Blood work results don't match how I feel.......take a look please

[helen1207]

okay. i got my test result
TSH 0.25
T Uptake 39.9
T4 10.1
FTI 4.0
anti-thyroid peroxidase 83h
anti-thyroglobulin AB 19

i was on 75 mcg at the time, and felt very hypo, i am on 100 mcg now, a bit better but still not well.
she prescribed me Armour 60MG today.

based on the blood work, am i hyper? how come i feel so hypo?

thanks

[AR-10]

The tests that were run stink, so it's a little hard to say.

The only thing that gives any information is the TSH, and it says you're a little hyper.

The T uptake I am guessing is a T3 uptake, which doesn't tell you much. The T4 test is a Total T4, which is not acurate.

The Free T1...they don't even know what that hormone does.

If your doctor is going to switch you from a synthetic to Armour, she should know what your Free T4 and Free T3 is, and make decisions based on that.

Let me rephrase that. If your doctor is going to medicate you, or treat you in any manner, she should be running a Free T4 and a Free T3.

[helen1207]

oh Lord. i couldn't find Free T4 or Free T3 on the report. i do recall she tested that last year.  she was pointing on TSH today and said i am a bit high.....don't they make decision on TSH?

[AR-10]

Yes, but they shouldn't.

She should have at least run a Free T4. If she is going to put you on Armour, she should know that your Free T3 is lower than it should be compared to your Free T4. She based that decision on your T3 uptake. Maybe it's low. I don't know the range. but it's not as good a test as a Free T3.

How does 60mg of Armour compare to 100mcg of levothyroxine? I'm not sure if it's the same dose or a little less...

[helen1207]

on Armour website, they stated 100mcg levothyroxine is equivalent to 60mg. perhaps I shall start by half a pill? Gee,  why Drs don't know what they are doing?  she didn't put me on Armour, i asked and she said i can try... thank you AR

[AR-10]

Well, maybe the Armour will help.

If you feel hypo, maybe you need the extra T3.
It's hard to say with the tests that were run.

There are some good threads runnig on Armour. That should help you. Your TSH says you should have a little smaller dose of Levo, but maybe you will metabolize the Armour differently and your hormone levels will be closer to normal.

[laura1967]

Your starting dose of 60mgs of armour is a good starting dose. The conversion charts are a little off so you will probably need more, but you need to work your way up. As Ar said you need to have a base line of your free t4 and free t3 when starting armour....critically important. You don't base dosages and increases on tsh with armour. If you go to the health pages here...you will find it at top right corner area..Go to armour page..I put an armour prescribing information link on there...print it and take it or fax it to your dr. It tells how to dosage and increase and when to run labs. It is completely diff than the synthetics which take 6-8 weeks to level out properly. Please join us on the armour thread (those of us on armour...dosaging and increasing) then you can get a lot of info and help there.

[kitty9309]

The FTI is an old test known as Free Thyroxine Index. It is an estimate of free t4 and should not even be offered anymore due to very accurate tests for the free t4.

The following is from labtestsonline:
" What is FTI?
FTI stands for the Free Thyroxine Index and is also sometimes referred to as T7. It is a calculation using the results from the T3 uptake test and total T4 test and provides an estimate of the level of free T4 in the blood. It is rarely used anymore as we now have methods to measure free T4 and T3"

As AR also said, even the total t4 test is outdated and the T3Uptake is outdated as well.

I work in the lab. Why in the world do we still offer these tests?

[AR-10]

Hi Kitty!

Thanks for explaining the FT1 test. I hadn't run across that one before. A T7 I have heard of.

Why do they still run those tests? You'd think sometime in the last decade they would have caught wind of new, improved testing methods. The Free T4 and Free T3 tests have been around for at least six years, right?

It's the pits when you have to ask for the tests you want because the doctor prefers the old "tried and true" methods.

[kitty9309]

Hi AR!
You are welcome. It is an FTI, not FT1. The I stands for Index in case it comes up in the future.

I think the main reason the labs still run these tests is because we cater to them- they are our clients. We want to keep them happy and use our lab, so we do what they ask. That usually translates into more work for us techs.

A few years ago, my doctor ran a TSH, T3Uptake, Total t4, free t4 estimated, free t4 by dialysis and a  total t3 ! What a waste of my money.

[helen1207]

Gee, don't know what to say.......the funny thing is that, in the past, when i didn't have thyroid problem, she did test for free T3 and T4!  i am going back on Thursday, she needed back to draw more blood for gluten intolerance, I will see if she can test free T3 and T4... Gee, am i the doctor or she is??

[kitty9309]

How strange! (Not really, I guess)

Unfortunately, we have to ask for the right tests and many doctors don't like that!

Good luck with the next tests.

[helen1207]

thank you kitty and AR.
it looks like my anti-body dropped a lot, one is actually within the range. did the medicine make the anti-body disapper? if so, why still need medicine? because if not, they will come back?

[kitty9309]

Treating with levothyroxine can decrease thyroid antibodies. They could increase or stay low. It is an autoimmune process that depends on many factors.
Antibody levels are usually only tested one time. Simce yours were not in the hundreds, if they drop, it is easy to see why one is now testing negative.
What were the original antibody counts compared to now? How much time passed between the two?
They only way to know if you still need to be on meds is to check your thyroid function periodically.

[helen1207]

so i went back to the Dr. today for an additional blood test item and i asked my Dr. on why she didn't have my FT3 and FT4 checked, she said, yes i did and it's on the second page, Gee, she didn't even know what was checked was not those two items? then she said, oh here is the T4, and i said, but it's not free T4 and where is the Free T3? finally she said, okay, we can request those two this time if you want.

Geeeeeee........who is the Dr. anyway?

i also asked about my 3mm cyst, and i said since my mom had the thyroid cancer, though she is just fine after the thyroid was removed, but should i worry about this cyst? she said, if there is something serious, in the ultra sound report, it will not read as cyst, but something else......i am no sure how much i can count on her for this comment, any idea?

thanks again.