A Dutch national randomized placebo-controlled double-blind multicenter trial of LT4/LT3 combination therapy in patients with autoimmune hypothyroidism.
Serum TSH levels are measured at every visit, and medication dosages adjusted if needed, with the goal to normalize serum TSH to levels within the assay-specific reference range.
So when does the TSH get discredited finally? I suspect this study will fail to prove anything.
The trial is about whether LT4/LT3 combination therapy is helpful for 'severe tiredness', whilst keeping TSH within range. I don't see that as unreasonable as long as absolute bottom of range TSH is acceptible.
I know this means yet further delay in proper acceptance of T3 regimes, but the outcome of this might be a very helpful stepping stone.
If, for example, much of the tiredness resolves while keeping within TSH reference interval, it could argue that at least slightly higher T3 dose, leading to a slightly lower TSH would look much less controversial as a way of resolving the remaining excess tiredness.
I like that they've included patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. It's almost as though they're admitting subclinical hypothyroidism is just hypothyroidism - though I doubt they are.
I hope that, by insisting the TSH remain within “range” this research isn’t being deliberately set up to fail… my TSH dropped drastically and became almost undetectable within months of my having T3 added to my T4 and yet, I feel fine. Insisting on TSH “normal values” is not going to prove of any benefit to either participants or the research.
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