About ft3 ft4

Hey I read here all time about levels ft3 ft4.. I read its better to have numbers up to the top. Thousands people without thyroid problems and 100%healthy have ft3 ft4 in bottom of levels. I ask at hematology hospital real doctors about this and all says it's completet wrong that opinion. Ii believe them because my mother is healthy( no thyroid problems, and she have tsh 1.3 , (0.2- 4,50)"ft3 2.7 (2.2-3,8)and ft4 1.1 (0.8-3),, I have subclinical hypo with 4.90 tsh, 3.1 ft3, 1.2 ft4

[jamesal0]

But how do you feel ? That's whats important. If you feel fine then leave well alone but if you feel like crap then maybe try the TSH/T4/T3/RT3 numbers game. Personally I don't bother with numbers because they don't make me feel good, what works for me is self medicating NDT, but that's just me, every one is different. This is the frustrating part, the medical fraternity have been schooled by the numbers and send you to a shrink when it doesn't work.

[Hidden in reply to jamesal0]

Εγώ dont feel bad,.. If you take a look at symptoms list forthytoid problems they have symptoms who have all people today after 40s.. At least all sales books and supplements about thyroid problems.... Too. Much money too ignored

[jamesal0 in reply to Hidden]

Agree with you re big pharmaceutical, one of the reasons I liked the NDT cottage industry, although those days are long gone. Just keep and eye on the heart and bone density they both benefit from normal thyroid levels

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Hidden]

Well, it's not normal for everyone over 40 to gain weight, be tired all the time, constipated and forgetful. 40 is young - not even half way through your working life!

[jimh111]

TSH, fT3 and fT4 vary in individuals but they usually move up and down around their reference intervals. Normally we would expect fT3 to be around mid-interval, a little above for some, a little below for others. It's wrong to say fT3 and fT4 'should' be in the upper half for patients treated for hypothyroidism. It makes sense to target mid-interval and then see how they are doing. Many patients do need higher hormone levels, this is real patient experience. I suspect this is due to problems other than just a failing thyroid. These issues include levothyroxine only treatment, insufficient TSH secretion (affecting T4 to T3 conversion) and resistance to thyroid hormone caused by endocrine disrupting chemicals.

So you are correct to say it's wrong to state that fT3, fT4 should be above normal. However, many patients do require these higher levels. If someone has an elevated TSH with normal fT3, fT4 and no symptoms I would suggest they do not start treatment, just keep an eye on things. If they are treated and still have hypothyroid signs and symptoms without signs of thyrotoxicosis then they need additional hormone. There's a need for skilled observation of the blood tests and patient response to treatment, not a dogmactic rule about where the blood levels should be.

[Hidden in reply to jimh111]

σιefore one year I try 25mg Levo..after 3 months my ft4 go up my tsh down nd ft3 go to bottom, and I feel 80%more worst

[jimh111 in reply to Hidden]

It seems to work like that for other patients. The little extra bit of L-T4 (levothyroxine) pushes the TSH down which reduces conversion of T4 to T3 and reduces the amount of T3 secreted from the thyoid. In cases like yours patients seem to need to start on at least 50 mcg or not take any levothyroxine. Patients with very low thyroid levels do benefit from 25 mcg doses because their thyroid has already more or less packed up and they have a very high TSH that can maintain the T4 to T3 conversion.

In your case if you have no symptoms I would suggest you don't take thyroid tablets. If you have symptoms then perhaps start on 50 mcg levothyroxine. I'm a patient not a doctor.

[Hidden in reply to jimh111]

My tsh is 4.90 to. 6.70 20years, with negative antibodys all that years. About symptoms some day I have done others nothink. When I try kevo 25mg I have every day and more symptoms, muscles pains, joint pains, brain fog, nervous, low energy. I stop it after 3 months and now I have some days joint pain but only on foots, my DC say to wait because my thyroid works 85%and I have only soμε symptoms.. Rely u don't know I see 3 dc

[jimh111 in reply to Hidden]

I'd be inclined not to take levo until you get obvious symptoms, you will probably do better off it than on.

[ShootingStars in reply to Hidden]

If your hematologist prescribed this, that is part of the problem. Hemotologists do not study thyroid at university. They study blood. It's no wonder they gave you wrong info about thyroid hormone levels since it's not their specialty. Most MD's also are not thyroid specialist or well informed about thyroid either. You need to learn the difference between the levels of the healthy non-thyroid disease population and those, like yourself, who have thyroid disease. "Optimal" FT3 and FT4 levels are where people have the LEAST amount of symptoms. Healthy non-thyroid disease people DO NOT have hypothyroid symptoms. People with thyroid disease have symptoms of the disease. The goal with treatment is to properly prescribe meds until the patient has the least amount of symptoms. That just happens to be over 50% of range, if not higher.

It's too bad your doctor isn't familiar with properly prescribing the starting dose for thyroid medication. It's no wonder that you sadly felt worse. he starting dosage is 50 mcg unless you are elderly or very ill. Whoever prescribed you 25 mcg when your TSH is so high doesn't understand thyroid or thyroid medication. As many other people on here who have been mis-prescribed that starting dose as you have and who were given 25 mcg, they also report either feeling worse or not feeling any better. This is all because both you and them were under medicated. It's not difficult to find the proper prescribing doses from the manufacturer or on drugs. com. I don't know

[Angel_of_the_North]

Thousands of people is a very small percentage of the population. And how do we know they are actually healthy because if there was nothing wrong with them, they wouldn't have had bloods done?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hey I read here all time about levels ft3 ft4.. I read its better to have numbers up to the top.

Actually, what is said here is that "when on Levo only, the aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their ranges if that is where you feel well."

It's not set in stone, that's perfectly clear from the above quote.

And where we need our levels when we don't have a thyroid problem is very individual.

[Hidden]

ΕΝΑd of course read 10 studys about hight ft4, it's slanderous