# A Mere .25



## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

I've been away for a while; I was taking care of my Lyme Disease, so I was a bit distracted.

After my lobectomy (end of Jan 2010) I started going hypo, so I was on .50 Synthroid and felt somewhat better, but my body temp never recovered. With an oral thermometer, my temp was always about 2 degrees low. No one seemed to care about that "small detail".

I'm seeing anew Dr now who does hormone balancing, and he had me take an AM basal temp before getting out of bed. Over 5 days, I was an average of 96.2! Here is the funny thing: I'm always HOT! I always feel very hot. My A/C is set so low that my poor wife has to wear a a sweater.

Being fed up with the situation, I decided to up the dose of Synthroid to .75 (that's a 50% increase) and two things happened. First, I felt much better. I had much more energy, clearer thinking, and I didn't feel so hot. I'm almost back to normal! Second, I wasn't so hot.

My Basal temp went to 97.2! That's UP one degree, but I feel less hot!!! How does that work?!

The plan is to keep taking the .75 and see if I get more improvement. If not, I will go up again.

I thought that people who were hypo were cold??? Not only was I hot, but also, I gained 20 lbs in 4 months (seriously). My Endo told me to stop snacking! I told her that I've eaten the same way for years, but gained 20 lbs. since having half my thyroid removed! Can't these people get it? Of course, as you might have guessed, my numbers are "within range".

The worst part of the poor doctoring that left me with the incorrect dose of replacement thyroid hormones is the cascade of other medical problems that I now have to deal with: I gained 20 lbs, my blood pressure went through the roof, and my blood sugar went above the normal range, where it never had been before. On top of that, my cholesterol and triglycerides went scary high. Continuing down that road, I would have picked up, at least, diabetes and high blood pressure, and another handful of pills that go with them.

So, what's a mere .25 or .50 of thyroid med? It's your life.

Fortunately, I got a new Dr who will give me enough natural thyroid to get the job done. He also has to help me get the weight and BP down.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Glad to hear you are now getting proper treatment - weight gain is common from too low thyroid function as are the sugar and blood pressure issues


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> I've been away for a while; I was taking care of my Lyme Disease, so I was a bit distracted.
> 
> After my lobectomy (end of Jan 2010) I started going hypo, so I was on .50 Synthroid and felt somewhat better, but my body temp never recovered. With an oral thermometer, my temp was always about 2 degrees low. No one seemed to care about that "small detail".
> 
> ...


Good grief; you've not been getting good after care at all.

Have you seen the new doc yet? Are you now on the natural thyroid? If so, what and how much?

What does your Free T3 look like? If it is not in the right place along with low TSH, you cannot lose weight. You have to be in euthyroid state. What is your TSH? Did they run the FREE T3 and FREE T4?


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

Hi Andros,

I am seeing new Dr now.

Latest test results:

TSH 1.43 (.4 - 4.5)

T4 Free 1.3 (.8 - 1.8)

T3 Free 427 (230 - 420)

1 month ago:

TSH: 2.07 (.40 - 4.5)

T4 Free 1.2 (.8 - 1.8)

New dosage, from new Dr, starting tomorrow: 1 grain of Armour.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> Hi Andros,
> 
> I am seeing new Dr now.
> 
> ...


In both cases, I personally feel your TSH is too high. I think 1 or less would be better. That is just my opinion; it is not carved in stone. First test, FT3 in hyper land. In both cases, FT4 appears stable. There are slight fluctuations according to time of day and other variables.

You know I am an Armour fan so I will be anxious to see how you do on it. Please let us know.


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks Andros,

Forgive my ignorance, but how can my both my TSH and T3 be high? Isn't TSH low when you have an adequate supply of T3?

Brian


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> Thanks Andros,
> 
> Forgive my ignorance, but how can my both my TSH and T3 be high? Isn't TSH low when you have an adequate supply of T3?
> 
> Brian


While in both instances, your TSH is in range, it is high to me. I should have clarified that. Most of us feel better w/ TSH @ 1 or less.

Mine is kept at 0.03 with the Frees where they should be in the range.

When your Free T3 was 427 (over the top of the range) your TSH was still in range. That is correct. It was only high to me. In my estimation.


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

Andros,

What I mean to say say/ask is, how do you lower your TSH? I think the answer is: more Armour. But, if that is the case, then what do I do? My T3 is already in "Hyperland".

Another way to put it is: how can I have high T3 and high TSH at the same time? What could cause that?

