GP says taking T4 would suppress T3 level

[Pamzz]

Went to gp today..had quick discussion re reason endo suggested adding T3. She said was confused as we shouldn’t need to take T3, that measuring it was not helpful as taking T4 would suppress T3 level anyway.....presume this is not the case?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Pamzz

Spectacularly ignorant!

Does she even now what T3 is? That T4 converts to T3? That T3 is the active hormone that every cell in our bodies need?

If taking T4 suppresses T3 then everyone on Levo would be walking round like zombies with no T3 available to keep them functioning.

[Hennerton]

Oh dear. I think we need a petition to educate GPs about the difference between T4 and T3. Their ignorance is woeful. I had to explain it all to mine, as he said with a very earnest expression that he could not understand why I was insisting on a free T3 test, as “T4 is the active hormone”.

[Chillymortal in reply to Hennerton]

I agree. I recently saw a GP who hadn’t even heard of T3, the only thyroid hormone she knew of was T4.

[Pamzz]

Yes is all confusing with so many variations in opinion. She has however tested my t3/4, cortisol etc .

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Pamzz]

What are your results for FT4 and FT3 (including ranges)?

[Pamzz in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hashimotos confirmed 2yrs ago 75mg Levo

T4 19 (12-22)

T3 3.9 (3-6.8)

Low am cortisol per saliva test-started supplementing B complex & Licorice Root

Also supplementing vit d spray 3000iu as was borderline at 59

Ferritin 28 supplementing ferrous sulphate also

Going to see if taking Levo at night helps insomnia and morning fatigue symptoms

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Pamzz]

Pamzz

With your FT4 at 70% through the range, and FT3 at 23% through range, your conversion of T4 to T3 is poor. That's nothing to do with your GP's erroneous suggestion that taking T4 suppresses T3, it's purely and simply poor conversion.

Your low nutrient levels are possibly part of the reason, particularly your dire ferritin level (it needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work properly).

Iron deficiency reduces conversion of T4 to T3. When ferritin is that low, an iron panel and full blood count should be done to see if there is iron deficiency

restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/i...

[Pamzz in reply to SeasideSusie]

Had full blood count done ..endo said was ok not anaemia. Been taking 400 mg ferrous sulphate hopefully will help bring ferritin up. Think will give supplements a try first and get levels optimal before deciding if t3 for me.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Essential to test vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin too

Low vitamins badly affect conversion too

Do you have Hashimotos? Diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto’s

[MaisieGray]

Well at least she admitted to being confused ........ I would however, make every effort to avoid seeing her again about anything,if there are other GPs in the practise to chose from.

[MissGrace]

Bloody hell, she’s so thick she’s dangerous. Are you sure she’s qualified?

[Pamzz in reply to MissGrace]

Yes..she’s usually very helpful but maybe doesn’t know enough about this. Seems have to learn lots ourselves.

[Hidden in reply to Pamzz]

I loved my old GP always thought she was smart and on top of my health problems.....that ended when I was told I had thyroid cancer and that the million times I went to see her about severe panic attacks and weight gain and a variety of other things only to be met with oh Grace you are a worry wart and to obsessed with your weight. After Thyroidectomy I went to see her and finally told her off and fired her ...she retired 2 months after I ripped into her..most disappointing part was being told by her for years that I'm a worry wart and obsessed with my weight I need to relax nothing's wrong.....I think had she been a better doctor instead of dismissing me I might have not gotten this life sucking cancer ...but I will never know.

Today I don't mess around with Doctors of any kind and if they don't listen to my complaints and take me serious I tell how it is and get rid of them, I lost a lot of years dealing with a health problem that I was told for years was in my head.

Life is too short...get a new Doctor

[ShootingStars in reply to Pamzz]

Are you completely sure she’s actually “really helpful” and has told you other correct information? Don’t trust her.

[Jazzw]

It sounds like she may have confused T3 for TSH. Which might have been a moment of not being able to get her head around what she knew really (busy day, lots of patients, memory lapse!), or perhaps not knowing that there’s a difference between T3 and TSH (which would be more worrying).

Given she used the word “suppressed” I think she momentarily confused T3 for TSH. Still, not an ideal situation...

[Kitten44 in reply to Jazzw]

Sounds a logical assumption. So maybe she's not so bad after all if it was irrelevance if Tsh what she really meant.

Maybe she has brain fog....

[guysgrams]

OMG how ignorant can we get? Doc knows absolutely nothing about how that all works.

[HIFL]

There's a graphic here that illustrates what your doctor said. tiredthyroid.com/blog/2014/...

Giving most patients T4 tends to cause a drop in their T3, when compared to their normal T4 and T3 levels. Say their original T4 and T3 are both 20% in range. If they're given enough T4 to bump up their T4 level to say 60% in range, their T3 might only jump to 30%. The higher they push their T4, the more pronounced the imbalance becomes. Just an observation.

[Pamzz in reply to HIFL]

Interesting read

[FancyPants54 in reply to HIFL]

I'd be careful of that blog. It's just one person's blog and gets a bit of a bad wrap in some circles. The woman running it has some odd ideas.

[HIFL in reply to FancyPants54]

On the contrary, those ideas were the answer for me. NDT-only and T3-only did not work for me. I would say that the OTHER blogs are the ones with the odd ideas! My point being that we are all different. If someone doesn't feel well following typical forum wisdom, then they should consider different perspectives, like those found at tiredthyroid.com. T3 is essential, but not in the high amounts recommended on most forums, even here. Lowering my NDT dose and raising T4 instead was the answer for me. Have you looked at all the references she presents? Science backs up what she says.

[Pamzz in reply to HIFL]

Yes think adding T3 not for me at moment either..minute amount 2.5 mg made me feel hyper later that day or it may have been pooling in blood as have low cortisol.

[ShootingStars]

SHE IS DANGEROUS!! Run, run away, as fast as you can!!

If she spewed this garbage at you, don’t trust a word she says. All the other things you think she was “helpful” with are probably wrong, too! RUN!

Please find a new doctor immediately.