Re: I hope you can help me!

[Guest guest]

,

must be acting up again. Your post from the 7th just reached me.

You wrote:

>

> I was hoping that someone could help me interpret some thyroid lab

> exams. My primary care physician recommended a specialist, but I'd like

> to be a little more informed before pursuing further action. The numbers are

>

> Triiodothyronine Uptake (T3U) 36.5 (%) 32.0-48.0

> Thyroxine T4 Low 5.6 ug/dL 6.1-12.2

> T7 (FTI) Low 5.1 ug/dL 5.9-13.1

> TSH 1.190 uIU/mL 0.340-5.600

>

You really only have one low reading (total T4), since the FTI is

obtained by multiplying T3U x T4. This one out of range reading may not

indicate much, since the T4 can vary throughout the day and is affected

by other functions.

Assuming you are not taking a thyroid medication, this combination does

not necessarily indicate hypoT. OTOH, if you have hypoT symptoms, you

should still pursue it. A more meaningful test would be Free T3 (FT3).

The uptake and FTI are really more for evaluating binding globulins and

albumin, which can be affected by dieting, stress, lack of sleep, fever,

infections, etc. Binding is more commonly evaluated by the ratio of

FT4/TT4 or FT3/TT3.

FT3 is what directly controls your metabolism.

Chuck