I've started investigating my thyroid condition after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and now feeling very tired etc. and all the usual hypothyroid symptoms.
My lab results:
Total T4 86
TSH 3.23 (and 3.66 previously through NHS test)
Free thyroxine 13.4
Free T3 4.0
Thyroglobulin antibody <10.0
Thyroid peroxidase 6.4
Reverse T3 26
I have had results looked at by integrated doctor who says he thinks estrogen dominance is to blame and has given me lots of supplements. I think I need to tackle the reverse T3 with a prescription of T3 to clear the reverse T3 ... impossible to lose weight after 3 months of these vits and supplements. I knowing is difficult anyway as a woman in her fifties even on a low carb regime, but any thoughts or advice from the folk out there would be most welcome!
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Westiehighlander4711
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These doctors make me laugh! They 'think' the problem is so-and-so, but they don't bother to do the test to find out. He can't know about your estrogen from those results. What supplements did he give you?
We really do need the ranges for those results. Otherwise, they're meaningless. But, your FT4 doesn't look high enough to be causing excess rT3.
You probably can't lose weight because your FT3 is too low, but we need to see the ranges to confirm.
Many thanks Greygoose for your swift response. It's only the reverse T3 that is out of normal range, but clearly I'm not feeling as if I'm at any sort of optimal point in the various ranges for thyroid. I've been given pregnenolone 10mg Swanson, to boost progesterone and thyroid complex by nutri advanced, AD206 Biocare, Vit methylcobalamin nasal spray, I think that's vit B ...and various homeopathic bits and bobs ... vit d was v v low so have been out in sunshine!
Being out in the sun won't raise your levels - unless you camp out permanently!
Methylcobalamin is B12. You should be taking a B complex with it, to keep the Bs balanced, as they all work together.
I'm not an expert, but I don't think there's any guarantee that pregnenolone is going to automatically convert to progesterone. Why didn't he just give you progesterone?
How many capsules of AD206 Biocare do you take a day? Because there's so little of each individual ingredient that it's hardly worth taking. These collections of vitamins and minerals and whatnot are, in general, just a money-making con. They don't do anything much for you.
As for the thyroid complex by nutri advanced, you'd be much better off on a real NDT, with known quantities of hormone.
And, I would not recommend homeopathic treatment for hormones, either.
It doesn't matter that your results are 'in range', that is meaningless. It's where in range the results fall, that counts. Your TSH may not be out of range, but it's hypo, all the same. It's just that the ranges are too vast. In some countries, you would be diagnosed hypo with that result. And, although it's difficult to tell without the ranges, your Frees look quite low.
rT3 can be raised by any upset in the body that requires you to conserve energy - sickness, or very low-calorie diets, for example. It usually goes down by itself because it is converted into T2. I've never heard of estrogen dominance causing high rT3. I'm really not impressed by the way your integrative doctor is handling this, nor by his knowledge of thyroid. Those supplements are not going to make you lose weight, raising your FT3 will. So, perhaps you're right about the T3.
Many thanks greygoose, I have a telephone consultation with him in a couple of weeks and will ask for a prescription of T3. If he doesn't go along with this then I have wasted rather a lot of money and will have to start again with an endo.
Well, don't want to be a wet blanket, but I doubt you'll get very far with an endo. Most of them know nothing about thyroid, and will think your labs mean there's nothing wrong with you! Very doubtful if you'd get T3 out of one!
Maybe you should do some research on it all, yourself, and just guide this doctor into the way you want to go.
Hi Westie, what kinds of supplements? Most of us are on vitamin D and B12. The gut is impaired and you probably need many more. I have to say that some women are getting results with apple cider vinegar. It adds acid in your stomach to help breakdown and gets nutrients, it kills certain bacteria and changes the flora, it blocks starches all of which makes a difference to the microbiome. Do you think you could handle the unfiltered vinegar before some of your meals? Just a teaspoon or so diluted just before eating. Your body has to learn how to use fat as fuel rather than carbs so avoiding carbs completely at first will give you a running start. As the body begins using the fats (don't be afraid of fats (but not vegetable oils) and then the fat won't be stored as it is now when eating carbs.
Estrogen does interfere with T3 receptors. Have you tried taking progesterone?
This isn't as hard as it sounds, Westie. I think you will be delighted with your results.
Thank you so much Heloise, I will try out a regime of cider vinegar. I've heard from a friend who said her symptoms of aching limbs were helped by this. I think I will also ask for some progesterone cream from doctor and see if any improvement. I think the option of getting T3 maybe very difficult from what I've seen on various posts, so if there is another answer it's definitely worth looking into.
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