I've been having hypothyroid systems my whole life, but I didn't know it until I was looking up a new symptom and saw it tied to hypothyroidism. As I read more about it, everything clicked and I felt like it was a puzzle coming together. I convinced my doctor to run some tests but everything in in the normal range. I've seen a lot of posts about the normal range not being "optimal targets." I wanted to post my lab results here to get some feedback. Does it look like I could have hypothyroidism?
tsh: 3.91 mIU/L (range: 0.3-5.6)
free t4: 11.6 pmol/L (range 7.2-21)
free t3: 5 pmol/L (range: 2.9-6)
(I'm in Canada so the units are a little different)
Doesn't seem like it, but difficult to know what else it could be without knowing your symptoms -- so many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism can have many different causes.
These are the symptoms I have:
Cold hands and feet
Low blood pressure – occasionally light-headed when changing positions, fainted a couple of times
Hair loss and white hair – started when I was 17 (i'm 39 now)
No sweating when I work out
Need afternoon naps
Twitching eyelid
Weight loss is hard
High cholesterol
Problem is so many things overlap in terms of symptoms. Sounds a bit like Raynaud's though not sure about the lack of sweating. Do you have problems with dry eyes or mouth? Or bowel issues?
Have you been checked for iron deficiency? That can also cause a lot of these symptoms - cold and fatigue, for sure.
Twitching eye - can be related to dehydration.
Difficulty losing weight/high cholesterol - do you eat a healthy and balanced diet (get enough fruits and veggies, limit sugar intake, get enough of the good fats - important for digestion)? Some people's bodies do just create more cholesterol (are you a smoker? Do you eat a lot of red meat? Cheese? Bad fats?). Also, do you overwork yourself with your fitness routines and give your body enough time to rest and recoup?
A Or to consider but I hope it helps...
This is a thought based on myself, I would ask for Cytomel 5 mcg.
Many people feel better taking T3.
Some of us have an inefficient body when it comes to converting T4 into T3.
I've done the standard blood test for physicals, I think that would detect an iron deficiency? That was normal.
I think I stay hydrated well enough throughout the day.
I eat relatively healthy, with maybe one or two "cheat" meals on the weekend. I swim twice a week and work out twice a week, and I've had similiar levels of activity for about 15 years now. I don't smoke or drink, I do eat red meat, but I wouldn't consider it a lot. I eat more chicken than anything else. It kills me when my dr says to "eat better," when I probably eat better than most and have been for a long time. On the other hand, I'm basically just staying the same in terms of weight, even though I could leave a pound or two from my waist. Even when I was working out 5 times a week and swimming on top of that, I couldn't lose it.