# Understanding rT3 ratio



## thumper54 (Sep 2, 2013)

Hello,

I have a question regarding rT3 which was tested for the first time. As I understand it, we need the ratio of the Ft3/rT3 to be above 20 and if it is below that there is blocking going on that helps explain continued hypo symptoms. Is this right?

My results are Ft3 = 2.99 and rT3 = 18.8. (I calculated the ratio to be 15.9, if I did this right).

What would be the next step to fix this problem?

Thank you.


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## thumper54 (Sep 2, 2013)

Was this a badly written question? I'm trying to understand reverse T3 and whether it is contributing to my poor health.

I have been sick for over thirty years with either a variety of things or some unknown something. I have a laundry list of issues like Epstein Barr virus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, mitral valve prolapse, asthma, POTS, white matter disease, disk degeneration, osteopenia, pyorrhea,etc. I have had breast cancer, several basal cancers, and had a hysterectomy for a recurring infection that showed nothing wrong with my innards once they were out. I have long suspected a thyroid condition, but for years it was dismissed as ridiculous because what they tested (TSH) was within normal range. I have discovered that I have antibodies not just for TPO and TgAb (which to my knowledge have never been high), but also to TSI which last year caused several months of hyperthyroidism, but was just under Graves levels when they finally tested it. (I had already been taking PTU when it was tested and was told that it shouldn't make a big difference in the level, but two weeks later it had dropped significantly again so I think if they would have tested it before the PTU it would have been over the range). I also adrenal issues verified by a saliva test.. I have been eating clean for years, have tried 100% raw food diet for over a year, a vegetarian diet with only real food, no packaged anything; changed recently to a ketogenic diet to try to improve my health/inflammation. I felt fantastic for the first time in years this past June when I was taking Naturethroid 3/4 grain. But I could only get doctors to give synthetic T3 and T4, then even when I got some more Naturethroid I have not felt well. I'm sinking into depression and fatigue. I went thru 10 years of taking anti depressants and anti anxiety meds that did not help, weaned off them three years ago and only took them because I had given up; nobody had believed me when I said this was physical and finally decided I must be the one that was delusional. But now I'm fighting again for my health. Due to ongoing tachycardia I saw a cardiologist. There are no problems with my cardiovascular system, but he says I need to find the source of the inflammation in my body. I know it's been ongoing for almost 40 years because that's when my health took a nose dive, my energy came to an abrupt halt, my eyes started causing me trouble, and the pyorrhea became obvious. My life has had its stressors, but no more than others and probably it's been less stressful than most as I haven't worked outside the home for 20 years and have mostly lived in very rural communities. I have never had a weight gain problem. I am 5'2" and weigh 100 lbs. (I gained 40 lbs in one month on one of the anti depressants I was given, but once I stopped the meds (yrs later) the weight went away without changing anything else).

Below is a snapshot of my thyroid levels. April 2013 is typical of previous years.

Ranges: Tsh 0.27-4.2 Ft3 2.3-4.2 Ft4 0.7-1.7 rT3 9.2-24.1 TPO 0-34 or <0.9 TgAb 0-59 TSI

4/19/13 Tsh 2.86 Ft3 2.6 Ft4 1.1 TPO TgAb <25 rT3 TSI Feeling exhausted

July - Dec hyperthyroid put on PTU and atenolol 100 (0-122) 2 wks later at 89 (0-134)

1/29/14 4.72 2.5 1.13 6 <0.9 PTU stopped

2/12/14 5.34 2.4 1

6/13/14 0.151 4.2 1.13 Feeling fantastic (on Naturethroid

8/13/14 0.26 5 2.2 50 (0-134) Too much synthetic T4

10/10/14 0.84 2.5 1.31 Exhausted

11/5/14 0.106 2.99 1.4

11/20/14 0.69 1 18.8

If rT3 is not important to consider, I'll be glad to move on. I just want to feel good again.

Thank you all for you insight.


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