Results and Thanks

[Guest guest]

Hi Sheila, I am writing to you to say a great big thanks for all your help over

the past few months. Without you and the TPA website I would still be suffering

and still not have a life. I was clueless, ( me a Nurse as well) about what to

do with myself. I have been on the Armour (erfa)since December and after 8 long

months off work, I am going back. I have recently had an annual review, medical

checkup, at my doctors. I had bloods taken and have the results with a letter

saying I have to make an appointment to see my GP. I remember you saying to

always go off how you feel and not blood results. I just need some advice what

to say to the doctor when he mentions my TSH result.

Here are the results I just received.....

TSH 0.07 mU/L 0.2 - 4.0

Free T3 6.8 pmol/L 3.8 - 6.0

I still have aches and pains, especially my knees but my energy levels are the

best they have been since receiving the radio active iodine.

Once again thank you so much and I will continue looking at the website everyday

as I find it knowledgable and helpful.

My kindest regards

Avril x

[Guest guest]

Hello Avril, this is fantastic news and I am so pleased that we

have been able to help you. To hear such stories makes everything we do so absolutely

worth-while and I hope you will continue to get better and better.

Your doctor is used to seeing the blood test results of only

those patients who are taking synthetic levothyroxine (T4) only and when they

suddenly see the results from somebody who is taking ALL the thyroid hormones

i.e. T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin, they cannot understand what they are

suddenly seeing and don't know how to interpret the results.

From looking at these results, am I correct in assuming that you

took your Armour on the morning before you had your blood drawn? I am saying

this because your free T3 is above the reference range.

First, let's get the TSH test result out of the way. For ANYBODY

taking any form of the ACTIVE thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) - the TSH

will naturally be suppressed and this is not a problem, however much this might

scare your poor doctor. S/he has been taught that a suppressed TSH and high

levels of free T4 (which obviously wasn't done) and high level of free T3 is

taking too much thyroid hormone and believes you could be going hyPERThyroid.

Be prepared for your GP to want to lower your dose to bring your fT3 lower, and

to try to raise your TSH. DON'T LET HIM! When your pituitary gland recognises

that your thyroid is not secreting sufficient thyroid hormone, it goes to work

pumping out more TSH to tell the thyroid gland to do the work it is supposed to

- so your TSH goes high in the range. Because you are taking all the thyroid

hormones it needs, the pituitary recognises this, and therefore has no need to

secrete any TSH whatsoever, so your TSH is naturally suppressed.

Here's what you need to tell him about the reason for your high

free T3.

First, tell him that you took your Armour on the morning you had

your blood tested and you should not have done. This is because T3 has a very

short half-life and it peaks in the blood between 2 to 4 hours after taking it

- so that is why your fT3 looks so high. Even the ex-President of the British

Thyroid Association and now Head of all Medical Schools who acted as 'Expert

Witness' in a GMC Hearing (which I attended), in giving evidence said that

patients should not take any thyroid hormone replacement on the morning they

had their blood drawn, because this would give a flawed result. If your GP is

worried, then tell her/him you will be happy to have another fT3 test done and

take your T3 AFTER your blood draw, and not before, and s/he will see your fT3

result will be halved.

If you still have aches and pains, look into the possibility

that you might be suffering with one of the many associated conditions that go

along with the symptoms of hypothyroidism (see attached). If you believe any of

these might be the problem, get properly tested. You can ask your GP also to

test your levels of ferritin, B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and

zinc and tell him that if any of these are low in the reference range, no

amount of thyroid hormone is able to be fully utilised at cellular level until

whatever you are found to be low in has been properly supplemented. Get the

results from your doc. together with the reference range and post them here on

the forum and we will try to help interpret them. Unfortunately, a doctor will

likely tell you that you don't have a problem because your results are within

the range, but we need to know where in the range they lie.

Good luck, and be prepared for your doctor wanting to decrease

or stop your Armour and try to persuade you to go back onto synthetic T4. Stick

to your guns and tell him that you are going by how you feel and not what a bit

of paper tells you. If anything, you might need to increase your dose by half a

grain. When did you last do this and how much Armour are you taking?

Luv - Sheila

Here are the results I just received.....

TSH 0.07 mU/L 0.2 - 4.0

Free T3 6.8 pmol/L 3.8 - 6.0

I still have aches and pains, especially my knees but my energy levels are the

best they have been since receiving the radio active iodine.

Once again thank you so much and I will continue looking at the website

everyday as I find it knowledgable and helpful.

My kindest regards

Avril x

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