I get requests on a regular basis to help people get their thyroid hormones balanced. Most of them are women as they are generally more susceptible to hypothyroid. By far the most common complaint I hear is, “My doctor said my thyroid test came back normal but I don’t feel normal.” When they go back to their doctor to insist they are not “normal,” they are sometimes written a prescription for an antidepressant as the doctor quickly scurries out of the exam room.
So, you get your thyroid test back and the “doctor” says you are fine. You know you are not “fine” so what are you to do? Here are five reasons that you have hypothyroid even though the standard test says you are “fine.”
1. You could be producing enough hormone but your body cannot convert it into the active form. Your thyroid produces mainly T4. It is inactive and must be converted in the cell membranes into the active form, T3. This issue is usually caused by high cortisol and inflammation.
2. You could be producing enough hormone, your body is converting it to the active form, but too much is being bound to proteins making it inactive. The thyroid hormones are transported by a protein called thyroid binding globulin (TBG). When TBG levels are too high, the thyroid hormones cannot enter the cells. This is usually caused to too much estrogen. Clear out excess estrogen with cruciferous vegetables and DIM.
3. You could be producing enough hormone, your body is converting it to the active form, but you don’t have enough TBG. It sounds counterintuitive but too little TBG, meaning too much thyroid hormone, will actually cause your cells to become resistant to the hormones. Think about the heel of your foot building up a callous. The cells build up a callous to the thyroid hormones. This is usually caused by too much testosterone.
4. You thyroid works just fine, but the signaling gland, the pituitary, isn’t functioning properly. The pituitary “tells” the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones. If the pituitary is not functioning properly because of stress, high blood sugar, infection, or another reason, it will not send out enough signal for the thyroid. Therefore, the thyroid will not produce enough hormone.
5. The thyroid works fine, the pituitary works fine, but your cells are not taking in the hormones. All your lab test will come back normal in this case and there is no way to test whether or not your cells are resistant to your thyroid hormones. This issue is usually caused by chronic stress and high cortisol levels.
Maybe your doctor has listened to you and does write you a prescription. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, you will get Synthroid, which is 100% T4. When you return to say you still do not feel right, you will get an increase in dose. This pattern will continue until you begin to have side effects from the increasingly high dose of synthetic drug.
Unfortunately, most traditional doctors will not look deeper into the issue. They continue to increase the dose. If they would simply pick up a book, stop learning “medicine” from the cute little pharmaceutical sales rep pushing a drug, and actually learn something new that wasn’t standard practice in the 1970s that has been handed down from teacher to student for forty years maybe people can get some relief.
Hi,
Recently i have visited my new Doctor as my Dr. has retired i am a 55 year old lady looking after two Grandchildren and for some time have felt extremely unwell the usual dry itching spider crawling skin, exhausted, cat naps every 2hrs, horsey voice, alopecia 3 times, weight gain of 3 stone, awful muscle pains everywhere my joints are also sometimes unbearable unable to lift pots from the cooker etc, i have my blood test results which read my thyroid hormone is practically non existent and that some time in the future i will definitely be given Thyroxine so apparently it is now up to me to carry on with paracetamol as i am limited to little medication for pain with the added responsibility of regular blood test. To be honest i found my Doctor intimidating and she talk to me like i was a ten year old her patronising manner was something to be desired that i didn’t deserve to be in her company arrogant and rude she may of learned medicine but she lacked any understanding of a human being so may be would suit better in a pharmacy out the back somewhere out of sight!
I am 5 weeks pregnant. My blood tests reports showed I have hypothyroid(TSH 5.1)
Doctor advised to take 50mcg of thyroxine daily and to go for thyroid ultrasound. Today my ultrasounds results came and it shows thyroid levels are normal. Do I still need to have having medicine. Is there possibility there will be something wrong with my blood tests results. Should I repeat the tests.
Hello,
I just had a thyroid test done my doctor says my levels are normal. But I have gained 12 pounds in 6 months and I am still tired all the time and have realy dry skin. I contacted a endocrinoligist but they told me that if my levels came back normal there was not much they could do for me. I am frustrated to say the least. Can you give me any ideas on where to turn next because I know something is not right.
Thank you
I have gained 50 in 4 months and have been on meds for years… Went to a new Endocrinologist today and said I basically have an eating problem. It was the worst visit I have ever had. Find a functional medicine doctor, or body logic MD. Mine wasn’t that great but they look at the entire picture.
Hi i have thyroid problim its come in my blood test the doctro give me Eltroxin tablets each 10 day after haif tablets more like 10 day 1 tablet than 1/5 than 2 what do you think i can be fine….. im very upset
Hi, I appreciate your article so much! My thyroid is “dead” from radioactive iodine. After suffering for 8 years while on levothyroxine, I am finally taking Armour thyroid. I feel so much better…I truly believe my body needed the necessary T3 that levo did give me. I lost 20 lbs immediately after I began Armour one year ago. (Could not lose weight despite exercising and eating well on levo.) I have a question, please. Sometimes I get so swollen – hands, feet, face, etc. – if my dosage is not correct. Why is this and what is causing the swelling? I swelled on levo, also, so this is not an issue with Armour, of course. I was diagnosed with PCOS recently and also do not have regular menstrual cycles. I take compounded progesterone the last 14 days of my cycle and that give me a period, but I still do not ovulate. Do you know of anything that could help me? I am taking Vitex (day 13) currently and vitamins 2 times/day. Thank you for your website.
