It looks like you're very under-medicated. How long was the gap between your last dose of levo and the blood draw?
With an TSH that you, you obviously need an increase in dose. And with an TSH that high, you should not be going to the gym. That will only make things worse. You're using up calories that you need for conversion of T4 to T3. And with an FT4 that low, if it is really that low, your FT3 will be even lower. And it's T3 that causes symptoms and sustains you through physical effort. If you don't have enough T3 then you should cut back on your physical effort.
As for asking for T3, no. Not at this point. To tell how well you convert your TSH should come down to one or under, and your FT4 be quite high in-range. I don't think any reputable doctor would give you T3 with those results.
is this all related to my thyroid levels because im pretty healthy in other aspects?
I presume you're referring to your high cholesterol and low folic acid? Yes, it is.
Hypos usually have low stomach acid, due to low T3. So, it doesn't matter how good your diet is, you will have trouble digesting your food and absorbing nutrients.
Cholesterol has nothing to do with diet. It is made in the liver, and the liver keeps levels steady by making less when you consume more, and vice versa. However, when T3 is low, the body has difficulty processing cholesterol correctly, and it mounts up in the bloodi.
1st can i say thankyou for replying and putting my mind at rest. so im basically in need of a lot more levo? to fix these results im going to my doctors on tuesday an not going to the gym until this is fixed thankyou.
it was 7months ago i had my last results they were...
tsh level 1.8
free t4 13.6
i only had a thyroid test then as i didnt feel bad or symptomatic like i do now.
and thankyou again im so glad i have posted in here
Your results have changed a lot in 7 months. But even then you were in need of an increase in dose. But doctors don't know enough about thyroid to understand that.
thats the feeling i get when i go in to see them! its like i have to explain what i have been through every time i always see a different doctor aswell.
now i know il make sure things get done and thanks again 🙂
I was like you a short time ago, pushing myself to go to the gym, even though I was struggling. A foot injury has forced me to pause my membership and I decided to use the R& R time to optimise my thyroid health. Ironically, sounds counterproductive, but I feel so much better not trying to get blood out of a stone.
Not only do I have more energy and motivation, but mentally I'm not dreading going to the gym and beating myself up over my poor performance. I didnt realise how much it was getting me down. We are often our own harshest critics.
You already have an active job, so hats off for exercising as well, but you may be inadvertently doing harm to yourself trying to do both whilst far from being optimally medicated.
You'll be using up energy you simply dont have and something has to give. It might be time to give the gym a miss and work on getting your thyroid health improved. The gym will still be there, for both of us 😄
Hi fullban I’m definitely no expert, nut your TSH is a bit above range. Once we’re diagnosed and on levothyroxine TSH is typically at the lower end of the scale or even below for some of us. If it were me and I had the symptoms you describe a I’d be talking to my GP about increasing my dose to see if it helps with symptoms and I’d be aiming to get my T4 well into range. You look like you have a lot of room to increase your T4 as a first step before considering T3. There will be experts here to advise on nutrition as you might want to look at things like Folate. Under treated hypothyroidism can give you elevated cholesterol or triglycerides - increasing dose of T4 might help but hopefully you can get some good nutrition and exercise advice here too. Good luck and don’t let anyone fob you off that your TSH and T4 is fine.
Retest thyroid and vitamin levels in another 2-3 months
When were vitamin D and ferritin levels tested
Are you currently taking any vitamin D?
If yes….how much
Next test after increasing
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
TSH should be under 2 as an absolute maximum when on levothyroxine
If symptoms of hypothyroidism persist despite normalisation of TSH, the dose of levothyroxine can be titrated further to place the TSH in the lower part of the reference range or even slightly below (i.e., TSH: 0.1–2.0 mU/L), but avoiding TSH < 0.1 mU/L. Use of alternate day dosing of different levothyroxine strengths may be needed to achieve this (e.g., 100 mcg for 4 days; 125 mcg for 3 days weekly).
Most people when adequately treated on just levothyroxine, will have Ft4 at least 60-70% through range
my test for everything was last week and no not been taking any supplements at all until last friday when my doc seen the results im on folic acid daily now along with the usual 125mg levo.
due to see the doc tomorrow over the other results.
Thorne Basic B recommended vitamin B complex that contains folate, but they are large capsules. (You can tip powder out if can’t swallow capsule) Thorne can be difficult to find at reasonable price, should be around £20-£25. iherb.com often have in stock. Or try ebay
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 5-7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
In week before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg)
Post discussing how biotin can affect test results
fullban you have to wonder how competent docs or their staff are at reading blood results your TSH 5.4/l normal 0.27 - 4.2 etc. If results are presented in that format with the word normal right next to your result no wonder things get missed! To be absolutely clear it should say normal range is 0.27- 4.2
In this day and age you would think the NHS systems could immediately flag in red any under or over range results. We have people on here who were told TSH 100 is normal!!
i just came back from the doctors 1st off it was a "health consultant" i seen and didnt know until half way through the consultation.
she was asking what i drank smoked the usual i told her twice maybe 3#three times a month i drink and am a non smoker also that i eat pretty ok and go the gym etc
asked me about processed foods steaks which i do eat quite often she said i need to cut down on them to maybe once a month! thats when i showed what the replies i have had from here and asked about upping my thyroxine she didnt like what id showed her an i could tell she was hiding the fact. thats when she said she cant she isnt a doctor....i thought what a waste of time this is!
she said she was going to ask the doctor to give me a phonecall appointment because i asked for one as i didnt wanna take more time off work.
i dont understand why my meds didnt get automatically upped when they automatically prescribed me folic acid because it was low but also my thyroxine was low too but they never bothered with that ,they just assume i live a unhealthy lifestyle.
consult terminated due to abrupt manner from pt towards me, (from the onset). pt wanted an increase in his thyroxine medication and when i told him i wasn't able to do this he became abrupt saying that hes only interested in this. i confirmed to him that i was here to advise that he had an elevation in his chol levels and i could talk about how to reduce this, again his manner was abrupt and he told me that hes not interested, i replied by telling that i am ending the consult as he was being disrepectful and abrupt, also advising him that i would liase with GC to rv meds
task sent to GC
This is what she said about my appointment 🤣 cannot believe how upset she is!
All I wanted is my thyroid levels back at optimum levels then if there is a problem with my cholesterol that’s when I’d address it it’s logical!! Can’t stand theses people.
If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid."
I have finally spoken to the doctor and she was really good to be fair ☺️ I’ve had my Levo upped to 150mg from 125mg and continue taking folic acid for three months then having my bloods done again.
I’m going to make an effort to better my diet always room for that haha but hoping my symptoms become better over a few weeks we will see.
I will be looking at folate and b12 supplements to help to need more research but can’t thank you all enough.
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