Update and latest lab results

[Ericamegan]

Hi,  I've been feeling better over the last couple of months since switching to Armour. I have more energy and have been able to exercise more. The anxiety, hot flashes and neck flushing are completely gone.  

I am still having facial swelling, eye swelling and acne. I had been on DHEA and quit taking it 2 weeks ago.  I also switched to a lower estrogen birth control pill 2 months ago. All the hormonal changes may be to blame for the acne, but I've been wondering if some of these issues may be from a food intolerance, candida or gut issues. I started a probiotic and have been cutting back on dairy and sugar.  I have been mostly gluten free for a year too.

I just got back my new labs.  Unfortunately, the lab ran T3 Uptake instead of RT3.  Can anybody tell me where my FT3 is % wise?

Free T4 1.3 (.8-1.8)
Free T3  3.4 (2.3-4.2)
T3 uptake 27 (22-35)
TSH .01

6/26/212
Free T4 1.1 (.8 -1.8)
Free T3 - 3.1 (2.3-4.2)
Reverse T3- 24 (11- 32)
TSH- .01  

Thanks for all the support and advise MH friends!  I've come a long way and without this forum, who knows what shape I'd be in.
Here are my labs from last November.  I felt awful here!  
TSH   .006  (.45-4.5)
FT4    1.2    (.6-1.6)
FT3    2.4   (1.7-3.7)

8/27/2010  -Looking back even a little further.  I felt like my body was shutting down here.  I could barely move and was a complete mess.  
FT4-  0.2  (0.6 -1.6)
FT3 - 1.6 (2.0-3.5)
TSH-  5.71   (0.45-4.50)

[Ericamegan]

I've been using celtic sea salt and in the past my sodium levels are more towards the low side. I was wondering if that my have something to do with it.  I bought some iodine drops awhile back at whole foods, but haven't taken any.  I didn't know if I should or if it would flare up my TED.  I don't think I get a lot in my diet, so I'll give them a try.

When first tested, my Free Testosterone and DHEA were very low, so my dr had me take DHEA to try and raise both. We rechecked a couple months later and my DHEA had come up a good bit, but the testosterone was still low.  She had me switch up BC pills to see if it would help.(My SHBG was sky high)  I'm sure some of my problem have had to due with the pill.  I think I will go off of it a the end of the year.

Thanks for the advise!

[stella5349]

And to add: I'm impressed with your post and what you are doing altogether to help get you back to feeling your best! I haven't seen your past posts but you sound like others have really stepped up here to offer you alot of information to get your self knowledgable about your condition.

This community is great and have some long-time posters still active on the board that really do a wonderful job offering themselves.

One last thought about eliminating regular table salt. You should look into exchanging that for a high quality sea salt as in Himalayan Crystal Pink Salt .

Salt is important in any diet. Here are some points why:

1.Regulating the water content throughout your body.
2.Promoting a healthy pH balance in your cells, particularly your brain cells.
3.Promoting blood sugar health and helping to reduce the signs of aging.
4.Assisting in the generation of hydroelectric energy in cells in your body.
5.Absorption of food particles through your intestinal tract.
6.Supporting respiratory health.
7.Promoting sinus health.
8.Prevention of muscle cramps.
9.Promoting bone strength.
10.Regulating your sleep -- it naturally promotes sleep.
11.Supporting your libido.
12.Promoting vascular health.
13.In conjunction with water it is actually essential for the regulation of your blood pressure.

I find Dr Mercola does a good job explaining the history of Sea Salt on his site but you can shop around locally if your interested in using it.

http://products.mercola.com/himalayan-salt/

[stella5349]

Great job tracking your labs with symptoms. That's a challenge for many thyroid patients and hard to explain to the community how important doing what you did is! :)

You can see your Free T3 lab has slowly increased as time went on. Going slow as it looks here is great. W it can hen FT3 is irratic, it can be tough on the patient but in your case it climbed up through time. Your current labwork indicates very good results with your FT3 being in the upper 75 percentile- along with the FT4 about the same 75 percentile of the reference ranges. I'm about there with my labs and do well along with the same TSH lab results. I don't follow TSH much but I do rely on watching my 0.01 to stay put!

Here, with your labs and still having the symptom of "moon face" or fluid retention my suggestion would be to research, learn, and talk to your doctor about hard mineral toxcity to run an analysis, drop your ionized salt intake and consider looking into small doses of iodine. Ioderol is my perferred choice but any iodine should be talked over with your doctor. If you happen to look into this supplement, never start high. a 12mg start is a good way to work that in. Speak to your doctor about the information you find.

My feeling about the acne is directly related to your BC. Testosterone levels are usually why a break out occurs and the added estrogen might be rolling a high testosterone/progesterone level. A "free" testosterone and/or progesterone test along with FSH/LH, DHEA blood lab should be drawn to see where you are at. If at all possible I would speak to your doctor about weening off BC altogether. Simplifying any hormone to work naturally is best when trying to optimize thyroid.