Here are my latest thyroid results. I am having anxiety palpitayand insomnia. Does anyone think I may be hyperthyroid? I am knew to all of this, I am 52 and also going throught the menopause. Any advice or thoughts. Someone mentioned high t3? What could this mean?
High t3 could I be hyper? Anxiety palpitations ... - Thyroid UK
High t3 could I be hyper? Anxiety palpitations and trouble sleeping.
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Mintymoomoo
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SlowDragonAdministrator
Previous post 3 months ago
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....
Ferritin was deficient at 18
Have you seen your GP and are you now on iron supplements?
Essential to retest vitamin D, folate and B12
Exactly what vitamin supplements are you currently taking
You never answered previous questions -
are you on levothyroxine?
If yes how much
Yes I am supplementing iron, b12 is very high off supplementing, d and folate are in range.
How high is ferritin now
How much iron has GP prescribed
They should retest every 2-3 months
Can take many many months to improve low ferritin
cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...
In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency
Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet
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
List of iron rich foods
Links about iron and ferritin
An article that explains why Low ferritin and low thyroid levels are often linked
preventmiscarriage.com/iron...
irondisorders.org/too-littl...
davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...
Great in-depth article on low ferritin
oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...
Post discussing just how long it can take to raise low ferritin
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron
Medichecks iron panel test
medichecks.com/products/iro...
Posts discussing why important to do full iron panel test
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Chicken livers if iron is good, but ferritin low
What are the actual vitamin D and folate results and ranges
What are folate and vitamin D results?
SeasideSusieRemembering
Mintymoo
Someone mentioned high t3?
Someone needs to go to Specsavers!
FT3: 4.53 (3.1-6.8)
Your FT3 level is 38.65% through range so no way is it considered to be high - high would be 6.8 or above.
A normal healthy person with no thyroid disease would generally have a TSH no higher than 2, often around 1, with FT4 around mid-range-ish. If you do not have a diagnosed thyroid condition and on no thyroid meds then your results are euthyroid (normal) and your TSH and FT4 fall within this criteria.
So my symptoms are not from thyroid then? Good to know, I just can't seem to sleep which is making me feel much worse. cortisol is very high and dhea(Dutch test) I have been very stressed since unwell with covid, hormones all over the place.
Did you do this cortisol and dhea test?
regeneruslabs.com/products/...
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...
If yes, can you add test results as an image in reply
Your thyroid hormone levels are not high so you are not hyperthyroid Instead your hormone levels are low....you appear to be hypothyroid
If you are already being treated you are undermedicated!
Are you treated?
If not it looks as if you would benefit from replacement T4/ Levothyroxine.
Why?
FT3 is 38.65% through the reference range
FT4 is 54% ditto
A calculator for this -
For good health both Frees should be approaching 75%....though this varies slightly because we are all different.
Low T3 causes health issues/ symptoms.
You are not overmedicated so long as your FT3 is in range, which yours is.
You asked SeasideSusie, "So my symptoms are not from thyroid then"
It looks as if they are...sorry jumping in here Susie!
In addition to your labs your symptoms also suggest hypothyroidism
thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...
Your T4 to T3 conversion could be better, this may be helped by optimising vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin
Improved conversion should raise FT3
If not a T4/T3 combo should help.....though you are not at that point right now!
Suggest you have a chat with your GP.
Good luck.
Hi go says FSH normal, these results are from private health test which they don't want to know about. I am not on any medication. As the results said Levels were normal.I have high cortisol and dhea from Dutch test results also. Would iodine help? Also does hypo cause insomnia and anxiety ? Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just learning
Please don't apologise for asking questions!
'Normal" just means the result sits in the lab range it doesn't mean it's correct for you as an individual. This word is causing all sorts of problems for patients!
Your aim is to find the actual specific point within the range where you feel well...so your current results (and symptoms) indicate that you are not at that point right now.
TSH is regarded as the gold standard test by medics....thyroid scientists will tell you otherwise!
FT4 and FT3 record your individual thyroid hormone levels so are the important readings
Many medics don't understand this because they are not given adequate teaching at med school
I understand you are concerned about DHEA and cortisol but in your shoes I'd first be focusing on correcting those thyroid hormone levels.
Yes hypothyroidism causes anxiety, insomnia and an extensive list of symptoms
thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...
My go isn't interested, so I'm not sure where to go from here, I just feel so very awful everyday and getting no help, but sleeping tablets of antidepressants.
Sounds obvious I guess but can you ask to see another doctor in the practice?I'm afraid it's not unusual to be given antidepressants and sleeping pills by medics whose thyroid knowledge is lacking.
You could try asking for a referral to an endocrinologist.
Speak to the practice manager and say you would appreciate a second opinion.
Hi thank you I am not on any medication at the moment. Are you saying that I need to be? This has happened all so fast since being unwell the the C virus, and also entering menopause,it's all happening at once!
