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...
Hello Friends,
I have left my former endo who told me to come back in 12 months and saw a new doctor. He ran labs as shown below. I understand that my T4 and T3 are still on the low side. He didn't up my Levo prescription at this time, but said that I should come back in 3 months for a re-test which certainly beats 12 months.
Also, he cranked up my Vitamin D supplement dosage from the 2,000 units per day suggested by the endo to a prescription 50,000 units per week. On Oct. 7, my Vitamin D was 20.3: ng/mL with a range of 30.0 - 100.
My main concern at this point is my antibodies level. This indicates how aggressively my immune system is working on destroying my thyroid gland. Correct? Would ya'll recommend some sources of information for how to try to get my immune system under control?
November 3, 2015 Labs:
TSH: 3.14 range 0.45 - 5.50 ulU/mL
T4: .95 range .75 - 2.00 ng/dL
T3: 3.2 range 2.4 - 4.5 pg/mL (first time T3 has been tested)
T peroxidias Ab (antibodies): Over 1,000 range 0.0 - 60.0
Intraoperative PTH: 48.4 range 14.0 - 72.0/mL
I have left my former endo who told me to come back in 12 months and saw a new doctor. He ran labs as shown below. I understand that my T4 and T3 are still on the low side. He didn't up my Levo prescription at this time, but said that I should come back in 3 months for a re-test which certainly beats 12 months.
Also, he cranked up my Vitamin D supplement dosage from the 2,000 units per day suggested by the endo to a prescription 50,000 units per week. On Oct. 7, my Vitamin D was 20.3: ng/mL with a range of 30.0 - 100.
My main concern at this point is my antibodies level. This indicates how aggressively my immune system is working on destroying my thyroid gland. Correct? Would ya'll recommend some sources of information for how to try to get my immune system under control?
November 3, 2015 Labs:
TSH: 3.14 range 0.45 - 5.50 ulU/mL
T4: .95 range .75 - 2.00 ng/dL
T3: 3.2 range 2.4 - 4.5 pg/mL (first time T3 has been tested)
T peroxidias Ab (antibodies): Over 1,000 range 0.0 - 60.0
Intraoperative PTH: 48.4 range 14.0 - 72.0/mL
I'm sorry you're being dismissed. It disgusts me that we as patients have to fight so hard to get adequate treatment.
TSH 0.55 (ref range) 0.40-4.50
FT4 0.7 0.8-1.8
FT3 2.6 2.3-4.2
I have a feeling that it's definitely the hashimotos that wreaks havoc. My sister in law is 10 yrs older than me. She had almost all her thyroid removed as a young woman due to a benign nodule. She takes Synthroid ( quite a high dose, 180 I believe) She has zero hair loss, no anxiety. So I think the high antibodies contribute a lot to the god awful symptoms of hashi's..just my personal observation.
Free T4 -10.00% That's 10% BELOW the bottom of the range
Free T3 15.79% That's only 16% above the bottom of the range
To make things a bit clearer - Most people feel well when:
Free T4 is in the upper 1/4 of the range or 75-100%
Free T4 is in the upper 1/2 of the range or 50%-100%
You are scraping rock bottom. I'm not sure how you're functioning. When my levels dropped that low...I was practically bald and absolutely couldn't function.
Your doctor is going strictly by TSH, and that's not going to make you any better I'm afraid.
What do you suggest? I realize it's a suggestion..but if you were in my shoes what would you take? More Armour, an addition of T4 in the form of Synthroid?
My endo who comes highly recommended and is a very comprehensive guy in comparison to the other moron of an endo, is delighted with these numbers. He prescribes Armour, not easy to find in these parts. I can see myself that the Frees are awfully low..
I am English by birth, US citizen for many years.. now live in the Florida. I lived in Manhattan where my husband worked for 18 years, it would probably be easier to find a competent endo there..who knows? In Italy where my SIL lives, (my husband is Italian) there's only Levo, no endo thinks of prescribing T3.. It's such a struggle, they all seem to be married to TSH!
ONLY an endo would be satisfied with those numbers. Ugh. I'm so sorry sovgrateful. You have a TSH worshipper for a doctor. :(
See, when on armour - and I know many say it's the "be all -end all" of drugs, but it's not so much -what- you take as it is "Is what you're taking best for you?" In YOUR case, maybe armour isn't the best route to go? Would the Endo (see that word sticks in my throat) be open to prescribing synthroid AND cytomel? That way you can adjust either level independently.
Armour has a higher Free T3 to Free T4 ratio than humans need, and the higher Free T3 will result in a lower TSH . But, it will lower it before you actually "feel" better and have adequate levels of Free T3 and Free T4. (I won't go into all the why's and studies here) and there's lots of other reasons armour may not be the answer for YOU .
If you feel better on synthroid...why not ask of the doc will give you synthroid and if he/she would consider giving you cytomel? If he/she isn't comfortable with cytomel...then ask if you can optimzie your Free T4 first...then address Free T3 later on down the line?
Right now, IMHO, your biggest problem is not having enough Free T4 (energy/metabolism). Once you get enough of that you might actually convert it adequately...if you don't, then we can look at adding cytomel for Free T3 (thinking/brainfog).
Another thing you might consider is asking your endo (cough cough), to run a full thyroid panel on you with the full monty on thyroid antibodies in addition to Free T4/Free T3.
See, there's a small subset of people who have Hashimoto's that absolutely cannot tolerate bio-identical hormones. One reason for this is that a small subset of people with Hashimotos produce antibodies not only to their thyroid tissue (TPO and TG), but also to their own thyroid hormones (T4 and T3). These patients do worse with bio-identical sources because they increased the source of the autoimmune attack. Again, it's not everyone with Hashi's that has this problem...but some do. You may be one of them.
Again, it's just my opinion, but if I were in your shoes working with an endo...that's what I would do. Ask for synthroid...and a full work up.
If you want more information (and I'm not sure I could process it with your levels) here's some articles on that subject:
http://chriskresser.com/5-thyroid-patterns-that-wont-show-up-on-standard-lab-tests/
http://chriskresser.com/3-steps-to-choosing-the-right-thyroid-hormone/
I have the same opinion as you on the endocrinology world..but he was my last resort..when I prayed that Armour would be the answer to all my problems. I will try to persuade him, I do not feel better these last 3 years on Armour, my hair is thinner..anxiety more or less unchanged.
Once again, he looks at the TSH and is happy with all..
I can try to persuade him to maybe change me back to Syn. adding Cytomel..I know it won't be easy, as he's a true believer in Armour, and for so many people it's the answer.. Thank you so much for your input, and knowledge..it's such a comfort to communicate with someone who "knows" My question is: why didn't you take up medicine..it's your calling for sure.. I will read the links.. Thank you again MB..
Bridget