Hypothyroidism Test Results

[Di-gfree]

Hi, I got my thyroid test results today, and if you don't mind having a look (I'm in Canada, so the values may differ from the US):

TSH 4.86 (Normal range 0.34 - 4.82mIU/L) - So, I'm high.

FREE T4 10.99 (Normal range 9 - 24 mIU/L)

FREE T3 4.4 (Normal range 3.5 - 6.5)

ANTI-TPO 155 (Normal is anything less than 40) - Looks like I'm very high.

So, I've got hypothyroidism. The doctor doesn't want to wait until my thyroid has been attacked much longer, so, I'm starting on a low dose of thyroid hormone. Through information I've read here, I hear the synthetic isn't that well tolerated, so I'm going with the natural thyroid hormone from pigs. I'm not sure what the name of the product is because I haven't gotten the prescription yet. I want to read up on hypothyroidism here, first. I sure hope it makes me feel better.

Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. Like, where do I go from here. Just take the hormone and see what happens? I don't like having this, but it gives me some hope that I can feel better if I can regulate my thyroid.

[Ursa Major]

In fact, since you have the antibodies, your hypothyroidism is autoimmune and you should have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, I believe.

Your TSH is worse than you may think, as in reality, labs in Canada are woefully outdated on their ranges. Most specialists in the U.S. now consider anything above 2 to be too high and indicating hypothyroidism, never mind 4.82 still being normal!

Your FT4 is barely still in the 'normal' range, but in reality is very low and needs to come up.

In the U.S. your medication would likely be called Armour Thyroid, and you can buy the generic desiccated thyroid in the health food stores. Here they don't have Armour (haven't even heard of it, and isn't listed in their 'big book'), so they prescribe dessicated thyroid. I am glad that is what your doctor will prescribe.

You obviously need to start with low doses, but will need to go up in small increments to a regular dose (probably at least 120 mg a day) within a couple of months or so.

It would be a good idea for you to be tested for adrenal fatigue as well, because if your adrenal glands aren't working very well, then your thyroid medication can't do its job (the FT3 will pool in your blood, at which point your doctor will tell you that now you have gone hyperthyroid - that happened to me, but she was wrong).

But good luck in finding ANY doctor here in Canada who actually understands that. You may want to just go to the health food store and buy yourself adrenal supplements, or go to a naturopathic doctor to help you with that.

Check out this website Open Original Shared Link

Read, read and read more. They also explain about the adrenal glands. Don't expect your doctor (or even an endocrinologist) to know a thing about this.

[Di-gfree]

Thank you so much. It was because of reading this forum that I even learned I should be tested for more than just TSH. I was wondering about the anti-bodies, and I have seen Hasimoto

[Ursa Major]

There are others who would be able to answer those questions better than me. You may want to become a member at the stopthethyroidmadness site, and post your questions in the respective Hashimoto and adrenal forums. They are all very helpful there, and I don't know what I would have done without them.

[Chicklet]

Well I can't answer a whole lot but I can say that I have taken Synthroid sine finding out I have hypothyroid. The natural one is Armour here too I believe but am not positive on that. I need to ask my doctor about Hashimoto's and what, if any, is the difference. Hum.

I don't understand how the numbers work but find it interesting that the levels for normal are so different here and in the States, strange. On the dosage of Syntroid that I'm currently on I feel great and have been on this dosage for over a year, yah.

[Di-gfree]

That's a great website, Ursa Major. I printed out some information, and I'm going to bring it with me to the doctor next time.

On the dosage of Syntroid that I'm currently on I feel great and have been on this dosage for over a year, yah.

That's great to hear. Were your symptoms really bad beforehand? I'm so hoping I feel better.

[Di-gfree]

One more thing I should mention. I'm glad Ursa told me it is Hashimoto's. But, it's kind of scary that my doctor didn't realize exactly what it is. But, I guess that's to be expected when it comes to auto-immune disease and family doctors? I know I teach my doctor more about celiac than he teaches me, at times.

[Gemini]

Hi, I got my thyroid test results today, and if you don't mind having a look (I'm in Canada, so the values may differ from the US):

TSH 4.86 (Normal range 0.34 - 4.82mIU/L) - So, I'm high.

FREE T4 10.99 (Normal range 9 - 24 mIU/L)

FREE T3 4.4 (Normal range 3.5 - 6.5)

ANTI-TPO 155 (Normal is anything less than 40) - Looks like I'm very high.

