Low FT3 and suppressed TSH

[Clara62]

Is there a way to increase FT3 without having to take the T3 hormone ? Food? Supplements? My labs are better now but my Ft3 is lowish. Thanks.

[Judithdalston]

Have you got your ferritin, folate, vit D and B12 at optimal levels? This plus taking selenium, magnesium, zinc, vit C ... can help with absorption, and conversion of T4. What are your thyroid results?

[Clara62 in reply to Judithdalston]

Thank you Judithdalston, except from ferritin the it is low in the range all others are in optimal range. My last results are: TSH 0.11 ( 0.27-4.2), FT4 19.5 ( 12.00- 22) FT3 3.7 ( 3.1-6.8).

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Clara62]

What thyroid meds are you taking at the moment? Previous post says you were taking T4/T3 combination.

[Clara62 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hello SeasideSusie,I had to stop T3 because recently my TSH was too low and FT3 was super high, it reached levels above 11 even with a small dose of T3. I am now on 75 thyroxine

[Rileyfloof in reply to Clara62]

How long before your thyroid blood draw did you take your T3 dose?

[Judithdalston in reply to Clara62]

I assume you have have had high autoimmune antibodies ie Hashimoto’s judging from your reply below to Seasidesusie, and your FT3 infact fluctuates with Hashi ‘flares’? Have you tried gluten free, even dairy free, diet for 3-4 months? What was the T3 dose you took with levo. to get a FT3 of 11?

[Clara62 in reply to Judithdalston]

Actually my antibodies have always been negative, I don't even know if I have Hashimoto although I have a multinodular goitre, I am gluten free and 'almost' dairy free. I have metane Sibo ( Constipation sibo), that could be related to my hypotyrodism. I used to take 10mcg T3 then I reduced to 5mcg.

[Judithdalston in reply to Clara62]

You are right that it seems a tiny amount of T3 to get a FT3 result of 11....I took 75 mcg to get that sort of level! I know too little about SIBO or multinodular goitre to be able to suggest any link to high/ fluctuating FT3, but on having improved my ferritin levels sometime ago got a ‘sudden’ improvement in thyroid results. Hope others will be able to advise.

[Clara62 in reply to Judithdalston]

Thank you very much Judith🙏

[Clara62 in reply to Judithdalston]

How did you improve your ferritin level Judith?

[Judithdalston in reply to Clara62]

Daily Ferrous fumarate 210 mcg with vit C 1000 mcg, and black pudding. I was advised to have high protein breakfast as cortisol low in morning so combined two protocols!

[bessygo in reply to Judithdalston]

How long did it take for your ferritin levels to rise and did that cause your T3 to levels to get too high?. I, too have low Ferritin levels and just started T3.

[Judithdalston in reply to bessygo]

For me i waited 2 months to test thyroid bloods, and got ferritin level up by 20 units during that period, but this was after discovering that if I did not treat/ maintain at high dose my ferritin levels went down by 20 units too in 6 months! I did get high FT3 but can’t really correlate it with low/ higher ferritin or just taking more T3/reducing levo.etc.

[Hidden in reply to Clara62]

I cut gluten for 5 months and my ft3 go down. I start again and my ft3ho 3.1 beta to the top range. No reason to cut some think if you font have real allergy

Some people vutglouten because read on internet.... For few people body ant convert synthetic t4 to T3 and Levo do nothink. You can find few studys about low carbs and ft3. Thyroid need carbs

[bessygo in reply to Hidden]

Yes, but do you have Hashimotos ? Many wheat products such as good bread have iron and by cutting out bread, with Hashimotos, you may be lowering iron intake. Thereby lowering Ferritin levels, thereby lowering FT3 causing hypothyroidism. By increasing iron levels with good wheat your Free T3 stabilized. I'm assuming that is what may have happened.

[idaz in reply to Judithdalston]

How can you talk about hashimoto? It cannot be hashimoto! Hashimoto means hypothyroiditis - a high level of TSH, over 4 or 5.

