Back to T4 only after trying every possible combination

[HypoGuy]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been through the ringer unfortunately. I'm writing now weighing 35lbs heavier (the heaviest I have ever been in my life) and more depressed than ever. About two years ago my stable 125mcg dose of Synthroid stopped being effective. I went on a mission to feel better – raising doses, changing meds, adding T3, switching to NDT, NDT + T4, and finally 8 weeks of T3 only to try and "clear" Reverse T3. NONE of this worked. I only felt worse and worse, and gained more and more weight despite doing everything right according to the doctors and alternative medicine experts.

I'm now back to where I started – Synthroid-only at 125mcgs. Getting fatter every day and feeling completely defeated. I still think I'm dealing with high rT3, but T3 made me gain weight and retain fluid. NDT made me retain fluid, and never gave me energy. I'm worried all the bouncing around in medicines has destroyed my metabolism.

Any thoughts on what I could try next? I feel completely betrayed by my docs. I'm sorry to whine – it's very unlike me. I feel like I'm a hopeless case, and it's even ruining my relationship. Any help, support, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Hypoguy

[goolarra]

As far as your numbers go, except for TSH, they look pretty good...FT4 at 47% of range, FT3 at 63%.  Granted, they're in flux, but if you hadn't taken any T3 in two weeks, the FT3 reading should be reflective of conversion.

I'm curious, too, about ferritin and B-12, and I'd ask about D as well.  

The first year I was on meds, I had a very hard time tolerating changes in dose.  My doctor kept pushing my meds up and up, and each change was excruciating.  I really felt like the higher my meds went the worse it was all getting.  However, when I finally got on a stable dose, and my FT3 and FT4 were the highest they'd been in a long time, everything calmed back down.  So, I think for some of us, stability of FT3 and FT4 is very important.  I've since learned that when I do increase, I do it very slowly.

Have you tried T4 with synthetic T3 so that the doses of each can be manipulated totally separately?

[handsinclay]

I just read through the history of your posts from 2014 to date.

The water gain (aka myxedema) is indicative of being hypo.  I too gain loose or gain that water (along with tiredness/feeling down) with incremental changes in doses.  I am perplexed by it too!

If I remember correctly, your cortisol, ferritin and B's have been decent.

It seems like even when your T4 is higher in the range, your T3 remains lower in the range, so I wondered if you have been tested for levels of the key trace minerals needed to convert T4 to T3  (Like selenium and zinc and magnesium)?  If so, have you tried supplementing them?

[HypoGuy]

I have current lab results, but they won't help much, as I was between treatments. They are:

TSH 5.080 0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL
FT4 1.27 0.82 - 1.77   ng/dL
FT3 3.5 2.0 - 4.4          pg/mL

I've been back on 125mcgs T4 for only two weeks, and I'm exhausted. I probably need to be back up to my last dose of 150mcgs... but that's what caused the high FT4 and likely the RT3 issue in the first place. No idea where to go from here. T3 only made me worse – I gained weight while on it – but my RT3 did come down.

I'm working on my diet and vitamins, but I'm not sure what else to do.

[goolarra]

Do you have current lab results and reference ranges?  How long have you been back to 125 mcg T4?  Did you ever get your RT3 down after 8 weeks f T3 only?