So, I've got hypothyroidism. The doctor doesn't want to wait until my thyroid has been attacked much longer, so, I'm starting on a low dose of thyroid hormone. Through information I've read here, I hear the synthetic isn't that well tolerated, so I'm going with the natural thyroid hormone from pigs. I'm not sure what the name of the product is because I haven't gotten the prescription yet. I want to read up on hypothyroidism here, first. I sure hope it makes me feel better.

Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. Like, where do I go from here. Just take the hormone and see what happens? I don't like having this, but it gives me some hope that I can feel better if I can regulate my thyroid.

Di_gfree.......I can tell you of my experience and clear up some of the misconceptions that abound with the use of thyroid meds.

I went hypo long before I discovered the celiac disease. My thyroid was out of control and I began taking Armour. Probably a good medication for those with less severe forms of the disease or for those that do not have Hashi's. I took it for awhile but it was not enough to get my thyroid under control. When you have an autoimmune problem with the thyroid, it is much harder to keep under control and straying from the diet or stress can affect it. You also need to do a FULL thyroid panel and go more with the T3 and T4 numbers than the TSH. My TSH is suppressed now so I can bring the autoimmune reaction down. Originally, at diagnosis, my TSH was 7 and my TPO was 1200....40 was the normal range!

My doctor switched me to Levoxyl, which is the generic form of Synthroid. Very cheap to take and I guess the trick is that when your thyroid is going south, by switching meds it can jolt it into behaving. It took the synthetic med to bring my TPO down to 73....still not normal but a hell of a lot better than 1200. It is tolerated well and worked for me.

As for taking supplements, I would strongly not advise that. You need to get it under control with whatever med works for you. Taking supplements may affect your thyroid and make it harder to bring under control. It may cross react with the thyroid meds so stick with a plan with your doctor and get that taken care of first.

I will say that going gluten-free helped enormously so make sure your diet is tight. Mine will never come back but at least my thyroid isn't under full scale attack anymore. That website is very good for teaching people about the real way to treat thyroid disease but do not be put off by synthetic meds.....they worked well for me plus Levoxyl is about 20.00 per month.....cheap! You can start with Armour but it may not be enough and you may need to try another. Give it a couple of months but it will work and you will feel much better. I was dragging through life and the meds made a huge difference and it's important to get your thyroid working well as it affects just about every organ in your body. Good luck!

[georgie]

Hi Di_gfree, I can say you have Hashimotos Thyroid - which is an autoimmune attack on your thyroid. Autoimmune conditions are linked so its not surprising you have this form of low thyroid - as you have Celiac as well.

I have a link here to STTM's second page where she talks of Hashimotos. I have found it one of the best ways to describe what is happening and why those Thyroid Antibodies need to be suppressed.

Open Original Shared Link

There are 2 main schools of thought re Thyroid meds. T4 only synthetic meds or natural complete ( T4, T3, T2, T1 & calcitonin ) Thyroid meds. Some work for some people, some find they do better with natural. Either way - remember that if you try one and find you are not getting better - make sure you ask about other choices. Some people do fine with a bit of synthetic T3 added to their synthetic T4. Others find Armour is best.

Armour is a complete thyroid med so many find it does the best job of suppressing your own thyroid. I know my nodules and antibodies disappeared completely on Armour but didn't on T4/T3 combo. I have used both - there are advantages and diasadvantages to both but overall I say that Armour feels 'more natural' and kinder on the body. It is almost bio identical to our own thyroid ... and our own thyroid doesn't just produce T4 but all the others and I feel that is why Armour seems 'kinder'.

Armour has 36mcg T4 and 9mcg T3 in each grain ( 60mg). Forget the conversion charts that you may see to T4 meds. It doesn't seem to work that way. Let your body and tests for Frees and Antibodies be the guide. Used correctly it is perfect for Hashimotos.

Open Original Shared Link

And remember that if you have Coeliac - you may not always absorb all of what you are taking. So don't let a Dr stop you taking enough Armour. Normal dose is 2 - 5 grains ( 120 mg - 300 mg) and have heard of some that take even more than that. If you take too much you get hyper -high pulse, blood pressure etc -its pretty obvious- and in the 1900 - 1960s - that is all they used to do to work out the correct dose.

