What do you make of these labs?

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Potassium       4.3       mmol/L (3.9 - 5.1)
Sodium          139       mmol/L (137 - 146)
Chlorides       104       mmol/L (97-108)
Fe              14.7      umol/l (11-32)
Copper          14.8      umol/l (12.2-25.1)
UIBC            40.2      umol/L (25-54)
TIBC            54.9      umol/L (49-72)
Ferritin        57.1       ng/mL (23.9-336.2)
% Saturation    26.77     (20-50%)
Cortisol(11 AM) 567       nmol/L (171-536)             HIGH


These were taken about a month ago but symptoms still the same.

Main symptom: heart pounding (constant, worst in afternoon) & occasional palpitations

1 year old labs, taken a week after this symptom started:

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Prolactin      7.44       ug/L (2.64-13.13)
FT3            6.20      pmol/L (3.84-5.99)               HIGH
FT4           11.75     pmol/L (7.85-14.42)


Most recent thyroid labs (2 months old):

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T4         108.00      nmol/L (66.00-181.0)
TSH          5.82      mIU/L (0.27-4.20)            HIGH


Last T3 was good, above mid-range also.

I recently started taking NDT but not feeling much better from that yet. Tested negative for hashimoto's. Tried iodine up to 12.5 mg, no effect.

Yes you have hypothyroidism. Lucky for you it showed up on the labs so doctors are able to prescribe armour/t3 to you. Mine didn't show up, so I have to buy it from some far away Thailand pharmacies and praying that it doesn't get stuck somewhere on the way because they found drugs.

12.5 mg of iodine is nothing. Try 100 mg. Also, as long as you're going to doctors - get a test that tests for heavy metal toxicity. Very important because if you're very toxic, then your thyroid won't come back as long as mercury/lead or whatever is supressing it.

I suggest u test ur vitamin d levels before going on medication, iv read many cases of thyroid problems that have stemmed from d deficiency.

moby wrote:Yes you have hypothyroidism. Lucky for you it showed up on the labs so doctors are able to prescribe armour/t3 to you. Mine didn't show up, so I have to buy it from some far away Thailand pharmacies and praying that it doesn't get stuck somewhere on the way because they found drugs.

12.5 mg of iodine is nothing. Try 100 mg. Also, as long as you're going to doctors - get a test that tests for heavy metal toxicity. Very important because if you're very toxic, then your thyroid won't come back as long as mercury/lead or whatever is supressing it.

Haha, the only thing they wanted to give me was synthroid. I ordered my NDT from obscure Thailand pharmacies as well  

YAER wrote:
I suggest u test ur vitamin d levels before going on medication, iv read many cases of thyroid problems that have stemmed from d deficiency.

Already done, I have about 50 ng/ml so that is good.

Blackseed oil treats hypothyroid if ur interested.

http://etd2.uofk.edu/content/html/pdf/en/en.6844.pdf

http://www.lifesciencesite.com/lsj/life1002/113_17867life1002_802_811.pdf

http://www.thetrp.net/article.asp?issn=0973-0354;year=2012;volume=9;issue=2;spage=48;epage=52;aulast=Sharif


Its considered a remedy for everything but death,
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/black-seed-remedy-everything-death

Why are you saying he's hypo when his FT3 is above range?

High TSH and Hgh free t3 which should be converted to free T4...

YAER wrote:High TSH and Hgh free t3 which should be converted to free T4...

No, T4 converts to T3 not the other way around.

If T3 and TSH is high then it demands more inspection by a doctor.

KeepGrowin wrote:

YAER wrote:High TSH and Hgh free t3 which should be converted to free T4...

No, T4 converts to T3 not the other way around.

If T3 and TSH is high then it demands more inspection by a doctor.

Yes, the FT3 is high, but all my symptoms are of hypothyroidism. I mentioned this to several doctors I've been through, but they don't pay much attention to the FT3 when they see the TSH. Just throw synthroid in my face.

I never really got a proper explanation for why FT3 can be high and symptoms are hypo (it seem the hormone is pooling in the blood). TOTAL T3 is normal however (last one was 2.52 (1.30-3.10)).

This is correct, my bad.

There's just so much that can be going on here...

A pituitary tumor could cause excess TSH resulting in both the high TSH and resulting T3. your doc would probably order an MRI.

Something could be increasing thyroid binding such as a variation in sex hormones resulting in your body trying to pump out more T3 to overcome the situation. Cortisol is high but that could be a cause/effect thing going on so it's hard to say.

As someone who dealt with endocrine issues in the past I would suggest seeing a competent doc that will run the full gamut of hormone labs like all the sex hormones free and bound, thyroid antibodies, CRH and probably order a thyroid ultrasound and brain/pituitary MRI at their discretion.

Don't go crazy coming up with hypotheses until you get labs done from a good doc and don't go trying to mess with it by taking stuff that's just going to make it harder to get to the root of the problem. Find a good doctor.

I remember a dude on a health forum that had odd labs and for 2 years and he was posting new labs and taking supplements trying to fix it but it turned out he had a pituitary tumor all along.