I agree with you that my TSH is high, BTW.

Thanks,

Brian


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> Andros,
> 
> What I mean to say say/ask is, how do you lower your TSH? I think the answer is: more Armour. But, if that is the case, then what do I do? My T3 is already in "Hyperland".
> 
> ...


Now we are talking. I found that strange; with FT3 "that" high, one would expect to have seen the TSH lower than what it was.

Answer? Antibodies. There are blocking, binding and stimulating antibodies and autoantibodies. They sometimes cause a lag time between the Frees and the TSH. Mixed signals you might say.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Maybe a re-test in a few weeks will show a TSH to reflect your high FT-3?


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

Thank you!

Antibodies all normal.

This looks like yet another symptom of the dreaded little spirochete that dance around inside my brain; I have Lyme Disease, and I've heard from a lot of people who have odd pituitary hormone levels when then have Lyme Disease.

B


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Antibodies all normal.
> 
> ...


What antibodies are normal?

It would not be a surprise that Lyme Disease has wreaked havoc on the pituitary and thyroid as well as other glands and organs. You have been really ill. You are lucky you got a diagnosis. Some have to have a special urinalysis for diagnosis of Lyme as the bloods keep on coming back negative. I presume you had the Elisa?


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

I've been away for awhile, but still have the same problem. My Free T3 is high, but my TSH is also a bit high.

I cannot even function with .5 of Synthroid. When I double it, I feel MUCH better, but I'm afraid of doing harm to myself with a high T3.

All of my symptoms improve on 1.0 of Synthroid, but will I harm what's left of my thyroid by being over in T3?

Question: Can people lose sensitivity to T3? Just like people become less sensitive to insulin. Is there a test to see check thyroid hormone binding capacity?

Thanks!

Brian


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

thatbrian said:


> I've been away for awhile, but still have the same problem. My Free T3 is high, but my TSH is also a bit high.
> 
> I cannot even function with .5 of Synthroid. When I double it, I feel MUCH better, but I'm afraid of doing harm to myself with a high T3.
> 
> ...


How high is your T3? That would be Total 3. Did you ever get a FREE T3? FREE T3 is the unbound portion of the hormone which is available for cellular uptake.

Total 3 is bound, unbound and rT3. It would only be a guess as to how much unbound you have in the Total 3.

Measurement of Total and Unsaturated Thyroid Hormone-Binding Capacity in Serum
Because the concentration of thyroid hormone in serum is dependent on its supply as well as on the abundance of hormone-binding sites on serum proteins, the estimation of the latter has proved useful in the correct interpretation of values obtained from the measurement of the total hormone concentration. These results have been used to provide an estimate of the free hormone concentration, which is important in differentiating changes in serum total hormone concentration due to alterations of binding proteins in euthyroid patients from those due to abnormalities in thyroid gland activity giving rise to hypermetabolism or hypometabolism.

In Vitro Uptake Tests: In vitro uptake tests measure the unoccupied thyroid hormone-binding sites on TBG. They use labeled T3 or T4 and some form of synthetic absorbent to measure the proportion of radiolabeled hormone that is not tightly bound to serum proteins. Because ion exchange resins are often used as absorbents, the test became known as the resin T3 or T4 uptake test (T3U or T4U), describing the technique rather than the entity measured.

The test is usually carried out by incubating a sample of the patient's serum with a trace amount of labeled T3 or T4. The labeled hormone, not bound to available binding sites on TBG present in the serum sample, is absorbed onto an anion exchange resin and measured as resin-bound radioactivity. Values correlate inversely with the concentration of unsaturated TBG. Various methods use different absorbing materials to remove the hormone not tightly bound to TBG.83 Labeled T3 is usually used because of its less firm yet preferential binding to TBG. Depending upon the method, typical normal results for T3U are 25-35% or 45-55%. Thus, it is more valuable to express results of the uptake tests as a ratio of the result obtained in a normal control serum run in the same assay as the test samples. Normal values will then range on either side of 1.0, usually 0.85-1.15.

There is much more here...............
http://www.thyroidmanager.org/Chapter6/Ch-6-2.htm


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## thatbrian (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks Andros! Will a conventional Endo call for these tests or will they simply look at T4 and TSH and call me nuts?

I think I have a binding protein problem. I also have an elevated IGF-1 with a low IGF-1 Binding Protein

I don't know what this means, but I have to figure it out!


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