test results for thyroid and on t3

[katherine107]

I always feel tired . i am on 50 mcg of liothyrinine. no thyroxine as used to make me feel unwell. blood tests for folate are 13.9 [ range 3.00 to 20.00}.

b12 is 538 [range180 to 640}

t4 level 5.2 [range 9.00-19.00}

tsh 0.03 { range 0.35-4.94}

ferritin 145 [range 15.00-200.00}

I was told my tsh is very abnormal.

[greygoose]

I was told my tsh is very abnormal.

Abnormal for whom? For someone not on thyroid hormone replacement, yes, it would be. For someone taking 50 mcg T3, it is perfectly normal, exactly what we would expect. Taking T3 lowers/suppresses TSH. That's just what it does. Because with all that T3 in your system you don't need TSH, you don't need to stimulate the thyroid anymore. The pituitary knows that and so it stops producing TSH. So, whoever made that comment obviously knows nothing about how the system works.

And if you're not taking T4, that's going to be low, too. So, what you need is your FT3 tested, not your FT4. You cannot guess your FT3 level from your FT4 and TSH alone.

[katherine107 in reply to greygoose]

I did have T3 tested but later on . Not at same time. Insisted on this. It was 4.5 but do not know reference range

[greygoose in reply to katherine107]

As you're taking T3 only, it doesn't matter if it was taken at the same time as the other two or not. But, without the range it is impossible to interpret because ranges vary from lab to lab. Can you ring the surgery and ask?

[katherine107 in reply to greygoose]

Will do tomorrow

[Jazzw]

Most GPs are clueless about thyroid patients on T3 only (they struggle enough when patients take T4 only… ).

TSH is nearly always low or very low when a patient takes any amount of T3 but it doesn’t mean they’re overmedicated unless FT3 is also over-range.

When a patient is on T3 only, the only blood test you can go by is FT3. And if that isn’t near the top of the range when tested the chances are you need slightly more T3.