New Thyroid labwork shows TSH at .35. Does this mean I am taking to much thyroid medicine?

[Runner95]

Hello, I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism and Addison’s disease a few years ago. Since then my TSH has always been between 2.5 and 4 ( which I know isn’t good). My TSH was .35 today which seems to be at the other end of the spectrum. Does this mean that I am taking to much thyroid medicine? I take 1.5 grains of NDT. My ferritin level was 51 which is not optimal either. Here is my labwork. I would appreciate your thoughts/ advice. Thank you!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Presumably you were previously on levothyroxine?

On NDT because it contains T3 your TSH will always be much lower ...that’s normal

Most important result is always Ft3

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 .

If/when also on T3 or NDT make sure to take last half or third of daily dose 8-12 hours prior to test, even if this means adjusting time or splitting of dose day before test

Is this how you do your tests?

Important to regularly retest vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin

[Runner95 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I took my lab work early in the morning and always do. I skipped my morning dose and took it after the test with no food, coffee, etc on an empty stomach. When I was first diagnosed I started with Levo but went into Adrenal Crisis ( I have Addison’s disease) and had to stop taking it. Then I tried Tirosant ( less fillers per my Endo) which caused me to go into Adrenal crisis again and lastly NDT which seems to work. I started with small doses and increased them with time. I split my doses into two doses a day on an empty stomach with no food or coffee. I just started this a few months ago. This could be why my NDT is working better than before and my TSH test results went from over 2.5 to .35 on the lab test below.. I am feeling better with this, my fatigue is less but I still have absorption issues, puffiness, weight gain, dry skin, constipation, etc. In addition, I have a new symptom ( possibly from my thyroid or Addison’s). My new symptom is bad dry mouth and eyes. This is rather irritating and it came on after I increased my NDT. Have you heard of anyone getting dry mouth from thyroid meds? I plan to see a dentist soon about this. Living with auto immune diseases is a balancing act for me. It is hard to distinguish the symptoms since they are rather similar for Hashimotos hypothyroidism and Addison’s disease. Thanks for you help.

[pennyannie]

Hello Runner

More to the point - how do you feel ?

I am on NDT and my TSH is low suppressed and that is because of the T3 in the NDT grain.

My T4 is low in the range which I take to mean that I'm utilising the T4 and converting it well into T3.

This sees my T3 at the higher end, or slightly over range, depending on the timing of the blood draw, to last medication and food intake.

I too am on 1 + 1/2 grains of NDT and feel relatively well, considering everything I've been through :

So, I'm confused as I would have thought your T3 would have been much higher in the range, but then noticed your ferritin is at 51 :

I know now I need to have ferritin up at around 100 for good conversion so this will improve your T3 once at an optimal level, and I also supplement folate, B12 and vitamin D on a regular basis.

Asda sell little tubs of frozen chicken livers - 1 tub a week is enough - simply flash fry in a little olive oil and whizz down with a dollop of mayo and keep in the fridge :

Take a spoonful each morning to build up this element of your core strength:

Just remember - No thyroid hormone replacement works well if vitamins and minerals are not maintained at optimal levels so it's pretty much a life long consideration alongside finding the most appropriate thyroid hormone replacement for you.

Did you take a bench mark blood test read before starting NDT and what were you taking previously and do feel any relief of any symptoms, since starting NDT ?

P,S, I've just looked back and see you have Addisons and Hashimoto's Disease.

So I don't know if your conversion maybe further compromised by any other medication you are taking. Obviously having Hashimoto's throws another spanner in the works as your thyroid is the target of attacks and with each attack your gland becomes a little less able to maintain it's function and so you'll be having to adjust medication more often.

[Angel_of_the_North]

No, it doesn't, and your FT4 and FT3 results show that you are probably taking too little.

[Jazzw]

TSH is always pretty irrelevant once you start treatment for hypothyroidism and even more irrelevant if you take medication containing T3–which you are.

If anything, you look somewhat undermedicated now. How do you feel?