Armour thyroid is “natural’ for pigs, not Humans, ask any endocrinologist, they will never prescribe it, its also not allowed to be prescribed in England and most european countries
I am a lot older than those of you writing, but I have had problems with my thyroid for about 50 yrs. I still do not think the docs know what they are doing. I went from taking 175mcg of Levothyroxine to 75mcg practically the same day after having my TSH done. I also have FM and suffer constantly with pain. I refuse to take strong pain meds because of the side effects, but have a great difficulty walking. Recently have had a problem with swelling of the leg from knee, ankle, & foot. The cardiologist tapped my leg and said it was nothing, but how can a person walk around with swollen feet, ankles and back of knee, but I supposedly have nothing wrong with me. I had an ultrasound for clots which was negative, everything lab wise is always negative except for the spinal stenosis of my lumbar and cervical spines. I truly do not want to go on because as I said I am perfectly fine except these docs don’t live in my body. However, I still don’t know shat to do. I am currently seeing a very good NP who comes to my home and seems to have a little more interest in my problems. Have a nive holiday to everyone and a healthy New Year. JoAnn
Joanne, like you, once the TSH test became popular, my thyroid dosage of Synthroid went from 2 mg down to .75 mg. And I thought I was going to go into a coma.
After that, I was diagnosed with FM. Two years ago, someone suggested I start taking Armour Thyroid. It’s natural rather than synthetic and contains both T4 and T3. I’m still tired, but I think that’s because I still have FM. But at least I no longer think I’m never going to wake up if I lie down!
Thank you for posting this article! I was just told today that my thyroid was “normal” after having all four T’s tested along with insulin resistance and some other things. Everything came back “normal” except for my cholesterol which was slightly high. I’ve had my thyroid tested twice before (blood test and ultrasound) but it always showed normal. But never before have I had such a combination of symptoms. For years I’ve dealt with depression and fatigue. But in the past couple of years my acne has gotten much worse (I’m 25 years old), my menstral cycle more out of whack (I just started having periods again this past summer after a two year hiatus), thick black whiskers on my chin and neck, the hair on my head is thinning and has completely changed structure, and my neck looks puffy (one person even told me my neck looks “sick”). Something is NOT right. For a while I was convinced I had too much testosterone or PCOS…both of which are still possibilities. But I’ve been thinking lately that it’s more likely thyroid because of my neck and family history. My mom and both her parents have thyroid issues.
What next step should I take? My insurance isn’t very good and I can’t afford any out of pocket expense. The lady that ruled me “normal” was a nurse practitioner. Should I go to a thyroid specialist and see what they say? I have to admit, it’s comforting to see that thyroid is often misdiagnosed, even when the test results come back normal. I definitely don’t feel like my body is “normal” at this point.
I meant to also list with my symptoms “brain fog”. I feel like I can never concentrate or remember anything any more. A lot of times, my mind feels as if it’s going in slow motion, or when I try to think of something it goes completely blank for a little while and it takes a lot of effort to remember what I was even trying to think of in the first place. I’ve never had that before and I find myself getting overwhelmed easily.
Did you ever get any of this resolved? I feel like I just wrote what you said. All the same symptoms to a ‘T’. I just received my blood work back today and everyting was normal with slightly elevated high cholesterol. Dr. told me probably cause I dont eat well. Well, news for him…I do!
Desperate for answers. I hate not feeling like myself!
Ok….BUT what is this information from a book that my MD, Naturopath, Osteopath, Acupuncturist, Chiropractor, Chinese Doctor need to learn or are you saying that your DIM is the answer?
“If they would simply pick up a book, stop learning “medicine” from the cute little pharmaceutical sales rep pushing a drug, and actually learn something new that wasn’t standard practice in the 1970s that has been handed down from teacher to student for forty years maybe people can get some relief.”
Heather,
Most doctors simply get their information from drug companies once they leave medical school. The only knowledge they gain is skewed towards prescription drugs. In order to grasp new understanding and research, they have to go outside the disease/drug model and learn on their own.
DIM will help remove excess estrogen from the body. Excess estrogen can lead to elevated TGB which presents as hypothyroid even though TSH is normal. It is one of many therapies that may help.
i had a blood test for thyroids and they said that my thyroids r normal and full blood count but i am still always tired
Thank you so much for posting this article. I love how it is written in plain english that everyone can understand. I was told that my thyroid was “normal” even though it was definitely NOT. It wasn’t until I found a doctor practicing integrative medicine that I was helped. So refreshing to hear!
You’re welcome Jennifer. Thyroid can be pretty complex at times. There is more to it than simply prescribing a drug based on one hormone level.