Also make sure your Dr tests your adrenal function. Thyroid meds should not be started unless you have had the adrenal checks done first. Its in the fine print of the Drs prescribing info ...gets missed quite often sadly. If you have adrenal insufficiency and start Thyroid meds - you may end up ill or they may not work. And if you start Armour - just start slowly and work up slowly to the dose you need

[Ursa Major]

As for taking supplements, I would strongly not advise that. You need to get it under control with whatever med works for you. Taking supplements may affect your thyroid and make it harder to bring under control. It may cross react with the thyroid meds so stick with a plan with your doctor and get that taken care of first.

The problem is, that if you have adrenal fatigue, your thyroid meds will NOT work. If your adrenal fatigue isn't too bad, taking dessicated adrenal from the health food store may be enough. But it is more likely that you need to take hydrocortisone for at least the first while to allow the thyroid meds to start working. Normally you can wean off the HC after a few weeks, once you have helped the adrenals along enough to function again.

That is why I am saying, see a good naturopathic doctor, who will guide you in all this. It is NOT likely that your doctor will know anything about the connection of adrenals and thyroid, and therefore won't be any help in figuring this out.

And even if you see an endocrinologist you may not get any help. I tried that, and it was a waste of time. That endo was more ignorant than my GP. And tons more arrogant, too, she treated me like crap.

I wished I wouldn't have to be my own doctor, because it is hard work and very frustrating at times. But I have no other choice if I want to function at all. I am only glad that I have support in my naturopathic doctor. Too bad that here in Canada he isn't allowed to prescribe normal meds. In Germany he would be able to prescribe anything any other medical doctor prescribes, if he wanted to!

[Di-gfree]

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me. Courtesy of Hashimoto, I

[Di-gfree]

(2nd part of my reply...)

A couple more things. Gemini, I totally agree with you that Hashimoto

[georgie]

Turns out my prolactin is high, as well. I read on the internet, that if it is hypothyroid-related, the prolactin will drop if I get the thyroid balanced out with the medication.

Have you checked your Pituitary ? High Prolactin is more a Pituitary problem I thought. www.pituitary.org Or go direct to this link. Open Original Shared Link

I think some more blood tests may be in order and before July 1 if you can.

What happens if the pituitary produces either too much or too little of these hormones?

An imbalance occurs, leading to more than a dozen disorders of the endocrine system. Deficiency of thyroid hormone, adrenal cortical hormone (cortisol) or antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) is rapidly life-threatening. In patients with abnormalities of the other hormones, quality of life is significantly compromised.

Open Original Shared Link

[Di-gfree]

Unbelievable that my doctor didn

[Chicklet]

Di_gfree' date='That's great to hear. Were your symptoms really bad beforehand? I'm so hoping I feel better.

Well it has been a long time, I moved in 1998 and had been tired and depressed but since I had gone through a stressful time I hadn't been worried about it. Also I wasn't gaining weight which is what I thought I had to look for (my mom has hypothyroid too ). I went to get my haircut and the hairstylist found bald spots. That got me to my doctor and that is when we found out I was hypo. Getting it adjusted to where I've been on the same dosage for this long has taken a long time. I think that being Gluten free helps, I've been gluten-free for about 4 years with a couple of challenges and some accidents.

[Gemini]

Unbelievable that my doctor didn

[Di-gfree]

Marie, I

[Di-gfree]

I'm worried. I'm having a burning-feeling and belching a couple hours after taking the first dose of the Thyroid by ERFA. Like I said, I was concerned that it wasn't gluten-free; and that's because the book the pharmacist showed me said it 'may contain starch'. So, I didn't buy it until two pharmacies found the same prescribing information put out by the company that said it was, indeed, gluten-free. But, I'm having symptoms that lead me to believe otherwise.

Could someone let me know if this brand is the brand they use, and if there is another brand available in Canada?

[Gemini]

Marie, I

[Di-gfree]

Thank you for answering my questions. Yes, I was finally diagnosed with celiac in 97 and I

[Gemini]

Thank you for answering my questions. Yes, I was finally diagnosed with celiac in 97 and I

[Di-gfree]

Thanks... again. I did feel better gut-wise for those first 10 years - just not 'over-all' wise (which I now think was Hashimoto-related). I didn't gain any weight, but I felt far better than before going gluten-free (when I did feel like you have, that I was going to die). But, like I said, I crashed a year ago (that 'I'm going to die' feeling returned), so something's going on - it could be the Hashimoto's that did it.

