Advice please. Not sure how to proceed.

[BlueGreenHealer]

I am 49 and have Hashimoto's and have spent the last two years trying to find a doctor to properly treat my thyroid and help get to the root of the thyroid dysfunction. Last fall I learned I have mold and I am going through a mold protocol. My compounded NDT has been adjusted in dribs and drabs over the last two years and according to my March labs, I was still undermedicated.

FT4 0.93 (.82 - 1.77)

FT3 2.1 (2.0 - 4.4)

RT3 7.5 (9.2 - 24.1)

TSH 2.64 (0.45 - 4.5)

TPO 301 (working on lowering)

TGab (no antibodies)

VitD, B12 and iron levels all looking pretty good. Ferritin still a bit low at 35 (15 - 150), but working on it.

After going round and round I finally got the ND to add 4mcg of T3 to my 97.5mg of NDT. I have been on the added T3 for 5 weeks. As with prior dose increases of NDT, the first few weeks seem to go great and then things bottom out. The added T3 was no different and I am back to feeling off - as though I am a bit hungover in the morning. I get out of bed feeling ok, not fatigued, but my balance feels slightly off and my brain takes a very long time to get going. My digestion has also slowed significantly since beginning the T3. I don't understand that either.

I am not sure what to ask for next? Thankfully, I just got on with a new ND who is very well educated in Hashimoto's and thyroid and is willing to go along with whatever I request. We discussed a 1/4 grain increase and to possibly forego the additional T3 for now. We would then look at labs again in 4 - 6 weeks. I am wondering how that translates when my body is now used to an additional 4mcgs of T3 in the morning?

My hormones are also post-menopausal low due to the mold, under medicated thyroid, and perimenopause. I am not in menopause. I still get my period every 30 days. So we are considering beginning HRT after getting the thyroid a bit more stable.

I really could use some help from those wiser than I.

I am jumping through all the hoops and I am so very emotionally tired. Feeling unwell is really beginning to hurt my mental health. It's really difficult to heal the mental and emotional aspects of all of this without being able to somewhat stabilize the physical.

[greygoose]

As with prior dose increases of NDT, the first few weeks seem to go great and then things bottom out.

That is perfectly normal. It just means that you're ready for the next increase.

If I were you, I'd be telling that endo that I want 1/4 grain increase in the NDT PLUS keep the 4 mcg T3. Your FT3 is so very low - it's only 4.17% through the range. Your FT4 is also low, but 11.58% through the range. Usually, when taking NDT, the FT4 is lower in-range than the FT3, so possible you do have a conversion problem, although no way of knowing for sure.

And your TSH is high for someone on NDT, so you really are very under-medicated. Your endo wants shooting! He has no idea what he's doing.

Oh, and don't get hung-up on the antibodies. Reducing them isn't going to help anything. They have a job to do, best to let them get on with it.

[BlueGreenHealer in reply to greygoose]

I appreciate your insight. I'm sorry for the slow response, we just returned from a getaway. Could you please explain how you came up with those percentages? I've read about calculating that before, but still don't understand the proper formula. I will ask my new ND about keeping the T3. That said, do you think I can try raising the 1/4 grain and then possibly another 1/4 grain in lieu of the added T3? Then see where everything tests?

Also, thoughts on splitting NDT dose during the day? I know people do it. Timing is difficult for me.

No good endo's around here, so finally decided to see a Naturopathic Doc. First two were a bust, but new one is very pliable and appears well educated in thyroid. I will keep that in mind about the antibodies too!😃

[JAmanda]

that was a tiny amount of t3 to add in! I’d try adding in 5, increasing to 10 and see if that helps.

[BlueGreenHealer in reply to JAmanda]

I will chat with my new ND. Thank you!😃

[Hopeful129]

I hope you find some relief. Can I ask how did you find out you had mold?

[BlueGreenHealer in reply to Hopeful129]

Hello! I had a urine test through RealTime Labs (there is also another company called Great Plains) and a nasal swab through MicrobiologyDX. I believe both can be ordered without a doctor scrip in the US, but I do not know anything about the UK. Mold is insidious and often a root cause of thyroid dysfunction. Dr. Neil Nathan wrote a great book called Toxic and that was what lead me to consider mold as a root cause. Dr. Jill Crista was another lead with her book Break the Mold.