I posted on here a week or so ago with a concern I had that my blood results were skewed as I had been told to take my NDT (armour) 4 hours prior to my fasting blood test. These results came back as ‘optimal’ but thanks to some very amazing people on here I now realise that the only reason they were optimal is because I had armour thyroid floating around freely in my bloodstream.....so.....I had another blood test done with medichecks and the results are in.....I split my armour tablet in half the day before the test, half in the morning then half at 9pm that night. I had the blood test done the following morning at 9am, and it was a fasting blood test. I have attached the results below. I am concerned about my TSH level, which seems extremely low....should I be worried? I would appreciate any advice on these results.
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EmmaConstantine
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Hi Emma. Resultsxare read differently when taking any form of T3. Your TSH should be suppressed, FT4 can drop in the range but FT3 should be high in the range but never over. So my first though when I saw your reading was that you aren't on enough medication.
I'm on NDT and my TSH is usually 0.01 or 0.02 and my FT3 higher. How are you feeling and what dose are you on? 9bviously we all need difference doses and the ranges vary from lab to lab but unless I was feeling very good I would try increasing by a quarter and monitor hour you feel with the increase and then retest after about 6 weeks and you feel settled on your new dose.
Does you doctor realise where the levels should be, you may have to educate him. What you can't do when on NDT or added T3 is a check on conversion as the FT4 reading could be anywhere so no use to compare with FT3. But if you find it difficult to increase or aren't feeling any better after an increase then make sure you get your Vit D, B12, folate and ferritin tested as the must be optimal, not just in range to get your thyroid to work better and given time can help any conversion issues you may have. SeasideSusie's posts have lots of info about vits etc or you can post results and ranges and help will be offered if needed I'm sure.
Thank you so much for your reply. I have been taking 1 grain of armour (60mg) but I don’t think it’s enough and I’m thinking of increasing by half a grain. I always wonder why I struggle with my energy levels compared to everyone else and sometimes binge on sugar and carbs to get more energy....I think I may have been seriously low on T3 all these years! My vitamin d levels are fine I spend a lot of time overseas and in the sunshine so I’m not surprised they are fine. I haven’t had the others tested.
I would only go up by a quarter plus get you vits and mineralssorted as that could also improves your levels and it's also very easy to miss your sweet spot so take it slowly and remember itcwikk be improving your Lela and hopefully your well being. I followed the STTM for changing to NDT so it was increase by halves till 2 then go up in quarters but it turned out my sweet spot was 1.75 and I missed it by going from 1.5 to 2! Going over did t make me feel worse but just stopped me getting any better! I actually got up to three but then saw my Endocrinologist who dropped me down to 1.75 which I thought was too much to drop back that much but he was right!
EmmaConstantine, definitely you are undermedicated with these results. I'm sad to hear you may have been on this dose for a long time
Your freeT3 is about halfway through the range, but most people feel better with it near the top of the range. You've got lots of room for an increase.
What I'd do is increase by a quarter of a grain, then test again in 6 weeks and adjust again if necessary. For me it took a few increases to get from mid-range to high in range, but a friend went from the bottom to the top in one, we're all different.
Hi, thanks for your reply. I figured I was under medicated and have actually increased by half a grain and unbelievably in just a few days I am feeling much more energetic, not sure if that’s my imagination! My original blood work came back as top of the range but that was 4 hours after taking NDT so now I know why! Going to re test on this dose in a few weeks time, I’ll let you know how I get on
I take my NDT in 3 doses across the day, including one in the evening. I then do my blood draw first thing in morning. It's about a 12 hour gap from my last dose.
It's a bit of a compromise with NDT, as it contains both T4 and T3. Usually you'd leave a 24 hour gap with T4, and 12 hours for T3. But in the end on NDT you aren't too interested in the freeT4 result, it always ends up quite low. The main thing is to have a good looking freeT3.
A few days ago a member posted with blood results taken at 6 hrs and 24hrs after their T3 dose, and there was a huge difference, so it obviously matters a lot what distance we have the test.
I also tend to feel an improvement in just a few days when I have a dose increase You've added 50% more to your dose, which is a big jump, it's no wonder you can feel it!
I’m planning on re testing in a few weeks so I’ll keep you updated on my blood results then. I take my dose in one go as soon as I wake up. I’m a coffee drinker which I know can affect absorption so I always leave a 60 min gap from taking my armour to having my coffee. I don’t have any side effects from jumping up half a dose, if anything I feel so much better for it. How do you get on with taking your NDT at night? I was told to not take it at night!
I've been adjusting mine for over 3 years, so have had quite a few different splits through the day. At first I was taking it all in one dose in the morning, but eventually I could see I tended to be more ill later in the day, so I split off an afternoon dose, too. Then later for the same reason split off one later in the evening, as well.
I've adjusted the proportion in each dose and the timings quite a bit over the years, when I realise I'm feeling better or worse at certain points in the day. At first my evening dose was just before bed, and was intended to help me sleep, but for a while I've had it more like 7pm because I was feeling at my worst shortly before bed. I'm considering trying going back down to 2 doses, as I'm a lot better overall these days.
I think it's ideal to start with 1 dose and hold onto that as long as you can until there are clear indications in symptoms that you need to split. It's a massive nuisance with keeping 3 hour gaps of fasting (2 hrs before meds, and 1 hr after).
I think doctors often think of thyroid hormone, especially T3, as like speed, that it really perks you up. But being hypo can prevent the body from relaxing, because muscles need energy to relax. And of course we need energy in the night to keep the organs and body going, and to keep us asleep. If the body is in distress for some reason, such as low blood sugar, we will wake up! I don't think many people take a large dose of T3 or NDT before bed, unlike T4 which can be good to take before bed, but a smallish dose to address night time symptoms can be beneficial. Some who take one T3 megadose have it in the middle of the night.
I get very sweaty a few hours from taking it and heart races. My doctor did mention that having my TSH suppressed so much apparently isn’t a good thing as it can stop the thyroid from working normally? This concerns me massively if I am ever to come off it!
2 grains (120 mg)...having a blood test next week I don’t feel comfortable taking this dose . I haven’t lost any weight either which is rather annoying
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You've added 50% more to your dose, which is a big jump, it's no wonder you can feel it! 
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