# Please help me



## indigorush (Aug 24, 2014)

Hi.

My name is Stefan.

I'm 24, living in England.

My thyroid lab results below:

TSH - 3.94 mu/L (0.35 - 3.5)

T4 - 15 pmol/L (8.0 - 21.0)

T3 - 'Insufficient sample received' - Mehhh, someone failed to do as I asked.

TPO - 8.0 ku/L (0.0 - 34.0)

I've had a saliva test previously, with a nutritionist, which confirmed adrenal fatigue - pretty severely low cortisol production.

I have the usual symptoms:

Fatigue, which can be debilitating at times.

Thinning outer eyebrows.

Poor hair texture/some hair loss.

Low body temperature.

I have dry eyes and some others, but not sure they're related.

Note: I took the acne medication 'Accutane' back in 2005 for 5 months (Biggest regret of my life, ever).

Can someone help confirm the best form of treatment?

I've seen some people state their TPO level as like 10,000 or something crazy high.

I know 8 is in the range, but I've lost all faith in medical doctor's and want advice from someone who can state whether even low levels would indicate autoimmune hashimoto's?

I'm currently avoiding gluten and dairy to see if that helps to any degree, but in honesty... this sucks.

I've been gradually getting worse over time, but have been tired physically and mentally for years.

I don't believe taking Thyroxine is a good option for me as I don't wish to take drugs forever.

Supplements recently added to my regime for this: Vitamin E, Selenium, Thyroid Glandular (basically 'Armour')

Help me, please?


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

TPO Ab
Mild to moderately elevated levels of thyroid antibodies may be found in a variety of thyroid and autoimmune disorders, such as thyroid cancer, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, pernicious anemia, and autoimmune collagen vascular diseases. Significantly increased concentrations most frequently indicate thyroid autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto thyroiditis and Graves disease.
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-antibodies/tab/test
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Substances not found in normal serum (scroll down to autoantibodies)
http://www.thyroidmanager.org/chapter/evaluation-of-thyroid-function-in-health-and-disease/
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Understanding the Thyroid: Why You Should Check Your Free T3
http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-thyroid-why-you-should-check-your-free-t3
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Dr. Mercola (FREES)
http://www.mercola.com/article/hypothyroid/diagnosis_comp.htm
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.

It does look like something w/the thyroid is afoot!

Welcome to the board!

TSH is of course over the range. Most of us feel best w/TSH @ 1.0 or less and the FREE T3 at about 75% of the range provided by your lab for that particular test.

Am providing info above for the FREES! And info on TPO. Bear in mind that TPO is "suggestive" of many things BUT..............no matter what, the healthy body does not have TPO Ab. Just a little TPO.

Get ready to read! LOL!


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

This business of going gluten-free when you do not have a real sensitivity is a lot of work for nothing.

This business of not wishing to "take drugs forever" - that's pretty unrealistic. Sorry to be brutal, but every time I hear people say they don't want to take drugs forever I think they don't have a handle on the disease and the treatment. It comes down to this: you can take drugs and get better [and then will need to continue taking drugs to maintain] OR you can not take drugs feel worse. Those are your choices.

Drugs are NOT a bad thing.


----------



## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Whenever I get down about the number of drugs I have to take (and for the rest of my life), I remind myself that at least I'm lucky enough to live in a time where these drugs are available to treat my issues and I have access to them. Can you imagine having thyroid problems 75-100 years ago? Yikes! Popping a few pills a couple of times a day is nothing compared to what a lot of people around the world are facing.


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Isn't that the truth? I belong to a forum for autoimmune RA - those of us with RA take tons of VERY expensive drugs, just to combat inflammation and pain and prevent destructive damage. Yes, it's a lifetime thing. Every time someone is diagnosed and they hear they have to go on a lifetime of drugs they start looking to silly diets and vitamins to "cure" what is a chronic debilitating disease. What's REALLY bad, is that with RA, you have to start early aggressive treatment. If you don't the destruction done to the joints is permanent and can not be reversed.

So looking at the grand scheme of things......a simple, inexpensive pill for Hashimoto's should be very easy.


----------



## Snowflake (Jul 12, 2014)

Jenny V. - Now I start to notice these characters from literature from years ago. The maiden aunt, the "lazy" father. People who laid around a lot and couldn't hold a job and lived off of relatives. And I think - undiagnoised thyroid condition! And even if they could have diagnosed it, there were no treatments back then.

I agree. It is hard to face a lifetime of medication. But the alternative? Feeling bad every day? No thanks.


----------

