Re: Having blood test next week

[Guest guest]

No, that wouldn't help at all Miriam in fact, if you stopped it

for 48 hours, your result might come back too low causing more worry for your

doctor. T3 only has a half life of 2 days in humans. The best advice really is

to stop T4 for at least 24 hours and take your last dose of T3 as usual the day

before (you may take it in two or three split doses). Just don't take any T3 on

the morning you have your blood drawn because it peaks in the blood between 2

to 4 hours after taking it. See the email I sent before about the bioavailability

of thyroid hormones from oral replacement preparations.

Luv - Sheila

I know that you must stop T3-containing medication at least

24 hours before having blood drawn in order to get an accurate result. Would 48

hours be better, or not?

Obviously I want to see what effect the current medication is having on my Free

T3 and Free T4 levels. (I am expecting the TSH to be suppressed). I am taking

Thyroid-S, which would hang around in the system for quite a few days after

stopping, wouldn't it?

Thanks,

Miriam

[Guest guest]

Thanks for explaining in more detail, Sheila. When it said " at least " 24 hours,

I wondered whether more might be better. But I can easily take medication the

day before, then miss the morning of the test.

Miriam

> No, that wouldn't help at all Miriam in fact, if you stopped it for 48 hours,

your result might come back too low causing more worry for your doctor. T3 only

has a half life of 2 days in humans. The best advice really is to stop T4 for at

least 24 hours and take your last dose of T3 as usual the day before (you may

take it in two or three split doses). Just don't take any T3 on the morning you

have your blood drawn because it peaks in the blood between 2 to 4 hours after

taking it. See the email I sent before about the bioavailability of thyroid

hormones from oral replacement preparations.

[Guest guest]

Here are my latest test results. It looks as though I could try taking a little

more Thyroid-S.

TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) *41 nmol/L (59 - 54)

TSH 2.32 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)

FREE THYROXINE *6.1 pmol/l (12.0 - 22.0)

FREE T3 *2.5 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8)

Thyroglobulin Antibody <10.0 IU/mL range 0-115(Negative)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies <5.0 IU/mL range <34 (Negative)

Miriam

> No, that wouldn't help at all Miriam in fact, if you stopped it for 48 hours,

your result might come back too low causing more worry for your doctor.

[Guest guest]

Hi Sheila,

Thanks for your advice. I didn't realise it was possible to increase by a whole

grain at once. I have been trying to chop the tablets in half, which is not

easy as they are very small, with no little dividing line down the middle.

I have written to Dr P with my results as I have other problems I haven't

managed to solve when I increase my dosage. Also, as my symptoms don't seem to

improve when I take more, I wondered whether it was doing much good. That is

why I decided to have the blood tests. I have addressed all the cofactors, so

will have to wait and see what he suggests.

Miriam

> Oh MY! Most definitely Miriam. How much are you taking right now and for how

long did you stop your thyroid hormone replacement before you had your blood

drawn? Your TSH is too high, which is expected with such low T4 and T3 levels.

You need to consider increasing your Thyroid-s by 60mgs (1 grain) with immediate

effect.

> Luv - Sheila

[Guest guest]

Supposing I decided to stop taking the Thyroid-S altogether in order to let the

TSH go as high as it will and possibly get a proper diagnosis, how long would I

have to go without any tablets to make sure it was clear of the system and

wouldn't distort blood test results in any way?

Miriam

>

> Thanks for your advice. I didn't realise it was possible to increase by a

whole grain at once. I have been trying to chop the tablets in half, which is

not easy as they are very small, with no little dividing line down the middle.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Sheila. 6 weeks for T4 to get out of the system.

As I am taking Thyroid-s, which contains some T3, I was assuming that the TSH

was somewhat suppressed. Don't we keep reading here that T3-containing

medication causes suppression of the TSH?

The cause of my hypothyroidism is unknown, except that it is not caused by

antibodies. Free T4 and Free T3 are both quite a bit below normal ranges, so it

is not just a case of cellular resistance (though there may be an element of

that).

As I don't feel a great deal better with thyroid hormone than without it, I

don't feel I have much to lose by stopping it for a while. The main benefit I

noticed when I started was that it relieved the muscle pain in my legs. As I

had put up with that for about 18 years already, I don't think having that back

for another 6 weeks is going to make much difference.

Thanks very much for all the information.

Miriam

> It all depends on each individual Miriam. What happens to one might be

different to what happens to somebody else. It takes up to 6 weeks for T4 to get

out of your system and the T3 has a half life of 2 days. Your TSH could rise

rapidly, or take several weeks/months, or then again, depending on the cause of

your hypothyroidism, it might never rise. Your TSH only recognises when the

thyroid gland is not secreting sufficient levels of T4 and T3, and this is when

your pituitary gland starts to secrete TSH to tell the thyroid to start pumping

out more.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Any thyroid meds can cause supressed TSH!!

Glynis

<miriam_hinch> Don't we keep reading here that T3-containing medication causes

suppression of the TSH?

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Glynis. I thought it was T3 in particular, causing doctors to freak out

when they see TSH of 0.01, for example?

Miriam

>

> Any thyroid meds can cause supressed TSH!!

> Glynis

>

> <miriam_hinch> Don't we keep reading here that T3-containing medication

causes suppression of the TSH?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Miriam, try to get the test done in the evening, as it will be higher then. have a paper on this, sorry will take to long to find it, so you will have to take my word on this.! Angel.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the hint, but I don't think they are open in the evening. Another

way to raise TSH apparently is to start taking iodine. I can't remember the

explanation now, but it only applies when you first start.

Miriam

>

> Hi Miriam, try to get the test done in the evening, as it will be higher then.

> have a paper on this, sorry will take to long to find it, so you will have to

> take my word on this.! Angel.

>

[Guest guest]

TSH may rise transiently while seeking an equilibrium, when you first start

taking Iodine... usually within 6 months it will go back to normal. It's not

anything to worry about. It's just the body's way of doing a balancing act...

Cheers,

JOT

> Thanks for the hint, but I don't think they are open in the evening. Another

way to raise TSH apparently is to start taking iodine. I can't remember the

explanation now, but it only applies when you first start.

> Miriam

[Guest guest]

I have been thinking, I could switch from Thyroid-s to T3 for the 6 weeks it

takes Thyroid-s to get out of the system, and then miss the T3 for just a few

days before a blood test. That way I could avoid having a big deficit of

thyroid hormone for weeks. How's that for a plan?

Miriam

> It all depends on each individual Miriam. What happens to one might be

different to what happens to somebody else. It takes up to 6 weeks for T4 to get

out of your system and the T3 has a half life of 2 days. Your TSH could rise

rapidly, or take several weeks/months, or then again, depending on the cause of

your hypothyroidism, it might never rise.

>

> Imagine what you would feel like if you were to stop your Thyroid-s - and you

waited 6 weeks to get your first thyroid function test and your TSH remained

exactly the same

[Guest guest]

Thanks Sheila. I have written to him about this with a copy of my latest

results and am waiting for him to get back to me.

Miriam

> Hi Miriam, you don't just need T3, you need T4 as well because both of these

levels are far too low. You need to increase your dose of Erfa and if you can't,

you need to eliminate any of the associated conditions that go along with being

hypothyroid as a way of finding what is stopping these hormones from working.

You need enough T4 to get through the brain barrier - so T4 is important in its

own special way.

> You need to talk to Dr Peatfield.