Hi
I'm a 45 year old female, I've always been in pretty good shape. Strength train regularly, run about 20-30 miles per week. I've been feeling bad for approx 2 years. Lost my menstrual cycle, unable to stay asleep, night sweats, cold ALL the time, always tired, hair and nails became dry and brittle, I'm extremely irritable, and gaining weight. It doesn't matter what I do, I keep gaining weight. I'm becoming quite obsessed and depressed. My doctor FINALLY checked my labs and I'm post menopausal (shocking). Estrogen and progesterone in the toilet. Started me on HRT about 4 months ago. At that time, they also drew a thyroid panel. The results were as follows:
TSH 0.83 (0.34-5.60 reference range )
Free T3 2.38 (2.39-4.28 reference range)
T4 free 1.0 (0.58-1.64 reference range)
The only symptom my HRT helped is the hot flashes. I continue to be exhausted, cold, cranky, sleepless...and fat. I'm continuing to put on weight! It's not diet related. With the above lab results...would I benefit from thyroid medication? I'm constantly reading about how important T3 is and how it regulates your metabolism, etc...but my doctor says I'm normal. I'm over 40, it happens, basically live with it...I'm going out of my mind. I really want to feel normal again.