Wow, haven't been here in a long time! Hi, Nancy

Last year, and then again this year, I started having what seem to be hypo symptoms. Depression, tearfulness, low/no energy, low/no libido, sudden and quick weight gain, sensitivity to cold, puffy eyes, hands, feet. Got tests done last year, and again this year. Have been seeing a naturopath who has been giving me stuff that hasn't done anything to help - she is open to trying me on a desiccated thyroid replacement.

Would love the opinions of some of you knowledgable people here.

I tested about a year ago (marked P for previous), and again in April of this year (marked C for current) via ZRT, so blood spot and saliva. Reference ranges in brackets:

TSH: 2.5 (P) ; 2.8 (C) (0.5 - 3.0)
Free T3: 3 (P) ; 1.3 (C) this is in pg/ml (2.5 - 6.5)
Free T4: 1.6 (P) ; 1.2 (C) (0.7 - 2.5)
TPO: 28 (P) ; 34 (C) (0 - 150)

Estradiol: 1.4 pg/ml (P) ; 2.4 pg/ml (C) (1.3 - 3.3)
Progesterone: 134 (P) ; 101 (C) (75 - 270)
Ratio Pg/E2: 96 (P) ; 42 (C) (100 - 500)

Cortisol Morning: 10.7 (P), 9.3 (C) (3.7-9.5)
Cortisol Noon: 2.6 (P), 2 (C) (1.2-3.0)
Cortisol Evening: 1.6 (P), 0.9 (C) (0.6-1.9)
Cortisol Night: 1 (P), 0.7 (C) (0.4-1.0)

My concern is that my FT3 is in the toilet. I don't know if this means I have a problem with conversion, too much going to RT3?

My ND wishes she'd seen me years ago, when I found out I was celiac (thanks, Nancy!) - she says she'd love to have seen what my TPO antibodies were then. According to her and a few other sources, you can be Hashi's with sub-clinical antibodies (and they fluctuate). Very confusing.

I know I need to do something - is trying something like Armour (Erfa, here in Canada) worthwhile, or maybe a T3 only med?

Note: I did lose about 25 lbs (still had 10 lbs to go) low carb Paleo, which took over 2 years - kept it off easily til last year when my symptoms arose (gained 10lbs in a month, no change in diet or activity). Managed to get it off, then it came back again same way in March (10 lbs in a month, same diet/activity). I've since added potatoes, sweet potato, rice to my diet to the tune of 75-120g/day, which seems to help my energy levels. But I always wondered why I couldn't seem to lose weight as easily as other people did, no matter how low my carbs were or what I ate or didn't eat - could it have been thyroid-related all along?

It certainly does sound that way... while everyone's happy to tell you it's All Your Fault when your weight shoots up unexpectedly or cannot be lost,
I maintain, and any GOOD doctor would too, that if your weight shoots up whilst you are TRYING EXTREMELY HARD to keep it down, something is wrong.
Most likely with your hormones.
Most likely thyroid.

I'm still trying to find a doctor who believes me when I tell them about my symptoms and the fact that a starvation diet and 5hours of high-intensity exercise a week doesn't shift any weight... even after 6 months...

Hope you have better luck than me. All I can say is don't let them convince you it's all in your head. YOU live in that body 24/7 - YOU know when something's wrong. Persevere until you find a doctor that listens. That's what I'm doing - and as soon as I get anywhere with one, I'll be posting in the thyroid thread to report back.

Hey! Great to see you back, Warwardsis! So you did get a celiac diagnosis?

Anyway the very best place to learn about thyroid is http://stopthethyroidmadness.com

It sounds like you have a good ND if she's checking Ft3 and such. Is she giving you some sort of thyroid meds with T3? Like Armour or cytomel?

I've been all over STTM! And yep, I did get a dx.

ND gave me T-100, which is a glandular that has desiccated thyroid as well as adrenal and some other stuff (iodine, other glands). We're testing again in a month to see where my levels are. She's good, but conservative (which may be a good thing too). She only wants me to take half a tab, since some ppl get hyper-symptoms with a full tab - not sure how long to wait to see if this helps or not, and to try a full tab. So far I don't feel much different, but it's only been 2 days!

Nikita I hear you. My weight regain had nothing at all to do with what I was eating, esp. 10 lbs in a month. You can order tests online, though not sure what the situation is in Aus.

Good luck with it, and keep updating. I think we like hearing about people's progress and improvements, it makes it feel more attainable