Update

[Ttmw]

So I have been prescribed 1/4 grain of naturethroid since I've updated my doctor explaining to him that there hasn't been a decrease in my symptoms (dry eyes, stubborn weight, stammering on words when talking, brain fog, anxiety, depression and extreme fatigue, sensitive to noises and brightness, easily frightened.) What do you all think? I haven't done another blood test to check up on my vit d and folate, but I've been taking 10k vit D per day as well as sun bathing everyday (thank god for these long summer days) as well as my 15 mg of deplin. I'd appreciate your input! Also I am a 6'7 240 lbs male, 26 years old. I've been an athlete all my life, but now I barely want to get out of bed and when I sleep I wake up unrefreshed and I almost feel as if I've been hit by a bus. No matter how hard I train, I can never increase my endurance. Also takes longer to recover Basically I am wondering if I may possibly require a little more than most. I'm also wondering if training too hard has damaged my thyroid. Who knows. Anyway, sorry for the tangent.

Thank you all so much!

Ttmw

[greygoose]

Timw, nobody could possibly feel well on 1/4 grain of naturethroid. It's a starter dose. You're supposed to increase by another 1/4 grain after two weeks. I'm not surprised you're having problems. 1/4 grain is only about 9.5 mcg T4 and 2.25 mcg T3. The starter dose of levo is 50 mcg.

I doubt that over-training has damaged your thyroid, but you shouldn't be training at all until your T3 is optimal, because it uses up all your T3, leaving nothing for any other bodily function.

[Ttmw in reply to greygoose]

Grey goose, these were my labs last month;

Iron 309 (250-425 mcg/dL)

Vitamin B12- 719 (200-1100 pg/mL)

Vitamin D- 19 (low) (30-100 ng/mL)

TSH- 1.33 (0.40-4.50 mIU/L)

Free T4- 1.3 (0.8-1.8 ng/dL)

Free T3- 2.9 (2.3-4.2 pg/mL)

Reverse T3- 14 (8-25 ng/dL)

Thyroglobulin antibodies <1

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies <1

Folate 260 (low) (>280 ng/mL)

Ferritin 109 (20-345 ng/mL)

[greygoose in reply to Ttmw]

Problem is, you don't give a timeline. How long have you been on naturethroid? Were you just taking levo a month ago, when these tests were done? If you were, then you weren't taking enough. Your Frees were both around mid-range, when most people need them up the top of the range to feel well.

[Ttmw in reply to greygoose]

I've never been on any kind of thyroid med. This is a first for me I haven't been taking any thyroid meds. I'm surprised my doc would prescribe such a low dose The labs I posted are a month old. My t3 was rather low although in range

[greygoose in reply to Ttmw]

Ah, ok. I didn't realise that.

In which case, I'm surprised that your doctor prescribed anything at all.

The problem with taking such a low dose is that it can stop your thyroid making the little hormone it was making, so instead of increasing your levels by taking a low dose, you are, in fact, lowering them. But, your next test will tell all.

[Ttmw in reply to greygoose]

So you think that the doctor shouldn't have prescribed anything at all?

[greygoose in reply to Ttmw]

I didn't say that. He must have had his reasons. It's just that very few doctors would have prescribed with such a low TSH. In the UK, they like it to be nice and high! Ten/eleven or something. So you really get to suffer before they attempt to make you well. lol

[Dmhm]

I'm wondering how long it's been since you had your folate and Vit D checked. There are side effects if levels are too high. Some of the symptoms you are having I had on Deplin a long time ago, so I couldn't take it. Just check it out. I'm not familiar with your Thyroid med as I take Armour Thyroid and get my levels checked every 3 months. If we ever have to tweak my dose we wait 6 weeks and test levels again. This may be your best course of action with your current Thyroid dosage.

[Ttmw in reply to Dmhm]

Dmhm, yes that is the plan for me and my doctor to adjust accordingly every month. How long does it take before you feel any noticeable results?

[Dmhm in reply to Ttmw]

If your symptoms are from your Thyroid once you are on the correct dose I have found you can start noticing a difference within 6 weeks Everyone is different though. It is good they are following you so close. How long had you been taking Vit D 10k when you received your blood work of 19? How long have you been taking Deplin (L-Methylfolate)?

[Ttmw in reply to Dmhm]

I was actually prescribed L-Methylfolate after my blood results came back. I also started on my Vitamin D after learning that I was deficient. It's been almost 6 weeks

[Heloise]

Hi Ttmw, I've just looked at your test results. The FT3 is the important one as that is active and you can see it's the lowest. It's hard to say what is going wrong when most people have some antibodies and they are the problem but it looks like you don't have any. Kind of suspicious actually so did you really have antibody tests for TPO and THS. These would translate into which part of your thyroid is being attacked.

