Okay, really? I just had a novel of a post and the bottom 80% disappeared. Super. Well here are the rest of my results. I'll retype my whole story again later.

TPO antibodies

Seriously??? again? I give up. I'll try again later :(

This site has a quirk that doesn't allow for posting of certain special symbols.

I suspect you were trying to type a "less than" sign and suggest you type out those words instead.

And, sometimes it doesn't hurt to create a Word document that you copy and paste - especially if you have much information to share.

Ah, I think you are right. Ok here it goes again:

Tpo antibodies: less than 34 Result: 157
Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies: less than 20 Result: 592.2
Ferritin: 80-150 Result: 68
Vitamin D: 60-100 Result: 25.2

So my NP says my TSH is way too high, obviously, but she thinks my Frees and Reverse 3 look pretty good. Personally I thought my frees were a bit low still, but in any case, it's pretty clear I need more medication! Also, obviously got a positive diagnoses of Hashi's.

My doc actually likes to prescribe Armour, but she said recent research has been showing them that it doesn't work as well for patients with high antibody counts because the NDT is so close to what your body produces that the antibodies can keep feeding off it, so she is keeping me on synthetic for now. So she raised my levo. from 50 to 100 mcg (does this seem like a big jump? I was expecting just to go to 75 for now, but if I don' have any awful side effects from the increase then I won't complain) and added 5mcg/ day (so split one 5mcg pill between morning and afternoon) of cytomel.

She also suggested a big vitamin D supplement, and we'll check that again in a few months, plus selenium and B12 for energy. My iron isn't awful but she said she likes to see it up around 80, so suggested added more iron-rich foods, but not necessarily a supplement. She also STRONGLY encouraged me to go gluten-free. I wasn't surprised, but am not looking forward to it. I plan to gorge myself on my favorite gluten-filled foods and cry for the next week and then bite the bullet and cut it all out. She told me "the weight will probably drop right off of you!" at which I laughed a little. That would be some kind of miracle!

While I was there today I also had blood sugar, insulin, B12, cholesterol and a metabolic panel done so we can get a better idea of what's going on overall.

So that's my novel. Does everything sound right to you guys? Any suggestions? She said she doesn't need to see me again for 3 months but I didn't make the appointment yet, so unless I'm feeling awesome I'll just go ahead and make an appointment in 6 or 8 weeks and she can deal with it.

Thanks for your help, all!

It sounds like youre on the right path...I've never heard about the research associated with Armour...but if the Levo is helping you that's all that matters. As far as going gluten free, it is hard but you will get use to it and you will feel better. I was very diligent about not eating gluten for about a year and felt much better (most of the time). I didn't have weight issues either. As soon as I fell off the gluten free wagon for a few weeks because of laziness really, the weight issues came about. I gained about 10 lbs in one month. I have once again decided to stay away from carbs and sugar as much as possible and eat a gluten free/paleo diet. As of last week Im giving this diet my all again, as it did help me greatly. I recall mentioning in another thread that eliminating gluten completely brought my antibodies down significantly.

Yeah, the ampersand and less than greater than signs cause it to terminate the post. It's a glitch.

So, here's your numbers:

Free T4
Range: 0.820 -1.770
Result: 1.210
Percent of Range: 41.05%
Target Range: 1.39-1.77 (using 60-100% of range)
(possibly slightly over 1.77 depending on you)

Free T3 2.300 -4.200
Result: 3.300
Percent of Range: 52.63%
Target Range: 3.44 3.82 (using 60-100% of range)

Most people feel well if the Free T4 is 75%-slightly over 100% of the range - depending on your makeup (how you feel).

Most people feel well if the Free T3 is in the upper portion of that range (60-100% or there-abouts).

So, you see you have quite a ways to go before you reach optimal.

To find YOUR optimal, you need to keep a symptom diary and keep track of your labs.

I have a spreadsheet (but paper works fine too) that list my labs by date along with my symptoms so I can track them together.

CD is the resident expert on labs, so perhaps she'll chime in here as well.

Your TPO test is positive.

Your Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies was also positive.

Suprise! you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. ;)

No, 50-100, isn't a big jump with your labs IMHO. Adding cytomel wasn't a bad idea either. Plus adding the supplements and going gluten free. Wow, you had a good visit.

You plan to go back in 6-8 weeks is a good one...unless you're feeling AWESOME. I sincerely hope you are. :)

Thanks for the helpful replies. Even though I may have a ways to go yet, I'm glad nothing came back looking totally awful or unexpected. My NP seems to have a good grip on what she's doing, besides wanting patients to wait 3 months between visits. She told me it takes about that long for levels to really stabilize, which might be true to some extent, but I think it all gets in your system enough in 6 weeks or so to know whether or not your current dosage is likely to work for you. With my first dosage I felt terrible from 2 weeks onward. Obviously it wasn't going to get any better by waiting it out. I hardly think she will turn me away if I just show up again in 6-8 weeks, especially if I don't feel well, so I won't worry about it for now.