I had decided to try T4 (not through gp, they won't have a bar of it) but had a medichecks test to just see where I'm at first. I was hoping for worse results if that makes sense. My T3 looks pretty good right now.
My TSH has been consistently above 2 for last year and a half, T4 has been down to 12.6 at lowest.
I know you can't advise me medically, but any thoughts would be helpful.
Problems are energy levels, acne, constipation, piles, Raynaud's, feeling cold, irregular heavy periods, sleep issues but no issues with weight gain.
I haven't tested vitamins this time. I take vit d and b12 spray. My ferritin and folate are always low. I did an iron panel which was fine. I don't seem able to increase these.
Thanks in advance.
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MrsButler
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I'm doing my best to raise everything, but ferritin and folate are being stubborn. I'm at a loss what to do. Take the ingenus tablets. As my iron panel was fine, I don't want to end up taking too much iron trying to correct the ferritin.
Right now, I have felt worse, prob when b12 and D were low, but I'm not right. The acne really gets me down.
Remember these are only the amounts of free hormone in the blood. We have no way of knowing how much is assimilated into the cells where it is active. Whether we are medicating thyroid hormone replacement or not we need the nutrients and iron to accomplish this.
Iron is key for conversion of T4-T3 and low levels may decrease enzyme activity that dictates thyroid hormone function (deiodinases) resulting in conversion to reverse T3 ( rather than the active hormone).
Your FT4 is low and FT3 under half-way through range. Have you considered supplementing glandulars that are a sort of half way house between meds and nothing. You might find they are enough. And did you ever get cortisol levels measured?
I am actually not the person to ask re advice about thyroid glandulars as they don't agree with me but I know other members have had success with them.
There are also adrenal glandulars that the old Dr Peatfield used to advocate. These support the adrenal glands when compromised through supporting an ailing thyroid gland. Post another question re glandulars for recommendations from other members if you are interested.
OK So, that's a pretty low TSH for an FT4 of 12.6. One would expect the TSH to be higher. So, I'm wondering about Central Hypo, where the problem could be with the pituitary/hypothalamus rather than the thyroid itself. Have you had any sort of bang on the head at some time? Or heavy bleeding during child birth?
Well, could still be Central hypo. But, you wouldn't be able to convince a doctor with those results. I'm afraid all you can do is wait and see how things progress. But, do keep testing.
Hi Mrs Butler - like you, I’ve had low thyroid levels for quite some time now. My last GP result in nov ‘20 was TSH 0.95 (0.2-4.5) T4 11 (9-21), no FT3 as gp won’t do it but it was 4.19 (3.1-6.8) on a private test last year. At that point I was feeling really awful - brain fog, dreadful fatigue, muscle weakness, hair falling out, constipation, bad digestive problems. I’d already had a cortisol test last year that showed low cortisol and dhea. I’ve always suspected I’ve got central hypo as greygoose has suggested for you, but I’ve received no help from NHS and have self medicated with various things - dhea and progesterone have been most useful, and I got all my vits and iron up to good levels, adrenavive made me retain water and foggy headed. I now feel better than I did last year but still want some improvement. I think a cortisol test would provide a clearer picture for you and it might be worth having oestrogen, progesterone, dhea and testosterone tested as androgen excess causes cystic acne. I’ve since found a great private endo that I’m going to work with after some recent private blood results and can give you his details on pm if you’d like.
It’s worth doing, it explained a lot for me. I’m feeling better now but I want to know why all of these things happened and how I keep well. Good luck.
Where is your acne if you don’t mind me asking? Chin / mouth area? Acne often caused by poor gut health. Might be worth a good probiotic and considering GF/DF. Going GF sorted out painful cystic acne for me and also helped heavy periods. A solid dose of probiotic has again helped a lot with the acne.
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