HYPOTHYROID WITH TSH 0.01??? NEED INPUT

[youregonnaneedabiggerboat]

I have had Hypothyroidism for 25 years. For at least the last 8 years or so my TSH has been 0.01. My last labs came in as follows:

TSH 0.01        reference range 0.34 - 5.60 (low)
Free T4 1.55   reference range 0.63 - 1.36 (high)
Free T3 3.89   reference range 2.50 - 3.90

I have never had thyroid surgery. I am not taking vitamins. I have been overweight my entire life and although I eat healthy & exercise I struggle to maintain my weight. I am a 55 year old female. I have high blood pressure, reflux, eczema, Rosacea, Hypothyroidism.

I was taking 250 mg of Synthroid 8 years ago, had gained 30 pounds and was suffering with joint problems & acid reflux. I did some research & learned that Nexium was causing other people joint problems & weight gain and decided to take myself off of Nexium. I used apple cider vinegar, baking soda & papaya enzymes to deal with the reflux symptoms. Suddenly my weight started to come down & my endo had to reduce my Synthroid. Years later Nexium is under fire. It turns out that the Nexium was preventing the absorption of Synthroid. Several years ago I had my gall bladder removed.

Since eliminating Nexium 3 years ago I have lost 40 pounds(am still overweight), no more joint pain, no more reflux and my Synthroid medication was just recently reduced again down to 137.5 mg based on the labs I have shared above.

I overhauled my diet years ago which I know has helped. I recently adopted many of the principles in Dr. Axe's book, "Eat Dirt" which I think is amazing. Most of these changes I found myself. None of my doctors ever mentioned Nexium could be causing my weight problems and the other issues I was experiencing. They all recommended counting calories for losing weight which never worked for me.

Why is my TSH so low? Why do I still struggle to lose weight? Carbs are my enemy & I immediately gain weight when consuming even the smallest amounts of carbs & sugar. I have been tested for everything. I just feel we are missing something. The doctors don't seem to have the answers so I am reaching out to others that are dealing with the same thing that might offer some input that will help. Thanks for listening.

[Barb135]

Along with the excellent suggestions gimel has given, I'd also be curious about your cholesterol, triglyceride and blood glucose levels?  My thyroid levels were very similar to yours and it was discovered that I have a condition called Metabolic Syndrome, which is a cluster of conditions consisting of high blood pressure, high blood glucose (fasting blood glucose over 100 is impaired), high triglycerides or cholesterol, excess body fat around the waist.  Having just one of the components doesn't qualify as Metabolic Syndrome; you must have at least 3 of them.

Metabolic Syndrome is closely linked to insulin resistance in which the cells in our body don't respond, adequately, to insulin and sugar doesn't enter the cells properly.  Instead, insulin shuttles excess blood glucose into fat cells to be stored for later use. Insulin is often called the "fat storage hormone".

[gimel]

With those labs I am surprised your metabolism doesn't seem to be adequate.  So, there may be other issues that need to be evaluated.  I suggest that you should test for Reverse T3, and Free T3 again so they are from the same blood draw. Also, don't take your thyroid med until after the blood draw, to make sure you don't get false high results.  I also suggest that you test for Vitamin D, B12, ferritin, and morning serum cortisol.  

The ratio of Free T3 to Reverse T3 is important.  High Reverse T3 can negate the effect of your Free T3 level.  D should be about 50, B12 in the upper end of its range, and ferritin should be about 70.  I am especially curious about your ferritin and cortisol levels because improper levels of is reported to cause pooling of T3 in the blood instead of getting into cells.  If you can get those tested, then post them here, along with reference ranges and we will help interpret and advise further.