# What is going on??



## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

Hi All,

Here are my latest lab results..I swear I am losing my mind with this! I was diagnosed as hypo 1 year ago (TSH was 5.7), and was put on varying dosages of Levo/Synthyroid. I got up to 100 mcg and it was too much, so my doctor put me back down to .75 (10/20/14) and tested. I think my TSH was way too low then and I felt hyper, so he took me off for a month. I was off any thyroid meds for almost two months and then started taking Armour right before Christmas and got tested at the end of January, so about 6 weeks on Armour.

I feel worse on the Armour (heart palps, hair not growing/falling out, etc) and actually felt fine when I wasn't on meds for that month. What is going on with me? Why would my FT3 go up on NO meds and then back down on Armour? I feel so lost and like no med will work for me. I honestly have felt worse when starting meds in 2013 then I did before I got on them.

10/20/14 (2 weeks after lowering dose from 100 to 75 Synthyroid)

TSH: 0.198

FT3: 2.6

FT4 1.3

RT3 N/A

Vitamin D: N/A

Ferritin: N/A

TPOab: 17

TBGab: <1.0

12/5/15 (No meds for a month)

TSH: 3.2

FT3: 2.8

FT4: 0.98

RT3 (ratio): N/A

Vitamin D: 25 (30-100)

Ferritin: 29 (15-150)

TPOab: 15

TBGab: <1.0

1/25/15 (30 mcg Armour for 6 weeks)

TSH: 1.8 (0.45-4.5)

FT3: 2.1 (2.0-4.4)

FT4: 0.87 (0.82-1.77)

RT3 (ratio): 17.3

Vitamin D: 51 (30-100)

Ferritin: 47 (15-150)

TPOab: 16 (0-34)

TBGab: <1.0

I have .50 mcg Synthyroid that I could take again since I felt so awful on Armour. Does anyone have any advice??


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

You look hypo based on your 1/25/15 lab's. 30mg is a low dose of Armour. It would be best to find 1 medication and stick with it for awhile to see how it works. You need to increase your Armour - what did your doctor suggest?

You also look hypo in October and December based on your FT-4 and FT-3 levels.

Can you post your initial diagnosis labs with ranges please?


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## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

My doctor said to stay on the armour and see how it goes, and if I still dont feel well, then maybe go back to Synthyroid and add in cytomel? I had night sweats, palps, etc on Armour and I felt like crap.

With my initial diagnosis my TSH was 5.8, and he didn't run FT3 or FT4 unfortunately.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> 1/25/15 (30 mcg Armour for 6 weeks)
> 
> TSH: 1.8
> 
> ...


You are terribly hypo -

http://www.webmd.com/women/tc/hypothyroidism-symptoms


Coarse and thinning hair.
Dry skin.
Brittle nails.
A yellowish tint to the skin.
Slow body movements.
Cold skin.
Inability to tolerate cold.
Feeling tired, sluggish, or weak.
Memory problems, depression, or problems concentrating.
Constipation.
Heavy or irregular menstrual periods that may last longer than 5 to 7 days.

An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter).
Modest weight gain, often 10 lb (4.5 kg) or less.
Swelling of the arms, hands, legs, and feet, and facial puffiness, particularly around the eyes.
Hoarseness.
Muscle aches and cramps.

In general, how bad your symptoms are depends on your age, how long you have had hypothyroidism,

Did your doctor suggest increasing your Armour when you shared your symptoms 6 weeks after being on the medication?

For my own curiosity , do you have the labs from the visit when this happened below? TSH is not reliable for proper dosing of thyroid medications.



> I got up to 100 mcg and it was too much, so my doctor put me back down to .75 (10/20/14) and tested. I think my TSH was way too low then and I felt hyper, so he took me off for a month.


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## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

I didn't take labs during the time I was taking .100 mcg, only like 2 weeks after I dropped down to .75 mcg, which is the lab results in October which I pasted above...


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## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

I feel so confused....I know that TSH isn't a proper measure of how you're feeling but I didn't feel good on the .100 mcg, I definitely felt hyper. I didn't feel good on the Armour either. I'm not sure if it's actually my adrenals causing all this havoc now?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Do you have any labs for when you were on the 100mcg dosage? How long were you on that dosage? It's a good idea to have labs prior to changing dosages.

Can you please post the ranges next to them if you have them. All labs use different ranges.

Your ferritin and D also look a bit low - can you edit your post and add those ranges please.


