I have a very strange acting thyroid and have the blood panels to prove it:

My TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone ) is severely depressed...last value was .02 (normal range is .47 - 5.00 ). This indicates HYPERTHYROIDISM.

But...my Free T-4 count was last 1.2 or so...which is at the low end of the normal range and indicates HYPOTHYROIDISM. Free T-3 though is essentially within normal limits.

Go figure !!

At my nuclear med scan...I lit up like a Christmas tree so they did an ultrasound. I have 2 solid nodules and several cystic nodules...indicating possible early Graves disease.

I had another fancy-schmancy blood test done yesterday and this will hopefully point the way for the next round...whether it be a fine needle aspiration, surgery or radioactive iodine thewrapy. Those test results won't be back for at least 10 days...so I will be on pins and needles waiting for them.

Clinically, I feel HYPOTHYROID.

I have dry skin...always feel COLD...and have rounds on when I am extremely fatigued and sleep a LOT. I have frequent bouts of constipation which has been going on for many weeks now. I had expected some weight gain when I stopped smoking but it seemed that the weight came on very suddenly and at 5 lbs at a time. This is very depressing as I had lost 115 lbs from gastric bypass surgery some 2 years ago and felt great after that. Looked great too...a size 4 beats a size 22 any day of the week.

Got started on Paxil for slight ( mostly job-related) depression.

Hope the docs can figure my strange thyroid out.

I am hypo with 2 nodules...

my endo has suppressed mine to get a reading of .038!!! I am in synthroid and my T4 levels are perfect.

I feel terrific! And I am still considerd HYPO...

I am currently taking 150mcg of synthroid, am warming up a bit, no longer constipated and only sleep 7-8 hours a day as opposed to 12-14 on a good day!!!!!!!!!

I do not in anyway feel Hyper.

I have removed carbs from my diet, because my endo says that many (not al) thyroid patients, hypo and hyper alike are intollerant of them.

Jut my 2 cents!

Merry Mutts,

One thing I learned was not to take a blood test too seriously, especially not the TSH test.

1) The TSH test is not even testing your thyroid gland, it is only testing your pituitary. In theory, if the pituitary is creating more of the "thyroid stimulating hormone", chances are your thyroid is low. This is not always accurate, for numerous reasons.

2) The TSH test has a variety of ranges, depending on what doctor you go to. The same exact blood test may be interpreted differently from one doctor to the next. This tends to decrease any validity received from TSH test score.

3) Approximately 60% of women are supposed to be in some way unbalanced in their thyroid gland secretion. Most of these women do NOT even know it. For this reason, when blood tests are taken, you have to read them with a grain of salt AND in conjunction with one another. This is because these blood tests are comparing you to "normal" society. If this "normal" society includes as many undiagnosed hypothyroid people as my doctor believes, then your blood results don't mean anything.

4) Free T4 and Free T3 tests are probably the most important out of any of the thyroid blood panels - but you must have a T3 and a T4 blood panel taken in order for the Free T4 and Free T3 results to be interpreted. This is because these tests rate the amount of thyroid hormones present in your body [as indicated in the T3 and T4 panels] that are actually AVAILABLE for use in your body - NOT the total amount present.

If you have a high level of binding proteins [which you DEFINITELY WILL HAVE if you are on the birth control pill] then you might have a sufficient amount of TOTAL T3 or T4 present, but not a sufficient amount of active T4 or T3. The binding proteins attach themselves to the T3 and T4, making those hormones inactive. So, while you might test normal in T3 and T4 tests, Free T3 and Free T4 show you truly what amounts are available for use in your body. Therefore, a "normal" reading of your TSH or T4 and T3 tests could still miss a truly hypothyroid individual.

5) Reverse tests are important too, because it shows you if your body is attacking the remaining viable T3 or T4 hormones in your body. So, if you are producing the right number of T3 or T4 hormones, and have a sufficient amount left free floating for use, it still doesn't reflect the amount available for use because of this factor.

6) Therefore, if you are going to get your thyroid tested by blood work, you need to have the T3, T4, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and Reverse T4 done in addition to the TSH.

7) Although T4 is more prevalent than T3 in the body, T3 is the hormone that regulates energy level and metabolism. For this reason, taking T4 supplements alone will not alleviate the symptoms of hypothyroidism. You need to make sure to be put on a T3 replacement specifically - which you will get on Armour, but NOT on Synthroid or Levoxyl.

