I keep getting told that I’m a poor converter of T4 to T3 but I don’t know what to do next. I’m on super B- Complex, betteryou vit D spray, vit K2 Mk7 oral spray and on 100mcg Levo. My t4 & t3 results Tuesday well t3 is going lower and I feel so weak and not sleeping and being told I look ill. Had tsh done yesterday because they forgot to do it with the other bloods, am trying to get bits optimal but it’s so slow apart from B12 because I had an injection. Seeing GP tomorrow before she goes on maternity leave but what can I do to get vita up because I need that before I get t3. I know that however high the dose of t4 it won’t convert so what do I do next please. I feel better in bed but can’t stay there all day and changed to taking my Levo at night because I always feel dizzy afterwards. H-E-L-P please x
What can I do: I keep getting told that I’m a... - Thyroid UK
What can I do
Sorry you are so poorly. If you could pot your results and ranges it would be easier for folks to comment. If your tsh is 1 or under then you can look at ft4 and Ft3 to confirm that you are a poor converter. You are obviously doing all you can by getting vitamins optimal. The next step and this should be confirmed by your results would be to ad t3 to your drug regime.
Results are under Toft article from yesterday
If that's what you are told then there's should be no reason you cannot be prescribed T3 and T4 at a 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 basis. You need a T3/T4 combination. Our body cannot function without T3 - T4 is supposed to convert to T3 but if you cannot you definitely need T3. Getting it prescribed will be another hill to climb.
Yes I know I’m seeing an endo on November 6th and will probably have a fight on my hands. Iv been told on here I’m a poor converter, Drs won’t admit to it
Have you had ferritin and Vit D tested yet, as was suggested previously? If ferritin is low thyroid hormone can't work properly and all nutrients need to be optimal before adding T3.
What are your new FT4 and FT3 results (with reference ranges), and how much Levo were you taking when that test was done?
Hi susie Iv just put them up under new post
So your Vit D level is 54nmol/L (21.6ng/ml) which is far too low. How much Vit D are you taking?
The Vit D Council recommends a level of 125nmol/L (50ng/ml) and the Vit D Society recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L (40-60ng/ml).
To reach the recommended level from your current level, based on the Vit D Council's suggestions you could supplement with 3,700iu D3 daily (nearest is 4,000iu) but as your result is so close to the previous band of 10-20ng/ml where 4,900iu is recommended, personally I'd be inclined to go with a higher amount, maybe 4,500-5,000iu.
vitamindcouncil.org/i-teste...
Retest after 3 months.
When you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray
Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...
Check out the other cofactors too (some of which can be obtained from food).
Ferritin: 91 (30-400)
That is usually the range for males, the female range is often 13-150 or sometimes 300. Your Ferritin is pretty good, it needs to be over 70 for thyroid hormone to work properly, and I've seen it said that 100-130 is a good level for females.
So all in all, taking into account your good B12, folate and ferritin, with just Vit D on the low side, then with these thyroid results:
T4 was 21 (10.80-25.50) and T3 very low now at 3.9 (3.10-6.80)
I'd say you need to push your endo for a trial of T3. As you're seeing your GP tomorrow, see if you can get her onside about T3 and if so ask if she's willing to write to the endo and suggest a trial. If all else fails then you may want to source your own.
Vitamin d (betteryou) spray says on pump 3000iu 75ug one spray daily recommended. Magnesium glycinate is what I bought because it is the better one for not upsetting the stomach but it does mine so Iv had to stop it. My gp goes on maternity leave from tomorrow and I did mention about not converting well so want to see an endo after she said she and he wouldn’t prescribe t3. I hope to go armed with some literature from Dr Toft, shame he’s retired-. So I could up the vit d to an extra spray and my ferritin went up but not sure how I did that. Is there a note on the nice guidelines for trialing t3. Magnesium is a bit of a bummer though. Thanks for replying hun, I’ll get the tsh result tomorrow hopefully.x
Just seen I can use topical magnesium but how many sprays, I got it from Holland and barratt
If it's this one:
hollandandbarrett.com/shop/...
it tells you
10 sprays deliver a minimum of 150mg (43% RDA) of optimally absorbable elemental magnesium
I tried topical magnesium and couldn't stand the feel of it on my skin.