SlowDragonAdministrator
Is there any obvious reason for very low iron/ferritin
Are you vegetarian or vegan
Do you have heavy periods
Ferritin is 20, I have very heavy periods, and my gene reports says I have trouble absorbing b12. Even though serum b12 is quite high. Since xovid my body just seems all over the place, I'm not used to all of this
Request GP do coeliac blood test
nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20/c...
1.1.1 Offer serological testing for coeliac disease to:
people with any of the following:
persistent unexplained abdominal or gastrointestinal symptoms
faltering growth
prolonged fatigue
unexpected weight loss
severe or persistent mouth ulcers
unexplained iron, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency
type 1 diabetes, at diagnosis
autoimmune thyroid disease, at diagnosis
irritable bowel syndrome (in adults)
first‑degree relatives of people with coeliac disease
So you need to get ferritin levels improved to at least around 70….or higher
Likely to take at least 6 months
Increase iron rich foods in your diet
Suggest reading the many posts and replies by humanbean on improving iron/ferritin
Also you didn’t answer
What are your most recent vitamin D and folate levels
Folate was 9.9 ug/l and vit D was 106 in December.So do you think it's a ferritin issue? As another Dippydame's answer suggests hypothyroid? I am so confused
If you think you're hyperthyroid, perhaps you are. I felt like you're feeling once and told my Dr. so. She insisted I wasn't after looking at my results (numbers). A Chinese herbal practitioner after looking at me and feeling my palms, looking at my tongue and taking my temperature, said I should cut back on my medication, which I did and slowly felt better. I did go back to my regular Dr. for continued care and am doing fine now. We're all different.
Kauaii ...... Mintymoomoo is not taking any thyroid hormone at all , and doesn't appear to have a thyroid problem.. so 'taking to much' is not the issue here.
I didn't know that
no problem ... it's easy to miss, it was buried in one of the replies.
Sorry tatty, but you are saying she doesn't appear to have a thyroid problem
Now I'm confused too!
Consider Mintymoomoo labs above -
FT3 is 38.65% through the reference range
FT4 is 54% ditto
Her FT3 is too low which I would say is causing a problem
Her FT4 isn't great either
Her conversion appears poor and could perhaps be improved with optimal nutrients as is being suggested
But, she appears to be hypothyroid and in need of medication to raise her FT3
She clearly feels unwell and is being given the brush off by her GP who is only looking at TSH and FT4. She is receiving mixed messages and is now horribly confused
I'm going to stick my neck out and ask greygoose if I'm wrong...I need to know!
Sorry greygoose... but this is becoming very difficult for Mintymoomoo
Thank you
How did you feel before you caught the covid virus?
It looks as if your best way forward is to test again in a few weeks because you have a lot going on at the moment.Sorry if I confused you, but I'd keep an eye on those symptoms and work on the nutrients meantime.
If it was me I'd prefer FT3 to be higher...but this could possibly rise when you recover from covid.
If it does you should feel improvement
T3 is the active thyroid hormone and if this is low health can/will suffer
You might find this useful
thyroidpatients.ca/2019/09/...
Good luck
Hi I was fine before COVID in September, then periods got further apart, and sleep became worse and anxiety. Which caused the cortisol to rise so significantly, I already had low iron ferritin before COVID from heavy cycles. Just not sure why the insomnia and racing mind won't go. My hubby is fine now. So my thyroid looks ok except for t3? Yes? That's one less worry
That's promising!Think I may have joined up the dots now!
It appears that your thyroid is functioning though your FT3 is on the low side.
On the basis of your TSH and FT4 labs doctors will tell you all is " normal" but they would most likely not try to explain the low FT3!
Covid and stress may have contributed to the low FT3 - see link I gave you.
Low T3 is probably contributing to your symptoms right now along with menopause and covid.
Optimising nutrients will possibly help....as will time!
Consider testing again in a few weeks once things are more settled and that should double check/ eliminate a failing thyroid.
Stress and menopause can raise cortisol level
This might help
bywinona.com/journal/cortis...
Sorry you've been on a roller coaster with this,
Well, I'm no expert - not even a doctor - but the OP's FT4 and TSH are euthyroid, that's for sure. Her FT3 is a little low (who on earth said it was high???) but given that she's not long had COVID, her symptoms could be down to that, and it's maybe not the right time to be doing thyroid blood tests. But, in any case, the OP is never going to get a diagnosis of hypo with those results. So, given that the antibodies don't suggest autoimmune thyroiditis, she should maybe give herself time to recover from COVID - which can be quite long - and then test again.
Obviously, though, in the meantime, it would be a good idea to optimise all nutrients.
Not much else I can say, really.
Thank you for that!I'm certainly no expert but your suggestion to test again makes complete sense!
Her low FT3 concerned me but I guess Covid might lower that.
Thank you. So euthyroid? What does that mean,? sorry I'm new to all of this.I've had a urineDutch test and it says estrogen and progesterone are low, I'm 52 by the way. But my cortisol and dhea are very high, I have been so stressed, not sleeping, since my husband collapsed from COVID and my cycles are becoming further apart, but very heavy. I have low ferritin also and iron. I'm just trying to figure out why I can't sleep and I'm anxious all of the time with a very active mind during the night after having been woken up with palpitations and a flush.
