Blood test results and thoughts on why I feel rubbish please (long post for help)

[Eimear78]

Hi folks

I feel pants. I have been feeling pants for many months/probably 2 years with all of the symptoms below and it is now being made worse by the after effects of Covid which I had a month ago.

The questions I have are....

What else can I do or take to feel a bit better again?

Has anyone else been underwhelmed by Receptura T3 - for the amount I am on I should be better than this surely.

My symptoms are:

Exhaustion - zero energy

Serious brain fog

Anxiety and short temper

No libido

Breathless

Dizziness

Joint stiffness and pain from the hips down

Super dry eyes.

Weight gain

No muscle gain.

When I first started on Tiromel 20mcg Lio 3 years ago I felt good. I had more energy and my libido was good. It then started to decline after I had a change of NHS endocrinologist and decided to go private. I have spent a lot of money to not feel much better TBH. They are great and I know it takes longer to settle your meds but I can't really afford them. What their blood tests discovered was that whilst I wasn't perimenopausal

My testosterone was low <0.4 range 0 -1.8

My cortisol was lowish for that time of day range 133-537 (6-10am - my test was 8.30am)

They also said something about my oestrogen but I can't find it/remember it. They were also worried about my insulin levels and thought I was insulin resistant - fasting test at 8.30 am it was 11.8 range 2.6 -24.9

I went strictly gluten free after I tested negative for coeliac disease, for 4 months but it didn't do anything. I haven't gone dairy free mainly as most of my protein comes from dairy.

My medichecks results are below (along with the tablets and supplements I am on daily. It was taken first thing on a fasting stomach and I had removed my vitamin B supplement for 15 days before the test.

Inflammation CRP HS 1.46 mg/L (Range: 0 - 5)

Iron Status Ferritin 83.8 ug/L (Range: 13 - 150)

Vitamins Folate - Serum 10.43 ug/L (Range: > 3.89) - Daily methylated Vitamin B Complex with folate. I've also cranked up my green veg intake so I have some with lunch and dinner now.

Vitamin B12 - Active X >150 pmol/L (Range: 37.5 - 150) - as above. My endocrinologist tested homocysteine levels and I am fine.

Vitamin D 74 nmol/L 75 - 200 Optimal (Range: 50 - 200) - Better Health vitamin D & K 3000IU daily spray.

Thyroid Hormones TSH X 0.13 mU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)

Free T3 4.73 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8) - 45mcg Receptura Lio (25 in the morning, 10 at lunch, 10 at teatime)

Free Thyroxine X 11.7 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22) - 75mcg Mercury Pharma Levo- take in the morning on an empty stomach, an hour before coffee

Autoimmunity Thyroglobulin Antibodies 12 IU/mL (Range: < 115) Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies <9.0 IU/mL (Range: < 34) 

I also take daily:

2000mcg - flaxseed oil

Garden of Life probiotic

3 capsules Bio care magnesium malate

1000mg - EPO

40mg - zinc

200mcg Selenium with ACE

Any thoughts on what else I could do? I would appreciate it. I feel like stopping all medication at the moment.

Thanks

Eimear

[greygoose]

Free T3 4.73 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8) - 45mcg Receptura Lio (25 in the morning, 10 at lunch, 10 at teatime)

That is very low considering your dose. Do you always take your T3 on an empty stomach and wait at least an hour before eating, just like levo? Do you take your supplements well away from your thyroid hormones? B complex at least two hours away, vit D at least four hours away?

[Eimear78 in reply to greygoose]

Yes I take it on an empty stomach and I take my t3 before I have lunch or my evening meal. My Vitamin D spray and other vitamins I take 2- 3 hours after my levo/t3. I thought you could have the spray closer to your early morning dose. I did wonder if the Receptura was working well as when I was on Tiromel initially it was so much better.

[greygoose in reply to Eimear78]

Yes, if it's a spray, it doesn't matter when you take it, because it won't meet up with the thyroid hormones in the gut. But, you didn't say it was a spray.

Magnesium should be taken four hours awy from thyroid hormone, too. And all the others two hours.

It could be that your absorption is now worse than when you were taking Tiromel, but I've never taken Receptura, so I don't know what it's like. Your FT4 is also low. Has it always been low like that on 75 mcg?

[Eimear78 in reply to greygoose]

I will change the magnesium timings. It has been pretty low whatever dose I've been on but this seems to be as low as when I was on 50 mcg.

[greygoose in reply to Eimear78]

Well, perhaps you need an increase in levo, then, as SeasideSusie suggested. But, I think you also need to investigate your gut because your absorption is very bad.

[Eimear78 in reply to greygoose]

I thought I may have a gut issue so I have started taking a probiotic with a digestive enzyme. I am addressing a sugar craving cycle too. What else should I do?

[greygoose in reply to Eimear78]

A gut exploration to see if you have leaky gut - should be your doctor doing the investigations.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Eimear78

I am also on Levo plus T3 and what shouts out at me from your thyroid results is that your FT4 is below range. That would have me bedbound. I know we're all different as to where we need each individual hormone but have you thought about increasing Levo to get your FT4 further up into range and then see how you feel? This would also increase your FT3 level depending on how much natural conversion you have.

[Eimear78 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I have spoken with both endos about my t4 and with the NHS one I was on 100mcgs of levo and feeling rubbish and he wouldn't increase my dose he sent me for an ECG instead. My private endocrinologist tested for RT3(I know about that subject from the board) which was high so reduced my levo to 75mcg but increased my Tiromel at the time from 25mcg to 25mcg + 12.5mcg at lunch. my T3 went up to 8 and my T4 was just above the bottom of the range at 12.6

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Eimear78]

Sounds like a wrong move, I doubt there was any need to reduce your Levo.

[Eimear78 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Does taking t3 suppress your T4?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Eimear78]

Taking T3 can lower FT4 level to some extent.

[Eimear78 in reply to SeasideSusie]

That has been referred to a few times when I had spoken about t4. Would all of this impact my testosterone levels?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Eimear78]

Sorry, no idea about sex hormones, it's not something I've looked into. Someone else may know.