Re: Very strange - what do you think?

[Guest guest]

i FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I AM TAKING 5MCG OF T3 DAILY IN ADDITION TO

THE THYROXINE

P

>

> Hi folks,

>

> I just got my most recent Reverse T3 test result back today at

long

> last. When I had the test done, I had used T3 for about 2 months.

>

> I'm suffering from a lot of anxiety so doc thinks that I might

have

> taken too much T3 for my body to cope with. I initially took 5mcg

> of T3 for 1 month and then took 2 x 5mcg of T3 per day. I dropped

> back to 1 x 5mcg of T3 per day after my blood test in late July.

I

> have been told to take 125mcg of thyroxine 5 days a week and

100mcg

> thyroxine 2 days a week.

>

> What I don't understand, and what doesn't seem to match what the

> books say, is that after taking T3 my free T3 levels rose quite a

> bit from 3.0 to 3.9 HOWEVER my reverse T3 levels rose as well!!!

I

> thought the reverse T3 was supposed to go down as the free T3

levels

> increased. Can anyone shed any light on what might be going

on???

> Bob - any ideas? It looks as though my body is 'uptaking' the T3

> that I'm taking, however it is also creating more Reverse T3.

>

> TSH

> Feb 08 3.2 (range 0.5 - 4.0)

> early May 08 2.1

> late July 08 1.1

>

> ........................

>

> free T4 has been steady around 16 - 17 since August 07

>

> .......................

>

> My free T3 levels were as follows:

>

> early May 08 3.0 (range 3.1 - 5.4)

> end July 08 3.9

>

>

>

> Here is what has been happening over time with my reverse T3.

>

> March 07 364 (range 170 - 450)

> July 07 382

> Feb 08 469

> May 08 546

> end July 08 642 !!!!!

>

> Hope someone has some ideas because I can't work out what is going

> on.

>

> P

>

[Guest guest]

P,

You wrote:

>

> What I don't understand, and what doesn't seem to match what the

> books say, is that after taking T3 my free T3 levels rose quite a

> bit from 3.0 to 3.9 HOWEVER my reverse T3 levels rose as well!!! I

> thought the reverse T3 was supposed to go down as the free T3 levels

> increased. Can anyone shed any light on what might be going on???

You still have some thyroid function left, as indicated by the

relatively low doses you are taking and the fact that you seem to go

hyperT on some. When your body senses an over supply of T3, it

compensates by increasing conversion of the glandular T4 to RT3 (instead

of to T3), globulin binding, and de-iodization of T3. These all keep a

lid on FT3 while allowing RT3 to increase.

To fight RT3, you need to execute a delicate balancing act, just enough

T3, not too much, not too little.

However, I am a bit surprised that your TSH was not at the bottom of the

range on T3 alone. Perhaps you were not on it long enough to affect the

tests. It's in a good range for thyroxine only.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

Thanks Chuck,

I mucked up my initial message and SHOULD have written that I was

using 125mcg of thyroxine alone to start with (that was when my free

T3 levels dropped to 3.0).

I then started using 125mcg thyroxine PLUS 5mcg of T3 (5mcg T3 once

a day for a month and then twice a day afterwards until late July,

then back to 5mcg once a day since early August because of anxiety

symptoms).

In late July (when I was using 125mcg of thyroxine and 5mcg T3 twice

a day) my free T3 levels rose to 3.9, my free T4 levels remained

steady at 17 and my TSH levels dropped to 1.1 . It was today that I

found out that my Reverse T3 levels had risen to 642 at the same

time (in a reference range of 170 - 450).

I can't quite work out why my body would think that I had an

oversupply of T3 and would be converting to Reverse T3, as you

mentioned. While I was using 125mcg of thyroxine alone, my free T3

levels gradually dropped over time until they ended up below the

normal reference range in May. After supplementing with T3 my free

T3 levels increased to 3.9 (in a range of 3.1 - 5.4), but my reverse

T3 levels rose by almost 100pmol/L in July to 642, since my last

test result in may which was also high at just below 550.

Hope that makes more sense now. I wasn't very clear in my last

message.

P

.....................................

You still have some thyroid function left, as indicated by the

relatively low doses you are taking and the fact that you seem to go

hyperT on some. When your body senses an over supply of T3, it

compensates by increasing conversion of the glandular T4 to RT3

(instead of to T3), globulin binding, and de-iodization of T3. These

all keep a lid on FT3 while allowing RT3 to increase.

To fight RT3, you need to execute a delicate balancing act, just

enough T3, not too much, not too little.

However, I am a bit surprised that your TSH was not at the bottom of

the range on T3 alone. Perhaps you were not on it long enough to

affect the tests. It's in a good range for thyroxine only.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

patersonia,

Thanks for the clarification.

You wrote:

>

> I can't quite work out why my body would think that I had an

> oversupply of T3 and would be converting to Reverse T3, as you

> mentioned....

You're right. Something else is pushing the RT3 up, although your

mention of anxiety suggests mild hyperT might be contributing. At the

top of the list of other usual culprits is the adrenal gland, but I'll

leave it to Sheila to guide you on that.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

Thanks Chuck,

It is nice to be able to 'nut this out' with you so thanks for that!

I have read that stress can drive up the RT3 levels, however I don't

really have any stress in my life, even though I have anxiety (which

makes me wonder if for MY body, I am over-replaced. Who knows?) I

wonder if something completely different is driving up the Reverse

T3 levels.

P

> >

> > I can't quite work out why my body would think that I had an

> > oversupply of T3 and would be converting to Reverse T3, as you

> > mentioned....

>

> You're right. Something else is pushing the RT3 up, although your

> mention of anxiety suggests mild hyperT might be contributing. At

the

> top of the list of other usual culprits is the adrenal gland, but

I'll

> leave it to Sheila to guide you on that.

>

> Chuck

>

[Guest guest]

There is a very good RT3 group run by the moderator of the NTH Adrenals. Sorry don't have a link but you could find it easily with a search on .

Mo

[Guest guest]

Thanks Mo! I will look it up.

Is it called the RT3 group or is it called the NTH Adrenals group?

Cheers

P

>

> There is a very good RT3 group run by the moderator of the NTH

Adrenals. Sorry don't have a link but you could find it easily with a

search on .

>

> Mo

>

[Guest guest]

P,

You wrote:

>

> It is nice to be able to 'nut this out' with you so thanks for that!

> I have read that stress can drive up the RT3 levels, however I don't

> really have any stress in my life, ...

Anxiety counts as stress. Dieting might count as starvation. Other

illnesses will do it too, such as diabetes, arthritis, autoimmunes, etc.

Chuck