I've just joined this group and been reading some of the really helpful advice on here.
My daughter, myself and my friend all have thyroid issues. So I'll be asking a few questions... but first...
I'm looking for help for my friend who is really suffering from poor health (fatigue, anxiety, heart palpitations, pain in throat, dizziness, neuralgia, getting very thin) and the doctors are unable to give any answers.
All her blood test results are normal except that she has low TSH, T4 and T3.
TSH 0.1 IU/L (0.4 - 4.5)
T4 51 nmol/L (50 - 160)
T3 0.9 nmol/L. (0.9 - 2.5)
TPO is normal.
As far as I understand it, TSH and T4/T3 have an inverse relationship. (TSH goes up when T4 is low and the other way round).
So why would they ALL be low? Her GP isn't concerned about this.
These test results are from before taking any T4/T3. She has been taking 80 mg Metavive daily for a few weeks (and will show on these results).
She has now seen a private doctor and just been started on 30 mg Thyroid Erfa. (Equivalent to 18mcg T4 and 4mcg T3).
Is this something anyone else on here has heard about?
Many thanks for any input, it is really appreciated!
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LoveAndPeas
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Fasting or non-fasting will only affect the TSH - if it affects anything at all. Depends what you have for breakfast - tea and coffee will definitely lower the TSH.
What time was the blood draw? The exact time matters. TSH levels drop throughout the morning.
OK, so her TSH is lower than it would have been before 9 am and without coffee.
The range is (3.8 – 6.0 pmol/L), so 4.7 is not actually super low ?
Well, it's only 40.91% through the range. 'Normal' (euthyroid) is around 50%. I wouldn't want my FT3 that low. It's more than likely the cause of her symptoms.
Oh that's good to know. She's 55 years old, just been through menopause. Had 6 amalgam dental fillings removed (about a year ago) and says she hasn't been the same since.
She should really get tested for central hypo, if the issue is with pituitary, it needs to be investigated. It could be she might be deficient in more hormones than just thyroid.
Menopause and hypothyroidism often get confused by doctors. I was pumped full of oestrogen for years when I needed thyroid medication 🙄. So I’d advise you friend to get her female hormones checked as well.
Those results do look like secondary hypothyroidism, but taking any T3 (as in Metavive and Efra) will lower your TSH and she may not be taking enough medication for it to increase her T3 and T4, so she might be caught in between lowering TSH and not raising her enough T3 and T4. Hormones are tricksy…
your friend needs an Endocrinologist (the ones on the list by Thyroid are a start?) to check her out. GPs are hopeless.
Thanks Incoguto and PixieElv, those are both really helpful things to consider.
She has an appointment next week for the GP to 'see if he's missed anything'. So she will try to push for pituitary testing and an endocrinologist referral. She says she has to pretend to be a 'good patient' or they will write her off completely.
She does have 'completely flat' oestrogen and progesterone levels and was told by a naturopath to take DHEA, but she's reluctant.
Interesting about maybe being stuck in the grey zone between lowered TSH but not enough T4/T3
Low estrogen and prog can also be caused by hypothyroidism. Or it could be pituitary. I would not take any DHEA yet in case that would disrupt further testing. I'd say it could be just that she's hypo and needs her thyroid numbers higher, estrogen and progesterone should then follow. If it a pituitary problem, then pit may not be sending signal to ovaries to make enough lh and fsh therefore female hormones could be affected
Thanks, thats really helpful. I didn't know hypo could lead to other hormones being low. I wonder if it also affects neurotransmitters? Enzymes? Is it that everything in the body slows down and is generally produced less of? So depression, poor digestion, infertility etc.
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