Hi Gang,
I was able to get some test done thru work at a lower cost than what it would cost thru my insurance. I decided to test my thyroid since my mother is hypo and I am getting all the same symptoms. My results are:

TSH = 1.94 Range 0.3 - 4.20
T4, Free (Direct) = 0.79 Range 0.58-1.64

I brought this to my primary care doctor and he just brushed it off as "normal". I feel like crap. Weight gain, loss of energy, foggy thinking, loss of libido, dry skin, low blood pressure and cold all the time.

Thanks for any info you can give. Am I hypo too?

Please go and read www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. If I had not learned about T-3 meds, and how to get them, my life would have been very different by now I am sure.

Do you know why you might be hypo? In my case, I have an autoimmune situation. Though you can't switch that back off, you can sort of "dim" the switch. Sometimes, thyroid conditions are transient.

Get a test for TPO antibodies! Atkins not always the best plan for Hashimoto patients!

your results are very similar to mine and i have all the same symptoms. i even posted them on this board to see if anyone had any insight.

I've read "Stop the Thyroid Madness" website, but they don't tell you the range that may be "normal". Or maybe I missed that part. Everything I've read talks about "if you test low" but not what a "low" number is. Any advice?

Free T4 should be at about 1/2 the range (yours is about 1/5th of the range)
Free T3 should be about 3/4 of the range
Most optimized thyroid patients have a TSH at 1 or under. (ie mine is 0.2)

if your Free T4 is that low then it's likely that you are not converting much T3 which is probably why you are feeling lousy.

you should try and get your FT3 checked as well (you can do this yourself at healthcheckusa) and then check the Armour site for a doctor that understands thyroid (just enter your zip code and it will tell you if there are any doctors who Rx natural thyroid near you)
or you can check Mary Shomon's top doc site and see if there are any thryroid doctors in your area (this list has doctors who Rx both synthetic and natural)

Your results are in the normal range. Even the new normal ranges. Those sites just suggest that the tests don't show you the whole picture.

When TSH is low, thyroid levels are high (or are supposed to be). TSH stands for thyroid signaling hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland. When your brain wants the thyroid gland to pump out more thyroid it sends out more TSH.

A "low" thyroid, or hypothyroid, means a high TSH. Although, your body can do other stuff, like manufacture reverse thyroid hormone which can block thyroid receptors.

IMHO there's more than just thyroid that can cause the symptoms you describe. Most autoimmune diseases can make you feel like pooh, and I had a lot of those symptoms go away when I identified my food intolerances (to gluten, mostly). So you might want to experiment with eliminating common problem foods for awhile.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to look into this further after I've lost some weight. I've been on incuction for three days and feel better already. Still a bit tired, but the foggy thinking has mostly lifted. thanks!