need some help figuring this out please!

[penny3323]

Hi, I have been having a spell of weird symptoms and I wanted to find out what you all think about it being hypothyroidism.  I do have a sister who has hashimotos and my mom and other sister also are hypothyroid.I have had recent labs that showed:

TSH - 2.87
T4 - 6.7  (4.5-12)
T3 uptake - 32%  (24-39)
Free thyroxine index - 2.1  (1.2 - 4.9)  

Basically,  I am fatigued all the time (granted I am a grad student, but my fatigue never changes no matter how much I have to do), I have been having tingling in one of my legs and arms, feeling light dizziness, muscle twitches, cold hands and feet, brain fog that is making me forget things.  I have not been gaining weight though, I can usually eat as much as I want, so I feel like my metabolism is ok.  So basically, due to the family history, I am not sure if I should just call this hypothyroidism.  I know there are some docs who now put the upper value of the reference range of TSH at 3, so I am right there at the border, but what do you think?  Do these symptoms sound familiar?  What was your TSH when you were diagnosed with hypothyroid?  Thanks!

[FTB4]

OK, If you get retested, request both Free's, and insist on it, then when the results come in, request a copy of the results, it is a good idea with thyroid disease to log and record all tests, ranges and symptoms, for your own and your Md for reference, I know prior to going to the MD, you have all these questions, and then you forget half the questions you wanted to ask, if you keep a log of everything, then you can write a list and make the MD respond with explanations. They work for you and you should not let your MD intimidate you. If and when you get new labs, post the Free's and ranges for more assistance.   Best Regards FTB4

[penny3323]

oddly, the form doesn't say if its free or total T4.  It just says thyroxine (T4).  I googled the reference ranges used for both total and free and based on that it appears that they did total T4 on me.  

[FTB4]

It seems the site had cut me off, If you could state if this is Free T4 or Total T4, Total T4 is kind of outdated and not used much anymore.
Best Regards FTB4

[FTB4]

TSH is not a thyroid hormone, it is a pituitary hormone, it should be used to determin if a thyroid disease is present, but should not be used to treat or prescribe dosages of medication. Free T3 is the actual thyroid hormone that is active, and is what the body needs to function. The T4 you have above, is that Free T4 or Total T4?  Your Free T3 is only a lttle over 24% of its range. This is kind of low for Free T3, it is hard to tell without knowing the Free T4 and comparing to Free T3. But the low Free T3 would indicate a Hypo issue, and being that thyroid disease is hereditary and fairly prominent in your family, chances are you are experiencing Hypo symptoms. Please post if the T4 is Free T4 or Total, Total is sort of outdated today.  Best Regards FTB4
And with the new TSH ranges of 0.3-3.0 you would be high in that range.
Your thyroid produces T4 you convert this T4 hormone into T3, after some loss to being carried away by protein, what is left is Free T3, so this would be a most important test, but some Hypo sufferers also have a conversion issue, where as the T4 is not converted well to T3, this would be determined by the percentages in both hormones compared with each other.