What to do in this scenario

[El Diabloo]

So just got blood word back for my thyroid, unfortunately my Dr was a pain and didn’t order RT3 or FT3, but these were my results:

TSH - 3.03
FT4 - 1
Total T3 - 92

Taking 2.5iu 2 x day of rips along with Test. Knew T4 would be low as HGH increases conversion. TSH I am assuming is high because either my active T3 is low or because like stated above the my body wants to continue to convert because HGH is keeping the conversion process high.

Sucks I don’t have the other 2 numbers, but based on the above what are your thoughts?

I see 2 options, buy my own FT3/RT3 test and go from there or (I was prepared for this) I have T4/T3 en route, I could start dosing that and then pull bloods (excluding RT3) again in a few weeks.

I doubt my FT3 is in the middle or top of the range based on the low level of Total T3 and unless my body is converting all of it to active T3, I know dosing exogenous T3 the RT3 wont matter.

I read exogenous T3 will reduce TSH and increase T4 because I will not need any, only thing is I don’t know how much I need. Was thinking start at 25mcg and get bloods after 2 weeks if I go the route of bloodwork after starting. Knew I wasn’t burning fat the way I should be on GH (even though it’s slow and steady) with how clean I’ve been eating.

Sorry for the long drawn out post, any help/comments are appreciated!

 

[qbkilla]

What are the reference ranges that are considered normal?

 

[BLang]

Dose T4 only until your Free T4 is closer to the 1.4-1.7 range. That will likely fall somewhere between 100-150mcg/day, but feel free to start low.

Test TSH/Free T4/Free T3 (don't bother with RT3).

Once Free T4 is in a good range, look at Free T3. If it's still low (unlikely IMO) you can then look at adding T3. I'll bet you won't have to.

 

[El Diabloo]

What are the reference ranges that are considered normal?

92 - range 76 - 181 for Total T3
3.03 - range .4 - 4.5 for TSH
1 - range .8 - 1.8 for FT4

My body is calling for more conversion as per the TSH, even though FT4 is in range, I am going to guess my FT3 is not in range which is why TSH is high. Obviously I can retest before starting anything, I was debating this all night.

Dose T4 only until your Free T4 is closer to the 1.4-1.7 range. That will likely fall somewhere between 100-150mcg/day, but feel free to start low.

Test TSH/Free T4/Free T3 (don't bother with RT3).

Once Free T4 is in a good range, look at Free T3. If it's still low (unlikely IMO) you can then look at adding T3. I'll bet you won't have to.

So RT3 doesn't matter if FT3 is in a good range? I want to land in optimal range which would be more towards the top end.

I have read T4 takes about 6-8 weeks to get into your system fully, not that I am in a rush, but I was going to drop GH and cycle it 9 months out of the year, so I am kind of wanting to get these numbers in check sooner than later.

 

[BLang]

92 - range 76 - 181 for Total T3
3.03 - range .4 - 4.5 for TSH
1 - range .8 - 1.8 for FT4

My body is calling for more conversion as per the TSH, even though FT4 is in range, I am going to guess my FT3 is not in range which is why TSH is high. Obviously I can retest before starting anything, I was debating this all night.



So RT3 doesn't matter if FT3 is in a good range? I want to land in optimal range which would be more towards the top end.

I have read T4 takes about 6-8 weeks to get into your system fully, not that I am in a rush, but I was going to drop GH and cycle it 9 months out of the year, so I am kind of wanting to get these numbers in check sooner than later.

No need to worry about RT3.

6-8 weeks is a bit of a stretch, but there's still a bit of a lag time. I typically front-load the first few days/week and test after 4 weeks, which has been pretty reliable in my experience.

If you're planning to cycle off of GH anytime soon, you could just get your FT3 tested and if it's in a decent range, just roll with the FT4 as is and re-test when you're off of GH for a bit.

 

[El Diabloo]

No need to worry about RT3.

6-8 weeks is a bit of a stretch, but there's still a bit of a lag time. I typically front-load the first few days/week and test after 4 weeks, which has been pretty reliable in my experience.

If you're planning to cycle off of GH anytime soon, you could just get your FT3 tested and if it's in a decent range, just roll with the FT4 as is and re-test when you're off of GH for a bit.

And if FT3 is not in range, would you suggest T3 only to put myself in range? The debate on T3 v T4/T3 combo is never ending and everyone has their own views, just wondering yours.

 

[BLang]

And if FT3 is not in range, would you suggest T3 only to put myself in range? The debate on T3 v T4/T3 combo is never ending and everyone has their own views, just wondering yours.

I would add T3, not swap the T4 out for it.

 

[El Diabloo]

Re-tested before adding anything in. Have both T4 and T3 on hand, going to start with T3 as it looks like I am a bad converter even when being on GH. Was going to start T3 at 37.5mcg (since 25mcg is a replacement dose) test after 4 weeks and adjust from there. Numbers for FT4 and TSH were basically the same (TSH elevated a bit more) FT3 came back on the low end, would like to get it in the Optimal range:

TSH 3.5 Range .47-4.2
FT4 1.1 Range .9-1.8
FT3 2.47 Range 1.8-4.6

Going to do this for now, when I dial everything back in a few months I will get baseline numbers on everything to see if my thyroid is being affected by the GH or I just have a terrible metabolism (which after my entire life, that makes more sense lol)

 

[BLang]

I mean, no offense, but you're basically completely ignoring the advice you were given.

I don't know why you'd conclude that you're a "bad converter" given that your T4 is near the bottom of the ref range and your T3 is closer to the middle. Looks pretty normal to me for someone on GH.

Good luck.

 

[El Diabloo]

I mean, no offense, but you're basically completely ignoring the advice you were given.

I don't know why you'd conclude that you're a "bad converter" given that your T4 is near the bottom of the ref range and your T3 is closer to the middle. Looks pretty normal to me for someone on GH.

Good luck.

I respect that and am not ignoring the advice at all.

I have to disagree with the T3 comment, from research optimal is 5-7 pmol/l which when you convert 2.47 it is 3.79 pmol/l. To reach optimal I would need to be at 3.3 pg/ml. I also wonder if I have GH helping me and I am sub-optimal, how terrible is my FT3 when I am not on GH.

I have spent hours reading every thread on this forum related to T3/T4 as well as researching elsewhere and it just doesn't seem like a one size fits all approach. I have yet to find an answer that everyone agrees upon when it comes to T3/T4, so for the short term understanding that my T4 is low due to HGH usage and my FT3 is at the bottom of the normal range when I have help converting everything I have, I decided to go the route of getting my FT3 into the optimal range first and then backing into the use of T4 based on my re-test. I do appreciate all the input and it was all taken into consideration. I haven't started anything yet, still researching, been at it for the last few hours since my bloods came back.