Let's clear up some of the confusion about the Free T3 test

After experimenting for the last three years with the Free T3 test, I have come to the conclusion that you can’t have an accurate Free T3 test unless you have stopped taking all thyroid supplementation for at least 48 hours prior to having blood drawn for the test, or the results will be very inaccurate. 

For example:  I have one test from about 2 years ago where the results are literally off the chart at 900 for Free T3!  The normal lab test range for Free T3 is approximately 2.3 to 4.2.  So, 900 caused them to freak!  It turns out that you CAN NOT use a Free T3 test as a good indicator of T3 levels if the person is taking a T3 supplement such as Armour, or Cytomel.  T3 is very short acting and ramps up quickly, but also comes down quickly.  They do not make a time released version of T3 for the US market, so you are supposed to take T3 three times a day, or every 8 hours for best results according to the literature.

My cardiologist found the best T3 test to use on me since I am taking T3 supplementation.  It is a test called "T3-resin uptake" (T3RU, or T3U, or RUT3 etc; may also go by the name THBR - thyroid hormone binding ratio).   I am not a Doc, but since he started using this test all of my Thyroid parameters are normal except for TSH which we do not care about! 

Here is why we don’t care about TSH; I am NOT using my body’s endocrine feedback system (TSH) since I am taking artificial thyroid supplementation.  So, TSH is irrelevant to my treatment and we do not look at it!  The labs always draw pictures, diagrams, and arrows to point out my extremely low TSH which is usually near Zero.  I guess they don’t understand that all my other numbers are perfect, and my health is better than ever before in my life, so I don’t care about it!  Why would I care about a pituitary secretion (TSH) that has nothing whatsoever to do with the functioning of my metabolism? I don’t, but they do--because they have had their attention diverted to a non-issue by the drug companies and drug reps that make lots of money from the confusion about the importance of the TSH test.

Why is the TSH test worthless you wonder?  Because my TSH is normal when I have NO thyroid hormones circulating in my bloodstream!  My thyroid hormones are so low they can’t even be seen on a normal lab test if I don’t get thyroid supplementation, yet my TSH is normal.  This is true for a lot of people by the way, especially if they were given Thyroid hormones as a child. 

So, what helps me keep my weight down, and keep Coronary Artery Disease at bay?  NOT TSH that’s for sure!  Only correct levels of T3 do!  I no longer take dangerous Statin drugs (cholesterol lowering drugs) anymore!  I don’t need them because the T3 thyroid hormones correctly control the fat (cholesterol) in my body!

I hope this clears up some of the confusion about thyroid testing.  The tests that I rely on are Free T4, and RUT3.  I will consider the results of a Free T3 test if I stop taking the thyroid supplements for 2 days (48 hours) prior to the blood draw, otherwise it is inaccurate.

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional so I am not allowed to give you any medical advice.  You should always seek the advice of a medical professional when dealing with any medical problem.

My broken Hip and the rehab facility response to my current thyroid protocol.

On Saturday July 16th 2011, when I got off the final bus from my trip to Gold Bar to volunteer at Fancy Fronds Fern Nursery, I was running across the street because I couldn’t see the lights clearly due to the sun being directly on them, so the cart I was dragging went wonkus and wrapped around my legs and I fell and broke my left hip and fractured my left wrist.

I was taken to Swedish Edmonds (formerly Steven’s Hospital) and they did surgery on my hip to pin it the following day.  Now I have 6 weeks of recovery to get through.  My leg was so swollen originally it couldn’t be moved, let alone me move it on my own.  My wrist was apparently fractured by the guy trying to help me get out of the street.  He had it bent up in an odd way.  It’ll be OK and doesn’t bother me.

Anyway I was moved to a rehab facility that will remain nameless because I have had a thyroid incident with the facility MD here already.  The medical director decided to test my Thyroid and vitamin D level without my knowledge or permission.  I take 8,000 Units of Vitamin D daily, and the Vitamin D test came back perfect.  But, since he did not test my thyroid correctly, he chose to change my dosages.

I met him briefly and he told me how too much T3 can cause an increased heart rate.  I said “easily countered with beta blockers” whereupon he said “Oh your pretty smart about this stuff,” and I added “if you are getting increased heart rate as a response to treatment you might want to back off on the T3.”  He looked at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing—somebody who actually knows a little about thyroid protocol!  Then he proceeded to change my dosages based on two “known to be inaccurate” tests and he ignored the “correct tests” on the same page of the lab report that both indicated I am right where I should be.

 

Folks this is NORMAL behavior of the Medical profession.  Instead of asking me why I am being treated differently and using T3 protocol, he made his own assumptions and treated me according to his assumptions.  My T3 protocol is what it is in order to prevent the reoccurrence of Coronary Artery Disease, Diabetes, Obesity, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue etc…

So, here is an interesting factoid—while I’m here I can ask lots of medical professional a very pertinent question.  I ask medical professionals at random if they would give me an antibiotic that my body has to convert to a useable form in order to work, and they all look horrified at the thought! They can’t see any way that this would be good idea!  Yet this is how thyroid protocol is done every day!  Instead of giving the usable form of thyroid hormone called T3, they give T4 which must be converted to T3 in order to have any effect at all on you!  Not only that; they give you SYNTHETIC T4!  So, you can see this can’t be a good way to do things, and the TSH type of diversionary testing protocol is never used for anything other than thyroid issues! 

Please be aware that the information I am giving you is totally contrary to what the drug companies want the medical profession to rely on.  The medical reference books are all written, or underwritten, by drug companies who want money—not health!

I will happily answer any questions you may have, but I am not a medical professional and all I can give you is a non-medical opinion.  However, I am an excellent troubleshooter; I did it for a living, so that is where I may be able to assist you.

Remember

All truth passes through three stages:

First, it is ridiculed.

Second, it is violently opposed.

Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

-Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 – 1860)

My side effects from Hypothyroidism--all gone now:

Obesity
Coronary Artery Disease--CAD
Hypoglycemia
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Diabetes
Carpal Tunnel
Mental fogginess
Osteoarthritis
Depression
Chronic Insomnia
Daytime micro-sleep episodes.  Unable to stay awake unless I was physically moving