Had my thyroid results today. I was thinking I was under because I’ve been making a real effort with my food and exercise and just can’t lose anything! However this isn’t care- these are my results!
T4 - 10.8 (7-16)
TSH - 0.027 (0.38 - 5.33)
I also asked for my T3- the report says:
Serum free triiodothyronine level 5.3 (3.8 - 6.0) is this T3
So based on these result I pretty good! So HELP!! I’ve been eating salads, fruit, veg, lean meat and low carbs. I’ve also been exercising 3-4 times per week. Weight lost zero pounds. I actually feel depressed and nearly asked the doctor for anti depressants but held off. I have no confidence and just hate how I look st the moment 😭.
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Thisgirl1973
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Zoemk6, these would be great looking results if you'd never had a hypothyroid diagnosis, and were relying on your own healthy thyroid. In that case the ideal is to have the frees around the middle of the range.
Had a tiny look back at your posting record and looks like you are on thyroid hormone replacement?
In that case, we need levels quite a bit higher than a healthy person to feel well. I'd say both your freeT4 and freeT3 show you've got plenty of room for an increase. You can push your freeT3 up to the top of the range, and most people will feel better with it close to the top, definitely above halfway, which is about where yours is now.
I agree you have plenty of room for an increase BUT you probably haven't been doing yourself any favours with your diet and exercise routine. And your depression could very well come from the low fat. Animal fat is one of the good ones, so don't cut it off! Eat it. Low fat diets are very unhealthy. And low carbs isn't good for your thyroid. Well, no too low, anyway.
Excessive exercise isn't recommended, either. You don't say what sort of exercising you do, but it should be any more than just gentle walking, until you get that FT3 up a bit. Most people need it up the top of the range to feel well, anyway. So, eat more fat, and tone down the exercising, and get an increase in dose. The difference will be amazing!
Yes, serum free triiodothyronine is freeT3 This is the most important of the 3 numbers in a thyroid panal, as T3 is the active hormone. This will be the one that most closely predicts symptoms.
You can take this all the way to the very top of the range if necessary to reduce symptoms, so you've still got plenty of wiggle room. Most people feel best with it somewhere in the top quarter.
T3 is always worth trying, as some people can feel a lot better with it. Your conversion for freeT4 to freeT3 is actually very good, so you may be fine with just T4, and an increase.
You don't mention any vitamins, so it's also worth getting those checked out, ferritin, folate, vit D and vit B12 all need to have very good levels (not just normal) to make use of thyroid hormone.
Unfortunately, if hypothyroid and we exercise to excess it depletes T3 which is the only active thyroid hormone. Until we reach a stage where we feel well with relief of symptoms, excercise should be gentle. OUr body doesn't need punishment as weight gain is one of the most common questions on the forum and it is due to hypothyroidism, not what we eat. Hypothyroidism slows everything in our body down, i.e. heart, temp etc.
I understand your feelings about the weight-gain. But, you've just proved to yourself that, when you're hypo, dieting and exercising is not going to make you lose. So, try the opposite. After all, I doubt it was over-eating and lack of exercise that made you put it on. It was being hypo. So, to reverse it, you need to stop being hypo.
Where to start with T3? Well, obviously, first catch your T3 - to paraphrase Mrs Beaton. And, then, you adhere to the rules for taking all hormones : start low and increase slowly. With T3 that means starting with a quarter tablet - 6.25 if your tablet is 25 mcg; and 5 mcg if your tablet is 20 - and increasing every two weeks by a quarter tablet, until you get to one whole tablet, then hold for six weeks and retest. Some might say you should reduce your levo. But, as you're only taking 100 mcg, and your FT4 isn't very high, I would recommend leaving it as it is until you retest. Then you'll see if it needs reducing.
If you have Hashimoto's then you are very likely to need to be strictly gluten free. Certainly need to try it for 3-6 months . Testing antibodies before and after
Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
As you already have B12 injections and have low folate you likely to benefit from daily good quality vitamin B complex with folate in, not folic acid . Eg Igennus Super B, or Jarrow B right, or Thornes
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
All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)
Suggest you get all vitamins optimal and gluten free, then retest thyroid levels in 2-3 months
Thanks for great advice. I am already gluten free- I have been since 2015. As a lifelong sufferer of IBS it got rid of that too! I tested negative for celiac.
I’m going to go to Holland and barrett today and get all of the vitamins you suggest.
For Vit D I have some tablets from Doctor that I’m meant to take. That is the other issue- me- apart from my Levo I am bad at remembering to take vitamins every day. So I need to accept some personal responsibility too.
Someone had previously given advice about test early in morning etc. I had test at 8.30 and followed all of the above advice. It made it quite difficult as I dehydrated and she struggled to get blood! I explained and she said she’d not heard that there was any benefit to that approach, this is typical of the reaction you get to most things these days! 🙄
If you are having B12 injections then it is advisable to take a GOOD B Complex containg Folate or Folic Acid. This keeps the B's in balance and Folate/B9 works with B12 in the body.
DON'T take folic acid!!! take Methylfolate. A low folate means you are building up toxins and not getting rid of them. This can impact brain function and increase homocysteine which is bad. Read up on homocysteine and if you can get homocysteine levels tested.
I just saw an interview with Kelly Clarkson - she had gained a lot of weight in recent years and had been fighting a thyroid issue - she wasn’t explicit to exactly what she had but I‘ve read articles that she had some type of autoimmune thyroid problem. She explained in her interview that she bought a book by Dr. Steven Gundry an American cardiologist that changed her life and she lost 37lbs. Just purchased the book so not much to share yet other than his name and her outcome.
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Latest test results - hypothyroid 
Still freezing cold on Levothyroxine will I need T3
so confused with different doctors and their differing advice 
I’m awe of this site. 
T3 - I am just wondering as I so often do!