The normal dose of magnesium (oral) is 350-450mg.
You can also do epsom salts baths or foot soaks.
Have you got K2 as well - very important as it directs the extra uptake of calcium to where it needs to go.
I don't know of anything in the guidelines about trialling T3 but Dr Toft, leading endocrinologist and past president of the British Thyroid Association, has recently written a new article which says that T3 may be helpful for many patients
rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/fi...
SlowDragon Do you know of anything "official" about possibly trialling T3?
Thank you so much for posting this article - I have my nhs endo appointment on the 8th October and I will be printing this and highlighting with my best and brightest highlighter!!! 😂
Hi I put them on here yesterday I’ll see what it was under
Hi susie I replied under the Toft article yesterday near the bottom
Your results show poor converter
FT4 69% through range
FT3 is only 21% through range
Useful website to work out % through range
Will try to add some other links at weekend
Many thanks for that. Today I woke up at 12am, 2am, 4am and fed the dogs at 7. I feel like my head is spinning and difficult to concentrate with aches and pains which I suppose at 70 I have to expect but it would be so nice just for one morning at least to wake up normal and depression is creeping in. Thank you all for your help.
Are you on a statin drug? That can cause aches and pains.
I was going to also suggest you use 200 mcg a day of selenium as it helps convert T4 to T3, but do not ever take more than 400 mcg for long periods as that is too much. But it is very important to have enough.
I also did 3 good trials of T3 in 2017 and got my reverse T3 down to 8 ng/dl and from that learned how to use it best and I recommend the slow approach as taking more did not help and actually resulted in a slower improvement. The only reason I do not have T3 since 2017 is it is way too expensive and I have found a place that will sell it as a bodybuilding supplement, but as they do not accept credit cards I have been too afraid to risk it for fear of losing the money and getting nothing. I know exactly how to use T3 but the seller I have no experience with yet. And as my reverse T3 is still below the acceptable level according to Dr Westin Childs who is also an expert, so check out his site in depth. he says 15 ng/dl is ok and above that is not.
My last reverse T3 had climbed higher, to 14 ng/dl as all I am doing is allowing m,y body to make it's own thyroid hormone as there is NO way at all I will accept the idea of a T4 containing medication as that can drive up the reverse T3, as the man Dawid86 in this group had found happened to him and he is a fit healthy young person. So I do not wish to make that mistake of taking a T4 medication as all three of the antibodies tests I did in 2014 were all negative....TgAb, TPO and TSI. So as the only issue I have to deal with is too much but not very high reverse T3 and everyone has some level, I am making sure I get the nutrition until I find a way to get T3 and then when I get it, will only use it occasionally, as I did before to drive down the reverse T3 which I did successfully in 2017 following the advice I read in Dr Wilson's book which can be read online on his site. He is an expert in this method to reduce reverse T3. Look up Wilson syndrome.
So the reason I am being super cautious is I was turned into a T1 diabetic by being falsely told I was T1 without the right tests to prove it, in 1981 and after 19 years of taking a very small amount of insulin found out in 2000 I was just below the normal range of my own ability to make insulin, but felt I could not just stop taking it so now I am totally unable to make it, as per the c-peptide tests.
So that is why I refuse to do the same with my thyroid. So I am very happy with how I learned in 2017 to reduce reverse T3 while still keeping my own ability to make thyroid hormones.
So I do recommend the use of T3 to anyone who wants to reduce reverse T3 and hence I always do measure the 4 standard tests twice a year, TSH, FT4, FT3, reverse T3 in myself and suggest anyone who thinks they have a thyroid issue do the same. But first make sure the antibodies tests have been done to prove on way or another your true status.
What other test should I ask for
Long post sorry but can anyone suggest what I do next? 
Can I really need this much medication? Can I add more?!
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