Shereen, I understand complete about being frustrated. You're not alone!

When you say your T3 was high was that a total or your FT3? If it's just your Totel T3 it could still be that your FT3 is not high enough, which would explain why you feel as you do. Also, if you're only a natural med you could need more T4, the ratio in the pig thyroid is not the same as the ratio our bodies make and many people need to add in some sythetic T4 to compensate.

If your cortisol is low it's probably an indication of an adrenal issue and it will come around; it just doesn't happen overnight. I suspect that once this is corrected and your TSH comes down to 1 ish you'll notice a difference.

Hang in there,
Nat

Hi Da Rose. Has your doctor increased your meds based on these tests? Your Fts really need to come up, they are too low w/in the range (your high TSH indicates this as well)

Are you taking Selenium? It can really help with symptoms, especially if you're dealing with Hashi's. Se is vital in the conversion of T4 to T3, and you really need to get your T3 higher. You should probably start out with 200mcg of selenium for a month and then cut back to 100mcg. Going over 200mcg for extended period of time can result in toxidity and it actually harmful for thyroid conversion and production. The selenium also counteracts the antibodies that are doing all the damage to your thyroid.

I am not well versed in PCOS but I can tell you that the two, PCOS and hypoT do often show up together, as does Type II diabetes. Following a LC WOE helps both PCOS and Diabetes so you're on the right track. Sorry I can't help more.

Nat

Well, excess cortisol can cause weight gain... and working out also causes cortisol release.

You can get your cortisol levels checked - important to do a round-the-clock test vs. one-time... most docs do a '24 hr urinary cortisol' vs. a 3-4x/day saliva test. But some alternative docs do the latter, and you can also order those tests yourself without a doc online.

cbcb, you're right about excess cortisol causing weight gain, especially around the middle. However, Sheree's cortisol has been tested and it's too low.

Im acctually not on aany treatment right now and Iv got my very first endo apointment in november. What bothers me is that I wont get to check for antibodys, insulin resistanse levels or progestrogen. I know I should but the nurse said Ill just have to take that up with him then to then do another set of test.



Acctually Im not taking selenium, but I am taking CLA or Omega 3. Ill start the selenuim right away. I got a question though, on the swedush thyroid threds they keep mentioning that one should do a test for lack of vitamin B12. Do they mean that one isnt eating enough of that or that the body doesnt use it properly, what do you think?



Ooh no, got another bit of info for ya, hypothyroid AND diabetes of both sorts goes in the family.... and Im not really lowcarbing right now. Just semi, kinda like maintainanse. I wasnt doing vell at all, still gaing and it was just stressing me out. To much calories on so little food? But Im slowly going back... without the stress and obsessing.

Thaank you so much! Im so glad to hear there is something I could do about this, b/c I have gained a crazy amout of weight (10 kilos=22lb (?) in 2 months) and Im sick of feeling foggyminded, bad bad memory, lack of consentration. This all affects my life, but mostly my school preformanse big time! I cant wait to get to talk to my endo and take all that Iv learned about hypo with him.

Again, muuchas gracias!

Hi again, Da Rosa. Sounds like you've been through thyroid hell. I hope things get straighted up for you when you do get in to see the specialist. Be sure you take a firm stand; don't let them tell you 'its all in your head!". I found that when I took my husband with me to the doctors it went a lot better; having someone who can thinking clearly and say "this person is not normal anymore; something is very wrong' really helped get the point across. It was also good for moral support.

Re the B12 deficiency test; B12 deficiency is something that can take years to show up, but it's happening in the mean time. It's something they test when you say you're tired, fatigued, are often confused, are short of breath and suffer from things like diarrhea and loss of appetite - some of the symptoms are similar to hypoT. Having a thyroid disease can also lower B12 in the body, so it's a test that makes sense. My blood work actually came back slightly low, so I'm taking 1000mcg of B12 now, sublingually - just to be safe.

Cheers,
Nat

Hi Nat! I dont know if its b/c Im back LCing or if its the selenium, but I have felt much better these last two days. Thank ouy so much for that tip. Oh, and I havent had any of my typical constipations and/or diarea either. Any conection there ya think?

