Hi everyone I am looking for some extra perspective on my blood test results. I think that most of the symptoms I'm experiencing are because I have quite high rT3 and bottom of the range T3. I am currently on 50mcg levo and 20mcg T3 with my doctor aiming to increase my T3 to 30mcg over the next few weeks. I am also supplementing with Vit D, Vit B complex, Iron, and Selenium. Am I missing anything in my results? I'm not quite sure how I can address my high rT3 levels.
For context I had Grave's disease and was treated with RAI about 12 years ago but have only been on medication since about two years ago (T4 only) due to doctor's saying my results were in range despite fatigue etc.
TSH 3.0 mIU/L (0.5 - 4)
FT4 14 pmol/L (10-20)
FT3 3.5 pmol/L (3.5 - 6.0)
rT3 515 pmol/L (140 - 540)
TPoAb 32 U/ml (<60)
TgAb <20 IU/ml (<41)
Ferritin 79 ug/L (30 - 165)
Vitamin D 53 nmol/L (51-200)
So, when were those labs done? Your FT3 is incredibly low for someone on 50 mcg levo and 20 mcg T3. And your TSH is too high. It looks like you're not absorbing much of it. How do you take your hormone?
Your rT3 isn't over-range, so nothing to worry about, And your FT4 isn't high enough to be causing it. Could be the tail end of a bug or something. Or maybe your lowish ferritin. That should be up at about 100. Same with your vit D - that's much too low. No B12 or Folate?
So, seems like you should be concentrating on absorption issues. And that's got nothing to do with rT3.
Hi greygoose thank you so much for your reply and that information. My labs for my most recent thyroid panel were done when I was on 75mcg levo and 15mcg T3. It is very confusing for me because just prior to being put on any medication my TSH was 7.0, FT4 15, and FT3 4.0 and my FT4/FT3 levels have steadily decreased as I've progressively increased my dosage of medication. It has been as high as FT4 20.1, FT3 4.7 (TSH 3.35) at certain points in my life after RAI but when I was not on medication (probably still needed medication, but not as bad as now).
I usually take my medication on an empty stomach at least 1 hour before breakfast, if I do have breakfast. I don't take it with any supplements like iron and I try not to consume any dairy products, although I do consume soy milk drinks at least 1 hour after taking my meds. I do eat quite a lot of broccoli on a daily basis...
Is there anything that you would recommend looking into if I needed to find more information on finding the root cause of absorption issues?
Well, the soy milk is a huge mistake. Unfermented soy will prevent thyroid hormone from entering the cells. Nobody should consume soy milk, but especially not hypos, because they've got enough problems without that!
Your Free levels have probably decreased due to decreased stomach acid, and therefore absorption. Hypos do tend to have low stomach acid, leading to low B12, which causes the stomach acid to be even lower. So, it might be a good idea to look into ways of increasing stomach acid -
scdlifestyle.com/2012/03/3-...
Have you had your B12 tested?