High Free T3

sammy64

I wonder if your batch of Armour has some inconsistencies.

And, your TSH is telling you that you need more thyroid hormone - this is confirmed by your low FreeT4 level.

How do you feel?

With labs like yours and IF you are having symptoms, I'd be inclined to add a little levothyroxine to "even things out".

__________________
Graves' 2007...remission 2009....hypo 2010

Tennis8240

Hi. thanks for replying. I feel absolutely miserable. I'm having fatigue, memory problems, hair loss, etc. None of my medicines at all seem to be doing their jobs unfortunately. I have a very nice endo who is in over his head with me, and I'm afraid if I give him these labs he will want to stop my thyroid meds all together, which won't help at all. He already told me he doesnt want me to take any more Armour because he thinks it will make my numbers worse. Maybe I'll ask him about the levothyroxine and see what he says... I'll just cross my fingers that he is willing to help. I guess if not, I have an appointment with another endo in June Thanks again for your help

sammy64

You know, you just might want to consider a "non-endo" for your thyroid care. Most of us have found endos to be clueless in regards to thyroid disease - I know my first 3 endos were.

I took the advice of thyroid forum members and sought a DO, internist or holistic doctor - my GP, a DO, proved to be clueless but, I found my "charm" in the form of an internist.

You might want to ask your pharmacist for contact info of other doctors that Rx Armour (or Cytomel, a T3 med "with-it" doctors Rx)...you might have better luck.

__________________
Graves' 2007...remission 2009....hypo 2010

Tennis8240

Hi. I actually have an awesome holistic doctor (who is also an MD and teaches at a medical school). Unfortunately he is in another state and my insurance won't cover him, and i can't afford to pay out of pocket but once every 4 months or so. He can't prescribe me meds directly (especially the Norditropin, it is literally thousands a month) because my insurance won't cover them either. Even then, I am a mystery to him as well. I asked about the thyroid level problem and he said that maybe it got measured at peak absorption of my meds, but he didn't know. I saw that endo today, and that is the LAST time I will ever see him. I was literally crying in the room when he left. He flat out admitted that what is wrong with me is over his head. He mentioned something about hypothalamic something or other, and I didn't understand him, so at the end of the appt I asked the PA to have him write it down, and he said no. She did it anyway, lol. He also was unwilling to raise my Norditropin more than 0.2 mg. My IGF-I is 84 on 1 mg of Norditropin. I guess for someone my age (30), it should be somewhere above 200-250. But because they don't do the range by age, it starts at 64, and the endo said because the number is in range, he doesn't want to raise it more than that. My IGF-I was 32 before I started meds. The holistic doctor (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say his name, but he is awesome) wanted the endo to at least double my Norditropin. Because the endo was unwilling to raise this, I didn't even bother asking about the thyroid meds. I heard him, the resident, and the PA talking about how my thyroid numbers are perfect. It felt like a joke because he was sitting there telling me that he treats the symptoms and not the numbers and then he is telling me that everything is good (even though my numbers AND my symptoms are not!). I also asked him about my elevated testosterone and low estradiol, and he had no answer for me. Basically my entire endocrine system and my vitamins are going haywire, and no one can help me. I am also having crazy high leukocytes for apparently no reason. He told me to go back to the Cleveland Clinic, but that is where the head of the endocrinology department completely brushed me off because I am heavy. I think what they are looking for is something with diabetes or insulin because I am big, but those numbers are almost the only endocrine numbers that are picture perfect. I am just SO frustrated and don't know where to turn. Thanks!

I just wanted to add that this endo did prescribe cytomel to start (5mg) and then switched, upon my request, to armour.