# Normal labs, but feel awful



## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

Hi all, I have had some symptoms for a while now, some going back a long time, and others starting since I had a child 3 years ago. Many of the symptoms indicated a hypo problen, but some contradiction that. My labs are normal so I am not sure what else to do at this point and I think my Dr thinks it's all in my head. I am also having my sex hormones checked but I won't get the results until later in the week. I'm wondering if anything else could cause these symptoms, or if it's possible to have all good lab results but still feel crappy. I have a family history of thyroid problems and was convinced it was something like that.

Here are some of my symptoms :

-extreme fatigue (I get 8-9.5 hrs of sleep everynight, and wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all, feel tired throughout the day, often have to take naps, and have to fight sleep by about 7pm)
-Depression
-foggy thinking/memory problems
-dry skin (to the point where I'm developing scabs from scratching so much)
-dry brittle and peeling nails
-dry frizzy hair that is breaking and falling out
-low libido
-frequent hives as well as dermographism
- bad muscle aches and joint pain
-headaches every morning
- I get exhausted frequently and am losing muscle 
-temperature intolerance (I'm either freezing or incredibly hot, and never feel comfortable or feel how anyone else does)
- mood swings
- bad pms
- periods are so heavy I can't leave the house, last over 7 days, and are getting closer and closer together - I have about 2 per month.
- anxiety (I've always suffered from this my whole life but the panic attacks are worse)
- heart palpatations and racing heart only when I lay down at night.
-bruise very easily
- I have had bad constipation for over a decade but then the last 3 months I have only loose stools and diarrhea daily- (I also seem to be having gallbladder problems so this could be related to that)

I had some problems with weight gain before I was pregnant. Then lost a lot of weight rapidly after having the baby to where I was severely underweight , and then have been steadily gaining weight over the last 3 years.

My Dr thinks it is all just from my hormones adjusting after having a baby, but it's been 3 years and I'm miserable. I just turned 30, and don't think I should feel this bad.

My TSH in May was 2.38 range .45-4.5
Vitamin d was low in May at 20

I haven't had tsh or vitamin d tested since then and have been taking vitamin d supplement.

I just had my other levels tested this month and they were normal as well.

Free T4 1.2 range 0.8- 1.8
Free T3 3.6 range 2.3-4.2
Reverse T3 22 range 8-25
Thyroglobulin antibodies <1 range < or =1
Peroxidase antibodies <1 range <9

So everything looks great but I'm barely functioning. Has anyone else experienced this?


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

Oh and also am having hot flashes at night as well as night sweats, which I really don't think I should have at 30.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Are you on any kind of thyroid medication?


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

No I'm not. About 10 years ago another doctor was going to put me on sybthroid because my labs were a little off, but decided against it as she said they weren't bad enough to require dosage.


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

*synthroid


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

It's interesting that you have such high reverse T3 when you're not on thyroid meds. Have you ever had an iron panel done or an adrenal test? Sometimes when iron levels or cortisol levels are off, it can mess with thyroid levels. High reverse T3 sometimes means that the T3 is pooling in your system and isn't making it into your cells for your body to work with, hence the hypo symptoms.


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

I just did a cortisol test (the one that tests 4 times in a day) as well as DHEA and some others, and the results should be back later in the week, but I have never had an iron panel done. I will mention that to my Dr when I go in to discuss the cortisol results.

I was wondering about the reverse t3 as well because I've heard there's a certain ratio that is supposed to exist between free t3 and reverse t3 and I wasn't sure if I did it right, but felt the ratio might be a bit off.


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## clinkous (Sep 22, 2015)

This probably isn't much help but I am kinda going through the same thing. I was diagnosed as Hyper back in Jan this year and my blood results were showing that I was way hyper for a very long time. I did the I131 in Jan and this July I went hypo for a couple days. Ever since then my blood results have shown normal but I have been very very hyper. I even had another thyroid uptake and scan which showed I was hyper but blood work keeps showing normal.


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

clinkous said:


> This probably isn't much help but I am kinda going through the same thing. I was diagnosed as Hyper back in Jan this year and my blood results were showing that I was way hyper for a very long time. I did the I131 in Jan and this July I went hypo for a couple days. Ever since then my blood results have shown normal but I have been very very hyper. I even had another thyroid uptake and scan which showed I was hyper but blood work keeps showing normal.


That's weird, I'm sure there's someone on these boards that would have a reason for why that would happen. I read somewhere once about this happening but can't remember the reason! Sorry, I can't be of much help!


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## knzie722 (Sep 21, 2015)

jenny v said:


> It's interesting that you have such high reverse T3 when you're not on thyroid meds. Have you ever had an iron panel done or an adrenal test? Sometimes when iron levels or cortisol levels are off, it can mess with thyroid levels. High reverse T3 sometimes means that the T3 is pooling in your system and isn't making it into your cells for your body to work with, hence the hypo symptoms.


Well I got my hormone results back that i ordered myself and it definitely seems like something is off, but my Dr says saliva tests are inaccurate so she won't even look at it. My dhea is low for my age, as is estrogen, and cortisol is all messed up. It is high in the am (which explains why lately my eyes have been popping open between 4:30 and 6am and then I crash for the rest of the day half an hour to an hour later. Here are my results:
Estradiol (Saliva) 0.7 L pg/mL 1.3-3.3 Premenopausal (Luteal) 
Progesterone (Saliva) 124 pg/mL 75-270 Premenopausal (Luteal) 
Ratio: Pg/E2 (Saliva) 177 Optimal: 100-500 when E2 1.3-3.3 pg/mL 
Testosterone (Saliva) 26 pg/mL 16-55 (Age Dependent) 
DHEAS (Saliva) 3.5 ng/mL 2-23 (Age Dependent) 
Cortisol (Saliva) 10.2 H ng/mL 3.7-9.5 (morning) 
Cortisol (Saliva) 0.7 L ng/mL 1.2-3.0 (noon) 
Cortisol (Saliva) 0.8 ng/mL 0.6-1.9 (evening) 
Cortisol (Saliva) 0.4 ng/mL 0.4-1.0 (night)

So I gues maybe something there could be affect my reverse t3?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

My doc told me to think of thyroid hormones, sex hormones and cortisol as the body's big triangle. When one goes wrong, it can affect all of the others.

You've definitely got some issues with your sex hormones and your cortisol is all wonky in the morning and afternoon (although the evening and night levels look good). If you're on Facebook, look into joining the FTPO-Adrenals group, they can help you with those cortisol issues.


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