Hello. I am glad I found this website to allow me to post my questions. My thyroid lab markets are always in the "normal" range so my doctor always says I am fine. I have all the symptoms of a low thyroid. I am a male, age 63, and have had most of the low thyroid symptoms for 30 years. Below is my most recent thyroid panel done last week and one I did 4.5 years ago. The most recent one includes supplements that reportedly benefit the thyroid which include L-Tyrosine, Iodine, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin A, Selenium, Zinc, Vitamin D-3 and B-Complex. None of these supplements have made a noticeable difference. I did take a supplement my chiropractor gave me which did give me a little pep in my step but it only lasted for a few days. It was a supplement made by Standard Process which contains magnesium citrate and bovine thyroid PMG extract that say it was processed to substantially remove its thyroxin. Any comments on my results are appreciated. Thank you. PS: I am not on thyroid medication, nor have I ever been, but I may be a candidate.
These are not good for the thyroid unless you know that you are deficient. Iodine can be tested although there are disputes about how best to test it. Loading tests, which are often used, are not reliable, and nor are patch tests where iodine is painted on the skin. See this link :
Personally I would use a non-loading urine test if I was going to measure iodine but you should do your own research on this.
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Reverse T3 - It used to be thought that T3 and rT3 shared receptors in the cell and so they were "in competition" to get into receptors. Therefore it made sense to test both T3 and rT3 and compare them. But newer research has shown that T3 and rT3 have their own receptors and are not in competition. So, there is little point in testing rT3. It doesn't hang around very long anyway, and is converted into T2 and eventually excreted (or possibly recycled into new thyroid hormones? I'm not sure).
I don't think there is much point in spending money on testing rT3.
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Do you have any results for nutrients e.g. ferritin, iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate? Getting them optimal normally has a very good effect on helping people to feel better, irrespective of their thyroid status. Good levels of nutrients have an impact on thyroid health and conversion of T4 to T3.
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Do you take any prescribed meds? Because some of these can have lots of side effects and make us feel terrible. Even if all the prescribed meds are taken for good reasons they can still have an impact on well-being if they are taken at the wrong times. Thyroid hormones can be affected by all sorts of things, prescribed or otherwise.
If you are prescribed anything, always, always read the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) provided very carefully. In the UK Pharma companies are forced by law to be truthful on their PILs, I think.
Hi, here are my recent lab results. If you need anything else please let me know. I have a recent, CBC, CMP & Lipid Panel. Thank you for commenting on my post.
IRON, TIBC AND FERRITIN PANEL
IRON, TOTAL 75 Reference Range: 50-180 mcg/dL
% SATURATION 25 Reference Range: 20-48 % (calc)
IRON BINDING CAPACITY 298, Reference Range: 250-425 mcg/dL (calc)
Vitamin A Serum 46.0 Reference Range: 22.0-69.5 ug/dL
Lithium <0.3 Reference Range: 0.6 – 1.2 mmol/L
LIVER ALT: 23 and AST: 25
Note: I have supplemented with a B-Complex, Vitamin D-3, Chromium and Vitamin A daily for years. I have been on iodine off and on for several years. My Vitamin D has been low most of my life. I had never had it above 50 ng/mL until my last test. I changed to a better quality brand of vitamin D-3. If I reduce the daily intake my level drops to 30 ng/mL really quick. I don’t take iron, but twice a month I try to eat calves liver.
What time of day did you get your thyroid function testing done? Best done first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything other than plain water. That gives the highest TSH. Nearly all doctor base diagnoses of hypothyroidism on having a high TSH, but to really know what's going on, they also need to test free T4 and free T3.
Based on the June 8 test, your FT4 is 56.8% through the range and FT3 is 50% through the range. Many people have reported that their FT4 and FT3 need to be in the upper quadrant (at or above 75% through the range) to feel well.
At one time thyroid problems were diagnosed based on symptoms, and a trial of Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) was given to see if it would help. Given your numbers, it's doubtful a doctor would prescribe thyroid medication for you. I will send you a private message about an alternative.
The blood draw for my thyroid panel was done around 9am in the morning. I had a light breakfast an 2 hours before the blood draw. I didn't mention it before but my wakeup temperature is usually around 97.2 degrees farenheit (32.33 celcius). After I am up and about for a while it settles around 97.8 F (36.56 C). Thanks
Well, those results look almost perfect, to me. TSH just under 1, Frees around mid-range, and FT4 slightly higher in range than FT3. Those are euthyroid results.
And, although having breakfast before the blood draw - what do you call a light breakfast? - even if it had had an effect on your TSH, it wouldn't have been much higher than that without the breakfast. And the TSH level does correspond to the levels of the Frees.
I totally agree with humanbean about rT3. The test is expensive and doesn't give you any useful information. Over-range rT3 can be caused by many things, and only one of them anything to do with thyroid. Your rT3 is nicely in-range, so not indicating any problems at all.
Your iodine result is a little low, but as humanbean says, testing for iodine is contentious, and it's never certain that the results are reliable. But, your hormone results don't show any sign of being affected by low iodine.
Supplementing with iodine when you don't need it can seriously backfire, because excess iodine is anti-thyroid, and can cause all sorts of other problems - including thyroid cancer. So, best not to self-treat with it.
Nor with a lot of other supplements, come to that. Nothing is going to help you if you don't need it. And excess of some things can be dangerous. So, although your vit D is a little low, and does need increasing, the others show no need of supplementation. Whether or not that is because you have been supplementing, I cannot tell. One would have to see blood test results before you started supplementing.
The most recent one includes supplements that reportedly benefit the thyroid
'Reportedly' is the optimum word, here. The manufacturers of supplements will tell you anything to make you buy their products. But, as I said before, nothing is going to help you if you don't actually need it. More is not better, and there are no super supplements, only supplements you need.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I just reviewed my last two TSH lab results prior to my June 2020 lab result. The results were: May 2019, TSH 1.39, January 2020: TSH 1.71, Ref. Range: 0.45-4.500 uIU/mL. Please let me know if you see anything? I did not start supplementing with potassium iodide until late April 2020. PS: Thinking about how I've been feeling lately. I have felt more sluggish for the last month. Almost drained. Thanks.
Yes both were done in the morning while fasting. Blood draw was around 8 am. Regarding my iron panel. Does it look okay or should I eat foods that contain iron like liver? Thank you.
It could be a bit higher, yes. Perhaps liver once a week would bring it up. But, no more than once a week, because liver is high in vit A, and you don't want too much of that.
I had the same issues as you in regard to your Vit D. My levels were very low even with Doctor prescribed Vit D capsules.
After finding this site I have changed my supplement to BetterYou Vit D & K2 spray and my levels were in the 70’s on the first test after I started supplementing- they’ve never been that high 😂 I’m hoping on the next test that I’ve managed to get it higher again. Maybe you could try that? You can get it online from many places for under £10, BetterYou also have a website where you can purchase their products, I have a few as I’m deficient in a lot of nutrients due to my Hashimotos.
For the longest time I had issues with my levels of Vitamin D-3. It used to be around 27. What helped me finally bring it up was getting a little sunshine every morning. That helps with absorption if you supplement. I was taking 5000 IU's daily and couldn't bring it up past 40. After getting 30 minutes of early morning sun every morning my levels jumped to over 60.
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