Thyroid Slowing After TRT for 1 Year?

TSH
0.35 - 4.00 mcIU/mL

5/26/14 .58
9/1/16 1.07
1/19/17 1.04
5/3/17 2.85

T3
58 - 159 ng/dL

1/19/17 96
5/3/17 92

Free T4

9/1/16 1.0
1/19/17 1.0
5/3/17 .09

Testing negative for thyroid anti-bodies.

Have been on TRT for almost a year now, recently had labs done and my Thyroid numbers don’t look so great. I recently started taking a multivitamin with 150mcg of Iodine, just to cover my ass, and my temperature at 1000 this AM was 98.2, fingers feel a little cold and im definitely feeling less energy and more sluggish, not wanting to work out. These numbers came up after I started taking the multivitamin.

I am coming back from multiple injuries so I have been “off” for the past 2 months, lost a lot of my muscle mass and size. But this past week or so I have had zero motivation for the gym.

Could my lack of exercise be a factor contributing to the sluggish thyroid? Should I stop the multivitamin? I started because I haven’t used iodized salt in years and have not taken any vitamin for a long time either, it also has selenium in it, not sure what dose.

EDIT: the 2014 dates are PRE TRT. 9/1 dates is approx. 3 months on TRT.

Also , I have high SHBG… 68-70, which gives me low free testosterone. Could the low free t be what is causing the hypothyroid? Also considering getting some additional iodine supplements, so need an idea as to what dose to take and for how long to see if I get any effect.

fT3 is the active hormone

fT4 range?

Need AM [low] and mid-afternoon [peak] temperatures.

Could be a lack of iodine.

You have 12 threads now, I do not know where to turn for context of earlier labs or discussions.

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

  1. Those are the only labs my Endo would draw even after asking for the ft4, so on

  2. Im having trouble getting a reliable thermometer to get my AM temps, but will get one ASAP. Checked Temp at 1338 and it was 99.3 ( I also took 550 mcg of Iodine at 1330, not sure if that would effect it)

  3. I bought some iodine drops, 225 mcg per dose. Have been reading some conflicting numbers regarding how much per day. I haven’t used iodized salt in years and only recently began taking the 150mcg of iodine in a vitamin. Need guidance as far as how much I should take per day, or if I need to try and saturate. I keep seeing 6-25mg, but also read that more than a gram a day can CAUSE hypothyroidism.

  4. Doing a patch test for iodine, just to see what happens, applied at approx. 1130 today and its 1330 now and the color has substantially faded (almost gone, will update at 4). Read that if it disappears in 4 hours or less than you have a deficiency, I know its not 100% scientific, but its a start.

This is the problem: “I haven’t used iodized salt in years”

Please read the thyroid basics sticky found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

A gram of iodine is 1,000,000 mcg or 1000mg

High dose iodine increases TSH and that is normal and expected if one is knowledgeable. For docs who think that the increase in TSH is hypogonadism … what can I do. One needs selenium as time + high TSH + low selenium can create conditions where the immune system can misinterpret the resulting inflamed tissue as foreign. Try to get a multi-vit that has 150-170mcg iodine and 150-200mcg selenium.

I’m sorry I didn’t mean gram, meant milligram. The study I saw said some people showed signs of hypothyroidism after 800mcg daily supplementation. Which seems really low to me, considering other sites were saying to take up to 6-12mg a day. I’m just going to start slow, maybe take 550mcg a day. My multivitamin has 150 iodine and 150 Selenium. Does that sound reasonable? I will ask my endo for further guidance. Is that too much iodine for the selenium? I appreciate all your time.

That multi-vit is good. The selenium will also cover whatever other iodine you get. You need enough selenium to for enzymes to clean up the normally produced free radicals created when T4 is made. Many enzymes need a metal atom as a reaction site and in this case it is selenium.

May be mis-interpetation of the expected increases of TSH.

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