Anyway, again thank you!

If you've got Hashi's then yes, it probably would have an effect. The selenium can knock out up to 63% of the antibodies, and the symptoms that they produce - remember it's not your thyroid that is messed up, it's the antibodies that have hijacked it.

Glad it helped
Nat

So torn and confused!

I had my meeting with the endo today. He said I do not have any type of hypothyrid and that my fts arent at the high range doesnt matter if my TSH isnt elevated and that the T3 treatments are a "flaky" theorie. He also said to not take L-tyrosin and thet it causes stess instead of decreasing it (it sais 'anti-stress' on the bottle)!

These are the new results:

S-Kortisol: 380........................................... nmol/L
S-Tyrotropin TSH: 1.5......................0.4-4.7 mU/L
S-Trijodtyronin frit (Free T3): 3.7.....3.0-6.5 pmol/L
S-Tyroxin, fritt, FT: 14........................12-23 pmol/L
S-Androstendion: *12.......................3.2-9.9nmol/L
S-Foll.stim.horm,FSH: 6.1.............................IU/L
S-Luteiniser hormon: 7,3.............................IU/L
S-DHEA-sulfat: 5.6............................2.0-11 umol/L
S-Prolaktin: 5.9.....................................<18 ug/L
S-Sexhormbind glob: 25.>19 years:25-105 nmol/L
S-Testosteron,S-T: 1.2....prepubertet:<0.7 nmol/L

He also said that my FSH/LH are good and that the previos one also was. Ok, the ones I have now are better but then he said that the ratio 'count' only applies when the FSH is lower than the LH. (I think this was what he said?!)

But he does think that I have PCOS due to some other numers, so he wants me to come back in a month to check if Im insulin resistant and then he wants me to start taking Metoformin. NoBimbo, anything missing here?

I was crying the whole time, as usual... just fustrated with the fact that he totaly rejected what I knew about the free T3s and such. They are still low and... I dont know, what do you think?

ps. I got my peripd today after not having had it in more than a year!

I think you need a new doctor, Da Rosa, this one is plain old stupid. Your TSH is meaningless; your FTs are LOW (both T4 and T3 are low). Are you able to find someone else to treat you? This endo doesn't know thyroid, which is not suprising, many of them don't.

Your DHEA looks low to me, but I will leave that to someone more qualified than I (Wanda, help!). I believe these hormones are like thyroid, where you fall in the range matters and yours looks low to my untrained eye.

I really hope you can get to see someone else.
Nat

Da Rosa, parts of your story sound similar to mine, minus the PCOS. I stopped ovulating for several months and so I got FSH and LH tests done to find them normal. Then I ended up getting saliva tests done (which are more accurate at testing the free hormones, not bound hormones) and my estrogen levels were sky high.

My TSH was initially 2.05 with low normal FT3 and FT4 like you as well. My doc went with thyroid replacement and now I belive that after 8 years of struggling with my health that I'm finally onto something. Don't give up. Nat's right (as usual). Find another Doc who will treat you. Here's a link to help you: http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/

Nat, I'm no expert on DHEA, but I can relay my experience. I'm not sure how I feel about DHEA-S blood tests. Mine showed my blood test levels equivalent to a 70-79 year old. It didn't use a specific lab range based by age for some reason. But my saliva tests (testing the free hormone, not bound hormone) showed normal levels.

I think the reference ranges for DHEA-S are skewed, just like so many of the other lab tests so it's hard to sort out what's normal and what isn't. I've also heard that DHEA should be tested by age group, not lumping everyone together since DHEA declines with age. Women also need less of it.

BUT, if DHEA is low, it's a fairly good indicator of adrenal fatigue. I just don't know how the results are interpreted on a blood test that doesn't really have adequate reference ranges. I'd be more inclined to get a 4 point cortisol saliva test to determine adrenal function.

Wanda

I just weighed myself for the first time in 10 days: 178.5 lb ..........Thats a pound per day!

