What a riddle it all is. I have have had Hashimotos for 10 years and have always been on NDT. Most of the time without significant symptoms. My free t4 remained low, mid range t3 and normal tsh. My antibodies have reduced over the years too from 800 down to 200. Suddenly lately I have been experiencing quite bad joint and muscle pain and my free T4 has dropped down and my tsh has also dropped down.. both red on the blood tests.? T3 remains low to mid range. Antibodies risen a little. I really don't know where to start with it all and my doctor is a bit baffled too. Thinking it could be the Naurethroid which had been recalled for sub potency we upped the dose and the Free T4 has risen a bit but then the TSH went down even more.
If anybody has an idea I would appreciate.
Thank you
Written by
Heatherfavell
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Oh yeah, Nature-throid was recalled. I was experimenting with switching to NDT this year and tried Nature-throid at one point but felt like it had barely any T3 in it, when compared to the NP Thyroid I'd previously been using. I only tried Nature-throid because they had more dose ranges. The T3 in NP is potent and effective and I read from other forums that Armour is still effective. I'm currently trying a synthetic combo.
In my opinion . when in doubt about odd results , ignore the TSH and deal with the T4 andT3 and the symptoms.
sometimes it is a puzzle and i once read "treating thyroid is more of an art than a science" which i reckon is very true.
Last 18 months my T4 has just kept going up and up on same levo dose, with no effect on TSH
and when we reduced the dose the TSH went up a tiny bit .... but so did the T4 again, even though i was scrupulous about keeping the test conditions the same.
All very illogical, and pretty sure it led to the doctor believe i'd been upping the dose myself.
Then 6 months later with a further reduction they both behaved 'properly' again.
To me this sort of thing is just more proof that it's very foolish of doctors to think they can use TSH to monitor dose.
right on queue... as if to prove the point of what a curious riddle thyroid is, i've just phoned up for my latest results and they're totally inexplicable, and i'm only playing with levo so don't have to consider possible variations in NDT. The more i pay attention to my own blood results , the more i believe they are not much good at telling us anything that couldn't be told better by a doctor doing an examination and asking how we felt.
I believe when on NDT you treat to the relief of symptoms and not a blood test that was introduced to be used alongside T4 synthetic Levothyroxine by Big Pharma to supersede NDT treatment for hypothyroidism.
To draw a comparison with my results when on 125 mcg Levothyroxine :
My TSH is the same low/suppressed at 0.01 : and my T3 and 4 have now changed places leaving me with a much lower T4 and a much higher T3 and feel so much better :
No thyroid hormone replacement works well if ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin d are not maintained at optimal levels so this might be an area to look at.
Since you have Hashimoto's this throws an additional spanner in the works because of your immune system attacking your thyroid causing erratic own body thyroid production.
I read it can feel like " swinging between hyper/hypo symptoms ' and when this phase passes your thyroid is further disabled requiring you to adjust your medication accordingly.
Yes there have been several recalls of NDT brands, and read of people upping their dose, all you can do is try, with NDT you shouldn't be bound to blood test ranges and guidelines but understand if working with a doctor he needs to cover his back.
P'S. I'm with Graves post RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 and now manage lingering Graves, thyroid eye disease and hypothyroidism and self medicate.
Thank you.. it's always encouraging to know someone else is experiencing similar issues and you are not alone!
I used to suffer hyper swings at the beginning but have been stable for years so its strange that there's been a sudden blip. I do take great care to check Ferritin etc and they have always been in a healthy range for Hashimotos.
I also take biodentical hormone therapy for all the joint and muscle pain I had over the menopause and recently we lowered the dose. I believe that a very stressful period this year coupled with the reduction of eostrogen may have sent it all out of balance.
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Suppressed TSH AND LOW T4
Low T3 Low T4 and very Low TSH
normal TSH high Free T4
LOW TSH WITH STABLE T4
