Recent Blood results

[Eastgate2016]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for opinions and a bit of advice, if no one minds. My results from my blood tests have come back and I'd like your thoughts on them. I've been on Naturethroid since the beginning of the year, and at this point feel great. I still have a few lingering issues with mother nature each month but have wondered if I tweak my dosage a little more, whether it would right itself. My first thought is I need a slight increase but then I don't want to overdo the T3.

TSH 2.04 (0.27 - 4.2)

Free T4 14.6 (12.0 - 22.0)

Free T3 7.2 (3.1 - 6.8)

Ferratin 42 ng (13 - 150ng)

B12 1139 (197.0 - 771.0)

Thank you in advance for any advice, opinions you may have. I am ready with open ears.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Eastgate2016

Well, this is a difficult one. Your TSH says you are undermedicated, your FT3 says you are slightly overmedicated.

When did you take your last dose of NDT before the blood test?

Maybe the combination of T4/T3 in NDT isn't the right balance for you. This is where taking Levo plus T3 has an advantage as we can tweak the doses of each one to find the right balance to suit us as an individual.

However, your Ferritin is low at 42 (13-150). For thyroid hormone to work (that's our own as well as replacement hormone) it's said that ferritin needs to be at least 70, preferably half way through range. So it would help to improve your ferritin level, which you can do by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...

Your B12 is good, but where is your folate and Vit D results? All nutrient levels should be tested as they all need to be optimal.

[Eastgate2016 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for responding. I had taken my last dose about 7am that morning, bloods were taken about 12ish. Last minute unexpected appointment for me to get blood taken.

I did wonder about the ratio of T4/T3 not being right for me, which I hate because its taken me so long to get to this stage. I know it will be a battle going back to my GP.

I will start monitoring my iron levels a bit more, hopefully I'll be able to bump that back up to where it needs to be,

He didn't request folate and vitamin D this time around, which I didn't think about till after. I was so happy that he had agreed to test T3, that everything else went straight out of my head.

[shaws in reply to Eastgate2016]

The blood tests were introduced for the use of levothyroxine alone (T4), therefore if we take or add any other thyroid hormones, i.e. NDT or T3 to T4, the results will not correlate and it should be all about how the patient feels on a particular dose.

If you take levothyroxine a 24 hour gap should be allowed between dose and blood test.

For T3 only, a 12 hour gap is best. For levo alone or NDT I'd allow a 24 hour gap. between dose and test.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Eastgate2016]

Eastgate

By taking your NDT 5 hours before your blood draw, you probably have a higher FT3 result that what would normally be circulating. The normal gap for NDT is 8-12 hours before blood draw. So it's possible that if your test had been done with the correct gap between last dose of NDT and blood draw, then your FT3 may well have been in range.

However, your TSH is still too high for someone taking hormone replacement, especially NDT. But increasing your NDT would very likely take your FT3 too high even when tested at the right time after your last dose.

[Eastgate2016 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you. Yes I understand. The Naturethroid as wonderful as its been for me clearly isn't the correct ratio, so what would your advice be as far as my next steps? Privately sourcing T3? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I had hoped that NDT would be my fix all wonder drug.

I will also make sure that my blood tests are planned out better in the future.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Eastgate2016]

Eastgate

I think it's difficult when the balance of T4 and T3 in NDT isn't right for us. There are a couple of choices. You could lower NDT and add some Levo (some people do that). Or you could go over to Levo plus T3. Either way it would be a case of trial and error and may take a while to find the right dose.