Article on Why Some People Need T3

[TXGrama]

I thought this might be of interest to some of us who are resistant to conversion of T4 to T3.  It is from Dr. Theodore Friedman's Good Hormone Health website.  A DNA variation may be responsible.

http://www.goodhormonehealth.com/geneticvariation%20.pdf

[magpieannie]

Maybe I should change my pin name to "Annie get-your gun"! Gets me fired up just thinking about it!!!!

[gimel]

Don't hold back Annie, it's not good for you!  LOL

[magpieannie]

Hi there! My daughter is nine and born without a thyroid gland. Her pediatric endo. always kept her on Synthroid and never checked the t3. Said it magically converted!  Always asked about her symptoms, but ignored tham really and went by TSH and t4, (which she kept too high), for her decisions reguarding my daughter. Problem was her t3 was low, but she never looked! When my daughter started having heart palps due to this imbalance, we switched doctors and meds. Now on dessicated (Naturethroid.) This has plenty of t3 in it, and she no longer has heart palps and many of the other hypo symptoms that her endo. allowed her to suffer with for most of her life! These TSH driven, T4 only given', normal range spouten' Endos. need to go back to medical school (one that is not supported by Big Pharma paying, Synthetic, patonted holding, drug companies) and relearn what it is they are specializing in! (which should be how to achieve the best health for their salary paying patients!) Something is really waked with the ethics of our medical system and it's the innocent patients who are truly paying the price for their closeminded onesidedness!

[Barb135]

My endo put me on cytomel, along with my T4 med, the first time I saw him and we discussed my levels......both my FT4 and FT3 were borderline.  I had no problem getting him to give me the script for the cytomel.  

I know there are a lot of doctors who are reluctant to do that -- my old pcp believed only in synthroid and refused to listen when I tried to tell him it wasn't working right.  He was also adjusting my med based ONLY on TSH and FT4 --- mostly TSH, so of course, when my TSH dropped to the bottom, he started lowering my dose of synthroid, even though I was still having hypo symptoms and my FT4 was barely in range.  His philosophy was -- in range, is "normal", whether you have symptoms or not -- and if you still have symptoms while on synthroid --- YOU must be doing something wrong!!!  

Fortunately, I have kicked him to the curb and although I have a new pcp, who I think would be slightly better with thyroid issues than my old one, I'm not sure he would treat it the way I want --- I'll let my endo continue handling the thryoid issues until my pcp indicates that he will do it MY way.........how's THAT for an attitude??  

[thelma201]

I have been baffled by this notion for some time. It seems commen sense to me, that if our previously healthy thyroids made some T3..and more than just T4/T3..obviously it made these hormones for a reason. That is why I asked a few months into starting Levo to try Armour. II was on it for a couple months, no problems, and my Dr. at the time decided that ( it isn't working) no explanation..I asked, and he just said the same thing , and put me back on synthetic....this was done prior to blood work. Now I'm up to 150mcg levo, and still have low T3....now I have no idea where to go for the RIGHT help from a Dr. I can trust

[TXGrama]

I know what you mean.  I was doing the best on Armour, but when I couldn't get it anymore my endo (who did not prescribe Armour) here in Texas wanted me just on Synthroid (or Levoxyl)  My PCP finally realized that I wasn't converting to T3 after my tests showed TSH was finally down again, FT4 was ok, but the FT3 was below normal.  Even with Cytomel, I didn't budge on FT3.  So we're gradually upping the dose of it.  In the mean time I'm feeling lousy, though the hair loss has slowed.

I do think there is a genetic component to Hashi's in some cases.  I was diagnosed in my early 50's and my daughter in her 30's.  But at present she seems to be doing ok on the Synthroid.  I've always felt the Synthroid for the most part didn't do the trick unless it managed to get my TSH to almost zero (I think by then I was producing a little T3 from the Synthroid-my theory).

I think part of the problem with getting the endos to prescribe T3 is the conflict in research which seemed to show that it doesn't make a difference.  Also the risk of increased heart rate discourages many endos.  For those of us who do not convert the T4 to T3 (the active component), we know it does make a difference.  Just need to get the endo's to understand that!!

[TamraW]

I know of four endos in San Antonio who need to read this article! Why are they so reluctant to treat T3 levels?

Sheesh!

:) Tamra