Hypothyroidism Support Group
Hypothyroidism is the disease state caused by insufficient production of thyrohormone by the thyroid gland. There are several distinct causes for chronic hypothyroidism, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism following radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism. Advanced hypothyroidism may cause severe complications, the most serious one of which is...
FInally had my free T's done not just my TSH. Please help me decipher them........
TSH 1.62 mIU/L 0.35-5.00
Free Triidothyronine 4.9 pmol/L 3.5-6.5
Free Thyroxine 15 pmol/L 9-23
Anti-tpo 228(HI)
TSH 1.62 mIU/L 0.35-5.00
Free Triidothyronine 4.9 pmol/L 3.5-6.5
Free Thyroxine 15 pmol/L 9-23
Anti-tpo 228(HI)
Contd:
Anti-tpo 228(HI)
Anti-tpo 228(hi)
Anti-tg 431
Try listing with just spaces and where there's a less than or greater than sign just type less than or greater than.
And Again:
Anti-tpo 228 ( HI) less than 35
Anti-tg 431 ( HI) less than 40
Whew!
So I am trying to arm myself with as much information as I can before my second endo appt on Monday. When I saw him the first time he agreed to put me on Armour 30 after being on Synthroid for 5 months, but when I asked him to test my free t3 he said " well we usually don't test the ft3"
Yikes.
I was feeling so much better on the Armour ( Thyroid here in Canada) but then the weakness came back so I asked his office if I could up my dose to 45. Felt wonderful again for a while then weak again so I self upped my dose to 60. Hopefully he isn't upset with me :/ I had read most endos leave the upping way too long which is why I did it myself, it's two months since I saw him last.
Anyways I feel I might be in for a fight if he "usually" doesn't test the FT3s. If I knew the ranges I should be in maybe he might listen to me? I will be printing off lots of info I have already gotten off this site ( thank you!!) and hopefully he will read it.
Oh ps: I was told I have slight Hashis?
Anyone? :)
OK...easier stuff first - as you already recognize, the levels of antibodies we have really only confirms whether or not we have autoimmune thyroid disease. Each of us has a different response to antibody levels - some people will have severe hypothyroidism with lower levels and others will have mild hypothyroidism with higher levels. This mostly applies to the Anti-TG antibodies.
The anti-TPO antibodies are actually markers of thyroid inflammation - the higher the level, the greater the inflammation.
Both types of antibodies destroy thyroid cells but, again, the patient's response can vary.
OK...a few comments about your thyroid function tests and more to follow once you answer a question.
Firstly, per the treatment section of the Armour website (see paragraph 2):
http://www.armourthyroid.com/treatment.aspx
....people who are optimally medicated on Armour will have suppressed (below-range) TSH. This usually translates into TSH .02 or lower.
You can see that your TSH is much higher than that so, you definitely need more of something - Armour or possibly the addition of T4 in the form of thyroxine (explanation to follow :)
The hypothyroidism treatment guidelines indicate that people who are optimally medicated will have FreeT4 (free thyroxine) levels near the high end of the range and FreeT3 (free triiodothyronine) levels in the upper third of the range.
Based upon your lab's ranges, this means FreeT4 around 21-23 and FreeT3 5.75 - 6.5
Now, the only way for us to know exactly where you are at will depend on the answer to the following question: how much time was there between your last Armour dose and the actual time of the blood draw?
To be continued.....
My last dose would have been 12 hours before my bloodwork was done. And I split my dosages up so it was 15 of Armour.
Thank you so much for letting me know my ranges, I was having a heck if a time trying to figure out the math.
So, that means your FreeT3/T4 levels are your average (vs. peak) levels. This is the most useful information possible.
I'm sure you can see that both need help....
Will you be asking the doctor for the dose increase you obviously need?
There's a good chance the dose increase will optimize your FreeT3 level.
If you still have symptoms at this point, they would most likely be due to the fact that your FreeT4 level isn't high enough.
Since Armour is made from porcine thyroid, it has a larger proportion of T3 than T4 compared to human thyroid. Therefore, people taking Armour will have a FreeT3 level that is proportionately higher in the range than their FreeT4 level.
Most people are fine with this as long as the FreeT4 level is above mid-range......and yours is above mid-range right now (congrats :)
Still, some people need their FreeT4 level higher than that. Therefore, if you have an optimal Free T3 level *after* the dose increase and your FreeT4 level doesn't fall within the "most commonly comfortable" range of levels I shared (21-23), it would make sense to ask your doctor to add some T4 in the form of synthetic levothyroxine.
I will say this much - right now, your labs show that you stand a good chance of being optimized on Armour only and that's awesome! Best of luck to you with that!
Just so you know, if your lab changes its ranges (or you use a different lab with different ranges), the math would need to be done again.
I'll gladly do it for you - it's second nature to me.
I am definitly asking for a dose increase, maybe 15 with an opportunity to increase it when and if I feel it's needed.
This appointment couldn't come fast enough for me, I've been having some increasingly bad depression and this headache.....! I can't live with this for very long! I've also been getting dizzy spells and thought it was just the heat, today I woke up with what I'm sure is vertigo happening.
I hope hope hope this endo will listen to me and treat my symptoms not my numbers.
You know what?
It would probably be OK if doctors treated by the numbers.....as long as they achieved for their patients the types of numbers healthy people have.
The information I share on here comes from thyroid textbooks.
The optimal levels I shared with you are the types of levels healthy people have.....and the types of levels thyroid textbooks indicate should be achieved for people taking thyroid hormone replacement.
And, if all else fails, you could always print out the treatment section from the Armour website.....that alone shows the endo that you need a dose increase. Your TSH is way too high for someone taking Armour.
And, yes, you will get better :)
http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/bloodtests.htm
" TPO antibodies can be evidence of tissue destruction, such as Hashimoto's disease...."
"Its estimated that TPO antibodies are detectable in approximately 95 percent of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and 50 to 85 percent of Graves disease patients. The concentrations of antibodies found in patients with Graves' disease are usually lower than in patients with Hashimoto's disease."
Also, you mentioned having vertigo. Is that still going on, and have you seen a doctor about it?
It seems to me that hypothyroidism causes poor appetite and weight gain which makes people want to diet, and a dieting person may not get sufficient nutrition and without eating a reasonable amount of food with enough electrolytes and fiber to help with fluid balance... Here is what the wise geek has to say about vertigo:
"The most common reasons for feeling tired and dizzy are malnutrition, dehydration, and the common cold or influenza. Anemia may also be responsible."
I was going to put the link in where I found this and add another quote, but I accidentally closed the tab and couldn't find where I had been before...
I also have MS and have had vertigo associated with that too.
My endo today did confirm the Hashis.
You're probably already aware of this, but if you have one auto-immune disease (like MS) you're likely to develop another (like Hashi's).
Sorry you have Hashi's (and MS) but glad you are getting answers. Hope you feel better soon
MB
And yes I wasn't surprised I developed another autoimmune disease, thankfully my ms is mild and hashis can be treated. I feel very grateful to be doing as well as I am :)