Aa
Freaking out...
I went for my annual physical in 12/2011. I had blood work done. THS was 4.22 and T4 was 4.4. Dr. said everything was normal and lose a few pounds. I changed my diet, eliminated junk food, and cut calories; but was struggling to lose weight. I was cold and tired all the time, had really dry skin, brittle nails, and my hair was thinning somewhat, so I decided to follow up with an endocrinologist on 2/2012. He put me on Synthroid/levothyroxine sodium .025 1x day. 5/15 I did another blood test and saw him again. THS was 2.18 and T-4 free was .09. He left me at .025 5x week, and upped my dose to .05 2x week. He told me to come back six months later, and I haven't seen or talked to him since.
From February to know, I can't believe the hair I've lost on top, sides and crown. I've made an appt. with a dermatologist, but I couldn't get in until 9/14/2012. I don't know if I should call the endocronologist back, find a new one, or wait two weeks until my apt. with the dermatologist. If the low dose meds have done this to my hair, maybe I should just stop everything until I can figure out what is going on with my hair. My hair was much better before I got involved with any of this. My GP didn't refer me from my physical. Both tests say I'm in range. I was the one that decided to check this out because I couldn't lose any weight and had several of the symptoms of a low thyroid. I really don't know what to do or what to think about any of this. Any advice from anyone? Please.
From February to know, I can't believe the hair I've lost on top, sides and crown. I've made an appt. with a dermatologist, but I couldn't get in until 9/14/2012. I don't know if I should call the endocronologist back, find a new one, or wait two weeks until my apt. with the dermatologist. If the low dose meds have done this to my hair, maybe I should just stop everything until I can figure out what is going on with my hair. My hair was much better before I got involved with any of this. My GP didn't refer me from my physical. Both tests say I'm in range. I was the one that decided to check this out because I couldn't lose any weight and had several of the symptoms of a low thyroid. I really don't know what to do or what to think about any of this. Any advice from anyone? Please.
Personally, synthroid is the best thing that has ever happened to my hair. I don't know if I would notice if made my hair fall out because my sisters and I have always lost copious amounts of hair.
COMMUNITY LEADER
That's an awfully broad range for the FT3; usually, they're more like 2.3-4.2 or something similar. Guess they can pronounce more people "healthy" when they fall within the range. Yours is at 50%, so you still have a ways to go to get to the recommended upper 1.3 of the range.
Your FT4 is very low in the range, also. It's actually only 17% of the range, where rule of thumb is have it at mid range.
Hopefully, the small "bump" in med will help get your levels up.
Your FT4 is very low in the range, also. It's actually only 17% of the range, where rule of thumb is have it at mid range.
Hopefully, the small "bump" in med will help get your levels up.
Thank you all so much for the feed back. I have an appt. with a dermatologist just to verify that nothing else is wrong and causing me to lose my hair. Since posting, I noticed that I have absolutely no hair left on my arms or legs - not even fuzz. I think this supports the problem being my thyroid.
I also made an appointment with a DO who does "preventive medicine" and will do a hair analysis, blood work and other things to give me a thorough physical. I don't mind taking vitamins and minerals - I know I do not eat a balanced diet. Green is non-existent in my diet. I was so vitamin D deficient, my endo put me on 50,000 units 1x week plus 1000 a day. I don't know if I'll go with the DO, but I want to see what he has to say. If I decide not to, I can go to whole foods and buy what I think I need. My endo is "highly regarded" and advertises thyroid as a primary area of treatment. As I said, I may just be freaking out. I am not a patient person; but as a new patient, I think he should have kept closer tabs on me and not said come back in six months after only one follow up test and visit. Again, thank you for your input and support.
I also made an appointment with a DO who does "preventive medicine" and will do a hair analysis, blood work and other things to give me a thorough physical. I don't mind taking vitamins and minerals - I know I do not eat a balanced diet. Green is non-existent in my diet. I was so vitamin D deficient, my endo put me on 50,000 units 1x week plus 1000 a day. I don't know if I'll go with the DO, but I want to see what he has to say. If I decide not to, I can go to whole foods and buy what I think I need. My endo is "highly regarded" and advertises thyroid as a primary area of treatment. As I said, I may just be freaking out. I am not a patient person; but as a new patient, I think he should have kept closer tabs on me and not said come back in six months after only one follow up test and visit. Again, thank you for your input and support.
Reference range for T3 Free is 1.4 - 4.4. T4 Free is is 0.7 - 1.9, and THS is 0.30 - 6.00. Strange how they would all be different.
Got my t-3 tested. Here are results from 8/26: T3 = 2.9, T4 = 0.9, TSH = 2.37. Dr. increased my synthroid from .25 x 5 day + .5 x 2 days to .25 x 4 days to .5 x 3 days. According to the chart, they are all in the middle of the range, which tells me nothing.
