Newbie posting: recent blood test & T3 advice

[apenny]

Hi there,

Been reading this forum for a while & I just wanted to say hello 👋 & ask for advice.

So currently I'm on levothroxine 75mcg & I'm not feeling that it's enough or that my body isn't converting T4 to T3 properly.

Anyway, bit of history...last June I suddenly got hives & angiodema all over. Anti histamines did nothing. It has declined since then but my last angiodoema issue was a few weeks ago & my tongue swelled hugely & I had to go to A&E. Following this I went to get private allergy testing, had the testing, found nothing other than certain types of grass. When Dr took my history & I mentioned my thyroid he immediately said it's your antibodies attacking the thyroid & then going on a rampage everywhere else. He suggested I go to gp & ask for thyroid antibody testing.

So, off I go & make an appointment, read out the tests I want to the Dr, who patently had no clue about thyroid tests.

Test results are:

TSH 3.1 mu/l

Free T4 4 pmol/l

Free T3 17 pmol/l

Thyroid peroxide Ab 13iu/ml

Everything is in the normal range, but I feel tired & depressed all the time. I struggle to stay awake in meetings at work, which HAS been noticed by my boss. Given half a chance I will sleep for over 24 hours, indeed I went to bed last Friday & woke up Sunday lunchtime, albeit with a few breaks to wee. My weight despite my best efforts goes up every year & this last year my weight has increased by 13kg! I feel awful. Concentration is shot, depression & anxiety is getting worse, I desperately want to feel well, but Dr upon seeing results stated I was normal & she wasn't going to do anything.

So, after I scrape enough money together after overtime, which obviously will help my tiredness no end, I want to go to a private endo to see if I can get T3.

My questions are:

How do my results look?

Can anyone suggest a good private endo based in London?

A source for T3 online so I don't have to pay exorbitant amounts for it privately here.

Thanks for reading & I hope you have advice.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Can you please add the reference ranges for your tests, ranges differ from lab to lab so we need your lab's range to interpret your results.

The only thing that is obvious is that a TSH of 3.1 means that you are undermedicated and need an increase in your dose of levo.

Have you mixed up FT4 and FT3 results?

Also, you can't possibly know if you need T3 until you can see whether you convert T4 to T3 well enough and you need TSH to be around 1 to see that.

[apenny in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply.

Ranges are as follows:

Thyroid peroxidase <25iu/ml

Free T4 12-22 pmol/l

Free T3 3.2-6.8 pmol/l

TSH 0.27 - 4.2 mu/l

I did have a screen shot but I can't add it now.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to apenny]

Please check your FT4 and FT3 results that you put in your original post, I think you have mixed them up.

[apenny in reply to SeasideSusie]

Ah, yes I have, is there an edit button?

Free T3 = 4 with range of 3.2-6.8 pmol/l

Free T4 = 17 with range of of 12-22 pmol/l

Apologies, blame my brain fog & fatigue. Thanks for pointing out out, I feel so dumb.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to apenny]

Yes you can edit by clicking on the downward arrow next to the word MORE below your original message and select Edit, make change then click the button that says Submit.

So your TSH is far too high, your FT4 just half way through the range and FT3 low in range.

The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their ranges.

You need an increase of 25mcg in levo and retesting 6-8 weeks later, another increase if necessary and repeat retesting / increasing until levels are where they need to be for you to feel well.

Once TSH is around 1 if your FT4 is high in range and FT3 low in range you may need the addition of T3. However, vitamins and minerals need to be optimal for conversion of T4 to T3 so you should test

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

and address any low levels or deficiencies.

And supplementing with selenium aids conversion.

[apenny in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you.

[Marigold57 in reply to apenny]

This is really helpful as the range for TPO on my test results was <34 and mine was 22.9. So on these values I am very close to the top of the range. Do you have any thoughts on this?

[apenny]

Thank you. So much!

I've had more info from you than any GP!

I do have some results for these criteria too:

Vit D - no idea.

B12 - 353 ng/l range 197-771ng/l

Folate - 4.9 ug/l range 4.6-18.7 ug/l

Ferritin - 19 ug/l range 13-150 ug/l

I've just started taking a Boots selenium supplement.

I'll go back to the Dr to get an increase in the levo.

Thanks again

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to apenny]

Folate is almost at bottom of range

B12 is pretty low

Do you have any symptoms of low B12

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

If so ask GP to test for Pernicious Anaemia before starting GP starts B12 injections

Also ask advice on

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

Do not supplement folic acid supplements before starting any B12

If GP won't test or supply injections (they will probably think level is fine) then you may consider supplementing a good vitamin B complex with folate in, plus possibly also a sublingual B12

If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

Ferritin is also too low. Eating liver once a week should help improve

[apenny in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks, might give the liver a miss, I'm vegetarian!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to apenny]

"I've just started taking a Boots selenium supplement."

Is that a Boots own brand? They tend to contain a fair bit of rubbish, as is often the case with high street and supermarket own brands.

Does it contain selenite or selenate form of selenium? If so they are in organic and the least absorbable form. Best to get selenium l-selenomethionine form

[apenny in reply to SeasideSusie]

Tis a Boots own brand. I'll look into finding a decent supplement.

[Dee8686]

Interesting to read as my t4 is also 17 with a similar tsh and I am struggling with tiredness... Wonder if I'm not converting too..

[silverfox7]

I brought my levels up by getting my Vit D, B12, folate and ferritin optimal, took me 5 months as it doesn't happen overnight though that depends how low you are but pretty stable now so well worth the effort usxthey also need to be high to get rid of some of the symptoms so a win win move.

[Dee8686 in reply to silverfox7]

Are you feeling much improved now silverfox7

[silverfox7 in reply to Dee8686]

Yes pretty stable though I have had a few set backs recently asxhad a fall so badly broken wrist, shock, operation and strong pain killers have all taken there toll asxthe would in any case but hey, still smiling. Was tired for a while but getting back to normal where normal means good!

[Dee8686 in reply to silverfox7]

Sorry to hear that- glad you're feeling good normal spells though!

[apenny]

Thanks. Really helpful.

[apenny]

I've just dragged myself out of bed after a +20 hour sleep.

My question is has anyone else experienced this hypersomnia or is this unrelated to the thyroid issues.

I can't deal with this anymore.

[humanbean in reply to apenny]

I had problems with hypersomnia for many years (several decades), although my sleeping record is "only" 18 hours. But as I've got older the problem of sleeping too much has very slowly gone away. Nowadays I have the problem of erratic sleeping hours and chronic insomnia.

I've had to learn that there isn't a single solution to health issues associated with thyroid problems, it may be necessary to fix a whole host of things in order to have a hope of feeling better, and to get some control over any one particular issue (like sleeping).

The four major things most of us have to fix are :

1) Thyroid hormone levels need to be optimised, not just got into the reference range.

2) Nutrient levels need to be optimised, not just got into the reference range.

3) Gut health has to be improved.

4) Cortisol levels need to be optimised (if possible - it isn't easy), not just got into the reference range.

From my own point of view my own most intractable problem was reducing high cortisol levels, and I'm in good company. High cortisol levels are common on this forum. Low cortisol levels are common on this forum. What is uncommon is optimal cortisol levels.

Some people are lucky. They optimise thyroid hormones and nutrients, and the cortisol levels then fix themselves. But many of us are not lucky.

If you fix (1), (2) and (3) above with the help of this forum and some other good resources (and keep them fixed), you could then test your cortisol levels and treat if necessary. But you won't be able to deal with cortisol until the first three things have been done, or are well on the way to being fixed.