Hi! I so glad I finally found this group on here! I have so many questions! At my Dr. appointment yesterday I was pretty must shooed out of the room for bringing up possible thyroid issues. What are your thoughts?

Symptoms:
What others eat to lose, I maintain on or gain
Sleep problems
Restless legs
depression and anxiety
Twitchy eyes
Irregular cycles (since I was 14)
tingling toes
Lightheadedness (this one is new)
Brain fog
Exhaustion
Low heart rate (58b/min)


I did have my levels checked in September, not sure if they mean anything, but he said they were normal (keeping in mind I'm in Canada)

TSH: 4.55
T4 free: 10.0
Free T3: 4.9

B12 is low

His answers to most of my concerns were I'm stressed and tired, and should be grateful for my slow metabolism because I won't starve in times of Famine. I do have a referral to an Endo at the end of the month. I want to go armed. I'm sick of being brushed aside and being told what I live with is normal.

Wow. What an *kitten*. That's a horrible comment to make, and totally doesn't make sense???

Ok honey, you are SO hypothyroid that I don't know how you're functioning. Your doctor should have put you on meds before you even hit the endo's office. What province are you in? (I'm from BC but currently in SK) Do you have the option to NEVER go back to that doctor again??

So in Canada they are sticking with 4.5 as the top range of "normal" for TSH. I am active on several thyroid boards and have yet to meet someone who feels good with a TSH over 2.0. But TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid one, so it's not really as important.

T4 is the "storage" hormone, that your body needs to convert into the "active" hormone T3. Your body basically has zero stores. Don't let any doctor give you any crap about being "within normal range", because the bottom of the normal range IS HYPO. Your free T3 is dismally low.

I'll be honest, I had those levels about 2 months after my entire thyroid was taken out...! Your labs, plus all your symptoms, paint a pretty clear picture of hypothyroid.


Now what? Ok, so how long until the endo appointment? You'll want the endo to test for Hashimoto's antibodies, to see if you're dealing with autoimmune thyroid disease. If it's a crappy endo they might look at only your TSH and say you are "slightly hypo" - this is untrue, do not listen to this endo, and try to find someone else.


Meds: there are a few med options, but not all are equal. The default for most endos is prescribing a T4-only med like synthroid or levothyroxine. This is generally not the greatest for most people, because it does nothing about your low T3. You can also take a synthetic T3 along with the T4 med and that helps some people. Another option is to take a dessicated pig thyroid med, which contains both T3 and T4 -- most thyroid patients feel MUCH better on this.

If the endo doesn't work out, and you're in BC or Ontario (and hopefully soon Alberta) you can see a naturopath to get a prescription for a dessicated med (in Canada it's manufactured by Erfa and just called "Thyroid").


Vitamins and minerals: many are involved in the process of either creating thyroid hormone, converting it from T4 into T3, or in having the T3 act on your cells. Primary ones to look at are Vit D, Vit B, iron, ferritin (iron stores), selenium, and zinc. Fellow Canadian, I can pretty much guarantee that you need a hefty Vit D supplement... But get your levels tested to see.