As greygoose said, you have to take it easy right now because your whole system runs on thyroid hormone and your body needs to make sure the important organs get what they need. Most people have the autoimmune issues that may have started with the Epstein-Barre virus and often gut problems are involved. Some of those deficiencies prove you are having a problem digesting nutrients so you should supplement to improve your ferritin, folate and B12. Lack of stomach acid may not break down the minerals so taking Betaine or HCL for starters may help. You know this is difficult because it's not obvious what is going with you. Your results are not that bad and I'm wondering if you have an infection or something else going on. Adrenal glands can be another part of this as they try to balance your energy stores with your thyroid output. In fact I've read that athletes actually make themselves hypothyroid because of their athleticism. That's why synthetic T3 can be purchased over the counter. Do you have any signs within the thyroid itself like swelling?

You need more of an expert because you are not typical. health.howstuffworks.com/hu...

[Ttmw in reply to Heloise]

Heloise, thank you very much that is very interesting. I must look deeper into that idea. I've been an athlete since a child. I do not know what else could be the cause if I am not auto immune. I do have a family history of low thyroid, so it could be a genetic component to my situation. It's all quite confusing for me (brain fog aside) I just don't know how to solve this issue. I guess the NDT is a start.

[Heloise in reply to Ttmw]

Hi Ttmw, I share your confusion. I don't know if supplanting with NDT is a good start in this case. I hate to get too technical because I don't understand it thoroughly myself but there is an area that would seem to be genetic in the way hormone is used by the body. I wonder if this PDF will link, nahypothyroidism.org/wp-con...

As I said, athletes sometimes will take T3 for the extra output but whether this would impact the natural process of TSH from the pituitary is the question.

The "topics" listed on this page are very helpful and designed to show how OTHER hormones affect the thyroid so perhaps another deficiency is causing this. nahypothyroidism.org/online...

Your adrenals use cholesterol to create sex hormones and corticosteroids. Is your cholesterol too low by chance?

This is where the experts in the field can be so useful but they seem to be mostly online. Some functional medicine doctors are taking patients by Skype and even a consultation might help and sometimes they are free.

Ask more questions as you go along. I don't want to flood you with too much information.

[Heloise]

Is Deplin a vitamin or an antidepressant. Many times a low thyroid symptom appears as depression but taking an antidepressant only further interferes with thyroid hormone.

youtube.com/watch?v=nZ_CP7l...(Not working as expected?)

[shaws]

greygoose is correct, your dose is too low and it is equal to around 25mcg of levo which wouldn't help anyone unless it is being used to increase your dose.

The starting dose is 1 grain (equal to 100mcg of levothyroxine). You start with 1 grain and gradually increase dose by 1/4 tablet every two weeks, taking note of your temp/pulse before you begin. Our metabolism is lowered by hypothyroidism and both temp/pulse is usually low.

Thyroid hormones replacements are necessary in order to drive our metabolism, so we need a reasonable dose for us and you continue until you feel better with relieve of symptoms.

Exercising when not on an optimum of thyroid hormones depletes T3 and it is T3 which is the only Active hormone required in our receptor cells. It is essential for everything in our body from head to toe and heart and brain in particular need it.

If you can don't exercise as you are used to but gradually build up as you increase your dose of NDT.

[Ttmw in reply to shaws]

Shaws thanks! Not exercising is gonna be very difficult. But if it is going to help me, then it's something that I'm going to have to sacrifice. Would low level exercise suffice?

[shaws in reply to Ttmw]

Low level is fine as we have to keep fit as best we can. As your dose increases and you begin to feel better then you can do what you used to do, but if you feel fatigued you might still need another increase. Most important is Free T4 and Free T3 (rarely done) and I'll give you a link and read about why these are important. Of course minerals/vitamins have to be at an optimum too.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

[Hidden]

Ttmw, this is just another take on your current situation. You may be experiencing low thyroid function because, as a long term athlete your requirement and use of minerals/vitamins is much higher than most i.e. when you sweat it is not just water, it is like a soup containing many minerals like selenium, potassium, magnesium, iodine etc.

If you were to fill up your car with petrol you would not expect it to do 5,000 miles, you would know that it had to be replenished. The body is much the same, if your demands are high you need to top it up with what is lost. Selenium for instance helps in the conversion of T4 to T3 (along with zinc and iodine I think!!) Dry skin can also be attributed to a deficiency in potassium and magnesium and also Omega 3 fatty acids.

Deficiencies in the body impacts on everything else, it works as a whole. My son is a cyclist and I did quite a bit of research when he was cycling in hot temperatures (a paranoid mother you might say!!) He carries with him a mineral/amino acid/vitamin replacement drink (not a sports drink, they contain few useful ingredients and are laced with sugar).

Cassie

[Ttmw in reply to Hidden]

Cassie, nothing wrong with being a caring mom! I've been taking multivitamins, hopefully they will help with conversion issues

[Ttmw]

How long is it before you feel any kind of results?