Test Range October '09 result April '10 result July '10 result
TSH 0.450-4.500 4.340 uIU/mL 0.07 uIU/mL 0.082 uIU/mL
Free T4 0.82-1.77 1.55 ng/dL 0.17 ng/dL 0.60 ng/dL
Reverse T3 90-350 352 pg/mL 44 pg/mL 166 pg/mL
Free T3 2.0-4.4 2.8 pg/mL 15.4 pg/mL 6.7 pg/mL
Ferritin, serum 13-150 32 ng/mL 18 ng/mL 36 ng/mL
These are the levels I've had on my past 3 blood tests.
I am a 23 yr old female who has been being treated for hypothyroidism/adrenal insufficiency, fibro/CFS, with cytomel, HC, and synthroid.
My main symptoms are daily fatigue and extremely achey neck and shoulders as well as what I call "lead legs" when I just get totally drained very suddenly.
I felt good from late Feb to the end of April 2010. At taht time I was on 50 mcg cytomel taken all in one dose about 7a.m. along with 10 mg of HC at 7 a.m. and 5 mg at noon. I did have some "hyper" symptoms of heart pounding and feeling hot so I was concerned I was taking a little too much cytomel.
I had blood tests done at the end of April that my doctor said indicated I was taking too much cytomel because my FT3 was 15.4.(see above chart). He decreased my cytomel from 50 to 25 mcg daily and added 25 mcg synthroid. We also decreased my HC from 15 mg to 10 mg bc I had gained some weight from a really overwhelming increase in appetite and I thought the HC may have been causing that.
After this decrease I started feeling super tired and achey again. Doctor said I could increase cytomel from 25 to 35 mcg and stay on 25 mcg synthroid. This increase may have given me slightly more energy but the aches and pains were still very prevalent along with the post work "crashes" where all I did was lay on the couch in exhaustion and pain.
Got my blood test results back from July 2010 and doc was kinda unsure how to proceed. Said he was going to treat me for my symptoms instead of results since TSH was really low and FT3 was still high even though I'm still feeling hypo.
On August 23, 2010, He let me increase my cytomel from 35 to 40 mcg but I felt "hyper" so I have since lowered it back to 35 mcg. I also tried 37.5 mcg but it still made me feel hyper. But at 35 mcg I feel hypo.
What do you think I should do? I read on the website: www.thyroid-rt3.com that taking synthroid can increase your RT3 and this can make your T3 not as effective. Should I ask my doctor if I can start taking just cytomel and no synthroid? The evidence I have to support this is that when I was feeling better in April my FT4 was low (0.17) and my RT3 was low (44) . Then after my doctor added synthroid my numbers went to FT4 (0.60) and RT3 (166). So my RT3 had increased quite a lot which coincides with me feeling worse.
Could it also be that my adrenals are still not up to par? Should I increase my HC back up to 15 mg from 10mg?
Also do you think my iron level is low? and could be causing problems?
I would really, really appreciate any advice and thoughts.
Thanks so much in advance!
Take Care!
.
The way your meds and levels are, you are having both hyper and hypo symptoms.
Here is the rule of thumb where your ranges should be:
Free T4 mid normal range
Free T4 mid to high normal range
When on t3 med you cannot go by the TSH as it will make you look hyper.
Unless your reverse t3 goes above the normal range, you have nothing to worry about.
Right now you need to get your Dr to up your synthroid and lower your cytomel. Also....are you divinding your cytomel into 2 dosages? Half in the morning and the other 1/2 approx 6 hrs later??
Also keep an eye on your ferritin levels...I would supplement with whole food source to keep it at a proper level.