[Vlindy]

I had a thyroidectomy and RAI About a year and a half ago. My thyroid hormone is at the very top limit to keep any residual thyroid tissue from becoming cancerous. What are the symptoms of this? Mine don't seem to line up quite right. I'm far less active than I used to be. No more late nights. Bedtime is NEVER pushed back. I have near zero heat tolerance. I used to be able to work in the heat all day. Now I can barely work on my car in the summer. I'm a little worse with words (brain fog?). I get sick a good bit more often than I used to. The sleepiness was far worse before I started the thyroid journey, so it could be unrelated.

My first thyroid test when we discovered a nodule was TSH reflex to T4F, uIu/mL, 1.61 (.45-4.5). I'm guessing that's not the thyroid hormone test (free T4?). My tgab was 4.1 (0-.9), and thyroglobulin by RIA was 15 ng/mL.

I just recently found out that I could download all my test results from Labcor and will have a medical buddy help me interpret them. I only saw 2 tests of T3 uptake (not free T3?) during the whole process which seems like a problem.

 

[GOLGO13]

Suggest getting FT3 at some point. There are a sizable amount of people with a thyroidectomy that have trouble on T4 meds only. Many of them need to add a little T3 to their T4 meds. This is quite common and if you need backup material I can find some. Even material from Endocrinologists who are anti alternative medicine.

In general I always suggest keeping TSH below 2.5. But in your case I'm not sure if it would be even lower. But, I do believe many people not doing well without a thyroid need some T3. If you think about it, you have no help from your thyroid (it's gone). Thus you are 100 percent reliant on conversion from T4 to T3 in other organs/tissues. This doesn't always occur and that small amount of T3 the thyroid creates (even for people with a partially damaged thyroid) could be the missing link.

If you need to find a doctor open to adding some T3 to your T4. The last Endocrinologist I had in the city was open to this. But you may come across ones that are not willing to. Get a different doctor in these cases.

 

[Vlindy]

Suggest getting FT3 at some point. There are a sizable amount of people with a thyroidectomy that have trouble on T4 meds only. Many of them need to add a little T3 to their T4 meds. This is quite common and if you need backup material I can find some. Even material from Endocrinologists who are anti alternative medicine.

In general I always suggest keeping TSH below 2.5. But in your case I'm not sure if it would be even lower. But, I do believe many people not doing well without a thyroid need some T3. If you think about it, you have no help from your thyroid (it's gone). Thus you are 100 percent reliant on conversion from T4 to T3 in other organs/tissues. This doesn't always occur and that small amount of T3 the thyroid creates (even for people with a partially damaged thyroid) could be the missing link.

If you need to find a doctor open to adding some T3 to your T4. The last Endocrinologist I had in the city was open to this. But you may come across ones that are not willing to. Get a different doctor in these cases.

Thanks! Anything you have would be awesome! The main thing is terminology. There's thyroid hormone itself, TSH, antibody, thyroglobulin, and probably more. Then on blood paperwork there's those things plus more, plus those things "via RAI."

I really don't think I'd have a problem with my endo giving me T3. He may have mentioned it and I just didn't catch it. I've told him that I feel great, but I guess it's been so long since I felt normal that I didn't notice. Maybe I just noticed that the progress stalled or I backslid.

 

[GOLGO13]

I don't agree with everything this guy has on his website. Basically he's an Endocrinologist who's taken an anti-alternative medicine take. Which, is not exactly a bad thing. There is too much alternative medicine vibes online and it's good to get a different perspective. I'm kind of in the middle when it comes to thyroid care. I do a mix of alternative and conventional...and I do think the truth is in the middle.

T3 Controversies: How Much T3 Should I Take? - hormonesdemystified

Which sounds better to you: taking a physiologic dose of T3, or a heroic bolus that acts like an illicit stimulant? If you get your care from alt med, chances are you'll be slammed with the latter.

hormonesdemystified.com

Here is says this...and I've seen a lot of general research around this same topic in the past: "In my opinion, the usual reason why fewer people in these latter categories will truly need T3 is because their thyroids are still capable of producing some. Obviously, the ability to produce T3 will correlate with how much thyroid tissue destruction has occurred. Hypothyroid people whose thyroids were completely destroyed by radioactive iodine might be more likely to benefit from T3. Similarly, those with Hashimoto’s might benefit from T3 once the majority of the thyroid has been destroyed."

So without a thyroid, your thyroid is not contributing any T3...and thus, you are relying 100 percent on T4 to T3 conversion. And that may not provide enough T3 for you as an individual. Every person is unique in this area. research I saw suggested 20 percent of people without a thyroid may benefit from some T3.

 

[GOLGO13]

Also, if you don't have hashimotos, you don't really need to worry about the alternative med stuff. You just don't have your thyroid anymore. So you would focus on getting the right mix of meds.