Thyroid problems?

[JakeMN]

I have been having all the symptoms of hypothyroidism.  Constantly tired, dehabilitating brainfog/no short term memory, losing eyebrows, constipation, extreme depression, morning temperatures around 96.7 for days.  My TSH and T3 scores came back  at TSH 2.19(.49-4.67) and T3 2.4 (1.7-3.7) and T4  .9 (.7-1.8).  T3&T4 are free values.  I am wondering if the T4 could be the cause of my symptoms since the others seem fairly midrange.  Thank you for your help.

[gimel]

You are very welcome.  It is a sad commentary that you have been to 8 doctors and none seem to understand that you have hypo symptoms, even though your test results are somewhere within the so-called "normal" ranges.

I found Roseau on the map and then did some quick looking for doctor possibilities, both MD's and DO's.  I looked at DO's because they seem to be a bit more willing to treat patients instead of lab results.  Unfortunately, there are not many prospective doctors to consider, it seems.  I did find a couple that are either family practice or internists.  Would you please click on my name and send me a message with the names of your doctors that did not help you, so I don't waste any time on them.   Also, please identify any doctor for which you think there is any possibility that you could discuss info we can provide to you, and persuade them to put you on a trial of thyroid meds.  

[JakeMN]

Thank you so much!  I have been to 8 doctors and an endo so far telling them that my symptoms are caused by my thyroid, and the thyroid is also likely the reason of my testosterone level being suppressed.  It is difficult to find a good doctor these days where I live.  Everyone looks at lab values rather than combining symptoms, lab values, and family history.  My grandfather and two of his siblings also had thyroid problems.  Thank you again for the extremely helpful response and great write up!

[gimel]

The experience of myself and many other members is that having Free T3 and  Free T4 values in the lower half of their ranges is frequently associated with having hypo symptoms.  The reason is that the ranges are flawed.  Without getting in the details of why that is the case, suffice to say that you can find many sources that speak of functional ranges for FT3 and FT4 that are more like the upper half of the ranges.  Many members, myself included, say that hypo symptom relief required that Free T3 was adjusted into the upper third of its range and Free T4 adjusted to around the middle of its range.

A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results, and certainly not just TSH levels.  TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is totally inadequate as a diagnostic by which to medicate a hypo patient.  Free T3 is the most important because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions.  Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.

You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with from a distance after an initial evaluation and tests.  The letter is then sent to the participating PCP of the patient  to help guides treatment.  In the letter please note the statement, "the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf