Considering you're taking Liothyronine aka T3 you're going to be needing an FT3 result. FT4 is useless as really is TSH at this point. Do you have that?
OK, so get them to test FT3? While you're there, get them also to test key vitamins - ferritin, folate, B12 & D3. When hypo we dont absorb vitamins well due to low stomach acid, even if our diets are 100%. Low vitamins mean we cant use our thryoid hormone properly.
If all you are taking is T3 then the TSH and FT4 tests are irrelevant. T3 lowers TSH to the point of suppression, and if you're not taking any T4 and have no thyroid then there will be none to measure. So you need to test FT3, that's all that is relevant in your situation. If your PCP knows you are taking T3 only why is s/he not measuring this?
This is a new doctor for me, and this was my yearly physical. He wanted me to see an endocrinologist before he had any numbers, but did say I was hypo after getting the numbers back. Was just checking to see if I was grasping the process correctly. I was surprised when I got the numbers back, and saw he had tested forTSH and T4 at all, and only, when there is no thyroid, and I'm strictly on T3. Thank you for your help.
Doesn’t sound like your doctor has very much experience with patients on T3.
For those of us here who see blood test results on T3 a lot more often, your results are very much a “Well, doh!” thing. Exactly what you’d expect to see in someone who has no thyroid and isn’t taking any T4!
You probably don’t actually need a referral to an endo, just an FT3 test.
Exactly! He certainly doesn't understand it. My yearly exam, and he was referring me to specialists. T3 only is not very common here in Texas. Hopefully the Endo will be willing to fill my script. After years of exhaustion, I finally feel good on T3 only.
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