Blood results?

[JayFin]

Hi,

Please could anyone give me an idea what has happened recently to my blood results, before I speak to a GP who has no idea what Armour or Nature-Throid is.

Since Dr. Skinner passed away I have been on my own self medicating. Have blood tests yearly at my surgery. Its all been ok for the last 15yrs until now.

I have used Armour 1.5grain. T3 27mcg- T4 114mcg. Then changed to Nature-Throid same content. They were withdrawn from the market. So I changed to NP Thyroid 3mths ago. I upped to 2 grain after Feb blood results. Have just noticed that noticed NP is different T3 18mcg. T4 76mcg. I have now started feeling edgy, my pulse is racing and hardly slept.

These are the strange results i have just received TSH 0.01 mIU/L T4 22 T3 18.7. Previous Feb 22 result was TSH 5.02(slightly undertreated)T3 4.1 T4 11.5

Could anyone help me understand what has gone wrong. Thank you in advance.

[pennyannie]

Hello Jayfin and welcome to the forum :

I believe 1 grain Armour has always been 9mcg T3 + 38 mcg T4 per grain:

3 grains of Armour would be 27mcg T3 + 114mcg T4 :

1 + 1/2 grains Armour is around 13.50 T3 + 57mcg T4 :

1 grain Nature Thyroid was the same breakdown as Armour and recalled in around 2020 on grounds of some batches being sub potent.

I believe 1 grain NP thyroid to also have the same breakdown of T3 and T4 as Armour.

Your first set of results do show under medication as your TSH is over 5 - and generally see a TSH at 0.01 when optimally medicated - and presume you had purchased a batch of the sub optimal Nature Thyroid :

Your recent T3 and T4 results are over range and suggest you stop, or drop back down your dose, until you feel these symptoms have gone and then build back up your original dose of 1 + 1/2 grains.

I would also get your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D run as these need to be at optimum levels for optimal conversion of any thyroid hormone replacement and with a previous TSH of 5 you were very undermedicated on this first blood test ad your core strength vitamins and minerals may have nose dived.

Do you have results from when on 1+1/2 grains Armour ?

How long do you leave between last dose and blood draw ?

[JayFin in reply to pennyannie]

Pennannie thank you so much.

I haven't taken any NP today but should I come off it slowly or stop now?

I have always been fine on Armour but it trippled in price or I would have stuck with it.

My Ferritin, Folate, B12 and Vitamin D are all well within range. I stopped taking them a couple of weeks before to get a clear test. Is that wrong? The NP I took the previous morning before 2pm test next afternoon.

Can only find one 2017 blood result TSH 3.2 on Armour no other levels were done. I will look for other results I do keep them.

So is my TSH level is good now or to low?

Thank you again for your reply. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it x

[pennyannie in reply to JayFin]

The TSH looked at in isolation doesn't say anything of any consequence and was originally introduced as a diagnostic tool with which to help confirm a diagnosis of hypothyroidism

Once on any form of thyroid hormone replacement you need to run a T3 and T4 blood test and look at all three results together .

However these blood tests and ranges were all introduced to be used when Big Pharma launched T3 Liothyronine and T4 Levothyroxine treatment options on the back of Natural Desiccated Thyroid in the middle of the last century.

NDT was the original treatment for hypothyroidism and used successfully for over 100 years and long before we had blood tests and ranges, or knew why little nuggets of pig thyroid seemed to do the trick and work well for the hypothyroid patient.

Your TSH looks too high to be optimally medicated on an NDT - we generally have a low suppressed TSH, with a T4 low in the range and with a T3 proportionately higher in the range and somewhat opposite to how Big Pharma have taught doctors.

In range ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are not optimal - I now know I need a ferritin at around 100 : folate at around 20 :active B12 75++ ( serum B12 500 ++ ) and vitamin D at around 100 :

I take 1 + 1/2 grains NDT - my TSH is 0.01 - my T3 at around 100% and my T4 at around 25% through ranges after around 10 hours and fasted from last total dose which I take at around 3 in the morning to dovetail in with the circadian rhythm of the body.

[pennyannie in reply to JayFin]

No, I now just run a yearly full thyroid and vitamin and mineral blood tests - and leave off my vitamins and minerals for around the week before hand .

As for the NDT - some people wait 24 hours from last dose to blood draw - others wait 10-12 hours - others wait longer - I guess it all depends on you and if you are needing to try and get a thumbs up from your doctor - as I'm aware people are taking NDT but haven't told the doctor and still having these yearly thyroid function tests which in reality are pointless anyway.