Golf, It may sound a little confusing as I have been to so many doctors. The douche bag I saw was a one time visit to a doctor recommended by a friend.
The doctor I referred to in my post is a very nice guy. He has been my local endo doctor. The only reason I stopped seeing him temporarily was he said he did not believe in desiccated thryoid meds. I felt I could not get better if he was unwilling to script what I might need. He may not be Chrisler, but he believes me and is willing to try to help.
I got new blood results today and hoping anyone that knows how to calculate RT3, can help and let me know if my RT3 is considered high. I know there is some kind of calculation that needs to be done, but I’m not sure how to do it.
The Free Testosterone is little confusing. I have seen a lab test mine this way before. It shows the range, like it’s fine. However the % of Free is low. It was even flagged with an “L” on the docs from the lab. I’m not surprised the free T is not back in line.
I am still praying that maybe I have high TR3 and going on just T3 vs Armour might help with Free testo levels.
One other thing, I have been on Armour for a couple of months. I’m wondering if that could skew my RT3 levels and maybe make it look better than it was, but still be a problem.
I do feel better taking Armour. It is a tremendous help mentally,motivation, focus. Unfortunately there hasn’t been much sexual improvement. I had a few occassions where I felt a slight libido and one more extreme.
I did stop taking it as for a week or so. However, I started to feel crappy again. As soon as I went back on I had big improvement mentally.
boston… how long did you take it before you stopped? i mean you cant expect the shift to happen overnight… another user im talking to says his doctor states 12 weeks for larger effects to take effect.
I’m pretty sure he tested FT3 and had shown me that result in his office. He some how managed to only give me part of the results when they copied them.
You say Total T3 should be above 10, but the range the lab provided is 76-181. Is “10” the right measuring guide for the test results I received? I know different labs seem to provide different Reference Ranges. I thought there was calculation that needed to be done using the result numbers provided from the lab. I know recall having read someone posting this before.
I will contact the lab and or doctor’s office on Monday and get the Free T3 number. I also have IGF1 results that were pending as well.
Any ideas on how to understand the Free Testosterone Range looks good, but the Free Testosterone % looks bad?
I took it for four weeks, then stopped for a week. I have been back on now for about 3 weeks. So, I have been on it for about 7 weeks total over the course of 8 weeks, with a one week off of it.
Maybe you’re right and I just need to be on it a little longer. I would think logically, that I would continue you to see more suttle improvements sexually and from an androgen perspective.
I just want to be sure I am on the right dosage. If I have high RT3, I shouldn’t be taking Armour. I should be on T3 only. I just wanted to determine if that is the case, before I continued to take the Armour.
How are you doing and where are you at in the process?
I checked back with the doctor and of course as my luck would have it they never tested Free T3. I was sure it was checked off on the requisition form too.
My doctor doesn’t know much about RT3, but is willing to prescribe T3 if my RT3 numbers come back high.
I found this website that explains how to caluculate RT3 levels properly. Can you take a look at that and see if this is proper way to do it?
One other thing using that formula for Total T3 it would put me at 4.83, well below the 10 number.
I’m assuming you would need to calculate using the same formula used for calculating with RT3. This is the formula I used from the link I posted on the last post.
I know the Free T3 is more important and I’ll have those numbers by mid week next week.
Yes, that formula you used is exactly the formula that was used in the link I provided. Divide Free T3 by RT3 and that’s your ration number.
I guess I was just wondering if I could do the same with the total T3 number, apparantly not.
I was a little annoyed that the lab didn’t test the Free t3. Now I need to go back and test all over again this week. I’m just a little impatient.
I have been feeling crappy again over the last 3-4 days. I’m not sure why, but I don’t think this thyroid medicine is the right dosage for me. The article that I posted regarding symptoms of RT3 states, “Never feeling right on the different doses of Thryroid meds”
So, clearly you have high RT3. Have you been able to get in to see a doctor? or have you begun a T3 treatment?
I think if it was borderline you would need FT3 to decide, but your’s is clearly low. Free T3 wouldn’t hurt though, and per this ratio you should be on T3 only, not Armour. However your sore joints are probably due to low cortisol. Please post your current dosage and what was changed in the posts, makes it easier to comment.
Given that you have crashed a bit from over exercising over the weekend there’s a good chance you’ve got a cort problem and the Thyroid meds are eating it up faster than you can produce. Keep in mind this isn’t the only cause, but it’s a likely one. If you exercise for over 45 minutes and are in decent shape you will stress your cortisol production, so anything over 45 min is a bad idea. JN is having a similar problem though your treatments are both not consistent with the methods to treat RT3 dominance. I think it’s due to increased metabolism of other things in the body such as cort (possibly testosterone, etc). Now that the body doesn’t have enough you start to crash.
Keep in mind these repairs take years, not months, though a constant progression and regression of symptoms may be seen.
