# what do you think of my test results? I am uncomfortable with them...



## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

the last time I had my numbers tested my T3 was on the low side and my T4 was mid low range.

what do you think of these test results?

My endo told me quest is know for getting bad results and he said thats why my levels were off and now they are totally fine.... I don't trust him,..



















THIS IS THE LAST TEST WHERE I WAS TOLD I AM HAVING ISSUES WITH MY THYROID FROM OTHERS HERE,,,



















are my levels out of whack? I have been having excessive shedding since september and I just cannot figure it out. I am losing my mind over it.

I know its not from androgens, I am on Avodart, I have been castrated, and am taking spironolactone 200 MG. Because I am transgender I am also taking 3 MG elestrin gel and 4 MG estrofem tablets...

Please help me


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

It does take a while to make this transition and the whole time your hormones are being whacked big time. Sadly, the most recent test ran T3, not FREE T3. You were very very low in the FREE T3 last time and I suspect that you still are.

Total 3 is bound, unbound and rT3 (reverse) hormone so it is so hard to even guess what your unbound hormone available for cellular uptake would be at this time. See if you can get that FREE T3 run.

What does your doctor have to say about your hair loss?


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

Andros Free T 3 is on the top page right under Estrodial, it just says FT3

Also my doctor didn't say anything about my hair shedding 

Can you please advise further on the level?


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## Whisperwindkat (Jul 31, 2014)

free T3 and free T4 in my opinion are low. One other thing that I noticed is that the estradiol numbers look very high. That will cause the hair loss just as much as the thyroid will. Are they not balancing all that estrogen with any progesterone? Females have both and they keep each hormone in balance. Google estrogen dominance to read about this more. But with no opposing progesterone and estrogen levels so high, there is a whole world of health problems coming down the road. Osteoporosis and breast cancer being the worst. I would talk to your hormone specialist about the progesterone issue. Incidentally, the endocrine system is like a domino train so if one goes haywire they eventually will all follow suit. So, you may have an estrogen problem that has gone on long enough to effect your thyroid or you might have a thyroid problem. Hope this helps, Kat


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

Whisper estrogen dominance is a cis gender female issue.

Transgender women do not have to worry about that. The only reason estrogen would be dangerous is if I had a history of blood clotting disorders or estrogen sensitive cancer.

I do take 200 MG micronized progesterone daily though as well.

So back to my thyroid I don't understand, my free T3 seems to be in the upper optimal range?

My free T4 does look low but not dramatically low.

Would these levels cause hair shedding like I have been having?

I'm getting a referral for another endocrinologist to look at these thyroid levels but I'm scared that they will refuse treatment just like my first endocrinologist. .

This is so stressful.... This has been going on for at least 6 months and no one is helping me! I'm starting to seriously wonder if it's because I'm transgender that I'm not getting proper care.


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## fttfbass (Jan 8, 2014)

illuminaughtyxo said:


> So back to my thyroid I don't understand, my free T3 seems to be in the upper optimal range?


Correct me if I'm wrong, it's a hair blurry. But, it looks like your most recent FT3 was 3.64 with a range of 2.77-5.27. 4.02 would be the midpoint of the range, so you're nowhere near the upper optimal range yet.


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

fttfbass said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong, it's a hair blurry. But, it looks like your most recent FT3 was 3.64 with a range of 2.77-5.27. 4.02 would be the midpoint of the range, so you're nowhere near the upper optimal range yet.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that low then?

This is all so frustrating to me, why did my endocrinologist not point any of this out?

What numbers SHOULD I am for in my T4 and T3 levels?


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## fttfbass (Jan 8, 2014)

illuminaughtyxo said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that low then?
> 
> This is all so frustrating to me, why did my endocrinologist not point any of this out?
> 
> What numbers SHOULD I am for in my T4 and T3 levels?


75% of the range, which is usually what most of us shoot for to feel optimal, would be 4.65 with those ranges given for Free T3.

Your Free T4 was barely even in range. You want that at least in the midpoint of the range, which is 1.49. You're at 0.8.


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

So am I hypo thyroid?

I can't believe this is happening, I can guarantee this is why I've been shedding so much.

My boyfriend keeps calling me crazy because the numbers are in range and he says I'm being over dramatic and so are you guys.

Obviously even being semi low can cause hair loss right? Would my levels be doing this?

Also what medications should I ask for? I don't want to take anything that will cause hair loss and that med that starts with an L usually does I heard, that would defeat the purpose of me using anything at all!  do you know if any thyroid meds that don't cause hair loss?


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

bump


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

You do appear hypo.

Any rapid shifts in hormones can cause hair loss. So levothyroxine doesn't necessarily cause hair loss -- the loss comes from shifting hormones. You'll likely have hair loss anytime you start thyoid meds. Hair loss related to starting and then adjusting levo is very temporary. In my case, my hair is much, much, much thicker now, but I did have lots of shedding when I started,


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Are you taking any supplements like Omega III, Selenium and some other things that might discourage massive hair loss? Is your Ferritin level good because if not, that can cause shedding big time.


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

Ok so I got a second opinion from another local endocrinologist.

He told me I am not hypo, and that if I did somehow manage to get my hand on thyroid medications that I would screw up my pituitary gland because of my TSH level.

