I have been unwell for 2 years with symptoms of high Cortisol. I had started a new job which was very stressful, was taking HRT tablets and propranolol for anxiety. My Cortisol level was high.
I left that job but my symptoms remained. All the fat was on my stomach and back with a fat pad on the back of my neck.
I have seen 4 Endocrinologists and not one of them has been able to help me. One told me I ate too much and was very patronising. One tested me for Diabetes and told me to drink less water. Not one tested my T3 and vitamins.
Then I found this site. I read on here about conversion from T4 to T3.
I switched from HRT tablets to patches.
I didn’t realise the stress, oestrogen and propranolol blocked the Thyroxine and prevented conversion.
I told the next Endo what I wanted testing, T3, T4, TSH, zinc, Selenium and all the vitamins suggested on here.
I got my results: T3 low below range, T4 slightly low, Testosterone low, Ferritin low, She is increasing my Levo and retesting in 4-6 weeks.
Thanks to the people on this site I am on my way to feeling better and loosing weight.
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Gerri030306
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Make sure to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing 6-8 weeks after each dose increase
Do you always get same brand of levothyroxine
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
GOOD vitamin levels help improve conversion of Ft4 to Ft3
Common to need to supplement continuously to maintain optimal vitamin levels
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
Ask GP to test vitamin levels if not been tested recently
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 .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Thank you so much for your informative posts on here. I will get some good vitamin supplements as you suggest. I have followed all your suggestions and thank you for your help. Currently I only take vitamin D so I need to source the others.
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
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New member, confused.com!
one small victory
hi all want to start by saying a great big thanks to this site 
Hey there, new to site and on a learning curve !
New member after advice
New member- Blood Tests- what do you think?
