New results

[16york68]

This months results are : T3= 5.3 range from ( 3.80--6.00)

T4= 18.8 range from ( 8.00--18.00)

TSH= 0.009 range ( 0.34--5.60)

Ferritin = 12 range ( 11.00--200.00)

Folate = 8.5 range ( 4.00)

B12= 294 an increase of 30 since January

VITAMIN D = 50.1 an increase of 28.0 since January

I have just changed to a new surgery and mt new doctor has reduced my thyroxine from 125mg to 100mg does this comply with my results? Any advice would be gratefully received

[Hidden]

Your free Ts actually look good, especially since you're on T4 only...this means you are a good converter (converting enough T4 to T3).

The TSH is not a good indicator of how well you are treated, even though most doctors unfortunately seem to think so. At least yours has tested both your free Ts which is good.

How do you feel? Any signs of being overmedicated? If not, I see no reason to lower your dose of T4 simply based on these labs.

[16york68 in reply to Hidden]

Hi anna69, I am always tired and get exhausted very easily. And apart from the weight gawhich I don't like I feel okay . I had my thyroid removed due to cancer two years ago and this year had two malignant lumpectomies which are connected with thyroid cancer. Thanks for your response, should I consult with my doctor over the changes in my bloods from my January results?

[Hidden in reply to 16york68]

Your ferritin levels look low. Since I don't know the reference ranges for B12, vit D and folate, it's difficult to comment. But low ferritin and iron levels can make your tired. Is there any way you could have your iron levels tested as well?

I am pleasantly surprised that someone without a thyroid can have such high levels of free T3. Since it's all coming from T4 conversion, that means you must be a good converter...to me, it would be a bit surprising if you felt tired because of those free T levels (but, hopefully, others will comment as well).

I always thought that thyroid cancer patients were supposed to have a suppressed TSH in order to minimise the risk of recurrence...?

[16york68 in reply to Hidden]

B12 range is 140.00ng/l mine is 294

Vit D range is 50.00nmol/L mine is 50.1

Folate range is 4.00ug/l mine is 8.5

I would say my TSH is suppressed at 0.009 when range is 0.34 --- 5.60mU/L

[Hidden in reply to 16york68]

So you actually have excess levels of vits B12 and D and folate...? Sorry if I got something wrong.

The TSH alone does not dictate how you feel...many thyroid patients, myself included, have discovered this the hard way. When on thyroid hormone replacement, you need to keep an eye on your free Ts which are the actual thyroid hormones. As Shaws points out, many patients do well adding a little T3 to T4, especially if they have no thyroid (meaning all hormones need to come from thyroid hormone replacement drugs). T3 is the truly active thyroid hormone. In a healthy individual, a little T3 is produced by the thyroid gland, but most of it comes from peripheral T4 to T3 conversion. Some hypothyroid patients are poor converters, meaning they remain T3 deficient although they take lots of T4. Even if your FT3 levels look good for someone without a thyroid taking T4 only, adding some T3 to the mix (while slightly decreasing thyroxine so as to avoid excess T4, some of which will be converted to reverse T3 or rT3 which is inactive and blocks the action of free T3).

I don't know if your doctor would be willing to prescribe some T3...? Most doctors seem reluctant to, though. It can be ordered online, as can natural desiccated thyroid (from the dried glands of pigs or cows). I suggest you read more about each option before making your mind up. The best thing of course would be to find a doctor willing to work with you, but that can be very difficult as most doctors have been told to prescribe enough T4 to keep TSH in range, and that's it...leaving many patients under medicated and hypothyroid. That is why many have to take matters into their own hands and self-medicate.

[ColinK in reply to 16york68]

That looks just like the lower end of the range, like B12 140 - 750 and Vit D 50 - 150 which would indicate you are at the bottom of the range. Check your ranges again for the From and To range.

[shaws in reply to 16york68]

Even though your T3 is good research has shown that a combination of T4/T3 works better for many who have no gland.

Adding some T3 to your dose may also help with your weight gain. This is an excerpt from the following link:-

Though synthetic thyroid hormones are the most popular thyroid hormone replacement options, animal thyroid medications are also available. Animal thyroid medications are made from dried out pig thyroid glands. Some patients prefer these natural alternatives to their synthetic counterparts because they assume these drugs are the safest treatment.

However, many doctors believe that synthetic thyroid hormones are the best—and safest—option. This is because the blood levels of the hormone are more predictable with the synthetic forms than the animal source pills.

The last para is what the pharmaceutical companies state in order to promote levothyroxine alone. Low vitamins/minerals can also cause problems and I will give you a link to a prevoius post that @SeasideSusie responded too regarding vits/minerals:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

You're absolutely right, but then she'd most likely need to decrease her T4 intake to avoid having excess rt3.

[shaws in reply to Hidden]

Dr Lowe wasn't too worried about RT3 as far as I read, T4 converts to RT3 before it becomes T3.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Interesting...it would be great if that were true, and rT3 not such a problem as some forums make it out to be...!