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Blood Results
Well My TSH Is Normal and my T4 Free is low.60 (REF Range is 0.89/1.80) So my endo is ordering a T3 Free so what happens if my T4 Free and my T3 Free is low but the TSH is normal what will happen then.
The key question for you, which you have not addressed, is whether you have hypo symptoms or not. If not, then you have nothing to be concerned about. If you have symptoms, then you'll probably need to push your doctor to make sure he tests for free T3, along with free T4 and TSH, and medicates you based on your symptoms and your free T3 and free T4, rather than by TSH.
I would like to thank you very much. Well I have to my blood drawn again and she want to see the TSH, T3 Free, T4 Free again to see if I'm hypo or hyper. Like I said my TSH was normal and the T4 Free was low she never took my T3 Free so I'm just going to have to wait to see what's going on.
I think the key question for you is whether you are suffering from hypo symptoms or not? If you are then your free T3 and free T4 levels need to be increased with medication, even though your TSH is within even the new reference range of .3-3.0.
The thing to keep in mind is that TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, so that it has only a fair correlation with T4 and T3 levels in the blood, and a very poor correlation with thyroid symptoms. Much of the biological activity in the body is dependent on free T3 and free T4 (free meaning not bound up by protein). Free T3 is the most important because it is four times as potent as free T4, and correlates best with hypo symptoms.
If you suffer from hypo symptoms, I would try to get the doctor to treat you by testing and adjusting free T3 and free T4 levels as required to alleviate symptoms and get you into what I call the "sweet spot", by which I mean neither hypo nor hyper symptoms. Since TSH does not correlate realy well, sometimes this will mean that the TSH is suppressed to the low end of the reference range or even below, even though free T3 and free T4 are still well within their ranges. A suppressed TSH doesn't affect your body functions. Free T3 and free T4 are the active thyroid hormones. In my opinion, a patient's hyper or hypo status should be defined and treated by symptoms and the "Frees", not by TSH level.
The thing to keep in mind is that TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, so that it has only a fair correlation with T4 and T3 levels in the blood, and a very poor correlation with thyroid symptoms. Much of the biological activity in the body is dependent on free T3 and free T4 (free meaning not bound up by protein). Free T3 is the most important because it is four times as potent as free T4, and correlates best with hypo symptoms.
If you suffer from hypo symptoms, I would try to get the doctor to treat you by testing and adjusting free T3 and free T4 levels as required to alleviate symptoms and get you into what I call the "sweet spot", by which I mean neither hypo nor hyper symptoms. Since TSH does not correlate realy well, sometimes this will mean that the TSH is suppressed to the low end of the reference range or even below, even though free T3 and free T4 are still well within their ranges. A suppressed TSH doesn't affect your body functions. Free T3 and free T4 are the active thyroid hormones. In my opinion, a patient's hyper or hypo status should be defined and treated by symptoms and the "Frees", not by TSH level.
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