Why is My Thyroid Blood Test “Normal” But I Still Have Low Thyroid Symptoms?

So many new patients come into my office very discouraged because they have raging under-active thyroid symptoms (hypothyroid). Hypothyroid symptoms can include exhaustion; inability to lose weight, hair loss, constipation, infertility, depression, dry skin, cold intolerance and the list goes on. So why do their blood tests come back looking “normal’! What is missing???

In many cases, their doctors did NOT include REVERSE T3 in their thyroid panel. Why is this significant? During times of stress (car accident, the flu, surgery, a chronic illness, work stress, etc.) the body converts T4 hormone to REVERSE T3 instead of converting T4 to the active thyroid hormone called FREE T3. REVERSE T3 can block the thyroid receptors from letting in Free T3. When this happens, your thyroid and your metabolism will NOT function properly.

Or if your body happens to be deficient in iron, Vitamin B12 or you suffer from chronic stress; this will encourage your overworked adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol (a stress hormone) and may result in producing REVERSE T3 chronically!

What symptoms can you expect? You may feel “toxic”, suffer from anxiety or have increased cold intolerance. Years ago, a patient came to the office absolutely FREEZING. She could never get warm! Her thyroid panel appeared normal but her doc did NOT include REVERSE T3 on her blood panel. After including this marker on a new thyroid panel, her REVERSE T3, which should have been under 30, was 710! She had been under chronic stress for the last 10 years and was also being exposed to a toxic chemical in her home. Now that we were able to identify the problem, she was able to remove the sources of stress that were driving her high REVERSE T3 and her temperature returned to normal.

So next time you get your thyroid checked, make sure to ask your doc to include REVERSE T3.