# Lab results! Need suggestions



## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Ok, I finally got my labs today. I managed to get all the labs from the past year, but I am just posting the ones from last week:

FT3 213 (200-490)
Free T4 1.8 (.7-1.8)
TSH 3.42 (.5-6)
Calcium 9.3 (8.5-10.5)
PTH 35.4 (8.2-83.5)

I know my T3 is dreadfully low, and since neither my endo nor PCP think T3 is important, I am waiting to get into a new doc. It does make me feel better to know that there is a reason why I feel so dreadfully exhausted all the time. (besides my PCP's belief that I am just depressed).

The good news is that my parathyroids are healing and my calcium levels seem to have stabilized!

I am currently on 150 mcg synthroid, and have been on this dose about 5 weeks now. I would like some suggestions about adding cytomel or switching to something natural like armour so I am informed before I go in to see the new doc.

Can anyone give me some info about the positives and negatives of each option?


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## McKenna (Jun 23, 2010)

I am on Armour and have been since not adjusting to synthroid well months ago. My first choice was Armour, but my endo didn't want to go that route at the time and wanted me to try synthroid first. I am blessed to have an endo who does see the benefits of Armour and who is not quick to dismiss it as a lot of endos are.

I think the most important thing to do is research natural thyroid and prepare yourself to address the concerns of a doc who is unwilling to prescribe it. Natural thyroid has been used in this country for a long time before synthetic was created. Doctors (and some people) will tell you that it's unpredictable and impossible to create a consistant level of hormone per pill. Some people get downright nasty about it, which is very sad and unecessary.

Yes, it from pigs, but other medications are from animal sources too, like premarin (*pre*gnant *mar*e ur*in*e) for menopause and prostaglandins (don't even want to tell you what that is!) used to ripen the cervix for a woman in labor.

I can only tell you my experience and wish you well in deciding for yourself. I'm not against synthroid or cytomel or other natural thyroid replacements. I believe that we're all different in our genetic make up and therefore what work for one may not work for another and thank the Lord we live in a time where we have choices and the freedom to find what works for us.

Here are some links you may want to read:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/thyroiddrugs/a/armour.htm
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/thyroiddrugs/l/blletter.htm
http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrugstreatments/tp/armour-natural-thyroid.htm


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

lavender said:


> Ok, I finally got my labs today. I managed to get all the labs from the past year, but I am just posting the ones from last week:
> 
> FT3 213 (200-490)
> Free T4 1.8 (.7-1.8)
> ...


They don't think your "active and life-sustaining hormone" is important? OMG!! You cannot live w/o sufficient T3. You are NOT converting.

Firstly, you must find a doctor you recognizes the fact that FT3 is very very important. Then you could try Cytomel or Armour.

If your limbic system (mood related)portion of the brain is T3 deprived, that person is emotionally unresponsive. YES!! OMG!

Here is some reference material on the importance of the thyroid and brain health.

http://www.clinicalneuropsychiatry.org/pdf/01_liappas.pdf

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/thyroid-depression-mental-health/articles/

T3 is found in large quantities in the limbic system of the brain, the area that is important for emotions such as joy, panic, anger, and fear. If you don't have enough T3, or if its action is blocked, an entire cascade of neurotransmitter abnormalities may ensue and can lead to mood and energy changes, including depression.

http://www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth/healthcenter/topic_details.php?topic_id=59

I feel so bad for you; I pray you can find a better doctor than the ones you have.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Thanks for the info. I know that I do not do well with synthetic anything. So, it's no big surprise that synthroid and I are not getting along. I gave it a shot because that's what my docs prescribed. tried to be the "good patient," but I am not willing to stay miserable for the rest of my life. Feel too miserable to get up and live, rash all over my chest, bald spot in my previously very thick hair. I'm done.
I am a vegetarian, but I am willing to take a little pig to start feeling human again.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Andros said:


> They don't thing your "active and life-sustaining hormone" is important? OMG!! You cannot live w/o sufficient T3. You are NOT converting.


I can hear it now, "Your labs are all in normal, Your thyroid levels are all fine. We don't even run T3 when you don't have a thyroid. All we need to run really is your TSH, and that's find. This is not an endocrinology problem. You must be depressed. Take another pill. If that doesn't work, we'll give you something else to go along with it. You might never be able to have an orgasm again, but don't worry, we've got something for that too."

I don't need a medical license to realize there's something wrong with that logic.

Thanks for letting me vent with what emotional capacity I have left. I feel a smidgen better now. Let's see if I can go muster the energy to take a shower and get to class today.


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## McKenna (Jun 23, 2010)

> If your limbic system (mood related)portion of the brain is T3 deprived, that person is emotionally unresponsive.


 Excellent point!

Have you read _The Thyroid Solution : A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression and Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health_By Ridha Arem, MD? He talks a lot about brain chemistry and the importance of proper thyroid hormone balance. It was the most enlightening book I've read on thyroid disease and mental status. You might want to read it before you approach a doctor about T3 b/c it has great information from a doctor with impressive endocrinology credentials.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

lavender said:


> Thanks for the info. I know that I do not do well with synthetic anything. So, it's no big surprise that synthroid and I are not getting along. I gave it a shot because that's what my docs prescribed. tried to be the "good patient," but I am not willing to stay miserable for the rest of my life. Feel too miserable to get up and live, rash all over my chest, bald spot in my previously very thick hair. I'm done.
> I am a vegetarian, but I am willing to take a little pig to start feeling human again.


 No sense letting it go to waste; right? They butcher enough pork every day for human consumption, yes? It is processed to the enth degree. Sometimes we do need to make use of discretion.

Just this minute, I finished a plate of fresh cooked pumpkin w/molassas on top. Um, yum. We got a whole bunch of pumpkins for 50 cents each after Halloween and we have been getting the benefits of the vitamins, fiber and other nutrition.

My husband is a vegetarian "in training!" Ha, ha!


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Gimme the pig!


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