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Thyroid Lab Interpretation

Messages
20
Location
europe
Same here, check out any stop the thyrid madness website or fb group.

I am used to see labs posted by people taking NDT, and the thread starter is probably on not enough Thyroid. (according to what other patients say)
But in order to tolerate a high ft3, the adrenals must be working well enough, and other stuff too. I would recommend reading or asking at the stop the thyroid madness fb pages.

Those of you here that say this person is on an adequate dose of Thyroid, one cannot go by TSH alone. Also, those on a high enough dose of Thyroid very often have a ft3 close to the top of the reference range, and a ft4 that is about mid-range.

With T4 meds only the ft4 and ft3 are typically the other way around....and in maybe one - third of patients the TSH just drops down to 0 on the right dose.
 

xena

Senior Member
Messages
241
That's malarky. Elevated T4/T3 ratios aren't always a reliable indicator in hypothyroidism. I had a conversion problem with T4 to T3 as evidenced by very high levels of Reverse T3. And it took several months of Cytomel only therapy to bring the Reverse T3 back down to normal levels.

Normalizing my riboflavin improved my serum iron and ferritin, which in turn, stopped my burning mouth syndrome. It also significantly improved my hypothyroidism, which became easier to treat with the desiccated thyroid. My Reverse T3 elevations are now a thing of the past.
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@out2lunch do you know (or have a theory) about how the riboflavin affects ferritin/iron and thyroid? i have very low ferritin and high reverse t3 (i'm confused and unsure what this means but it shows on my labs) and suspect i have riboflavin deficieny based on symptoms (patches around nose)

i have some mild hypothyroidism- i don't know if its even clinical but after adding some t4 several months ago i experienced less fatigue but am now flagging. also what form of r2 were you taking?
 

out2lunch

Senior Member
Messages
204
@out2lunch do you know (or have a theory) about how the riboflavin affects ferritin/iron and thyroid? i have very low ferritin and high reverse t3 (i'm confused and unsure what this means but it shows on my labs) and suspect i have riboflavin deficieny based on symptoms (patches around nose)

i have some mild hypothyroidism- i don't know if its even clinical but after adding some t4 several months ago i experienced less fatigue but am now flagging. also what form of r2 were you taking?
There are others here at PR who are far better versed in the whole riboflavin -- iron -- thyroid thing than I am. But I have learned lots-o-stuff from reading their posts. The biggest factor for riboflavin is iron absorption. If you don't have enough B-2, the iron isn't going to be absorbed from your gut.

I can only relate my particular problem, but here's what my doc and I believe toasted my thyroid conversion:

I had a very nasty GI illness over 2 years ago that did a number on my nervous system. Not only did I lose weight but continued to lose weight six months afterwards, even while eating tons of calories. I also developed peripheral neuropathy problems and symptoms associated with nutrient deficiencies.

Basically, my parietal cells were damaged enough from the gut illness that I became deficient in B-2 and B-6 without enough intrinsic factor to convert them from my food and supplements. I was already taking sublingual hydroxycobalamin, so B-12 never became an issue. But I wasn't taking other conenzymated B vitamins, so riboflavin slowly depleted over time. Eventually, I became iron deficient without enough riboflavin to absorb it, which in turn, made my hypothyroidism worse.

Now I take coenzymated B vitamins daily, along with Betaine HCl capsules with every meal. The deficiencies are gone, and my thyroid levels have stabilized once more. Sounds as though this might be a possible path for you as well.
 

xena

Senior Member
Messages
241
There are others here at PR who are far better versed in the whole riboflavin -- iron -- thyroid thing than I am. But I have learned lots-o-stuff from reading their posts. The biggest factor for riboflavin is iron absorption. If you don't have enough B-2, the iron isn't going to be absorbed from your gut.

I can only relate my particular problem, but here's what my doc and I believe toasted my thyroid conversion:

I had a very nasty GI illness over 2 years ago that did a number on my nervous system. Not only did I lose weight but continued to lose weight six months afterwards, even while eating tons of calories. I also developed peripheral neuropathy problems and symptoms associated with nutrient deficiencies.

Basically, my parietal cells were damaged enough from the gut illness that I became deficient in B-2 and B-6 without enough intrinsic factor to convert them from my food and supplements. I was already taking sublingual hydroxycobalamin, so B-12 never became an issue. But I wasn't taking other conenzymated B vitamins, so riboflavin slowly depleted over time. Eventually, I became iron deficient without enough riboflavin to absorb it, which in turn, made my hypothyroidism worse.

Now I take coenzymated B vitamins daily, along with Betaine HCl capsules with every meal. The deficiencies are gone, and my thyroid levels have stabilized once more. Sounds as though this might be a possible path for you as well.

thanks for sharing. i think what happened to me is that i've been taking large doses of inject methylb12 right now and that has depleted some of the other b vitamins- including i suspect b2.

are you taking the b vitamins individually or in a complex and are they sublingual? i keep trying b complexes and individual b vitamins but never stick to them because of the bloating they cause