Hello. Thank you for reading. I’m sure you see hundreds of posts like this a week so apologies in advance. I am 50 years old. For the last 8 years I have had real trouble keeping weight off. My periods stopped when I was 43. I am using HRT but suffer frightening brain fog. I feel very anxious a lot and I am miserable too. And angry.
Despite tweaking my bio-identicals HRT lots of times, regulating my diet and doing many anti-stress exercises and CBT I never feel good.
I recently looked at a thyroid test result I had last year, which I was told is ‘perfect’. I posted the results on a hormone group I am in and was told I am hypothyroid and may benefit from some meds. My doctor won’t hear of it.
Can someone advise please.
My results:
TSH 1.63 mIU (ref range 0.27-4.2)
Free T4 15.5pmo1/1 (ref range 12.0-22.0)
Free T3 3.9pmo1/L (ref range 3.1-6)
Would I benefit from further tests?
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Noji
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I am not taking any thyroid meds! I am constantly told that my test results are ‘perfect’. I spoke to my GP this week and he refused to acknowledge a problem. I can’t change doctors as I live in a rural location and he’s my only choice. What do we do in this situation? I feel awful x
Free T3 is approx 28% of the way through the range.
Both of these are too low for good health in many people, particularly those who are diagnosed and treated for hypothyroidism.
Although requirements vary from person to person, most of us need Free T3 and Free T4 to be around 50% - 80% of the way through the range.
But at the moment you aren't diagnosed, and until your TSH rises substantially you won't be, assuming you live in the UK. Here, people have to have TSH > 10 for a diagnosis, although if patients have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (an autoimmune condition which shows up in above range antibody levels and destroys the thyroid), they can sometimes persuade doctors to treat when TSH goes above range.
By the way, TSH is a very poor marker for thyroid health but doctors insist on using it and disbelieving patients who tell them they feel very ill, which is why so many of us use thyroid forums and in some cases self-treat. I've seen people quoting results for Free T4 and Free T3 on this forum very much like mine were before I was treated and yet their TSH is sometimes four times what mine was.
Until such time as your TSH rises substantially, your best options for feeling better than you currently do are :
1) Get tests done for levels of vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, and vitamin D. Post your results in a new thread and ask for feedback. Low nutrient levels can cause many of the same symptoms as hypothyroidism.
2) Optimise as many of your nutrient levels as you can. This might improve your thyroid's output of thyroid hormones - but there are no guarantees. But optimal nutrient levels will (probably) improve how you feel.
3) Have you ever had your thyroid antibody levels tested? There are two types that may show up in hypothyroidism - TPO antibodies and TG antibodies - and either or both can be positive. The NHS usually only tests TPO antibodies if they test antibodies at all.
4) If you have positive antibodies then you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Many people with this condition feel better with a 100% (no cheating) gluten-free diet. You don't have to have coeliac disease to feel better on a gluten-free diet. However, if you don't get any benefits after, say, a three month trial then you may as well go back to eating gluten. There is no point in removing anything from your diet if you get no benefit from doing so.
5) The same comments about gluten apply to lactose (milk sugar from animal sources). But don't try giving up gluten and giving up animal milk products at the same time. If you got a benefit you would have no idea which one was helping. (I have given up gluten, got lots of benefits from doing so, but have never tried giving up lactose.) Although I have no numbers, I would say more people benefit from giving up gluten than lactose - but this is just my impression, so isn't reliable. Some people do give up both.
To find out more about private testing without needing to see a doctor see this link :
Both companies sometimes have special offers. Medichecks tend to have special offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon's special offers are more random. It is worth registering with any company that you might be interested in using so that you get emails telling you about their special offers.
Yes definitely get FULL Thyroid and vitamin testing
Your FT3 is very low
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
You could ask GP to test vitamin levels and thyroid antibodies....
You may need to get full Thyroid testing privately as NHS refuses to test TG antibodies if TPO antibodies are negative
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
Come back with new post once you get full results
Oestrogen dominance can be linked with Hashimoto's
I am post meno and on HRT. Doctors, in my experience, don’t really understand hormones. Or worse, think they do and give false or misleading advice. To get hormone blood tests is like trying to get blood out of a stone. I don’t have low oestrogen or particularly low progesterone because I use bio identical hormones and have done for 18 months, and have enough evidence to know I am absorbing them. I take testosterone too.
I been on Estradiol for 16yrs and decided to stop 2 weeks ago I’m going on 50 had hysterectomy and I have no thyroid.
I think stopping HRT has been the smartest thing I’ve done for myself I actually look less bloated to the point my pants don’t feel as tight (I’m still overweight).
I don’t know what is happening to me but I am now apparently developing blood sugar issues. Woke up feeling ok but once I was up I started feeling incredibly shaky like I needed to eat. I are some berries and very very slowly the shakiness subsided but I still feel very very weird. I think when I use progesterone it pushes up my cortisol levels.
I dont know anything about progesterone since I had hysterectomy and I bet everyone at some point has waken up to a sugar slump, if this is and everyday event then that needs to be addressed with the doctor.
I would get low sugar about 2 hours after dinner when my husband and I would go for a walk (I would walk like I was drunk) had this a happen a handful of times and haven't had this since but I do think mine was from calorie cutting too much to slow down my thyroidectomy weight gain that my Endo wasn't from thyroidectomy (sigh).
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