That makes sense. My Endo tests Free T3 every time. She goes off of the whole bloodwork picture, and takes my symptoms into account. I am really lucky to have found a great Endo.

TChice you sure are lucky! I'm from Western NY...and while there, I never got any treatment...at all. Same in PA...and I started with a very low TSH and had a condition known as Hashi-Toxicosis...I had to wait until I was in my early 30's..when I moved close to Ft. Wayne, IN and find a doctor there.

I'm SO happy to hear you've found a great thyroid doctor.

Just got new blood tests done, but get this...he didn't order Free T3 or Free T4, just TSH.

My TSH is now 7.01 WHat?!
My Vitamin D is low as well at 24.5

If he won't prescribe what I need, I will try to order online since my insurance now doesn't cover armour anymore.

I just got my thyroid tested and I was hypo like you. I've been on a Keto (Very low carb) diet for over two months and to my surprise my thyroid levels were: Free T3 2.47 (2.18-3.98), Free T4 1.34 (.76-1.46), TSH 1.93 (.358-3.74). (my former TSH was over 6) I think low carbing healed my thyroid.

NO insurance pays for natural thyroid. Not Armour, not Naturethroid, not WP. Why? Because it doesn't have a patent and Big Pharm can't control it (and your doctor's 'choices')...

Lessara... If my FT3 was 'in the middle' I'd have a HUGE problem. MY FT3 is generally at the 3/4 to all the way up for 'me, personally' to feel well. I've been Keto (under 10 grams many days) for over eight years and low carb before that since 2000. YES.. I 'feel' SO MUCH better... I also have four autoimmune diseases... disabled..in many ways... but staying Keto makes me feel so much less inflammation. And that's at the crux of the matter...hypothyroidism is usually autoimmune (Hashimoto's).. but it's all centered in inflammatory response.

Yes, he is trying to get me to take a synthroid but I won't do it! He also wants me to follow up with an Endo within the same practice, but I'm hesitant to do that if all they want to do is push a synthetic on me.....what do you guys think?

I'd like to add my story here! I just started a japanese version of Synthyroid on Wednesday. I'd been self treating w/Armour for 1.5 years, suspecting that I was no longer borderline, but full blown hypo. I ended up with a goiter while taking Armour, likely from taking too much, despite monitoring my temperatures and doing so much research. I believe in Armour, just not in my abilility to treat myself. Anyway, I went to an endo for the first time ever, 3 weeks ago via an emergency appt requested by my children's pediatrician. She noticed a goiter and tested my heart rate. Also, she noticed I'm gaining weight and puffy and such. So, the endo had me stop taking Armour cold turkey and made an appoint for three weeks out. 4.75 grains a day, I was taking! I had heart flutters, but otherwise, felt better for the first week. The next two weeks were much harder. When I went back for a three week check this past Wednesday, he was freaked out about my numbers. He said it would take another month for the Armour to clear my system, but that I needed medication right away. While my TSH was only 3.7 (can't remember and too lazy to get my paperwork downstairs, my T3 was 1.3 with a range of at least 2.3-Something. My T4 was .4 with the lowest number in the normal range being .88. So, both of them not even close to being in the range at all. He said I had thyroid toxicity or something like that at my first appt, but now my numbers we're plummeting. To be honest, this is why I started treat myself 1.5 years ago. Because I was tired of feeling like this! I'm happy to report that after 3 days of synthyroid, i can see my ankles for the first time in two years! My rings fit! I've lost 5 pounds of fluid in two days. He said based on my original numbers, he doesn't think I need T3. But I sure wish I could have natural T4. That's a big disappointment to me. I'm positive I will not be able to find a doctor here to prescribe it and I'm done with trying to be my own doctor! But I do plan on being persistent until I feel stablized. They are testing for the Hashimoto's antibodies in a month, so... We'll see, I guess. Not like it will change the course of treatment! There's just the magical drug, Synthyroid and apparently it's not open for discussion. 👎 but I'm feeling better, so it's hard to argue, under the circumstances.

Oh Brandy that is scary, but I'm glad you are feeling better. Did you notice the goiter? or it was only detected in the doctors office?

I really don't want to go it alone, but I don't want a synthetic either. My Dad was on Levothroxin for years, but he was always cold and tired. I'm not convinced that synthetic drugs can be as effective for treating thyroid conditions.

Actually I know a LOT of people on both synthetic T4 and synthetic T3... as a 'combo'. Your problem seems to be that your doctor will not RX T3 in ANY form. Synthetic T3 is called 'Cytomel'. And you still can't get Armour or WP or Naturethroid without a prescription.

Actually my Armour was covered by insurance with just a $20 copay just until this last October, now it's $133. Insurance will not cover any of it. I'm sure there was someone on these boards that was ordering their Armour online without a prescription. I'll see if I can find it, but like I said, I really don't want to go it alone.

I was buying it without a prescription and it was $200 for 100 days of medication. I don't remember the site, but I googled it. Now, I wish I just would have gone to an Endo.

My annual appointment with my doctor is coming up in April. I will discuss it AGAIN with him. Hopefully he will continue to prescribe my Armour thyroid, but I'm worried that I need even more than I was on before. My symptoms are coming back, the constipation, very cold feet, dry skin, inability to lose weight. Will he be willing to increase by symptoms? UGH it is so frustrating!

mojolissa I don't know where you are in MI (at one time I lived in the Detroit area and couldn't get an RX for ANY natural thyroid..at all) but there is a doctor in Ft. Wayne IN who doses by FT's and 'symptoms'. No, they don't take insurance...I've not found a really good thyroid doctor who takes insurance.

Thanks Pam
I will try to muddle through with my doctor for now. I do like him for everything else and I hate switching doctors. Well, I hate going to the doctor period!

Follow up: went to my general practitioner today. He was very sweet about it, but he doesn't feel comfortable prescribing my Armour Thyroid anymore. He claims that Armour is not going to be available for much longer, but bottom line is that he doesn't want the responsibility of malpractice by dosing me by what my symptoms are instead of by the TSH numbers. So he has referred me to an Endo in the same office. My appt is next week. Wish me luck!