sure what to do now. Maybe take more NDT and try splitting the dose? Add Levo to my NDT, perhaps 25-50mcg? Any advice gratefully received!

[ajs100uk]

I cannot offer any advice but I am sure the lovely people here will.

I would be jnterested in how you feel, symptom wise, on your latest results. Worse, better, same?

[Crazy_CatLady in reply to ajs100uk]

Hi ajs1oouk, I felt pretty good for the first week or two, but this week have been feeling a bit off, the aching I was talking about (not sure if it is actually thyroid related though), and tired. I'm functioning ok though. On 1 grain I had a headache every day and felt sleepy all the time.

[ajs100uk in reply to Crazy_CatLady]

Well I hope you get it turned around and do not end up feeling terrible. It is such a balancing act

[greygoose]

24 hours was too long, because of the T3. So you've got a false low there, for the FT3.

[Crazy_CatLady in reply to greygoose]

I was aware of that, but I though that taking NDT before the blood test would skew everything else - DIfficult to decide what to do! I wonder what my T3 would've been if I'd taken NDT closer to the test. It;s the combination of really low T4 and not much difference in T3 that bothered me. Especially as the T4 is even lower than it was before I started any treatment

[greygoose in reply to Crazy_CatLady]

Your FT4 is going to be low if you're taking T3. It doesn't matter.

The ideal is to leave 12 hours between the last dose and the blood draw. If you'd done that, your FT3 would, no doubt, have been higher.

[shaws Administrator]

When we take/add any other thyroid hormones, T3, NDT and don't take levo, the blood test results cannot be the same. Levothyroxine is T4 only and the blood tests were introduced with this alone. If we take/add T3, our TSH will be low or suppressed and also NDT which contains all of the hormones, T4, T3, T2, T1 and calitonin which was always increased/decreased by how the patient 'felt' on a particular dose. and no blood tests.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Crazy_CatLady in reply to shaws]

Thank you for the reply and the links. I understand that TSH will be supressed, but I found it a bit disconcerting that my T4 is so low, lower than before starting any treatment,but with no chnage in T3.

I'm not sure I can take any more T3 as it made me feel a bit strange before (allthough maybe I'm more used to it now)