Hi, I am after completing a full thyroid panel and I am a bit surprised by the results. In order to complete the test I stopped all vitamins for over a week to ensure the blood work was not affected by supplements.
I am wondering what your take on my results would be? Any pointers would be really appreciated. Do I need to try t3?
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Jump to repliesLaura vit d result is low. Looking for it to be around 100. So I suggest supplements.Tsh is higher than I would expect. Most normal folks sit around 1. Folks on levothyroxine are often under 1. So if you are on levo a dose increase may improve things
Thank you for your reply. I already do supplement with vitamin d 1000iu. So perhaps I need more. My TSH was 0.89 prior to my failed IVF but I think all the meds took a toll on me to jump to 2.4. And I'm concerned about the antibodies. I am on levothyroxine 100mg for the past year and have been having some hyper thyroid symptoms recently which is why I am wondering do I need to try t3?
Sorry about the IVF. Antibodies don't cause the symptoms. They show that your thyroid has been attacked by your immune system. You have hashimotos or autoimmune thyroiditis. The antibodies clean up the debris left by an attack.Your ft4 is not high in range so I would try an increase in levo first. If an increase is beneficial then it is an easier and quicker solution. Then after 6 weeks do bloods again and see where things are. If your TSH is nearer or under 1 at the next results. Then calculate how far ft4 and ft3 are percentage wise through their individual ranges. When conversion is good then there should not be much difference between the percentages. Usually in a normal person ft3 falls just slightly behind ft4 percentage wise. If ft3 is much lower then consider t3.
T3 is not a quick fix. It can take years of slow changes to find your optimal doses of t4 and t3. I spent 2 years altering my doses 1 thing at a time, waiting 6 weeks and doing bloods. And of course you need a reliable source of t3.
Those hyperthyroid symptoms could also be hypothyroid symptoms. On the internet they give lists of hypo and hyper symptoms and the lists are clear cut. In reality it is not like that .
Until I had treatment to make me hypo I was truly hyper. I can say from experience that the symptoms I had hyper are the same as the symptoms I had when I was undermedicated hypo - I lose weight, I have a higher resting heart rate and palpitations, I am anxious.
Unfortunately it's another thing that makes the thyroid such a difficult problem to deal with
Never give up hope though. Many of us on here have been through the thyroid mill and come out the other side. It does improve.
Thank you so much. That's so helpful and a lot to think about. I appreciate the hopefulness as it's feeling like I can't get a handle on it and it's affecting my fertility on top of all the symptoms. It's good to remember there is another side
Hi Lalatoot... My GP did a range of bloods and did my TSH and free t4 again (I asked for t3 and antibodies but they did not do them). My TSH is back down but my free t4 has gone down too. I think my TSH raised during IVF and it came back down. My question is with my TSH under 1 where I want it to be would I increase levo with GP or seek some t3. I know not all the information is there it's the best I can do with the gp at the min.
Laura, some folks would advise you to get private blood tests done so you can get ft3 done as well. No need for antibodies to be done as they fluctuate anyway. That way you can show a trend of low ft3.
You should get back onto supplementing vit d as it is low. Looking for a result of 100 thereabouts.
You could ask the GP for an increase in levo in the meantime though with your current TSH they might be reluctant to do that but it is worth a try while you explore your other options and get vit d higher.
What are your thoughts for t3? Are you going to self medicate or are you going to go to an endocrinologist NHS or private? Maybe now is the time to think about it. It may take time to get an endo appointment or to research a private one who you feel would guide you through thyroid and IVF too.
Thank you. I had been taking vit d 1000iu so perhaps I get a 2000 or 5000iu tablet and re assess? I would think t3 could be helpful to try. With the recent blood test my ferritin and b12 are back in normal limits so I think that was some of the supplements I had been taking for fertility raising it e.g. prenatal, vit e perhaps. I'll have to get a further thyroid panel privately again and get the ft3.
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