Thryoid

[chrisjaz]

I have been to the docs ( in France where i live ) he is doing these blood tests and i am going for a Thryoid scan

NFS
PLAQUETTES
GLYCEMIE
BILAN LIPIDIQUE

VS
CRP

TSH us
T4L
T3
anticorps antithyroperoxdase
anticorps anti recepteurs de la TSH
anticorps antithyrogbuline
transa ggt bilit/c

IONO CREATININEMIE
+ CLAIRANCE CREATININE
Uree

I hope that some of these test will show why my muscles and bones ache!
Christina

[chrisjaz]

I do have some symtoms i think of hyper , the doc was suprised that my thryoid was tiny and no nodules on it , sweating , don't get tired , can stay up till very late at night as i find it hard to get to sleep , not sure of what else there is as never really looked at hyper only hypo .
It will be intereting to see the blood tests in 2 months time .

I will let you what they are .

Christina

[goolarra]

Oh, good, I'm glad you'll get another chance with a different doctor.

I'm not sure about France, either.  We know T3 is very difficult to get in the UK and most of the rest of Europe.  Some people have to go to private clinics to get it.

Are you feeling hyper symptoms right now at all?

It can be difficult here as well.  I don't think we're more advanced, just have a different set of problems.  

[chrisjaz]

Hi Ya

When i go back in 2 months for the blood test the doc will be finished and the doc us is usually there a lady doc will be the one i will see , so that might be good .
I am not sure if france do T3 medication .

Well started my day with 75mg levo tomorrow 100g then 75 then 100 .
It seems like America is more advanced in thryoid conditions .

Kind regards

Christina

[goolarra]

Lowering your T4 will probably get your TSH back into range and your FT4 to a better level.  However, I doubt it will make you feel any better.  Lowering your meds will make you feel worse, not better.  What little you are converting will probably drop even further.  Is there a possibility of a new doctor?  You could preinterview them over the phone (probably through a nurse) and find out who is willing to prescribe T3.  

[chrisjaz]

Hi
Thanks for all your info , well i went to the docs and he said he needs to lower my levothroxin i asked about T3 and he said no only the T4 so he has said to take 100mg one morning and next morning 75mg and so on for 2 months then have the bloods done again , so i will have to do what he says and see what happens , like you say he was looking at the TSH so i will have to go along with it and see how i get one .
Thanks you so much for all your info you are very kind .

Christina

[goolarra]

It would change your meds.  I think (not a doctor, just a fellow patient) that you'd feel a lot better lowering your levo a little and adding in some T3 meds (Cytomel and generics).  That would bring up your FT3 and lower your FT4 just a little.  Be aware, though, that many doctors are reluctant to prescribe T3, and that reluctance is often worse outside the U.S.

Many members find that just a little (5-10 mcg) of T3 can make a huge difference.  The rule of thumb is to reduce T4 meds 25 mcg for every 5 mcg T3 added IF you want to maintain the same overall dose.  This is because T3 is much more potent than T4.  Also, T3 is fast acting compared to T4, so most people split their daily dose and take part first thing in the morning with their levo and part in the late morning or early afternoon (you can experiment with what works best for you/your schedule).

If I were you, I'd ask my doctor if he'd add 5 mcg of T3 and reduce T4 by 25.  Once on that for 4-6 weeks, re-test, re-evaluate symptoms and adjust again as necessary.  I think you'd find it would make a big difference.    

[chrisjaz]

Hi again

All i can say is that before i started taking this medication what i noticed was that i was consipated and getting out of breath easy and although i was doing exercises didn;t loose any weight the lady at Curves sent me to the doc as she said if anyone it should be you who is loosing weight there must be a problem.However  i did notice i couldn;t sit with my legs crossed or kneel down as it hurt my legs they were the only symtoms i had.
Now since being on medication i feel worse in a way joint and muscle sorness i never had before , i can say that i feel that all these things have started since i went on medication for underactive thryroid.
I have been on medication for 4-5 years now .
Christina

[chrisjaz]

Hi
Thanks so much for your reply , i take levothryoxin 100mg , my symtoms are muscle soreness ,and very sore to lie on each hip like as it there is pockets of fluid there if that makes sense , i do have soreness in the middle of my ribs that goes along to my right side , , hair loss , memeory is awful , hard to get to sleep , although i don;t suffer with tireness , i can stay up quite late in the evenings but i do need my sleep in the morning , and if i get up to soon i have a funny sort of headache , so i stay untill it goes .
would these results alter my medication lower or higher ?

Hope this is ok
christina

[goolarra]

Your TPOab at 71 is somewhat elevated (range is 0-34).  That could indicate Hashi's.  It might appear more than "somewhat" elevated, but bear in mind that we often see TPOab counts in the high hundreds or even thousands on diagnosis of Hashi's.  TPOab can be somewhat elevated in the case of other autoimmune diseases.

Your FT4 is actually a bit on the high side.  Midrange is the rule of thumb for FT4, and yours is just barely in the upper third of range.  However, your FT3 is very low, almost on the floor of the range.  This indicates that you convert T4 to T3 slowly.  FT3 should be higher in its range than FT4 is in its.

What thyroid meds do you take?  Do you have many hypo symptoms?

As far as thyroid is concerned, these tests are great...more comprehensive than we often see.  

[chrisjaz]

Here are my results :-

Auto Anticorps antithyroperoxdase
Title  71    threshold  34    

Auto anticorps antithyroglobuline
Title  <115 UI/mL   threshold   115

Free T3      4,0 pmol/L (nles 3,95a 6,8)    is  2,2 ng/dl

Free T4     18,8 pmol/l  (nles 12,0 a 22,0 )  is  1.45 ng/dl

TSH ultra-sensible    0,19  UI/kl (nles 0,27  a 4,20 )

Anticorps anti-recepteur de la TSH (RIA)

< 0,3 UI/L
Interpretation

Negatif :  1,5  UI/L

i hope this makes sense i did have other blood tests done , there quite a lot , would any other blood test be useful or is this enough , i have a very tiny thryoid gland which is finished i was told at the scan.

Thanks you to anyone who can help with this .  

[chrisjaz]

Thanks for your reply , i will sort out the results as there are quite a lot , i did have a scan and was told that my thryoid is tiny and finished , which was a shock ,  i take 100mg of thryoxin at the moment ,
I will put the results here tomorrow .
Thanks again

[goolarra]

TSH, T4 and T3 comprise the basic thyroid panel.  Be sure your doctor has ordered FREE T3 and FREE T4.  Total T3 and total T4 are considered obsolete and much less useful.  If "free" isn't specified, they'll run total.  

The three "anticorps" are the antibodies that are markers for autoimmune thyroid disease.  Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TGab) are markers for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the most common cause of hypo in the developed world.  TSH receptor antibodies (TRab or TSI) are the markers for Graves' disease, autoimmune hyper.

With these tests and a scan (ultrasound?), you'll have a very good idea of what your thyroid is (or isn't) doing.  Bear in mind with FT3 and FT4 that many of us still have symptoms if we are low in the ranges.  Just being in range isn't enough.  When you get results, if you'd like to post them with reference range, we can help you interpret them.  Ranges vary lab to lab and country to country, so you have to report them from your own lab report.

Good luck!