Hypothyroidism-Do any of you have it?

[Red Rock]

Hi All,

My TSH is 0.0, T4 is normal 0.74, and my T3 is low normal at 3.4. I would have been sent to an endo if the T3 was below 2.4. Yes, this is my male primary care doc. I have been doing searches on the net to try and figure out WHY they do or do not treat this. My DH and I have been talking about a possible second opion too. I explained this to my dad and he could not understand it either. If something is broken why not fix it? He was thinking in terms of machinery. Like if your transmission fails fix it so the rest of the engine works. It's not that hard to figure out. I do not think this is rocket science.

Red Rock

[jezbael]

Medical doctors are sometimes slow to change. Most won't even bother testing T3/T4 if TSH is not indicative. There is a lot of recent research out there that is showing that TSH labs alone miss hypothyroidism. It's more important to look at the t3 and t4 levels, as well as listen to the patient's symptoms.

In January, my naturopathic doctor listened to my history, symptoms, and family history of obesity and suggested we test my thyroid functioning (despite it being tested before and always came back "normal"). Indeed, my TSH was normal, but my T3 was low. I started taking a natural replacement and almost immediately noticed increased energy, mental clarity, mood and easier weight loss. Six months later, I feel like what I think other "normal" people feel like for the first time in my life.

Even if your T3 is "low normal", that doesn't mean that *you* are a person whose body can tolerate low normal. Clearly your symptoms are suggesting so.

I encourage a second opinion, and perhaps consider seeing a naturopathic doctor. They are usually more interested in treating the root of a problem, and increasing a person's health further than a doctor would. Doctors generally are interested in treating disease... ND's generally are interested in promoting health to its greatest degree.

[JennK13]

RedRocks,
Now that your hair is thinning, that's a sign it's not magically healing itself on it's own. Hairloss is classic hyperthyroidism, and happens to us hypo patients when we're over medicated. You're exhausted because your body is on overload 24/7 from all the thyroid hormone racing through your system.
We've "talked" offline about this. So sorry you're going through it. I'm working on adjusting to my new dosage as prescribed last week.
Take care