test results - advice please

[Guest guest]

I have started taking efra now upto 120mcg per day and have just had my blood

tests done previously i was hypothyroid and on 50mcg thyroxine i have had long

term thyroid problem for 20 years.

latest test results

tsh 0.05 range 0.5-4.7

t4 14 range 9-20

t3 7.1 range 2.5 -5.3

are these symptoms of hyperthyroid when before i was hypo

does this mean i should not be taking the efra or am i taking too much

what other medication options do i have now

i have not been getting symptoms of hyper ie heart palpitations like i get if i

take too much thyroxine. my base line temp has risen slightly from 36.2 to 36.6

my tremour has got slightly worse and i have been getting headaches but that has

been a recent occurrence for a very long time.

can someone please advise elaine coleman

[Guest guest]

....i have not been getting symptoms of hyper ie heart palpitations like i get if i take too much thyroxine. my base line temp has risen slightly from 36.2 to 36.6 my tremour has got slightly worse and i have been getting headaches but that has been a recent occurrence for a very long time.

Hello Elaine,

Let me guess – you took your Erfa on the morning of the blood draw – right? If you did, then don't worry, you are fine.... If you did NOT take your Erfa on the morning before the blood draw, then you'd probably be taking too much and you should now cut back by half a grain.

Could you tell us please if you take your 2 grains at once in the mornings, or do you split the dose (would be better to split the dose to avoid "peaks and troughs") into am and pm dosing.... and at what time did you take your last dose of Erfa before the blood draw.

tsh 0.05 range 0.5-4.7t4 14 range 9-20t3 7.1 range 2.5 -5.3Those results look fine, provided you did NOT take your Erfa on the morning of the blood draw. T3 peaks 2 hours after ingestion – so would show an artificially high reading. You get "true" results in between 12-24 hours after taking your medication. If you split your dose of Erfa and take 1 grain am and 1 grain pm, then not taking your am dose on the morning of the blood draw will give you true figures. If you took it, your FT4 will be about 10% higher than it really is and your FT3 will be unrealistically high. (hence me suspecting that you did just that)

When a patient is on NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) the TSH is expected to be low or slightly suppressed (nothing wrong with that!), the FT4 is usually mid range to upper third, and the FT3 should be in the upper thirdto top of the ref range.... that would be a "perfect" result – but more important than any lab figure is the wellbeing of the patient. If you "feel" fine, then you are fine. If or when you are hyperthyroid, your body will tell you loud and clear. So don't worry, for as long as you do not feel hyperthyroid, you won't be hyperthyroid. Nobody in his or her right mind would carry on taking too much thyroid hormone on purpose, as the symptoms of hyperthyroidism plus hypothyroidism (you'd get them both together) will be worse than those of "just" being hypothyroid. Your body will tell you when to stop upping the dose – and yours ... going by the figures ... look just about right, provided that you had taken your dose in the morning (which would have pushed the FT3 too high).

But we also have to look at other factors – you say you have a tremor and headaches.... have you had your mineral and vitamin levels tested? (ferritin, folate, magnesium, zinc, copper, Vit B12 and Vit D3) – if not, it would be advisable to do that now. Tremor and headaches might be a sign for low magnesium – do you take any supplements?

With best wishes,

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't worry about your high level of free T3 if you had

taken your Erfa thyroid before your blood was drawn. T3 peaks in the blood

between 2 to 3 hours after taking it. We always recommend not taking any

thyroid hormone whatsoever on the day your blood is tested.

I would strongly recommend that you get your levels of specific

nutrients tested to see if their levels are low in the range. These tests are

iron, transferrin saturation%, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium,

folate, copper and zinc. When you get these results back, post them on the

forum together with the reference range and we will help with their

interpretation. I would also recommend you get the 24 hour salivary profile

done to see where your levels of cortisol and DHEA lie at four specific times

during the day. If any of these tests results are low, the thyroid hormone

cannot be fully utilised at the cellular level.

You might first wish to do the 3 medical questionnaires that you

will find in our FILES Section thyroid treatment/files/

These are for checking your adrenals, candida and magnesium.

Did you have tremors before you started thyroid extract?

I have attached a document 'How to Use Natural Thyroid Extract'

as I get the feeling you may not know about this. You may well have started

taking too high a dose of NTE or increased your dose too quickly.

Luv - Sheila

I have started taking efra now upto 120mcg per

day and have just had my blood tests done previously i was hypothyroid and on

50mcg thyroxine i have had long term thyroid problem for 20 years.

latest test results

tsh 0.05 range 0.5-4.7

t4 14 range 9-20

t3 7.1 range 2.5 -5.3

are these symptoms of hyperthyroid when before i was hypo

does this mean i should not be taking the efra or am i taking too much

what other medication options do i have now

i have not been getting symptoms of hyper ie heart palpitations like i get if i

take too much thyroxine. my base line temp has risen slightly from 36.2 to 36.6

my tremour has got slightly worse and i have been getting headaches but that

has been a recent occurrence for a very long time.

can someone please advise elaine coleman

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