For literally my whole life (I'm 25) I have slept too much. I need at least 10 hours a night and if I don't get it I start turning into the walking dead and falling asleep at inappropriate times (like driving). I also get menstrual cramps so bad I basically have to chug a bottle of ibuprofen. I have no idea if these things are related.

Anyway, I finally decided to stop being a weenie and find a doctor who could help me. I found a hippy granola type who I got a good vibe from (and who also doesn't take insurance but c'est la vie). I had my first appointment and they ran some bloodwork. My ferritin (iron storage) is on the low side at 17. Also my TSH is a little high at 3.1 (FT3 is 2.75 and FT4 is 1.1). The doc emailed me and mentioned those two things and recommended a multivitamin to start out with for the iron and that we can discuss the TSH when I come back in, but her inclination is to give me a lose dose of either Synthroid or Armour (my choice).

I also have 2 saliva tests which I took home with me and I'm completing them today, one for melatonin and one for adrenal function. Obviously I haven't sent them in yet, but I would be really surprised if the adrenals came back normal. I have a lot of adrenal fatigue symptoms. (on a related note I also have mitral valve prolapse syndrome which is associated with adrenal stuff)

All my other bloodwork looks well within normal parameters (got a CBC and basic metabolic panel). I'm getting a vitamin D done with an outside place and it should come back soon too.

ANYWAY, I know all of you on here have a lot of experience with this stuff already! I have basically avoided doctors like the plague for years and have never really read up on thyroid stuff. I was skimming through some thyroid stuff on some websites and also on the forum and it looks like there are lots of different interactions with the whole thyroid/ferritin/adrenal thing all playing off of each other. Also something about low stomach acid? I think I might have that too, sometimes my digestion is really spotty and I get gassy for no reason. Anyway, is there anywhere that I should start reading? Anything important I should be looking into? I don't like the idea of medication in general, so I would like to be fully informed about all of this before I start popping any kind of pill. I want to be armed with lots of knowledge before I go back for my followup appointment and decide on thyroid medication.

I gotta say I really like this doctor I'm seeing. She talked with me for over an hour at my first appointment and really listened to me. She also sent me a hand written thank you card for choosing their office and is keeping me updated on my labs via email. I hope we get this all sorted out!

If anyone read this whole thing, you deserve a prize!

Well, if you need thyroid meds you should take them. Having a TSH of over 1.5 is associated with much higher rates of heart disease in women. Also, who wants to feel tired and sleepy all the time?

We have a lot of environmental things that are suspected of fouling up thyroids, like some chemical in jet fuel that is now commonly found in our water supply (some long name, I can't recall). Even cats are getting lots of thyroid disease.

You might want to check into the FAQ stickied at the top. Some of the links are old but some are good still.

Just edited my original post. Don't know if it makes a difference, but my Free T3 is 2.75 and my Free T4 is 1.1. According to the labs ranges they are within normal and that's as much as I know so far. Trying to read through the FAQ thread and my head is kind of spinning.

kallyn, I wouldn't start taking the thyroid meds right now. I'd work on the other issues first. It's possible that your thyroid function will improve when the other issues are resolved, and it's also possible that your adrenals will get worse if you start taking thyroid meds while they are already stressed.

more complete thyroid panel would include:
total T3, total t4 along with the frees and tsh

Do some searches on google for iron deficiency anemia, or 'iron deficiency anaemia" -- and read some of the online boards where posters discuss the symptoms that arise from low iron. Many of the symptoms associated with iron deficiency anemia are remarkably similar to thyroid and/or adrenal issues.

Judy - Yes, I'm waiting until I get all my other tests back before I start taking anything.

mineralman - Mine only included free T3, free T4, and TSH. What extra information would the total T3 and total T4 give me?

annie - The websites I looked at said that anemia is tested for with your hemoglobin/hematocrit and that a hemoglobin below 10 is anemic. Mine are both high normal. Hematocrit is 44.4 (range 36-48) and hemoglobin is 15.1 (range 12-15). So it seems I have an iron storage deficiency rather than a circulating iron deficiency.

When I explored iron deficiency, and read lots of postings on various boards dealing with anemia, the first thing that was pointed out is that tests on hemoglobin do not indicate if your iron stores are depleted, and that only a test on storage ferritin will show this, and that doctors are averse to testing on storage ferritin.

Yes, I had the ferritin test. It was low at 17.

All the stuff I've read so far though says that low iron storage and anemia aren't the same thing.

Do you know of any good websites to read?

Sorry, I didn't bookmark any. Somewhere, though, some poster mentioned that they were prescribed tablets containing HUNDREDS of milligrams of iron - I do NOT remember the details, but it was scads more than are found in OTC iron pills. Anyway, within days of taking several iron pills daily, many of my symptoms melted away, totally vanished - things I've had since I was a teen - really shocking.

