feel frustrated ... .. .

[hypoHashimoto]

Hi,
I feel frustrated and think that I'll feel like this the rest of my life,
I have hashimoto and on 100 mcg levo, and don't feel good, better than when I was diagnosed but not much better, I was diagnosed 3 and a half years ago, I don't know what where my last results but my TSH is 3 and  ft3 borderline low, I tried TSH of 1 for ffour months with no change, I tried adding cytomel (25 mcg) to the TSH of 3 for one and a half month, with no change ... what shall I do ?
I am counting the days for any improvement ..!!!

Thank You,

[flyingfool]

I am surprised that a dosage of 25 mcg of Cytomel would not work or send you Hyper. Especially if you went from zero to 25 mcg without starting lower and increasing slowly.  Many people can't handle that much of a jump without some reaction.

I would suggest that you also in addition to FT4 and FT3 to get your Reverse T3 tested.  

In addition you should also test your Vitamin D and B-12 and iron levels as well. It is pretty common for people with low Thyroid to also be deficient in one or more of these as well.  All of which will cause fatigue or lack of energy.

Most people need to have their FT4 in the MIDDLE of the range AND their FT3 in the UPPER 1/3 or UPPER part of the range in order to feel well.  

As Barb stated, with "borderline low" FT3 you need more medication.

If your FT4 is mid range, if your body is converting properly should result in your FT3 levels to be at least mid range if not higher.  If your FT4 is above that range and your FT3 is low it suggests a conversion problem and you may very well need a T3 medication like Cytomel.

The conversion process is also what causes Reverse T3.  It is exactly the same as T3 except it is the reverse or mirror image.  The problem comes when or if the conversion process makes too many RT3.  The basis of the problem is that while the body's cell receptors will accept the RT3 molecule, it is useless.  The body's cells can ONLY use pure Free T3.  So if you have too many RT3 they can plug up all the receptors and not allow the true FT3 to do its job.

If you are not actively testing for FT3 levels, and attempting to get the levels into the upper 1/3 of the range, the amount of medication you tried before MAY have been inadequate to get you to that level.  OR if there was too many RT3 plugging up the receptors, no matter what level of FT3 you had in your blood if there is no place for them to go it is useless.

RT3 can be purged by essentially stopping all T4 meds and only use T3 meds.  As RT3 is ONLY made during the conversion of T4 into T3.  So by limiting T4 it limits the conversion.  Keeping sufficient FT3 in your blood by taking only T3 med allows the body time to clear the receptors of the remaining RT3 and thus allow the FT3 available in your blood to work.  HOWEVER once the clearing starts it can progress rapidly.  Thus causing the T3 you're taking to make you go Hyper.  So you have to stay on top of things and immediately stop the T3 when you start to go Hyper.

Once purged some people can then go back to T4 medicine a lower more normal levels.  You may still have to have the T3 med as well to keep the RT3 to T3 ratio reasonable and not cause the RT3 plugging problem again.

Just some thoughts to consider.

[hypoHashimoto]

In a month .

[Barb135]

You can't regulate your thyroid medication, based only on TSH.  You need to have the FT3 and FT4 tested as well.  If your FT3 was borderline low, that indicates that your dosage is not high enough, or you are on the wrong medication. It often takes many months, sometimes years, for patients to actually "get well".

We really need to know what your labs (FT3, FT4, TSH) are before we can assess your situation adequately.  When are you scheduled for retesting again?