Thank you for your thoughts x
Euthyroid means without any thyroid problems at all. Euthyroid levels would be TSH around 1, FT4 about 50% through the range, FT3 just slightly lower. Yours is quite a bit lower, which could account for your symptoms. But, the question is: what is causing that low FT3? Could be what we call Euthyroid Sick Syndrome - which just means that your FT3 is low for reasons unknown - rather than a failing thyroid. But time will tell.
Sounds as if you're under a lot of stress at the moment. And, that could be the reason for your low FT3. Are you eating properly? Very important to eat well.
Thing is, no doctor is going to do anything for you vis à vis that low FT3. They would all just dismiss it as unimportant. On the other hand, could be that high cortisol needs further investigation. They could test for Cushing's Disease. How high is it, exactly?
Hi Dippy . i based my 'no apparent thyroid problem' comment on this study of healthy people's TSH /fT4 /fT3 levels .. taken at same time of day over 6 weeks .. it shows that about ?40 % of healthy people would normally have these sort of fT3 levels, some have even less around 25%...... so by themselves fT4 of 54% and fT3 of 38% don't necessarily indicate anything wrong with thyroid function , especially when coupled with an extremely 'normal' TSH of under 2 .... so unless we know that the person usually had higher fT3 than this , i don't think it's right to assume fT3 of under 50% always indicates any thyroid problem ( granted, we don't know if Mintymoomoo does usually have much higher fT3 than 38% or not , because no one tests when they feel well .. obviously if her usual levels are much higher fT3 /fT4 with a lower TSH .. then her current levels would quite likely explain feeling rough )Bu there is Zero chance of getting any GP to agree there is anything wrong with these thyroid results .. especially given the negative thyroid antibodies ... so it seems likely to lead to nothing but frustration if we send someone down the GP / Thyroid route with these results.
In my opinion would be wiser to spend a few months addressing the other issues that could be improved .. and then retest thyroid results to see if there is any trend ie , TSH rising. lower fT4 .
So i wouldn't say "she definitely doesn't have any thyroid problem" , just that it's not apparent from those results. and it wouldn't be any use pushing GP's on this point at the moment .
Mintymoomoo
.
Hi thank you for your reply. I was fine until I had COVID and my husband collapsed and was really ill, that's when the anxiety and sleep issues started. I'm 52 and perimenopausal, my periods became erratic after COVID, along with anxiety and the flushes waking me up at night with palpitations and a.racing mind, along with high cortisol levels. I haven't been eating well since COVID, it has knocked my eating habits to pot, and I am waking during night hungry too, apparently it's the glycogen storage not having enough fuel, all since covid. Both estrogen and.progesterone are low from Dutch test, which also picked up cortisol. Lack of sleep is my biggest stressor, I seem to be in flight of flight mode because of this, I am a worrier. A homeopath I am seeing is trying to regulate the HPA axis to help balance cortisol out as she thinks I'm in the dying throws of perimenopause and also looking at my hormones.lets hope it works. I've never had any problems before this. Thank you for your information x
I take your point tatty, but...It may not be that thyroid gland function per se is the problem but instead, low T3 level ( for whatever reason eg illness).
Thyroid disease ( not poor glandular function) may be causing some of Mintymoomoo s symptoms. ...but, as you indicate, we don't know for sure
In my opinion would be wiser to spend a few months addressing the other issues that could be improved .. and then retest thyroid results to see if there is any trend ie , TSH rising. lower fT4 .
Exactly! Which is what I suggested...and her doctor did not!!
It would help patients if medics could explain this and suggest that optimising nutrients may help instead of brushing the patient's concerns aside....probably because they fail to recognise signs and symptoms because they see no further than a list of numbers!
FT3 remains the important lab result
If T3 ( the active thyroid hormone) is low for whatever reason, then health suffers....doesn't matter what else TSH and FT4 suggests.
As it is patients are left hanging in the air, like Minty.
We can speculate from here to next year about what might or might not be happening...
And I agree doctor's are unlikely to say other than " normal" with those TSH and FT4 labs ( not forgetting FT3 is also there) but they should recognise that the patient feels unwell and at least offer some support, look for clues, show some compassion, and offer to test in 6/8 weeks to check that FT3 has improved. I know, fat chance!
As it is Mintymoomoo says her "GP isn't interested"...
In my book that requires " pushing" said GP for answers!
T3 must be one of the most under acknowledged and misunderstood hormones in the body and patients will continue to suffer if this is not recognised by medics. Some don't even know what T3 is, I believe....but that's another rant!
So, we both agree that a second test would be wise....hopefully it might even show an improved FT3 level, and it would be reassuring for Minty, as hopefully her other health issues resolve.
Thanks tatty and...
Good luck Mintymoomoo if you're still with us!
Thank you. Do you think there is a problem? I'm getting conflicting opinions here x
Hi Mintymoomoo.. please see my explanation to DippyDame above x
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