[Raspberry]

#1059920

I’m taking a bit of an informal survey. At what FT4 value (with range included please) do you feel at your best? During my treatment I’ve hovered between 0.9 and 1.1 in a range of (.8-1. and had some hypo symptoms all along. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to ask my doctor to help me get higher in the range?

[Ellen_B]

#1178757

Hello,
I do know that the FT4 is the hormone that is available for the body (cells) to use.
Your T4 (less active) goes into a kind of reservoir in a bound form in the blood. It actually sits in little protein (thyroid binding globulin or TBG) boats to keep it from sinking. One percent is drawn off and brought to the cell where it is going to do its work. In order for T4 to be able to go through the cell wall it must jump out of its boat and leave its boat behind. In the cell one iodine atom is knocked off converting T4 to T3. At first T3 is also bound. The T3 becomes free and is 10 times more active than any of the T4.

Has your T3 been tested? The two T3 tests are free T3 and total T3 (free T3 and bound T3 combined). Ask your doctor which tests of all the test he can do and which provides the most valuable information.

You probably did not want to know all this. I mention it because I hope it will help you to persuade your doctor to look at your tests more closely. You want to know what tests will give the best and accurate information of the amounts and activity of your thyroid hormones. In your case it probably starts out as the pill you put in your mouth. Is it a T4?

I hope he will answer your question too–at what FT4 value do you feel best?
I wonder if different people have differrent optimal levels? Lets see what you find out in your survey. Maybe your doctor will tell you about T3 too.

I hope you start to feel better soon.
Ellen

[Raspberry]

#1178758

Thanks for the details on how it all works! You do bring up a great point, maybe I should be focusing more on my FT3. I do get that one regularly tested also, but it usually looks better more at the mid-range. It’s the FT4 that hovers around near the bottom that I get suspicious about.

I guess I was hoping someone would say – I feel great and my FT4 is…. or at this point I’ll settle for anything! TSH FT3 values too. I want to know what the lab values of a person who feels great looks like. I am on methimazole if that matters so it is an issue of how much to lower the dosage.

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