I just got my GP's message re: my blood test results from Monday. He didn't say what the TSH number was, but said it was "too suppressed" (this is coming from the same Dr. who wanted to see it at 0) and that my Free T4 was too high - 2.1 (range 0.89 – 1.80). If that's the case, then why do I still feel like crap?? His suggestion was to reduce my Levoxyl dosage back to 50mcg (I'm taking 75 now) and start taking Coenzyme Q10 supplements. *sigh*
I certainly don't FEEL hyper. The only negative effect I've had since increasing to 75mcg is muscle tightness in my neck/shoulders. Do ya'll think switching to Armour may make a difference or do I have something non-thyroid related going on here? Symptoms are as follows:
Fatigue / Weakness / Exhaustion
Irritability / Mood instability
Decreased libido
Acne
Weight Gain / Water Retention
Memory Loss / Unable to think straight / Foggy brain / Making careless mistakes / Loss of creativity
Insomnia (waking up multiple times during the night, waking up too early, etc)
I really didn't think such a low dose of thyroid hormone would make this big of a difference in my numbers...especially when it's made such a small difference in my symptoms.
My doc changed me to Armour thyroid after being on Synthroid for 2 weeks. She also recommended me to take natural progesterone sublingual. I filled out a symptom survey form and there is such thing as multiple hormone deficiencies. My doc is going to have that checked out next month. I know it sucks. Totally! but I feel the Armour is at least a natural form of the thyroid I need.
Jan
Rainbow, does your doctor check your Free T3, along with your TSH and Free T4? It seems like something he/she would want to know before prescribing you Armour, which contains both T3 and T4 hormones. Regarding supplemental T3, my endocrinologist prefers compounded T3--taken with synthetic T4 in the form of Synthroid or Levoxyl--over Armour, because it is easier to customize a specific dose. (Armour has very specific ratios of T3:T4, which isn't necessarily tolerable for every one.)
All that said, I have taken various dosages of Synthroid over the years to keep my TSH around 1--my endo would prefer that I keep it even lower than that--yet I have always had the unfavorable "brain fog." Last week at my appointment, he prescribed me 20mcg of compounded T3 to take with my 125mcg Synthroid... I noticed an improvement in my energy levels and alertness within a few days! (Apparently, this is not uncommon, since T3 has a very short half-life.)
I would say that adding some T3 to your thyroid treatment is worth a try, if you don't feel Levoxyl alone is helping you. Hopefully, your doctor will talk it over with you and help you out! Best of luck!
My GP didn't test the T3, but I put a call in and asked that they test it. Luckily they still had the blood from Monday and could use it again to test Free T3. I should have the results in a day or two. Right now, I've completely stopped the Levoxyl to get rid of the hyper symptoms, then I'll slowly start up the Armour in a few days after I get the test results. I can't imagine that my T3 is high with the way I'm still feeling...but who knows, it may surprise me again.
Too Suppressed?? But I still feel like crap! 