Problem is, is that iron pills make some people nauseated, some people get horrendous heartburn, occassional diarhea and frequently horrendous constipation.

Iron supplements are well known for causing digestive upset.

Supposedly there will be an OTC pill available on retail shelves this called bifera and it's alleged to be symptom free.

I was really shocked by my POSITIVE response to iron pills.

I've never been vegetarian, but there were plenty of days during the week when all I'd eat would be veggies and "high protein" allegedly iron rich beans & legumes. But it turns out that the iron in beans and legumes is NOT bioavailable.

For decades, I've read again & again & again & again that iron is DANGEROUS, but recently I read online that all that stuff I'd read was NOT fact, it was simply an hypothesis presented as a scientific suggestion. There was NO proof that if you didn't have the genetic disorder of hemachromatosis that iron is BAD for you.

Anyway, I decided to do Atkins, to see if I could reverse all my longterm symptoms via red meat - I even stopped drinking coffee, because anytime that coffee is consumed along with a meal, 75% of the iron can't be absorbed.

For decades I'd presumed that my thyroid was low - but in a subclinical fashion, not low enough to show up on tests, I had NO idea that so many of my symptoms would reverse themselves by taking something so elemental as IRON.

"When interpreting thyroid function, it is very important to obtain a Total T4.
T4 is about 98 percent of circulating thyroid hormone.

If one is treated with T3 (Liothyronine, Triiodotyronine), then Total T3 will also be important to determine what is occurring.

Thus a more complete thyroid panel would include:
Free T4, TSH
Free T3
Total T3
Total T4

One reason total values are important is that the free levels are influenced by the availability of the various thyroid binding proteins - such as albumin, thyroid binding globulin, and transthyretin.

These binding proteins are influenced by other factors, such as:
Albumin - hydration, general nutrition
Thyroid binding globulin - estrogen signaling strength
Transthyretin - vitamin A signaling strength (since it not only binds T3 preferentially but also viltamin A)

The binding protein levels are not accounted for by the free levels of T3 or T4. Thus when other factors come into play, they will directly interfere with or complicate interpretation.

Additionally, you have weakly bound versus strongly bound interactions with the binding proteins - just as Albumin vs. SHBG have weak vs. strong binding to testosterone. (This is why total testosterone is the best measure overall of testosterone signaling strength.)

Total T4 can be used as a ceiling for how much T4 can be given. Similarly with T3.

Free T4 is not a sensitive indicator of total thyroid signaling strength.

Free T3 is one indicator of total thyroid signaling strength, but I would also take into account Total T4 since thyroid can also be converted within certain cells to T3 prior to use.

Using Free T3 without a total T4 (and Total T3 if needed) to determine thyroid hormone dosing is like flying blind in fog. There is no indication of the endpoint. It would be like using Free Testosterone to determine how much testosterone to give.

In addition to lab tests, it would be important to also try to establish physical markers as targets when doing thyroid replacement therapy. This would include reduction or correction of signs of thyroid hormone deficiency. When one can establish physical markers/signs to determine thyroid dosing, it can be as sensitive or as good as lab tests. This is how physicians did it prior to the development of lab tests.

Combining both physical exam and lab testing would be ideal though patients may not have the means for frequent lab testing. Thus the choice of labs needs to be tailored to the patient and their circumstances.

Winter is a particularly stressful time. One factor is colder weather which forces an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity. This may lead to a reduction in serotonin signaling. This then may result in a reduction in thyroid hormone production. Additionally, the stress resulting from cold weather may result in adrenal fatigue, which would result in a reduction in T4 to T3 conversion. Lower vitamin D levels - as it is used up from fat stores in darker light - also may result in a reduction in serotonin signaling, resulting in a reduction in thyroid hormone production. Stress may also result in zinc loss, impairing thyroid hormone production. Stress also increase insulin resistance, leading to a renal loss of iodine, possibly impairing thyroid hormone production."
Dr. romeo

A TSH of 3 is high? *I* have a tsh of 3, and my doc said it was in the normal range. Anyone have a clue?

Mineralman! I am freaking out on all I have to learn now just being diagnosed with Hashi's. Wow! I can't wait to post all my lab values when I get them. I have had anemia several times in my life, and never ever considered what role the minerals have played in developing an autoimmune disease. I will be here reading and lurking so please excuse my ignorant sounding questions that are bound to emerge real soon! LOL!

sorry to hear that AERO..

did you run a 24hr salvia test? if your adrenals are weak you'll need support....

Does a doctor have to order that or is it a test I can buy on the Internet?