Wanda- Yes, we have a very similar story. Im so glad its all working for you. I could bring you up as an example when I talk to him the next time.

I posted what happend in a swedish mailthread and asked for good doctors in stockholm, I got alot of responses and support as well as here. There is a woman whom will acctually come with me the next time, as moral support and to push my doc a little more. If that doesnt work Ill get another.

What I did do is call this phoneline where they help you with all kinds of question about what rights you have, how and what to do. They said the first step would be to talk to the headchefe in the klinik and talk this over with him, also about the change of doctors.

I havent been dieting (2000 cals.30-80 carbs) but maan, I cant believe I could gain this much!

Da Rosa, it's sad that we have to go to such lengths to get help but it's good that you're standing up for yourself. Please keep us posted!

Nat

Hello Everyone!

I suffer with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I was diagnosed in August by Dr. Tenanbaum from Dr. Holtorfs center. My journey has been very long.

Although I'm still being attended to by Dr. T, I have yet to be successfully treated for my thyroid with any type of Thyroid replacement thus far. My adrenals are part of the problem. Tired adrenals sometimes cannot handle the stress of a metabolism booster from thyroid meds. Dr. T has had me on T4/T3 combination and just T4 but the symptoms get worse so I've had to stop taking any medication for the thyroid. I've had success with the cortisol he put me on as far as helping me out of my terrible fatigue which was the most difficult. I used a 15 mg. dose for about 3 months and now he has weaned me off. So far so good with the tiredness not returning but I'm not 100%.

But as far as the weight gain, Girly, I hear ya. Nothing I do helps as far as that goes. I work out religiously and have been for years. I don't over do it either. I've spent literally thousands of dollars on nutritional supplements and expert nutritionist visits. I've dieted on Atkins (worked for a year then it all came back) Now I'm on the Maker's Diet by Jordin Rubin. Love it, but hard to find much of the foods without shopping in 3 markets.

I have another appointment in March to see Dr. T again. Hopefully, he can prescribe something to get me on the road to losing the weight now and help me get this thyroid healthy. I am 22-25 lbs overweight. For now I'm on testosterone (very low by the tests) and progesterone cream (this I've been on for many years when I tested myself with a saliva test and found I had none) and a product called EsClear to reduce bad estrogen. Vitatmin C, Selenium, L-tyrosine, B6, B5, codliver oil, Primal Defense, and a magnesium/calcium/zinc/potassium supplement. I've been able to narrow it down to these essentials for my body.

I also eat a high protein, grass-fed beef, organic chicken and good fats like flax meal. Mostly fish (cod, tuna, sardines). Lots of green leafy veggies and I try to juice on the weekends. I have read many good books on hypothyroid too. I am getting better, but slowly. I am hopeful that God will lead me to the right help. I will not ever give up trying. I am a 48 year old woman who loves life! I have a happy marriage, wonderful kids and a great job.

Bravo on all you've attempted.. sometimes the weight loss thing just defies conventional wisdom about what 'should' work! :P

Anyhow, the only .02 I wanted to pitch in was about keeping good tabs on your levels... I have low normal estrogen myself, so was thinking of the need to not suppress yours too far. Also, FWIW, I tried natural progesterone cream and it only made me gain a little weight and feel ick. I think that whole axis of progesterone/estrogen is really finicky.

Sometimes of course when the adrenals are stresses, cortisol goes too high rather than too low. I found it useless to have done a 24 hr urinary cortisol at an endocrinologist's.. it showed me normal.. because it takes the cortisol values from a day's urine output. But a 4x/day salivary test for cortisol illuminated what was really going on... I had way low levels in the a.m. (hence my a.m. tiredness) and way high levels in the p.m. (hence the night owl). I've felt better since taking a little phosphatidyl serine supplement in the afternoon, which helps to blunt cortisol rise.

So if you still have cortisol issues and don't know about the through-the-day production of the hormone in your body, might be helpful to try at least a 2x/day salivary test, a 4x is better. The former's $60-80 and the latter more like $140. Bunch of places online to get them like BodyBalance.com ... and also at some docs' - the more progressive/slightly alternative docs', that is.