I feel Great but FT4 is too low?

[GKeith]

TSH

0.31 L

0.40-4.50 mIU/L

Out of Range T4, FREE

CURRENT RANGEOVER TIME

T4, FREE

0.6 L

0.8-1.8 ng/dL

T3, FREE

CURRENT RANGEOVER TIME

T3, FREE

3.2

2.3-4.2 pg/mL

CORTISOL, TOTAL

CURRENT OVER TIME

CORTISOL, TOTAL

15.6

mcg/dL

Reference Range: For 8 a.m.(7-9 a.m.) Specimen: 4.0-22.0

Reference Range: For 4 p.m.(3-5 p.m.) Specimen: 3.0-17.0

Just got this blood test; asked endo for cortisol to check my adrenals; looks all good but the FT4? I mean why is it so low? I'm taking 12.5mcg's of T3, 25mcg, twice a day and 50mcg's of Levo, and feel really good except for cold hands and feet, which have actually become much better. I mean, this reading shows hypo, usually, and I am that but, with the T3, which I want to raise, I think maybe 15 or 20mcg's, twice a day, should do it, will become my optimum dose, I think, because I feel really good and workout practically every day and am “working,” again, practically every day. Anyone have any possible answers?

[Fruitandnutcase]

Haven’t got any answers but if you feel great I’d go by how you feel. We’re always complaining about doctors being obsessed by numbers and not going by how we feel.

If you feel great and your body feels like it is ‘working again’, just be glad.

[GKeith in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Good point.

[Angel_of_the_North]

You are taking T3 so Free T4 is often low in that case. Are you taking yeast, nutritional yeast, or a vitamin supplement or hair and nails supplement containing biotin?

[GKeith in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

No yeast, but I take a vitamin pill as a supplement, which contains 75mcg of biotin, which I I take, once a day, in the morning.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to GKeith]

That can make your blood results invalid, depending on the type of assay used. When you retest, stop biotin a 5 days to a week before, just in case.

[GKeith in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

The biotin mentioned is just taken in a vitamin pill with many other ingredients. How "strong" do you figure this biotin is, anyway?

[HughH]

T4 is a storage hormone and needs to be converted to T3 to become active so there is no reason to be concerned about your free T4 being a bit low.

T3 is the active hormone and your Free T3 is in range. Increasing it a bit may be helpful.

[GKeith]

You got that right, HughH, as far as I'm concerned, anyway. I told the same exact thing to my endo but he cringed when I asked for more T3 and then an argument pursued and I told him I needed it three times a day. For some reason, he bit, and said it was true that it had a much shorter "life than T4 and, walla, he prescibed me another 10 micrograms at three times a day. Now, I have felt good at dosing myself at 12.5 twice a day and figure(d) I would (will) take it at 15 twice a day but now that I am, (have been) configuring it in my mind I may just try 10 mcg 3 times a day and then try 15 mcg twice a day, to see which "feels" (suits me) better. Thanks for your knowledge, time and heart. Peace be upon you, brother.