Hey K, Your weight gain, hair loss and swollen legs could mean that, possibly, you are hypothyroid.

However, doctors do not treat you. They find it easier to treat your laboratory test results. So, technically speaking, your doctor didn't mislead you, because, based on that piece of paper, which was based on a TSH test, you were, or appeared to be, euthyroid at the moment your blood was drawn. Why? Because, in that moment, all of the following serum hormone levels were in the "normal" range: FT3, FT4 and TSH.

I don't like the TSH test, and no one likes the TSH test. The only people who like the TSH test are the doctors and med labs, because it makes money for them. They couldn't charge money for the DIY basal temperature tests.

If your primary goal is to find out if you're hypothyroid, or not, then you want to do a series of basal temperature tests before arising every morning. Why? Because those basal temperature tests are a lot more accurate than any TSH test.

However, if your primary goal is to lose weight, then you want to switch to a ketogenic diet (a.k.a. Atkins diet), because it would be about 10 times more more effective than any exercise.

I hope this will help!

Hi K,

What I do know is that your TSH is way high. It should safely be in the lower range maybe 0.1 or could be little less.

This is one of the best sites for Thyroid issues and has many solutions. Its free to join.

https://groups.io/g/sttmgroup

My poor dear, you are one of the many misdiagnosed cases of thyroid problems that are all around us. Lab ranges for thyroid disease are grossly wide, with optimal TSH ranges between .3 and 2. Just from a quick glance at your labs, you appear to have hypothyroidism. Your t4 is on the low end of normal and tsh is certainly above 2.

I have autoimmune thyroid disease which you definitely want to get checked for. Ask your doctor for thyroid antibody testing and if they deny you, find another doctor! When my tsh was over 3, I was exhausted all day after 10+ hours of sleep at night. I was also overwhelmed and anxious all the time with weight gain and other mystery symptoms. Thyroid meds and lifestyle changes have given me my life back.

Visit Izabella Wentz website for more information on correct lab ranges and much more on reclaiming your thyroid health. I used her information extensively along with a functional MD.

Please see this article by pharmacist Izabella Wentz about interpreting thyroid labs. It is tremendously helpful.

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/top-10-thyroid-tests/

Hi K,

My advice is FIND A NEW DOCTOR AND DO NOT STOP UNTIL YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO LISTENS TO YOU AND COMMUNICATES WELL!! I've been down your road way too many times since my diagnosis of hypothyroid 20+ years ago. I'd also recommend you find a holistic doctor who has experience with hypothyroid. I can recommend Medicine With Heart in CO although they are pricey.

Kathy

The thyroid tests they give us are around 30 yrs old. They have not been updated at all to test us the way we should be. The test they use always shows that I am in the normal range which I am not. I asked my doctor to give me Armour thyroid and he did, but he tests me every month to make sure I am still doing good.

Take a look at this web site. www.restartmed.com

• Dr Childs has a lot of great thyroid information posted here! My dr would say that your TSH is high. My dr said anything over 2.0 with hypothyroid symptoms needs to have a good thyroid panel drawn. He doesn't think the TSH tells you what Is actually going on

Good luck!

K, I will address only your inability to drop weight. Studying with someone who is an expert on fungal illnesses, such as Candida, Black mold and others, it brought who new dimension to how I look at weight and swelling, water retention, and such.

Sugar, alcohol, GMO -commonly treated with glyphosate, all relate to weight challenge. Carbohydrates feed fungus, and fungus (such as various Candida species, etc) often cause swelling, bloating and water retention.

Sugar, wheat and corn are the worst offenders. I highly recommend for you to check out a great site with recipes and good articles: http://knowthecause.com.

A friend lost 30 lbs without trying just after starting to cook from the free recipes available on the site. He also purchased cook books, and several books offered on site. He also loves the food, and said:"How can they call this diet - this is so tasty !"

Candida also mimics thyroid hormone, so body thinks it has enough, you stop feeding Candida sugar, breads, corn, wheat and alcohol, it starves to death, and body has a chance to balance to ideal weight. I only lost about 5 lbs I did not need to loose, but my weight has stabilized, and I stopped retaining water, and going up and down 5 lbs.The new way of eating was the ONLY thing I changed.

I also agree that your TSH number is pretty high. I am more comfortable at .9. That being said, my doctor also goes by the lab results, not the person's issues. I've had a few doctors that will let me test out a new dose to see how it feels and I report back and we decide together. If you can, Dr. Brownstein has a book on thyroid, called "Overcoming Thyroid Disorders" which you can order from him directly or from Amazon. It's a quick easy read and very informative. If possible, try to switch to another doctor or a homeopathic doctor. Your TSH number is very treatable and maybe you can ask your doctor to 'try' a therapeutic dose of Synthroid and report back how you feel. The TSH test is not at all accurate. As another person mentioned, using a special thermometer, called a Basal thermometer, is the easiest way to test.

Your TSH is within normal as per the lab. But ideally it should be below 2.5. Yeast or dental infections, mercury fillings, lack of iodine, selenium, or protein, thiamine deficiency lack of bile flow- are some of the usual causes.

No. I never got any help from doctors for hypothyroid. I take Terry Naturally Tri-iodine and Natural Sources Raw Thyroid, which seem to help a great deal. Worth trying. You'll know in a few days if it will make you feel better.

Take a look at this web site. www.restartmed.com

• Dr Childs has a lot of great thyroid information posted here! My dr would say that your TSH is high. My dr said anything over 2.0 with hypothyroid symptoms needs to have a good thyroid panel drawn. He doesn't think the TSH tells you what Is actually going on

Good luck!

Dr David Brownstein has written a book on Iodine and why you need it; learn why iodine deficiency may be the root cause of thyroid disorders. There is another by a female author but I can't recall details, not Wentz.

I had my thyroid tested as well & the results all came back as normal as well, but, I had one more thyroid test, that they don't normally test. It's the Thyroperoxidase Ab & it was way out of whack. It should be less than 35 & mine was at 116.

The doctors don't want to test for that when the TSH, T3 & T4 come back normal, so I had to pay to get it tested. Maybe you have the same thing.

Dr Westin Childs. He is superior on thyroid. Look up his site, he will help you with tests to have your doctor do. He's very thorough.