Hi All, I'm a 42 year old male from New Hampshire, USA. For the last several months I knew something was not going right inside of me. Some of which (weight gain) i attributed to my quitting smoking Dec. of 2018. Other issues (feeling tired, dry mouth, tingling hands, etc.) I had no clue what was going on. I had a blood test a few weeks back and found out my T3 level was at 67.3 when I guess .4 - 4.5 is the normal range. My doctor had another test done and my T3 came back at 71.5 and T4 was as .5 (.8-1.8 is normal). Anyhow..... he prescribed and I began (at 4:41 am this morning) taking 50 mcg of Levothyroxine once a day for..... the rest of my life.... I have to go back for another blood check in a month to see if this is the right dosage for me.
I can not say I'm happy about this. I'm the type of person who won't even take an aspirin for a headache.
If anyone has any suggestions or feedback I'd appreciate it. Playing off the show Dexter, I'm telling mk wife that Hashimoto is my dark passenger. I hope we can get along.
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BillPNH
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If your T3 level was 67.3 (0.4 - 4.5) you shouldn't be taking taking further thyroid hormones as you'd be hyperthyroid. However, you then say that the next T3 result was 71.5 and your T4 0.5 (0.8 - 1.8), so I think you've made a mistake, and those results relate not to your T3, but to your TSH, (a pituitary hormone) and that you don't have a T3 result there. If that is the case, then yes, you are hypothyroid but really need to also have your T3 tested because it is that which is the active hormone whilst T4 is a largely inactive storage pro-hormone. To be accurate it is the Free T3 and Free T4 levels that are of value, being the level of hormones free of their storage proteins, whilst T3 and T4, or more accurately, Total T3 and Total T4 is of less value as the numbers include both bound ie free, and unbound hormones, and only the free can be utilised by the cells.
my T3 level was at 67.3 when I guess .4 - 4.5 is the normal range. My doctor had another test done and my T3 came back at 71.5
he prescribed and I began (at 4:41 am this morning) taking 50 mcg of Levothyroxine
I would check and double check and triple check those results, if I were you - not just the test names but the units of measurement and the reference ranges. They are the weirdest results I have ever seen.
I think the T3 result you've given is more likely to be a TSH result. But until you confirm this with whoever provided your results I don't know what else to say.
It is also always important to know whether any T3 and T4 results you get are Free T3 or Total T3, and Free T4 or Total T4.
I know it's a pain in the butt having to take a pill, but I am 23 and will have to take a thyroid supplement for the rest of my life as I had to have my thyroid out completely 4 years ago. And believe me it gets easier and you get used to it
Believe me I understand, I forgot to take my pill for over a week a few months back and my doctor was not impressed as it is vital to my health but I'm terrible at remembering to take my pill and I've been taking it since I was 19 for 4 years now and I still forget from time to time, but I haven't got a choice so what's the point in getting mad
I honestly do not know what any of these results mean as I am just learning about all of this. Truthfully, until last week I thought the thyroid was located in the hips / butt area :)!
Well, basically, they mean you're hypo. The higher the TSH, the more hypo you are. And, as you can see, your FT4 is below range.
TSH is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid to make more hormone. But, yours obviously can't respond.
T4 is the thyroid storage hormone. It has to be converted into the active hormone, T3. But, they rarely test the FT3, I'm afraid. Not that that matters at this point, but when your TSH gets down to around 1, then you should start pushing for it to be tested.
But, you said you have Hashi's, so where are your antibody results?
I think, with a TSH that high, you're going to end up needing a lot more than 50 mcg levo. That is just a starter dose. In six weeks time, you should go for a retest, and your Levo increased by 25 mcg. And, you continue like that until you feel well.
When you go for your retest, make sure that you get an early appointment for the blood draw - before 9 am. Fast over night, and leave a 24 hour gap between your last dose and the blood draw. These are patient-to-patient tips, not to be discussed with medical staff or doctors.
Did they tell you how to take your levo? On an empty stomach, with a large glass of water, leaving an hour before eating or drinking anything by water. Leave at least two hours before taking any other medication or supplements - four hours for some of them.
Have you had your nutrients tested? Vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin. These are probably very low, because you must have been hypo for a long time to have such a high TSH. Ask your doctor to test them, but don't listen to any comments he might make on the results - he has no idea! Post them on here, with the ranges, and people will suggest a supplementation regime.
I know people find it hard remembering pills in the beginning, but it soon becomes second nature. And, believe me, it's better than the alternative!
Hi bill, hey just reading your post I think you may have mistaken the tsh for t3 just making sure that’s what’s going on.. I think if you would have a t3 level that high you would have like a heart attack or something like that.
Oh alright, your tsh is almost the same as mine when I first started I had It in the 70’s I’m sure you know all then symptoms already, i was also started on 50 mcg levo once a day.. but down the line we found out that levo wasnt doing my body any good and we switched to the brand name synthroid.. which I’m currently taking 137 mcg daily. I have labs next week and I’m sure my ending will raise my dose to 150. Because I’m not at optimal ranges yet but I’ll tell one thing I’m not as near as bad as when I first started.. you need to get a thyroid antibodies test done to see if you have Hashimotos.. which I do and that’s the primary cause of hypothyroidism and if you have it there some changes you can make which will help your thyroid. It’s a long process, I had to stop medication twice because I couldn’t tolerate the side effects I was getting from Levothyroxine and as you can imagine I had to start 2 steps back every time I try to get back on it.. so yeah man good luck and we’re here to help eachother out because only we who suffer this can have an idea of how horrible this disease actually is, but you will get better and here are a lot of knowledgeable ppl who will help you out.
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