I think if it was borderline you would need FT3 to decide, but your’s is clearly low. Free T3 wouldn’t hurt though, and per this ratio you should be on T3 only, not Armour. However your sore joints are probably due to low cortisol. Please post your current dosage and what was changed in the posts, makes it easier to comment.
Martin,
thanks, that’s the way I interpreted the test results. I have very low RT3. Now I hope some of the adrenal supplements I just began taking don’t effect the blood test I just took today. If they do, I guess I’ll have to get another done.
I have been taking 1 grain of Armour for about 2 months. It’s a 60mg tablet. A couple of time I tried to increase the dosage for a couple of days, but didn’t feel any real change. I’m not sure I would have needed to have done that longer though.
The one thing that still bothers me is the Free Testosterone is not good still. I think once I can get this working, I will see big change with sexual improvement. I had posted asking what is the difference between the free testosterone range & percent? My range looks fine, but my % is bad. It looks like no one on this forum knows how to read this.
So my doctor was ready to write the script for the T3, but after doing much research I found it is important to treat any possible adrenal gland problem first. I will be going for a
24 hour saliva test to confirm that I have adrenal problem.
My doctor agreed if the 24 hour test indicates this is an issue he agreed he would not have a problem scripting me cortisol. He mentioned using it for more than 2 months can bring on different issues. It can also make getting off of it difficult. I read the same thing on a bunch of different websites. Do we know, is anyone on this site currently using Hydrocortisone?
I started taking Isocort about 6 days ago, so I’m not sure how long to wait before doing the 24 hour test and how much of an effect that short period of time could have on my cortisol levels.
Unfortunately, I doubt Isocort would be powerful enough to help many of us or it might take a very long time. The other problem is if we are in “Stage 3” of Adrenal
fatigue, we would likely need to remain on cortisol for more than a year to get better.
In the meantime I’m going to modify my diet to conform with one for people with adrenal gland fatigue. I found a list online and reading it is depressing. I can’t eat any of the things I like. I weened my coffee down to a small cup rather than quit. I didn’t want the withdrawal effect.
Boston, the thyroid sites typically say 2 weeks you need to be off cortisol supplements. Given you’re still drinking coffee I don’t know what this means. You seem to have a low free Test problem too, which we’re hoping T will correct over the long term. In my case with cortisol supplements they can have an extended effect, at least a week, sometimes much longer…
It’s interesting about eating things you like, perhaps you like them because they stimulate cort? I found this to be the case when I was eating for feeling. It took a while to adjust.
So if I understand correctly, if the 24 saliva test indicates a cortisol problem you will begin supplementing this before pursing T3 treatment?
I’m not sure what to think regarding the cortisol supplement. I am enclined to believe it’s effect wouldn’t matter that much. If I have a very low cortisol level it could take years to get back to where it should be. It’s doubtful that less than a week of using something that using a supplement like Isocort would change my results that drastically.
I have wanted to quit the coffee entirely for some time, but you know the gig. These types of foods stimulate adrenals and that’s why we crave them. I have started the process however and will ween off of it entirely until I recover.
I read from multiple sources that you should try to resolve any adrenal problems before addressing the thyroid. Have you seen or read anything at all about this? I was really torn with making this decision, as I wanted to simply go on and add the T3.
My concern is if It turns out am in Level 3 of Adrenal fatigue, using cortisol won’t likely be quick fix. It would be something that would probably take many months or years to correct. So when do I begin taking the T3? I like the doctor I’m seeing right now, he’s a nice guy. I don’t think he knows how a timeline like that should play out.
Will update my thread, not much to say though. Still waiting to normalize and then go for tests.
I dunno about cortisol, I’m inclined to think the effect might be greater than anticipated for me, especially if it puts the immune system on hold and lets the excema clear up. You make an interesting point about stimulating the adrenals. I think my adrenals are sufficient for no activity and sometimes react if I build up with exercise very slowly. However instant stimuluous, with something such as caffeine, burns through them very quickly, like there are no reserves. We know cortisol is also needed to release energy in the body and adrenaline does the same but much more quickly. These must work in conjunction with the thyroid.
Yeah, I’ve read the same about treating cortisol deficits before thyroid. i think we should check with with the RT3 yahoo group about when to start taking T3. I know JN has been in touch with them, perhaps he’s already requested this answer. Either way I think we’re looking at a “years” scenario as opposed to months…
good to hear JN is getting some info from them. I have been participating in two other forums as well getting some info from an adrenal gland forum and a thyroid forum. Let’s see how this adrenal cortisol thing works out. Where did you read that joint issues are caused from low cortisol? If this is the case, my cortisol has probably been low for about 7 years. It’ pretty fucked up, but now looking back on things I can remember these problems starting at about the exact timeline of when I started using, but never associating them to this POS drug.