He also talked about how armour thyroid isn't available anymore by conventional means. I wanted to try armour as well which bummed me out even more.

I don't know what to think, I beleive all of you but I now have 2 doctors that have told me the same thing.

What should I do?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Long story short, both doctors are idiots. I get my Armour at Walgreen's and I'm pretty sure that's a conventional mean, lol! I would look outside of endos. My integrative physician handles my thyroid meds, she's a former gynecologist who switched to whole body health, so she's very educated on hormones.


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## illuminaughtyxo (Jul 19, 2014)

jenny v said:


> Long story short, both doctors are idiots. I get my Armour at Walgreen's and I'm pretty sure that's a conventional mean, lol! I would look outside of endos. My integrative physician handles my thyroid meds, she's a former gynecologist who switched to whole body health, so she's very educated on hormones.


Jenny what do you think of my levels?

Also where can I find someone who can actually help me in CT?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Whisperwindkat said:


> *One other thing that I noticed is that the estradiol numbers look very high. That will cause the hair loss just as much as the thyroid will.* Are


illuminaughtyxo,

While your thyroid numbers are a bit on the low side, I think your main concern is hairloss. Please reference the bold and quoted information above. I would suggest you work with the doctor who is managing your hormones and consider adjustments to help slow your hairloss.

Stress is another contributor to hairloss. You sound fairly stressed out - and I am referencing another post where you are consider self medicating.

How long have you been taking the hormones? It must take a body a tremendous amount of time to adjust to becoming transgender. This stress of conversion would in my opinion also be something that could cause hairloss.

If you feel strongly that it is thyroid related, begin by having labs every 4-6 weeks, same time of day and keep a log. Free T-4, Free T-3 are the tests that will make receiving a prescription from a MD possible.

http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/category/cid/23 For $58 you can save yourself alot of time and money.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

How long have you been taking the gender transition drugs you mentioned? And when did the hair loss start?

I can't help but think that the hair loss is more likely to be caused by the changing hormones in your system versus the thyroid levels you posted. What has your doctor said about the hair loss?


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## Whisperwindkat (Jul 31, 2014)

Ok, here is what I am seeing between the two tests. Your estradiol increased sharply from 46.3 pg/mL to 1727 pg/mL. Your testosterone also increased, although not a lot from 39.9 to 45 ng/dL. Luteinizing hormone dropped down from 4.3 to .9 miu/mL. Follicle stimulating hormone took a drop from 13.2 to 6.7 miu/mL. First test does not show a sex hormone binding result, but your second test shows that it is high. I have posted the link at the end of this post that explains what this protein is and what it does. Now onto your thyroid hormones: First test show TSH at 1.56 (lower end of range), FT4 .8 (lower end of the range) and FT3 3.64 (slightly below midrange of 4.02). Iron is at 116 (could stand to be slightly higher which means ferritin is probably slightly low, but not much). There is no iron or ferritin on the second test that I see. Then, the new test... TSH 2.16 (not great but not terrible either), FT4 1.7 (not great, but not terrible) and then FT3 of 192 (really low).

So based on all that here is what I see....your thyroid is secondary to your other hormone problems. Your sex hormones are wildly swinging. These large swings in sex hormones will cause your thyroid numbers to change as it tries to compensate for the other hormones throwing everything out of balance. Remember I told you earlier that the endocrine system is a very complicated and interwoven system. If one part starts to fail or get out of balance then the other parts try to compensate to keep the body in stasis. The only I see with your thyroid is that you might have a problem converting T4 to T3 and that might be because of low ferritin levels. It could also be because you might be low in B-vitamins, especially B-12 and B-6.

Looking at this from a scientific point of view, you need another test for all of these things to see which way they have moved. Your hair loss is not exclusive to a thyroid problem. Low ferritin, low thyroid, high thyroid, low progesterone, too much estrogen can all cause hair loss. However, you have a much bigger issue going on with your endocrine system than just being hypothyroid, which while you are not optimal you are not in dire straits with either. My recommendation is to get with your hormone specialist, because (I can't stress this enough)...*you need a doctor that knows hormones*! Hormones can be great things and they can be deadly if not properly balanced. Addressing your other post about self medicating...in my opinion doing something like that with as complicated a case as you have going on you might as well purchase the coffin now because you would be playing Russian roulette with your life. Sorry to be so harsh, but truly you have too many hormonal things going on to try and figure this out for yourself. You need a doctor if for no other reason than when you are in the emergency room they at least will know what they have done to you rather than trying to figure out what you have done to yourself. So, please keep studying and keep reading and keeping looking for a doctor who will get it and keep testing. Start with your transgender hormone specialist...I would think if anyone understands hormones they would. But, whatever it takes keep looking. Meanwhile, some safe things that you can do on your own are increase Vit. D, make sure you get adequate iron in your diet, take a B-complex vitamin, stay away from xenoestrogens in the environment (plastics),optimize your diet and your environment to be as clean as possible. Sorry if this is not what you wanted to read, but it is what I see. Do with it as you will. Blessings, Kat

Here is that link:


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Huh? And you had to pay this doctor? I get my Armour from Sam's Club. No problem.

Can you not find a good doctor amongst the transgender community? I am starting to feel that you are right about what you said in a previous post. Surely many others have traveled the same road you are on now. There has to be credible help out there.

Sending prayers and good thoughts your way.


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