It's my second day on the medication, and it isn't going well. Too bad because my head feels more clear and I feel just a bit more 'vibrant' (?); but the acid reflux is doing me in. I can't sleep, so here I am on the computer. I emailed the drug company (ERFA) today to ask for a guarantee that the Thyroid hormone is gluten-free, but haven't received a response. I've only taken 15mg both days (was supposed to take 15 or 30, but after the first half-dose, I decided to go slowly since it's bothering my digestive tract). So, I think I'm going to stop taking it, and make a doctor's appointment tomorrow to discuss my medication options.

I've read so many stories how people don't fare well on the synthetics - you're taking Levoxyl and T3? I'm not sure if that's available here. I'm thinking maybe I should go on the synthetics, see if I heal up a bit, and try the dessicated at a later time once I can confirm the Gluten-free issue. I have to thank you yet again for helping me through this - I know I keep thanking you (!), but this stuff is really overwhelming me right now. I so look forward to the day when I can deal with stress better.

By the way, the refractory sprue possibility has entered my mind. The day I asked my doctor to make an appointment for an allergist, I did think maybe I should go with the endo, instead, but I have to admit avoiding the invasive procedures was a big factor. And before starting this medication, I had conquered the acid reflux, for the most part, and gained about 15 lbs, so thought I was on a slow-road to recovery. I was kind of oddly a bit relieved to hear about the Hashimoto's thinking this may be the answer.

[Gemini]

Thanks... again. I did feel better gut-wise for those first 10 years - just not 'over-all' wise (which I now think was Hashimoto-related). I didn't gain any weight, but I felt far better than before going gluten-free (when I did feel like you have, that I was going to die). But, like I said, I crashed a year ago (that 'I'm going to die' feeling returned), so something's going on - it could be the Hashimoto's that did it.

It's my second day on the medication, and it isn't going well. Too bad because my head feels more clear and I feel just a bit more 'vibrant' (?); but the acid reflux is doing me in. I can't sleep, so here I am on the computer. I emailed the drug company (ERFA) today to ask for a guarantee that the Thyroid hormone is gluten-free, but haven't received a response. I've only taken 15mg both days (was supposed to take 15 or 30, but after the first half-dose, I decided to go slowly since it's bothering my digestive tract). So, I think I'm going to stop taking it, and make a doctor's appointment tomorrow to discuss my medication options.

I've read so many stories how people don't fare well on the synthetics - you're taking Levoxyl and T3? I'm not sure if that's available here. I'm thinking maybe I should go on the synthetics, see if I heal up a bit, and try the dessicated at a later time once I can confirm the Gluten-free issue. I have to thank you yet again for helping me through this - I know I keep thanking you (!), but this stuff is really overwhelming me right now. I so look forward to the day when I can deal with stress better.

One more thing I wanted to comment on......I started out taking Armour and it didn't really work well for me. However, this all occured when I was not diagnosed with celiac disease and I was having flaming symptoms of it. So, my guess is that I wasn't absorbing the meds properly. I was switched to Levoxyl and a compounded, natural T3 hormone and it knocked my autoimmune reaction from 1200 dwon to 73 and the normal range is under 40. By that time, I had been diagnosed with the celiac disease so my meds were finally being absorbed.

Don't be afraid of taking a synthetic hormone, if that is what works for you. Levoxyl, which is the generic form of Synthroid, is gluten-free and I have tolerated it very well. It might need supplementing with a prescribed T3 hormone, which can be done at a compounding pharmacy....all natural. I don't know why some people are averse to synthetics because they work and you don't want to mess around with a badly functioning thyroid. Maybe, for you, the natural one you are taking may not be as gluten-free as you might think.

As for undergoing an endo, I hear you. I am totally against invasive procedures unless thye are the only way of seeing what's going on. If all else fails, then you may want to consider having it done. I am 49 years old and I am sure my doctor will be pressuring me to have a colonoscopy in the near future and I am not really keen on having one done. The prep is horrible and my feeling is that if I am having problems, I would probably have to undergo one but I have recovered beautifully from my celiac disease and have zero symptoms. I eat a totally healthy diet, unlike most of the American population, so don't run around freaking about getting cancer. No point in that. I pine for the days when doctors could diagnose better listening to symptoms and using their common sense. They rely way too heavily on invasive procedures today and I'm sure it has a lot to do with lawsuits. But if I were having problems that were not responding to diet changes, I might have to bite the bullet and do what's necessary. I hope you feel better soon and find some answers but be patient......you will get your thyroid straightened out!

[Di-gfree]

You are so lucky to be responding well (of course, it