I have been tracking my AM body temps as soon as I wake up for the past month. My average temp is 95.3-95.8. I check again early afternoon and it averages 96.3-96.8. Sometimes it but rarely is over 97 degrees. I have all the classics symptoms of being hypothyroidism that I don’t need to list here as I’m sure this group is very educated on this topic. I had the full thyroid panel and everything came back normal according to my primary care physician. Because of the low body temp I requested to have my iodine levels tested.
My levels were 32.1mcg/dL reference range is 51-107 mcg/dL. I have read the sticky on treating low iodine levels and it was very helpful. My question is could I be hypothyroid with normal levels and based on this information should I start iodine supplements. I have Lugols Solution 2%. My biggest issues are fatigue, joint pain, hair thinning and crazy cold intolerance. Any additional advice or suggestions are appreciated. Here is most most recent labs from Quest.
T4 Free Calculated: 2.25. Range 1.4-3.8
T3 Free 3.3. Range 2.3-4.2 PG/ML
T4, Total 7.1. Range 4.9-10.5 MCG/DL
T3 Uptake 31.7. Range 22-35%
TSH 1.7. Range .40-4.50mIU/L
T3,Reverse,LC/MS/MS 14. Range 8-25ng/dl
One additional point to add my primary care doctor does not believe the low iodine level is an issue even though I have symptoms, so I will need to self treat if necessary.
The problem with sick care doctors is the ranges are their bible, they don’t give a Fu** about your symptoms, they only care whether or not insurance will pay. If they know insurance will refuse treatment they will lose interest and tell you you’re fine or it’s all in your head.
Those temperatures are indicating hypothyroidism and sometimes lab testing doesn’t show what’s really going on. There’s medical literature (your doctor knows) that there are people who have normal thyroid labs and have hypothyroid symptoms who then go on thyroid treatment and symptoms vanish.
You may have T3 resistance at the receptor and need higher levels to feel good. You may need to seek a private doctor in anti-aging and pay out of pocket.
As it stands now, there is no way any insurance based doctor would prescribe thyroid treatment to someone presenting with normal thyroid labs.
I had an extreme cold intolerance when I was diagnosed with low testosterone while my thyroid is strong, healthy testosterone is needed for the cardiovascular system to pump warm blood throughout the body.
My temperatures were low when testosterone was low, not anymore.
I started 2.5mg of iodine per day and will titrate up to 10mg over the next 2 weeks while also taking 200mcg of selenium per day. I am hopeful this protocol will improve my symptoms and looking forward to the results