[Judithdalston in reply to idaz]

Because with Hashimoto’s you can fluctuate between what appears to be hypo-to hyper-thyroid in an unpredictable manner as thyroid gland is ‘attacked’ and it’s hormones are dumped into the blood ( called a ‘flare’, then TSH becomes low, FT4/3 high), or not ( when sufferer’s normal may be ‘in range’ , or after number of ‘attacks’ and gland struggling/ depleted low FTs, higher TSH). Unfortunately during this time sufferer’s Gp, if treating at all, might be ‘medicating’ to TSH levels only which can make symptoms/ bloods worse. So Clara62 could have had a Hashi flare in theory as she had also added the T3 thus the huge jump to FT3 of 11. You can be Hashi without having high TPO or TgAb apparently, and you can have hypothyroidism without being Hashi.

[MaisieGray in reply to idaz]

idaz Hashimoto's Disease aka autoimmune Thyroiditis is the autoimmune condition that for the majority of people ultimately damages the thyroid, that in turn causes it to be dysfunctional and hypothyroidism ensues. However, some people less commonly, can have Hashimoto's and not develop hypothyroidism; whilst others can have it for a time before the hypothyroid symptoms and/or falling thyroid levels become apparent, probably in part because the thyroid can initially compensate for being under attack. The TSH will of course become high in range, or over range when un-treated or under-medicated, but will come back into range in the same way as with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism when we are optimally medicated - such as is the case with the OP who is taking levothyroxine to replace her endogenous hormones. That this happens, does not ipso facto mean that someone doesn't have Hashimoto's, since it doesn't go away with the addition of exogenous hormone, and can attack the thyroid again at any time, causing a rise in hormone levels as damaged cells release their hormones into the blood. Hashimoto's can be diagnosed by the presence of elevated TPO and TG antibodies (although not everyone with Hashimoto's will necessarily have elevated Abs) or by carrying out a scan of the thyroid gland for evidence of autoimmune damage. So what you say is only a part of the story, pre-optimal treatment, and in an optimally treated person the absence of an elevated TSH is not proof that they do not have Hashimoto's.

[Hidden]

Exersise and carbs helps

Low carbs its big mistake

[Clara62 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Swaff. I think you are right.

[Sveistre in reply to Hidden]

I think it’s a personal thing, you need to find what works for you. For me it works wonders since I went gluten, sugar free and low carb (Keto/Carnivore), never felt better before. No bloating whatsoever like before after eating gluten, no inflamation after removing sugar from the diet, not to mention all grains, all proccesed foods etc. Also lost 54lbs in 7mths

[Netty95361 in reply to Hidden]

I went strict keto for 2 months and went from a low TSH (less than 1.0) to a TSH of 14.5! My doctor said that thyroid sufferers need "some" carbs for the whole conversion process to work optimally. As soon as I added carbs back, my TSH is low again. I will absolutely agree that cutting sugar, white flour and simple carbs does help my tummy immensely. Getting rid of sugar alone stops my bloating almost immediately.

[Clara4741]

Ferrous Bisglycinate Iron got my Iron levels up and thus increased my Ferritin within a month or two doing a high dosage. This is a non-constipating form of Iron which was the only one that I could tolerate well and that raised my levels having tried for years. Elle Russ has a booked called The Paleo Thyroid Solution which is really good and includes information regarding this and also a lot about using T3. Incidentially it will suppress your TSH when you take it and levels of T3 can go to the higher end of the functional medicine optimal range when you are optimised on it, sometimes over. Hope that helps!

[Clara62]

Thank you Clara4741

[kvmj]

I think that you have what's known as a toxic multinodal goiter. In other words, You have more than one nodule on your thyroid and that one or more of them is producing thyroid hormones. Your thyroid itself has very little to do; hence the low TSH. Are you experiencing symptoms? Your results are within normal range for FT3 and FT4.

You need to be followed. Those nodules could start overproducing making you hyperthyroid. But, I think you're okay as you are.

[Clara62 in reply to kvmj]

Thank you Kvmj, in general I feel better than in the past but I still experience hypothyroid related symptoms: constipation, tiredness etc I wonder if LDN ( low dose naltrexone) could help

[kvmj in reply to Clara62]

You aren't hypothyroid. You should have your doctor check your vitamin levels.

[Clara62 in reply to kvmj]

Well unfortunately I am! When 3 years ago I stopped taking levo for 3 months TSH went up to 7 and FT4 down to 9 and I could barely get up from the bed... Vitamins B,C, D are ok.

[Hidden in reply to Clara62]

Οtherπςιπλς hve 25tsh and play basketball. Iτηινκ you arnt athletic type

[Hidden]

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

[Clara62 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Sawff.