8) Although there are a number of blood tests to have taken and to read in CONJUNTION with one another, a better indicator of hypothyroidism is your body temperature. If your temperature is consistently below 98.0, then you probably have hypothyroidism. This is because the lack of T3 in your body reduces your metabolism and energy levels.

As you can tell - I have been doing a lot of research on these areas. If I hadn't, I probably would never have been diagnosed myself, even though I had a genetic history and knew for four years prior to ultimate diagnosis. My mom had undiagnosed hypothyroidism for 12 years, and then was only on a T4 replacement for 20 more. Just this past April I brought her to my doctor, and he put her on a special mix of T3 and T4 together. She's lost over 11 pounds since starting her mix in May, and that is without any additional effort on her part.

It's amazing how living with a functioning thyroid gland can do for your weight and energy levels!! My mother has never known what normal feels like, because she's been undiagnosed and undermedicated for all of her adult life.

Anyway, I highlight some of my personal history to point out that getting help in this area requires a lot of effort on your part - effort to educate yourself, effort to remove the societal notions that the symptoms are "normal" and a result of the natural aging process in women, and effort to find a doctor who knows this area. Not many doctors do know, but worse, most think that they do.

My doctor is amazing - I have been referring people to see him at his office, which is in Torrance, California. I fly in to see him, and have flown family from Maryland & NYC to see him. I have had people fly in to see him from NC and AZ, too. He is worth it. Everyone who has seen him loves him because he is so knowledgable and helpful and he listens. His main motivator does not appear to financial, either. He is hypothyroid, and really wants to help women feel better.

I will send you information on how to get diagnosed, and other information about thyroidism if you want to e-mail me = this goes for ANYONE.

thyroid~justice.com [thryoid AT justice.com]

Margie,
I'm printing out your posting for future reference!
I'm new at this "thyroid" game, having had a substernal multinodular goiter removed in April 2004. Parathyroid intact and calcium levels test okay. Having some other "issues". Am taking Synthroid .125mcg, and am interested in trying a more "complete" medication, but Dr. Schwarzbein doesn't like the Armour because the T3 and T4 are in fixed amounts. I wonder if anyone out there has worked with her on Thyroid supplementation in the case of a complete thyroidectomy.
I'll appreciate all responses.
Phyllis

Phyllis,

I don't know your doctor and I don't know much about a complete thyroidectomy, but I do have more information about thyroidism at my site if you'd like to check it out. http://diagnosis.4t.com

My doctor likes to have a pharmacy whip up his prescriptions for his patients - so he has total control over the amount of T3 and T4 in each prescription. I have heard of other doctors sending their patients to Apothocaries for the same reason. Didn't know those things still existed, but I have heard of a few that were sent there to get their meds.

Margie :-)

Phyllis have you been to the Schwarzbein forum? I don't know how active it is, but you might find some help there as it relates directly to thyroid. I know Wanda is our resident Schwarbein expert and she's also been diagnosed recently with hypothyroidism - she'll be along shortly

I would suggest that you have a look through the TopDoc list at thyroid-info; you might be able to find a highly recommended thyroid specialist in your area.

Nat

Everything you said made sense. Except the above. Why is the Total T4 and T3 necessary to interpret the Free-T3 and Free-T4? I am curious, not questioning you. I'm new at this.

Hi Phyllis!

I noticed this awhile back when I was going through my SP book and I was disappointed that she didn't expand on her reasoning. So this is the way I interpreted it.

I think she doesn't believe in Armour by itself *IF* it means your FT3 and FT4 levels are out of whack. For instance, I started on natural thyroid, but had to supplement with Synthroid as well to correct a lowered T4 level. She wants people to supplement hormones in the same amount that we make them and Armour isn't identical to human thyroid. That's the one criticism.

That's my guess. It's odd she picked on Armour when Synthroid alone is even worse. So to summarize, I personally don't think you have to stay away from "Armour" per se, but check your blood tests and make sure that your FT3 and FT4 levels are properly regulated. You could use a combination of T3 and T4 but you'd be missing out on the other thyroids that are included in Armour. It's funny she didn't address this latter point. IMO, I think including Armour would be more natural, adjusting your T4 levels as needed.

..... unless there's something I don't know about the hormonal rythms of T3 and T4 where they surge at different times of the day. Someone more knowledgeable about thyroid would be better able to answer that.

Wanda