Any opinions? I know they are simply opinions, but I am trying to educate myself.
Any opinions? I know they are simply opinions, but I am trying to educate myself.
Sounds to me like your Dr is medicating you based only on TSH. Most Dr's when they do this try to get the TSH between 1 and 2. The small increase in your dosage with the TSH just over 2.0 seems to be what he is headed for.
Any Dr who doses solely on TSH will almost certainly guarantee that you will remain sick and symptomatic and not feeling the best.
As Barb states above DEMAND that free T4 and Free T3 be tested. Understand that these are different test than "total" T3 and Total T3. You want the "free" tests. The free test for hormone molecules that are unattached and therefore "free" from a protein. Once a protein attaches itself to a hormone molecule, it becomes biologically useless and your body can not use them. Total counts BOTH the free and attached molecules. So it really doesn't tell you much since the body ONLY uses the free unattached hormone. So it is vital that you demand the "free" T4 and "free T3" tests.
If your Dr either refuses or refuses to take these tests into account, then it is immediate tell tale sign to go find a new Dr. ASAP.
Further warning/knowledge. Many, many people find that in order to be symptom free they must be WELL up into the so called "normal ranges" for the FT4 and FT3. In fact many people have found that they need to target close to the following results for BOTH FT4 and FT3 to be:
1) Free T4 in the MIDDLE of the range (50% of the range) or slightly higher
AND - that means in addition to
2) Free T3 in the UPPER 1/3 of the range (66.7%)
Notice these are considerably higher than simply being within the range or the bottom of the range.
Finding a Dr to do this, believe this, and medicate you until you reach your optimum levels based upon your symptom relief AND the resultant blood labs is the Jackpot. And it is almost as hard to find such a Dr. as winning the jackpot in Lad Vegas.
Do not be suckered into thinking that and endocrinologist will automatically know this. Form many people on this forum can attest that is assuredly NOT the case. A good thyroid Dr is one who will do what I mentioned. Adjust clinically based on symptom results and how you feel and use the blood labs as supporting documentation/information. This can be from any PCP or an endo.
Many people have had to go through up to 10 or more Dr's to find a "good one". Others have had to train their Dr to become a good Dr. Neither is easy. This takes immense patience and perseverance and tenacity. Be prepared.
I agree with those above, you appear to be under-medicated, However without the proper blood labs and results it's hard to know where you are really sitting.
hair loss is a common complaint of hypo. It is often one of the first symptoms to show up and unfortunately one of the last symptoms to be alleviated. Also symptoms can lag behind the blood labs by a few weeks some times. This is why you must go at dosage adjustments slowly and use of blood labs to help guide how often, how much adjustment to make. When getting close, the adjustments need to be made smaller and further apart to make sure they symptoms are simply lagging.
Any Dr who doses solely on TSH will almost certainly guarantee that you will remain sick and symptomatic and not feeling the best.
As Barb states above DEMAND that free T4 and Free T3 be tested. Understand that these are different test than "total" T3 and Total T3. You want the "free" tests. The free test for hormone molecules that are unattached and therefore "free" from a protein. Once a protein attaches itself to a hormone molecule, it becomes biologically useless and your body can not use them. Total counts BOTH the free and attached molecules. So it really doesn't tell you much since the body ONLY uses the free unattached hormone. So it is vital that you demand the "free" T4 and "free T3" tests.
If your Dr either refuses or refuses to take these tests into account, then it is immediate tell tale sign to go find a new Dr. ASAP.
Further warning/knowledge. Many, many people find that in order to be symptom free they must be WELL up into the so called "normal ranges" for the FT4 and FT3. In fact many people have found that they need to target close to the following results for BOTH FT4 and FT3 to be:
1) Free T4 in the MIDDLE of the range (50% of the range) or slightly higher
AND - that means in addition to
2) Free T3 in the UPPER 1/3 of the range (66.7%)
Notice these are considerably higher than simply being within the range or the bottom of the range.
Finding a Dr to do this, believe this, and medicate you until you reach your optimum levels based upon your symptom relief AND the resultant blood labs is the Jackpot. And it is almost as hard to find such a Dr. as winning the jackpot in Lad Vegas.
Do not be suckered into thinking that and endocrinologist will automatically know this. Form many people on this forum can attest that is assuredly NOT the case. A good thyroid Dr is one who will do what I mentioned. Adjust clinically based on symptom results and how you feel and use the blood labs as supporting documentation/information. This can be from any PCP or an endo.
Many people have had to go through up to 10 or more Dr's to find a "good one". Others have had to train their Dr to become a good Dr. Neither is easy. This takes immense patience and perseverance and tenacity. Be prepared.
