Results Advice

[PrincessAnnie]

Hi I’m looking for some advice on my latest blood results please.Blood draw was done on Monday morning at 6am,I took my T4 and first dose of T3 at 6am on Sunday morning and last dose of T3 at 9pm Sunday night,I took my medication after the blood draw on Monday morning.

I started my T3 on the 13th of April with 5mcg and added in another 5mcg two weeks after as I felt a bit funny with the 5mcg,then I waited another two weeks before adding in another 5mcg then a week later I added in the last 5mcg bringing me to my full dose of 20mcg prescribed by the endo.

I started taking the full dose along with my levothyroxine in the morning but due to the advice given for testing I noticed on Sunday that I felt better with just taking the 10mcg in the morning and 10mcg at night so I think I’ll stick to that.I’m currently taking 100mcg levothyroxine one day and 75mcg levothyroxine the next and alternating days like that with my T3 at 10mcg in the morning and 10mcg at night.

I have noticed improvements and I’m certainly much better than I was at the beginning of the year but I still get tired easily and the past few weeks my moods have been up and down with some insomnia ,I think I might be peri menopausal too🤦‍♀️

I started the Thorne B Complex on Monday,obviously after the blood draw,so I take that along with my Vitamin D and Magnesium at lunch time.Any advice will,as always,be much appreciated.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

PrincessAnnie

Thyroid results look OK but your Ferritin is very low and this may be why you are tired.

Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range so around 82 with that range.

Ask your GP to do an iron panel consisting of serum iron, transferrin saturation percentage, TIBC and Ferritin. You shouldn't supplement iron without doing this because if serum iron and saturation are already good then taking iron tablets will increase the levels and can lead to toxicity.

You can help raise Ferritin by eating liver, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, or liver pate, black pudding and other iron rich foods

[PrincessAnnie in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your reply I might try the liver pâté then as I can have that on toast.What’s the free thyroxine on this result is that the T4?

My antibodies are still elevated but they have came down since the last time so do you think it’s possible that it’s due to the fact I was running on low T3 and that they will improve now I’m on the right medication?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Free thyroxine is FT4 (thyroxine is T4).

Antibodies fluctuate with Hashi's activity, medication wont affect antibody levels.

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

I've never taken a T3/T4 combo long enough to understand how it works in the body and what an optimum blood test should look like.

Finding your own unique T3/T4 ratio within the ranges and where you feel at your best takes time.

I can work out the maths and write that your T3 is now around 65% and your T4 around 35% through the ranges and suggest that you might be a little T3 heavy. I could also suggest that your ratio of T3/T4 is around 2.80 - and that maybe your metabolism running a little fast ??

I honestly do not know and why I do not to comment on these types of blood test results.

However I do know that you will feel a lot stronger and more able when your vitamins and minerals are improved :

Ferritin needs to be at least over 70 to assist in thyroid hormone conversion and I now aim for a ferritin of around 100 : folate around 20 : and active B to 75 ++( 125 ) and vitamin D around 100 :

Antibodies wax and wan and you can do much about that.

There is no quick fix, and once your core strength vitamins and minerals are optimal you will be better placed to build and adjust your T3 and T4 and fine tune your dose of each.

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Thank you so much🙏I’ve started taking a b complex and I’m going to start eating more iron rich foods,funnily enough I have just started adding spinach into my quiche.I really appreciate your feedback❤️

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

No worries, no problem -

I'm just flash frying down my chicken livers to make into my weekly ' fix ' of ferritin pate !

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

If you could send me the recipe for that I’d be most grateful🙏

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Already done - think we crossed over Heathrow !!

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Funnily enough I do sometimes feel a bit hypo so I might start lowering my dose of T3 to 15mcg for now❤️

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Are you supplementing iron ?

There are 2 sorts of natural alternatives - Heme and non Heme :

You will need to eat mountains of spinach and non heme, is I believe not as easily digested or absorbed as heme iron - organ meat.

1 tub of Asda frozen chicken livers a week will get you there faster - they are clean and mild to the taste :

Defrost and flash fry for around 8-10 minutes and then whizz down into a paste - if too dry add a little mayo - and when cold store in the fridge in an old jam jar.

Throughout the week a spoonful a day, with a dollop of Hellmans. ( other brands are available ) helps this medicine go down and your ferritin stores creep up the range.

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

What does flash fry mean🤦‍♀️Do you mean just frying it in a frying pan?

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Yes, in a little hot olive oil - I guess called " flash " as if the pan is hot enough you're only looking at around 4/5 minutes either side :

They can tend to ' spit ' when the pan gets too hot so i now use a medium heat for a little longer and cover the pan with a large flat circular mesh strainer.

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

What do you mean by feeling a ' bit hypo ' as reducing T3 may compound the issue ?

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Overactive and no I’m not supplementing iron x

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Can you please explain what overactive means to you ?

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Like when I had an overactive thyroid,wanting to eat all the time,feeling like I could take on mammoth tasks but exhausted at the same time,I hope that makes sense🤦‍♀️

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Yes it does sound as though your metabolism is running a bit fast.

So maybe look at tweaking the T3 a little and monitor how you go on a slightly different dose, compared to now :

In this way you will begin to find a level of T3 and T4 that works best for you.

As your vitamins and minerals improve, you may find you need to tweak again since your overall conversion should also improve.

It's a learning curve, so make notes as you go so you have something to refer back to :

I know you think you'll remember but trust me - you will not, a couple of years down the road.

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Thank you so much for your help and advice I’ve decided I’m going to lower my dose at night time to 5mcg,I’ve already started marking on my blood results what I’m taking and I’ll continue to do that❤️

[pennyannie in reply to PrincessAnnie]

Yes good, list the symptoms being experienced as then you will see where your T3 and T4 are best placed for you.

[PrincessAnnie in reply to pennyannie]

Actually it’s probably like you said before my metabolism is running a little fast x