thyroid hormone imbalance

[lynnloughlin]

Hi I'm new to this post and I find many people with thyroid issues, I have been struggling with hormone and thyroid imbalance for the last year or so, I was put on a compounded T3, and also took nature thyroid and Armour, I did not do well on any of

those medications, I heard about a T3 T4 combo, such as cytomel, has anyone tried this and if so did this work for you, my doctor took my off of T3 and I am taking only t4 at present. But my feet are so cold and I'm still very tired. I had septoplasty surgery in

September and felt fine, just last week I had to cancel a trip to Florida because my

nose was so stuffy and I had a terrible headache, I think my immune system is very low

my white blood cell count back in September was 2.7, not good. Can anyone help??

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Lynnloughlin.

Cytomel is a brand of Liothyronine (T3). It isn't a combination T4+T3.

If you post your recent thyroid results and ranges members will advise whether you are optimally dosed on T4.

[lynnloughlin in reply to Clutter]

Thank you so much, I will

[shaws]

Welcome to our forum,

When you have your blood tests for thyroid hormones, do you you always get the very earliest appointment, fasting (you can drink water) and do you allow a 24 hour gap between your last dose of hormones at the test?

Have you had a recent blood test which included all of the following:-

TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies? If not request them following the procedure above.

You should also have B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate tested as all have to be optimal - not just somewhere in the range so that everything is in unison.

[lynnloughlin in reply to shaws]

Yes I have had all of these tests done and more.

[shaws in reply to lynnloughlin]

If you can get a print-out/copy of your most latest results, with the ranges, put them on a new post for comments.

Doctors are not really the best to interpret as they believe if we are somewhere in the 'range' that's sufficient but it isn't if we're at the bottom instead of nearer the top.

[lynnloughlin in reply to shaws]

Yes, I just had my blood work done in December, I did not have the script with me, the doctor had already sent it to the Lab, so I was not tested for Reverse T3, my new doctor is a conventional doc but I singled her out because she is also a DO, can't believe she did not test reverse T3, anyway here are my markers. T4 free 1.08 T3 free 92 TSH 8.820. Iron Binding Capacity309, Iron total 93. My Vitamin D back in September was 54. But my Vitamin D 02 was <4, I am not sure what that means. Yes I do have Hashimotos.

[lynnloughlin in reply to shaws]

Yes, I have my test results_ Free T4 1.08 T3-92 TSH-8.820 and TPA- 348 Thyroid Antibodies-1

[lynnloughlin in reply to shaws]

Blood Results Free T4-1.08 T3- 92 TSH-8.820 TPA-348 Thyroid Antibodies-1 My doctor did a total cbc count with differential plate, all looked good. I don't think she did a B12 test, but I believe I am low

[shaws in reply to lynnloughlin]

Thanks. When you post results you always have to put the ranges too - the reason being that labs differ as do ranges and it makes it easier to comment.

I can tell by your TSH result at 8.820 is far too high. and if we are optimally dosed it should be 1 or lower. You are very hypothyroid and need an increase of 25mcg of levothyroxine every 4 weeks until your TSH is 1 or lower.

You don't really need a RT3 test, the reason being that if we take levothyroxine (T4),it converts to RT3 before converting to T3. T3 is the only Active Thyroid Hormone and is needed in our millions of T3 receptor cells. You need a sufficient dose of levothyroxine which converts to T3..

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

Cytomel is T3 alone. It isn't a combination. Usually if members have a prescribed T4/T3 it is a dose of levothyroxine with a dose of T3. I have read that a 3:1 combination is helpful.

[shaws in reply to lynnloughlin]

The following link gives an insight into RT3.

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

[dtate2016]

Some of the things you can try : Take the medication for thyroid replacement whether it’s T3 T4 or combination take it on an empty stomach 1 to 2 hours before you eat anything or three or four hours after last meal; find a good digestive enzyme and take that just before you take the medicine; consider going gluten free - your post did not mention whether your gluten-free dairy free soy free - many of us find that removing gluten especially goes a long way to finding better health ; be sure and take vitamin D and methylated B 12 and B6. Those are just a few things that you can try. Most people do well on 23 or T3 T4 combinations like armor Ian’s NatureThryoid. If you haven’t tested to see if you have Hashimoto’s an autoimmune condition be sure and do that testing . How do I mute conditions require special understanding and you’ll need to educate yourself .

Please let us know what you learn.

[lynnloughlin in reply to dtate2016]

Thanks, I have Hashimoto's disease, and yes I am gluten and soy free, I do not do well on T3 medication, tried three of them, shaky jittery. I take a probiotic and digestive enzyme, just started actually. I also take Vitamin D Bio-D Mulsion Forte. I take a B-Complex, Selenium and Evening PrimRose, I will look for Methylated B12. Thank you for your help