If these labs are normal - why do I still feel so bad??

[chrissy2150]

Here are my labs,

TSH (3rd gen)  1.59          .40-4.50
T4 total            8.0            4.5 - 12.0
T4 free             1.3            0.8 - 1.8
T3 free             2.5           2.3 - 4.2
T3 total            87            76 - 181

Im on synthroid and feeling miserable. My doctor says my levels are normal and that she can't do anything else for me...she refused to give me T3, meds....

Are my T3 levels on the low side?

I am wondering if I only took T3 medicine if that would help me...

my cortisol levels are normal..not sure what else it could be..?

[erikajosh]

I need help. The doctors make me feel like I'm crazy. All my labs were normal, including my biopsy. I'm still having all the syptoms, fatigue, night sweats, I wear down easy,  I don't know what else to do. I can't live like this anymore. The mental fog is affecting my job, the night sweats are affecting my sleep when I can sleep. The sight in my left eye comes and goes. Please if you have any suggestions I really need help.

[gimel]

Hard to say if those symptoms are related to starting with the Synthroid.  Members do report some strange symptoms sometimes just due to a particular brand of medication.  They do seem to use different filler material along with the synthetic T4.  

Since you obviously need some T3 in your meds, and your doctor refuses to even consider that, you probably need to find a good thyroid doctor that will treat you clinically.

Where are you located?  Perhaps a member can recommend a good thyroid doctor in your area.

[chrissy2150]

I appreciate your response - here are my symptoms - - -

tired, slow movement, muscle pain (chest aches) thinning hair, depression, swollen ankles. I crash in the afternoons...

Since starting the synthroid - my upper stomache hurts, and my chest is achey and my jaw aches alot, and I often have a hard time swallowing.

I had an ekg, which came up normal. My cholesterol is wnl and there is no heart disease in my family.  But the doctors cannot find anything that explains the jaw pain, and the stomache and chest pain either.    I am wondering if it is medicine sensitivity?  

Thank you -

[gimel]

When you say that you feel miserable, what kind of symptoms are you talking about?  If you look at this listing of typical hypo symptoms, which ones are you suffering with?

http://endocrine-system.emedtv.com/hypothyroidism/hypothyroidism-symptoms-and-signs.html

Yes your FT3 is low and likely the cause of feeling bad.  It appears that you are not converting your T4 med to T3 adequately (FT4 is midrange, while FT3 is lower in the range).  Many members report that symptom relief for them required that FT3 was adjusted to the upper part of the range and FT4 adjusted to the midpoint of its range.  Without going into a big explanation, the ranges are too broad.  Note this quote from a letter written by a good thyroid doctor.

"The ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response. I have prescribed natural dessicated thyroid for your patient (Armour or Nature-Throid). These contain T4 and T3 (40mcg and 9mcg respectively per 60mg). They are more effective than T4 therapy for most patients. Since they provide more T3 than the thyroid gland produces, the well-replaced patient’s free T4 will be around the middle of its range or lower, and the FT3 will be high-“normal” or slightly high before the AM dose."

The quote comes from this link.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf