Does anyone do Reverse T3 testing in the uk?

[RABIDFOX]

I suspect my girlfriend has Thyroid problems. I can only find companies doing TSH, T4, and T3 does anyone know a company that also does reverse T3

[Marz]

It has been mentioned here that rT3 is of little value as a test. Scroll down to RELATED POSTS where are 10 more similar to yours 🥰

[jimh111 in reply to Marz]

Typo Marz, should read "It has been mentioned here that reverse T3 is of little value as a test. "

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

RABIDFOX

Yes, you can get reverse T3 tested but it's a pretty useless test. Why do you particularly want reverse T3?

The test can tell you if rT3 is high, but it can't tell you why. There are many, many reasons for high rT3 and only one of those has anything to do with thyroid.

Other conditions that contribute to increased Reverse T3 levels include:

· Chronic fatigue

· Acute illness and injury

· Chronic disease

· Increased cortisol (stress)

· Low cortisol (adrenal fatigue)

· Low iron

· Lyme disease

· Chronic inflammation

Also selenium deficiency, excess physical, mental and environmental stresses. Also Beta-blocker long-term use such as propranolol, metoprolol, etc. Physical injury is a common cause of increased RT3, also illnesses like the flu. Starvation/severe calorie restriction is known to raise RT3. Diabetes when poorly treated is known to increase RT3. Cirrhosis of the liver. Fatty liver disease. Any other liver stress Renal Failure. A fever of unknown cause. Detoxing of high heavy metals.

If high rT3 is due to the thyroid, it will be caused by a build up of unconverted thyroxine (T4). It will show with normal thyroid test results, i.e. TSH, FT4 and FT3. If FT4 is high and FT3 is low, that can indicate that conversion is poor and the excess T4 is converting to rT3 rather than FT3.

So testing is rather pointless and expensive.

The best thing you can do is get a full thyroid and vitamin panel. Low nutrient levels can cause symptoms that overlap with symptoms of hypothyroidism. So first step is to do the basics, post results on here for interpretation then take it from there.

The two most popular tests here, which are very similar and cover everything need, are:

Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

You can use code THYROIDUK for a 10% discount on any test not on special offer

or

Blue Horizon Thyroid PREMIUM GOLD bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk... (previously known as Thyroid Check Plus Eleven)

Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test but with the following small differences:

For the fingerprick test:

Blue Horizon requires 1 x microtainer of blood (0.8ml), Medichecks requires 2 x microtainers (total 1.6ml)

Blue Horizon includes Total T4 (can be useful but not essential). Medichecks doesn't include this test.

B12 - Blue Horizon does Total B12 which measures bound and unbound (active) B12 but doesn't give a separate result for each. Medichecks does Active B12.

Total B12 shows the total B12 in the blood. Active B12 shows what's available to be taken up by the cells. You can have a reasonable level of Total B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)

Blue Horizon include magnesium but this is an unreliable test so don't let this sway your decision, it also tests cortisol but that's a random cortisol test and to make any sense of it you'd need to do it fasting before 9am I believe.

Medichecks currently have an offer on, 25% discount on all fingerprick tests ordered until midnight 29th March, code FP25

When doing thyroid tests, we advise:

* Book the first appointment of the morning, or with private tests at home no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. If we are looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, or looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction then we need TSH to be as high as possible.

* Fast overnight - have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before but delay breakfast on the day of the test and drink water only until after the blood draw. Eating may lower TSH, caffeine containing drinks affect TSH.

[* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw. Adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.]

* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it can give false results (most labs use biotin).

These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.

If she wants to do the fingerprick test, here are some tips:

* Be well hydrated, drink plenty of water the day before, and before you do the test.

* Some people take a shower before hand, some run up and down the stairs to get blood flowing. Personally, as I can't run up and down the stairs, I circle my arm round, windmill style.

* Have a bowl full of hot water, dip hand in and out, swish around, hand needs to go red. If blood flow stops, you can always swish round in the hot water again.