Well that's certainly disconcerting. The thing is I live in a fairly poor country in Europe and most of these tests are unavailable, or if they are, I have to pay for them myself and they are quite expensive. My endo is a dumb:!:ck who doesn't understand anything other than TSH. It's hard to find a good doctor around here.

I found this also: http://www.doctorslounge.com/endocrinology/forums/backup/topic-47131.html

He says: "Total Free T3(FT3) measurement measures T3 and rT3 combined. Therefore, if an rT3 elevation is suspected, a measurement of rT3 must be performed. This is valuable in identifying a condition called "Reverse T3 Dominance"."

And he mentions fasting as the cause of that and I did alternate day fasting for about a year and a half, not getting enough nutrients or calories on the fasted days.

Which is something I suspected before. My T4 could be low cause the body is trying to make a lot of T3 but it's all going to rt3?

Just random theories I guess. This heart pounding is the worst though, as it's been going on for a year. I'm just sitting here and my heart is beating hard, I can feel every beat and it moves my body, can also feel the pulse in my fingers and hear it in the ears when I go to sleep.

I am aware of RT3, in the US at least you can get it tested separately. But I know it's not available in all countries.

I wasn't trying to scare you or anything, just making the point that sometimes things are complex. I actually have a pituitary tumor myself. It's benign and has not affected my hormones at all, but it's there.

The fasting thing is interesting. Fasting can certainly modulate cortisol levels but I'm not certain what the long-term results might be.

Have you had any other testing done? There could be nutritional issues with extended fasting but I wouldn't start supplementing with anything unless I actually had proof it was needed.

Aside from what I listed in the first post not a whole lot, Vitamin D is good, hashimoto's tested negative, I supplemented magnesium for the past year and it didn't help or do much. Tried potassium as well, also nothing.

At least as far as the heart pounding thing I'm fairly certain it's a hormonal thing because it will go through this daily rhythm every day where I feel a bit better in the mornings and evenings, but bad in the afternoon, kinda like a hormone circadian rhythm thing. It's pretty pronounced.

That's currently my biggest problem. Ofc I also have hair loss (both diffuse & MPB) and other issues but having a heart in working order is kinda my priority at the moment.

It's pretty frustrating to try so many things and not get anywhere. From the time when it started (Nov 2012) it definitely has lessened somewhat, sometimes it even fades to the point it's barely perceptible, but I've still never been able to make it go away completely so as to not return.

I guess I definitely could have had nutritional deficiencies from the fasting but I think I would have topped up by now, I stopped ALL fasting in May 2012 and haven't done it since, and I eat pretty nutritious food now.

But my iron there is kinda low-ish, I'm not sure if a ferritin of 57 and serum iron 14 is too low, I've seen numerous females with low ferritin have this heart pounding symptom. The STTM folks say men should have ferritins of 100-130 and serum iron 20-25. Note that I ate liver 3 times weekly for months before this iron test, and it's still rather low (probably because hypothyroidism reduces iron absorption).

I wasn't going to address this post, because analyzing lab numbers is generally futile without analyzing a medical history and without clinical experience. Having said that, I'll just mention that reverse T3 might be an issue here (heavy metals/and or fasting).

There are many reasons that TSH can elevate....looking at numbers alone is really a dangerous proposition.

DeadlyDevice, for a final confirmation of your hypothyroidism, do this test:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broda_Otto_Barnes#Hypothyroidism_perspective

Barnes developed and promoted a diagnostic test for thyroid function that became known as the "Barnes Basal Temperature Test". This test is performed by placing a thermometer in the armpit for 10 minutes immediately upon waking.[11] Barnes considered a measurement of 97.8 °F (36.6 °C) or below to be highly indicative of hypothyroidism, especially when hypothyroid symptoms are present.

moby wrote:DeadlyDevice, for a final confirmation of your hypothyroidism, do this test:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broda_Otto_Barnes#Hypothyroidism_perspective

Barnes developed and promoted a diagnostic test for thyroid function that became known as the "Barnes Basal Temperature Test". This test is performed by placing a thermometer in the armpit for 10 minutes immediately upon waking.[11] Barnes considered a measurement of 97.8 °F (36.6 °C) or below to be highly indicative of hypothyroidism, especially when hypothyroid symptoms are present.

Yes a temp test is a good indicator. My thyroid stopped working correctly after getting ill, I took sea kelp tablets to fix the problem. But that being said iodine or sea kelps tablets can worsen the issue keep an eye on bloods if supplementing.

moby wrote:DeadlyDevice, for a final confirmation of your hypothyroidism, do this test:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broda_Otto_Barnes#Hypothyroidism_perspective

Barnes developed and promoted a diagnostic test for thyroid function that became known as the "Barnes Basal Temperature Test". This test is performed by placing a thermometer in the armpit for 10 minutes immediately upon waking.[11] Barnes considered a measurement of 97.8 °F (36.6 °C) or below to be highly indicative of hypothyroidism, especially when hypothyroid symptoms are present.

35.9 c (96.6 F). I know I'm hypo and I've been charting my temps & pulse for a while, especially since starting thyroid.