Um...no wonder you feel like crap!

I did some quick math and here's the thing - your TSH should always be at 1 or below if you're being treated (synthroid/armour/etc)

In March it was not below one and in May it was 5.19!!!! Ridiculous. There's NOTHING normal about that!!!!

Then there's your Free T4.

March
Test Range Result % of range Where it should be
Free T4 10.000- 25.000 11.160 7.73% 19.00- 25.00

May
Free T4 10.000 - 25.000 13.400 22.67% 19.00 -25.00

In March it was 11.16 sitting at 7.73% of range. IN May it actually went up, but only to 13.4 or 22.67% of range.

To feel good - most people need a Free T4 of 60-100% of range which would put you at 19-25 in order to feel "good".

I would love to see your free T3...I'll bet it's in the toilet too.

Find another doctor! Fast! You're NOT fine. You're hypothyroid.

Even if this idiot was going by TSH ALONE (which I do not recommend) he should have caught a clue!!!

Weird question, but do you live in the U.S.? Because those ranges do not look anywhere like what i'm used to seeing here lol. Your TSH is bouncing back and forth, which shows that either you are fluctuating badly , or your doc is not regulating your medications and doses properly. I have no idea how 6.0TSH is considered normal, even in the old outdated range, it was 5.0 at the most. It would be interesting to see your cortisol results, by the numbers. If this person thinks a 5.7 tsh is normal... there is a problem with either their eyes or their brain.
I'd definitely ask your naturopath what she/he thinks about those numbers. maybe your reference range is different than the ones we use?

MButterfly, thank you for the breakdown. I don't know these breakdowns all that well, except for the TSH. I knew it was high, but as I said, the ranges for my lab are really odd, which makes me fall within "normal". I spoke with a Dr friend of mine a couple months back, and she said that she was taught to medicate once the TSH gets to 10.0!!!!!!! I'm not kidding!

AshleyPooh, I am in Canada. I don't know what ranges we subscribe to here nationally, but I read the ranges right off my tests. You're right, I am fluctuating badly, which from what I've read makes me subclinical hypothyroid, or hypothyroid type 2.

My cortisol is 106.3 (range 25.0-220.0)

I will see my naturopath tomorrow. At least she's treating me...not seeing any results yet, but it's only been a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your thoughts! It's uplifting to have someone on my side after my day today!

WOW....that explains it. You're in Canada - so the UK college of medicine is at work there.

There's a riotous debate going on with UK Endo-Criminologists who changed their "starting point of abnormal" at greater than 10. If I had a TSH of 10...I wouldn't be able to get out of bed. Frankly, at 6 I had serious lasting health issues.

Find a doctor who will treat you. If a naturopath can rx synthroid or armour - fine, if not...you're not going to get any better without replacement therapy. So, you need a doctor who will prescribe meds.

Your TSH is unreasonable and getting worse. Your Free T4 is remarkably low. I'm not sure how you are functioning, frankly.

When I typed in the ranges, etc it was nice and neat - then my spacing went wonky when I posted it. Sorry. Let me try to make it clearer:

March
Test: Free T4
Range 10.000- 25.000
Result 11.16
% of Target Range 7.73%
What 60-100% of range looks like: 19.00- 25.00 is where you should be to feel good.

May
Free T4
Result: 13.4
Range: 10-25
% of Range: 22.67%
Where you should be to feel good: 19-25 is 60-100% of range

Most people need to be at 60-100% of the target range to feel well for Free T4.
For Free T3, most people need to be at 50-100% of the target range to feel well.
If you're on treatment the TSH should always be below 1. If not on treatment, the TSH should be no greater than 2.

Just so you know, these numbers are based on textbooks...not something someone just made up. The TSH test is not being used correctly by physicians and is keeping most people sick.

I hope you get help soon.

Thanks MButterfly. It's good to know these things.

One thing I've been wondering is how other people function at their levels. I might ask that in a separate post. I'd be interested to know.

My boyfriend thinks I should find another Dr. I think I'm going to do that. I'm glad I have a naturopath though...I'll be interested to hear what she thinks of my labs. I see her this afternoon.

Wishing you the best at your appt.

Thanks bm55...I am interested to hear what she has to say.

Yes hon, hopefully, she will treat you with some replacement med. Your tsh is showing your frees are way too low for you. The girls are right. You are hypothyroid.

So I just came home from my appointment with my naturopath. Had an interesting conversation with her...

She completely agrees, I am hypo. Then she said she was actually glad that my MD didn't medicate me, which then forced me to ask why. Of course there's the side that says that this allows her to treat me and not my MD, but she said some interesting stuff.

She said that getting hormone replacement therapy provides the hormone for my body, and it means that I have to be on this med for pretty much my whole life. But in terms of how she treats me, she "re-sets" my system, and gives me supplements to help my system "learn" how to produce the hormones on its own. I see her now for 6 weeks, and then she gives my body a break so it can work on its own for a bit, and let it plateau. Then she works on me again a bit down the road, maybe less frequently than weekly. And slowly over a period of time (over a year or a bit more) my body learns how to take care of itself. I may need "maintenance" but this way I am not reliant on hormone replacement for the rest of my life.

I have to say, I'm not yet convinced. But I will trust it in. I haven't got anything else working for me at the moment. So I am just going to go with it and see how it goes. Just thought I'd share that perspective with everyone...

Here's to being hopeful....