Hi I’ve just had my thyroid results .. I’m not feeling too good have neuropathy flare 😞
I work NHS and I’ve asked about my results and they seem to think maybe my T3 is a little high for me as this neuropathy started soon after my increase ? I have also got a high ferritin which the GP thinks I shouldn’t worry about ?? And I know high ferritin can also cause neuropathy 😞 my B12 has stayed at 2000 since 2016 no supplements or injections since 2015
These are my Thyroid results
12 hour gap from meds and fasting
On 75 levothyroxine
And 30 ..T3
Result T3
T3 5.9 (3.1-6.8)
T4 14.5 (12-22)
TSH 0.01 ( 0.27-4.2
many thanks xx
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lynnwin
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Looking back your fT4 has been very low since starting T3 and even now it is only 25% which would make me feel lousy... perhaps you need to increase your T4 back to 100mcg which kept you within range before starting T3... you are on a pretty large dose of T3 with low T4 which wouldn't suit many 🤷♀️
It's T4 that converts to T3 just so we don't confuse others 😬
Yes, I was the same but just because you don't convert doesn't necessarily mean you need to add alot of T3, many Endo's reduce T4 too much when adding T3 and it makes you feel awful. It seems even as poor converters most of us need to keep fT4 above 50% 🤷♀️
I'm on 800mcg T4 per week which is 100mcg higher than before starting T3 and find that 15mcg in a single dose works much better than 25mcg of T3 and this keeps my fT4 at 50% and fT3 80%
Obviously different for everyone so just an example but not an unusual ratio
Yes sorry I did correct it below my original post 🤦♀️ so are you taking more than a 100mcg a day of T4 ? 800 a week ??
Maybe I can try 75/100 T4 on alternate days ?
I take my T3 in one dose in the morning some say split it but with working I think I will forget to take it
it’s hard to know what’s going on ?
I’ve been both hyperthyroid and now hypo .. started with Hashimotos thyroiditis .. was hyper had to have carbimazole.. then euthyroid for a few years the the antibodies attacked my thyroid more and I ended up on levo
my neuropathy is really bad it’s trying to work out what is going on ? Xxxxxx
I take 100mcg 5 days and 150mcg 2 days I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is sensitive to T4 but it doesn't bother me... I supposed I ought to quarter the extra 100mcg but meh if it ain't broke... 🙃
I was like you 100mcg top of range fT4 bottom of range fT3
The trouble is you don't want to be changing two things at once, not really a fan of RT3 testing doesn't really tell you anything useful and your T4 dose is low so unlikely much is being dumped to RT3
I think when getting our hands on T3 we think it is the cure all, I tried the lower T4 dose and felt awful and took months to recover 😕 lesson learned a decent level of fT4 is still important!
I did RT4 ages ago but no one could tell me what the results meant 🤷♀️ it was someone on a FB group that suggested doing a RT3 in case it’s not getting in my cells ? I’m getting so confused with it all .. and your right I thought when I got T3 I had won the lottery and all would be good .. how wrong was I 😞
Their are a few T3 only people on the FB groups .. xxxx
I'd be slightly wary of the people on FB as often they take T3 as a training aid or to lose weight and seem to take them like smarties, it's powerful stuff. People on here that take it often have had a terrible reaction to T4 but I'm thinking that wasn't the case for you just a poor converter?
You'll get there you just need to hone in on the dose that suits you and I'm afraid that takes a bit of time and patience 🙃
Hi slowdragon I’m taking Accord it’s the only one that suits me and Thybon henning in the T3 as can’t cope with the fillers in other brands .. I was recommend to do the RT3 because my T3 was near top of range I was on 25 T3 but from the 8th of June I increased the T3 to 30 reason being I looked on my prescription and it was 30 a day and I was taking 25 makes me wonder if I shouldn’t have increased it ? My T4 was under range at 11 and my GP said increase to 75 which I did that was from 8th May ..
My vitamin D is 97.8 so good My folate is 6.5 but no ranges on the result ?? Just states <3ug deficiency.. My neuropathy is just so bad 😞 xxxx
It’s high Ft4 (levothyroxine) that can be converted to RT3
12 hour gap from meds and fasting
On 75 levothyroxine And 30 ..T3
T3 5.9 (3.1-6.8)
T4 14.5 (12-22)
Ft4 result is false high result if you only left 12 hours between last dose Levo and test
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime
adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
So your Ft4 result would have been even lower if had tested correctly …..possibly below range
Suggest you INCREASE levothyroxine to 100mcg and 75mcg on alternate days
Retest in 8 weeks
You may find you can reduce T3 by 5mcg AFTER next blood test
Meanwhile work on improving B vitamins
Folate is far too low
Many (most?) patients on Levo, or especially if on T3 as well…..we almost always need to supplement vitamin B complex continuously to maintain GOOD B vitamins
supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid)
Igennus B complex popular option. Nice small tablets. Most people only find they need one per day. But a few people find it’s not high enough dose and may need separate methyl folate couple times a week
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
Sorry slowdragon really appreciate your knowledge and help but I was told where to buy the RT3 it’s all confusing me now 😞 is this just a false test been advertised? I’ve posted it but blocked the company xxxx
Blue Horizon are a good company and the test is available, just not much use, there are many tests like that around and if people are willing to pay they will provide the test
I second what TiggerMe says - I was top of range FT3 but didn’t start to feel great until I increased my FT4 from low in range to top of range.
So I’m one more vote for optimizing FT4 up towards top quartile… even when FT3 appears optimal. (I’m only talking from the pov of someone on combo therapy, not t3 only)
I am 112 T4 and 10 T3 daily.
I also can’t say enough about optimizing those key vitamins/minerals - D3, Ferritin, Folate, B12!
Ps - I would also heavily weight what you read on this forum about rT3. Whereas there are varying opinions… In all practicality the responses you have above are ones I listen to. It’s good to educate ourselves on everything, and of course there are nuances to everything and value to be found. But I would say the majority of us here get close to better without caring a bit about RT3. That’s my opinion… there are others.
Also - your low t4 was o ly 12 hours since last dose! Would be even lower if you’d waited 24 hours. I haven’t read all this thread in detail but it seems a T4 increase (in isolation) is worth a try!
Actually that was my mistake it was 24 hours not 12 🤦♀️ sorry I mislead slowdragon too .. I don’t know where I got 12 hours from definitely 24 hours last dose .. Just one thing if I increase T4 and the reason I’m on T3 is because I’m not converting won’t that end up at RT3 ?
Thank you so much 🩷 yeah good sound advice .. My Ferritin is way too high sitting at 506 when top of range is 150
My D is good at 97.8
My B12 has been stuck at 2000 since 2016 😞
Slowdragon advised folate too low so I’ve ordered some .. maybe that will sort my high B12 ? I’m normally deficient in B2 also just waiting g for blood results ..
I just don’t understand why another group pushing me to test RT3 ? My dose is low of levothyroxine.. Thank you for your message xxxxxx
I’m not a b12 expert, but had some family experience with high b12 recently.
To me, your cbc doesn’t flag any obvious root cause, and one would think that after 8 years if it was an early indicator of something else, that something else might have manifested by now?!
Your kidney and liver numbers look fine, but there’s some indications of low level inflammation… but hard to say what role that’s playing. I still don’t think rt3 is a useful test, but I also think it can reflect inflammation (?) so even with your low t4 maybe it would be elevated because of your inflammation. Even if it did I don’t think it would tell you anything about why and what to do about it.
I will note that SDs link to paradoxical b12 deficiency is really informative. With your comment on B2, have you ever looked into this?
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