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## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

Unfortunately I do not have any labs for the .100 mcg, only like 1-2 weeks after I stopped and dropped down the the .75 in October when I got the labs run. I know that my ferritin and D were low, so I've been supplementing both and that's noticeable with the labs from December to January. I will post the ranges as well.

Thanks!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

If the armour is giving you issues worse than the Synthroid then maybe you should consider switching back. Sometimes the higher concentration of T-3 hormone affects people.

You could consider adding a small dose of Cytomel to your Synthroid once you get back onto it. You will need to ease into the Cytomel as you seem T-3 sensitive. I had a horrible time adjusting to Cytomel and am glad I stuck it out on the 2nd attempt because I feel great today!!


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## brilee (Oct 31, 2014)

Yeah, I was thinking about adding a small amount of Cytomel. What dosage did you start out at and where are you now?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

brilee said:


> Yeah, I was thinking about adding a small amount of Cytomel. What dosage did you start out at and where are you now?


I started at 5mcg and broke the pill into 4 tried different variations my first attempt before giving up due to anxiety it created. You can see that my labs did not indicate I should be having anxiety.

FT-4 FT-3

TSH .247 (.35-5.5) 1.2 (.8-1.8) 3.2 (2.3-4.2) 125mcg 5/5started 5mcg Cytomel for 12 days. Anxiety, stopped for 1 week

TSH .096 (.27-4.2) 1.46(.9-1.7) 3.2 (2.3-4.2) 125mcg 5/24 started Cytomel 1/4 tablet 12 days lowered on 6/6 to ¼ tab M-W-F 21 days 7/19 Last Cytomel

TSH .236 (.27-4.2) 1.39(.9-1.7) 2.9 (2.3-4.2) 125mcg 6wks with no Cytomel

The second attempt I added 5mcg as well and although not documented on my lab sheet, I am confident that I split the dose in 1/2 and took 6 hours apart and slowly increased my Cytomel by splitting into 3 doses, one upon waking, one 6 hours later and one around 3-4. You might be encouraged or discouraged by my attempts to adjust and you can see that I tried many different combinations. I have been on the same Cytomel dose for 5-6 years now without any issues.

TSH FT-4 FT-3

­­­­6/18/08 .03 (.3-3.0) 1.7 (.9-1.7) 3.3(2.6-4.8) 125mcg/5mcg Cytomel

8/5/08 .09 (.3-3.0) 1.6 (.9-1.7) 2.6 (2.6-4.8) 112mcg/5mcg Cytomel

10/30/08 .22 (.27-4.2) 1.3 (.9-1.7) 2.8 (2.6-4.8) 100mcg/5mcg Cytomel

1/5/09 .40 (.27-4.2) 1.1 (.9-1.7) 2.4 (2.6-4.8) 100mcg/5mcg Cytomel

3/13/09 .28 (.4-4.5) .89 (.61-1.76) 2.7 (2.3-4.2) 100mcg/7.5mcg Cytomel 2 weeks

5/6/09 .113 (.3-3.0) .90(.6-1.6) 2.9(2.3-4.2) 112mcg/7.5mcg Cytomel

7/24/09 .041 (.3-3.0) .74(.6-1.5) 2.5(2.3-4.2) 100mcg/12.5mcg Cytomel

11/2/09 .029 (.4-4.5) 1.14(.82-1.77) 2.8 (2.0-4.4) 112mcg/12.5mcg Cytomel

1/19/10 <.10 (.40-4) FT-4 not run 3.7 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg/12.5mcg Cytomel

4/1/10 <.10 (.40-4) 1.26 (.89-1.76) 3.4 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg/12.5mcg Cytomel

7/23/10 <.10 (.40-4) 1.57 (.89-1.76) 3.7 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg+62.5/12.25mcg Cytomel

1/31/11 <.0007) (.40-4) 1.4 (.8-1.77) 3.9 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg+12.5mcg Cytomel

8/1/11 <.0008) (.45-4.5) 1.4 (.82-1.77) 3.7 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg +12.5mcg Cytomel

Jump ahead a few years...

12/30/14 .004 (.40-4.0) 1.42(.82 -1.77) 3.4 (2.0-4.4) 125mcg +12.5mcg Cytomel

You can see that I am one who does not run TSH but had Free's well into range.

I suggest you begin a similar tracking sheet and even possibly ass symptoms you may have.


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