* Stand up to do the test. Make sure your arm is straight down when collecting the blood. Either use a small step stool to raise yourself well above the work surface, or put the collection tube on a lowish shelf. One member uses an ironing board so she can get the perfect height.

* Prick finger on the side, not the tip. I find that half way between the nail bed and tip is about right, or maybe slightly nearer the nail bed rather than the tip. I use my ring finger, but middle finger is next best for me.

* Do not squeeze your finger to get the blood out, it can damage the blood and it may not be usable

I've recently done 2 tests. The first one there was very little blood coming out which was unusual for me so I used a second finger and between the two I gradually filled the tube. However, when I checked the prick site for the first finger the actual cut was very small and as I've had some of these lancets fail before I put it down to that. When I did the second test this is what I did

* Prick my finger as usual, make a very slight twist with the lancet whilst blade is still in the finger. I'm not talking 90 degrees or anything, just a very slight twist to make the cut just slightly bigger, it doesn't hurt or cause a blood bath! This made a big difference, 11 generous drops of blood filled the tube in less 2 minutes.

If you supplement with Biotin, or a B complex containing it (B7), leave it off for 7 days before doing any blood tests as it can give false results when biotin is used in the testing procedure, and most labs do use it.

[RABIDFOX in reply to SeasideSusie]

i didnt know about biotin doing that thanks for the info

[BadHare in reply to RABIDFOX]

We often find this out the hard way. :-s

[BadHare]

Has your girlfriend had T4, T3 & TSH tested already? If so, can you add results & ranges to your post for people to peruse.

What about all the micronutrient cofactors we need for good hormone & general wellbeing?

Several posts recently have suggested rT3 isn't such an issue, & that we need some for normal bodily function. My GP agreed to rT3 testing when I had a blip a few years ago, but it turned out to be low B12 throwing a spanner in my works. It flagged, for me, how essential our nutrient intake needs to be to have everything running properly.

[RABIDFOX in reply to BadHare]

I agree i also have a B12 problem and i cant convert beta-carotene into vitamin A ive been trying to get her to eat better anyway i only really learned about how important thyroid health is recently

[BadHare in reply to RABIDFOX]

Most of us don't until they go awry, & healthy folks (& medics) don't realise how bad it can be!

Can you absorb vitamin A from animal products? Are ther specific supplements that can help? Take a peek at Chris Kresser's website for information to see if he has anything on A conversion, & maybe show your girfriend some of his food related articles.

[RABIDFOX in reply to BadHare]

yeah i can i eat liver everyday to make up for it i love chris kresser he's a smart guy

[Lalatoot]

Reverse t3 is a bit of a red herring. It used to be thought that it blocked the receptor cells and stopped t3 working. We know now that this is not the case. Reverse t3 has its own receptors and own function.

The tests to go for are tsh, ft4, Ft3, ferritin, folate, vitamin D and B12.

[RABIDFOX in reply to Lalatoot]

from my understanding you need to test reverse T3 to understand whether t4 is an option. so T4 is the only thing that converts into reverse T3 (the inactive form). so wouldnt they need to test that to make sure its actually converting to see if there is a conversion problem. So if they kept giving you T4 and it only converted into reverse T3 then you would remain hypothyroid even when you are on thyroid hormones. am i hearing wrong information?

[greygoose in reply to RABIDFOX]

In a healthy person, T4 is converted into as much rT3 as it is to T3. You will always have some in your system. T4 will only convert to excess rT3 if there is too much T4 in the system - i.e. you have high FT4. Therefore, if you test FT4 and FT3 at the same time, you can see how well you convert. Percentage-wise, the FT4 and FT3 should be more or less the same percentage through the range, with the FT3 slightly lower. But, if your FT4 is at the top of the range and the FT3 at the bottom of the range, you know that you are a poor converter and that your rT3 is going to be high. No need to actually test it.

[RABIDFOX in reply to greygoose]

thanks grey goose that makes perfect sense now

[greygoose in reply to RABIDFOX]

You're welcome.