I agree with those above, you appear to be under-medicated, However without the proper blood labs and results it's hard to know where you are really sitting.
hair loss is a common complaint of hypo. It is often one of the first symptoms to show up and unfortunately one of the last symptoms to be alleviated. Also symptoms can lag behind the blood labs by a few weeks some times. This is why you must go at dosage adjustments slowly and use of blood labs to help guide how often, how much adjustment to make. When getting close, the adjustments need to be made smaller and further apart to make sure they symptoms are simply lagging.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hair loss is not caused by the medication, it's caused by hypothyroidism. It's not unusual for patients to report worsening symptoms after beginning medication.
Please post the reference ranges for the FT4. Ranges vary lab to lab, so have to come from your own report. If the FT4 lab is near what we normally see, your level is extremely low.
You also need to get tested for FT3, which is the hormone the individual cells actually use. Most of the FT3 in our body is converted from FT4 and since you have very little FT4, there's not much to convert.
You should talk to your doctor about getting another FT4 test, with FT3. You should also ask to be tested for thyroid antibodies, to determine whether or not you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is a progressive autoimmune disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. Hashi's won't be treated any differently, but, if you know you have it, you'll know that you will need periodic adjustments in your medication, as thyroid function declines.
If your doctor refuses to order these tests, you might want to think about finding another, because this one will keep you ill.
Please post the reference ranges for the FT4. Ranges vary lab to lab, so have to come from your own report. If the FT4 lab is near what we normally see, your level is extremely low.
You also need to get tested for FT3, which is the hormone the individual cells actually use. Most of the FT3 in our body is converted from FT4 and since you have very little FT4, there's not much to convert.
You should talk to your doctor about getting another FT4 test, with FT3. You should also ask to be tested for thyroid antibodies, to determine whether or not you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is a progressive autoimmune disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. Hashi's won't be treated any differently, but, if you know you have it, you'll know that you will need periodic adjustments in your medication, as thyroid function declines.
If your doctor refuses to order these tests, you might want to think about finding another, because this one will keep you ill.
My purpose in posting my experience with hypothyroidism is to make people aware that iodine can cure certain cases. I believe I made that plain. The use of iodine has fallen out of fashion so that even when beneficial it is usually not employed. Do I ever try to cure myself? Yes, indeed. If the doctors have failed, what have I to lose?
COMMUNITY LEADER
Not everyone is capable of self-medicating, safely.
Considering that water treatment is my chosen line of work, I'm very well aware that iodine can be used to sterilize water. It's still contraindicated for those with autoimmune thyroid disease.
"But for some people, iodine or iodine-containing products make worsen autoimmune thyroid problems, both Hashimoto's and Graves' disease, and cause enlargement of the thyroid (goiter)."
http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/a/5lies.htm
Iodine may help someone who does not have an autoimmune disease, but for those whose thyroid is being, or has been destroyed, no amount of iodine is going to make it produce adequate hormones again, and it can even exacerbate the problems.
Considering that water treatment is my chosen line of work, I'm very well aware that iodine can be used to sterilize water. It's still contraindicated for those with autoimmune thyroid disease.
"But for some people, iodine or iodine-containing products make worsen autoimmune thyroid problems, both Hashimoto's and Graves' disease, and cause enlargement of the thyroid (goiter)."
http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/a/5lies.htm
Iodine may help someone who does not have an autoimmune disease, but for those whose thyroid is being, or has been destroyed, no amount of iodine is going to make it produce adequate hormones again, and it can even exacerbate the problems.
As to your remark about not taking iodine without doctor's advice, had I been that "prudent" I would have suffered for 20 years. Not a single doctor diagnosed me correctly. The first time I heard of an endocrinologist who understood my condition was last week. MD means doctor of medicine; it does not mean repository of all knowledge.
Hashimoto's aside, the U.S. Army sterilizes its water with Lugol's solution. And they are liberal with its use.
Hashimoto's aside, the U.S. Army sterilizes its water with Lugol's solution. And they are liberal with its use.
COMMUNITY LEADER
You need to get your Free T3 tested. There's a possibility that you aren't converting the T4 to FT3, so you're still, actually, hypo. You may either need to add a source of T3 medication, or increase your synthroid.
You should also get thyroid antibodies tested to check for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Iodine is contraindicated for anyone with Hashimoto's and should never be used, except under the advice and care of a knowledgeable physician.
You should also get thyroid antibodies tested to check for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Iodine is contraindicated for anyone with Hashimoto's and should never be used, except under the advice and care of a knowledgeable physician.
I don't know if this is true in your case, but sometimes there is sufficient thyroid hormone, but there is a blockage that keeps the body from utilizing it. This blockage is caused by an iodine deficiency. It was true in my case. Synthroid or any of the other meds was worthless for me, but iodine did the trick. Ask about this. By the way, when deficient iodine is the culprit, the patient exhibits all the signs of hypothyroidism.
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