Low T4 normal TSH

[Rick Bilsland]

Hey, posting on behalf of my wife here. She has been suffering from low T4 and her GP won’t recognise. Everywhere in Brisbane seems to be focused on naturopath and most likely ripping people off.
She is beating herself up, hitting the gym frequently, hardly eating but yet she can not loose weight. I just want to help her be happy in herself again and hoping all you wonderful ladies can help with some guidance on solutions, treatments, practitioners……
Thanks

 

[Seraphina]

Hey Rick, so much respect to you for jumping in here and trying to support your wife, means more than you probably realise.

I’m a coach myself, and have seen clients go though the wringer with thyroid and hormones so I totally get how frustrating it is when your body’s just not responding no matter how hard you push.

Low T4 being brushed off by GPs is sadly way too common. They’ll usually only act if TSH is outside the "normal" range, which doesn’t mean optimal at all. What your wife’s dealing with sounds like classic hypothyroid symptoms, struggling with fat loss, low energy, overtraining and under-eating. It’s a recipe for burnout.

You’re right to be cautious about naturopaths. There are some decent ones, but plenty who will flog overpriced supplements without doing proper bloodwork or explaining what’s going on. I’d honestly recommend trying to get her in with a clinic to actually run full thyroid panels including Free T3, Reverse T3, and antibodies. Not just TSH and T4.

I can't obviously give you medical advice, but just something to think about is that a lot of women with thyroid issues also end up with low progesterone or estrogen imbalances and the stress from overtraining and undereating just makes it worse. Sometimes a low dose of T3 or a desiccated thyroid blend can be a game-changer, but that needs to be handled by someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

She's not alone and her body’s not broken, she just needs the right help.

 

[missyA]

Hey, posting on behalf of my wife here. She has been suffering from low T4 and her GP won’t recognise. Everywhere in Brisbane seems to be focused on naturopath and most likely ripping people off.
She is beating herself up, hitting the gym frequently, hardly eating but yet she can not loose weight. I just want to help her be happy in herself again and hoping all you wonderful ladies can help with some guidance on solutions, treatments, practitioners……
Thanks

I completely agree with Seraphina (she's a very smart woman ). Rick, reading your post actually reminded me a lot of what my sister-in-law is going through at the moment. Who’s also one of my closest friends. She’s been training consistently with me, eats super clean, even tracks her food, but the scale just hasn’t budged and her energy levels were in the toilet. She was told her TSH normal too, but no one looked deeper than that.

Eventually she saw a women’s health clinic (not a naturopath, just someone who actually listens) and they ran a full thyroid panel (just like Seraphina mentioned). Turns out her Free T3 was low and so was her progesterone which was throwing everything out of whack. They explained that low T4 might not be the full story, it’s how your body’s converting it that matters. That was a bit of a lightbulb moment for her!

She’s now on a really low dose of compounded T3/T4 meds. It’s only been 6 weeks but she’s already feeling better.

Hope this helps you and your beautiful wife.

 

[Rick Bilsland]

Hey Rick, so much respect to you for jumping in here and trying to support your wife, means more than you probably realise.

I’m a coach myself, and have seen clients go though the wringer with thyroid and hormones so I totally get how frustrating it is when your body’s just not responding no matter how hard you push.

Low T4 being brushed off by GPs is sadly way too common. They’ll usually only act if TSH is outside the "normal" range, which doesn’t mean optimal at all. What your wife’s dealing with sounds like classic hypothyroid symptoms, struggling with fat loss, low energy, overtraining and under-eating. It’s a recipe for burnout.

You’re right to be cautious about naturopaths. There are some decent ones, but plenty who will flog overpriced supplements without doing proper bloodwork or explaining what’s going on. I’d honestly recommend trying to get her in with a clinic to actually run full thyroid panels including Free T3, Reverse T3, and antibodies. Not just TSH and T4.

I can't obviously give you medical advice, but just something to think about is that a lot of women with thyroid issues also end up with low progesterone or estrogen imbalances and the stress from overtraining and undereating just makes it worse. Sometimes a low dose of T3 or a desiccated thyroid blend can be a game-changer, but that needs to be handled by someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

She's not alone and her body’s not broken, she just needs the right help.

Thank you so much for the reply.
This all makes sense and I think a woman’s health clinic is definitely the next step.
I’ll do some research and try to find one in Brisbane and hopefully she gets the help she needs and deserves.
Thanks again.

 

[Rick Bilsland]

I completely agree with Seraphina (she's a very smart woman ). Rick, reading your post actually reminded me a lot of what my sister-in-law is going through at the moment. Who’s also one of my closest friends. She’s been training consistently with me, eats super clean, even tracks her food, but the scale just hasn’t budged and her energy levels were in the toilet. She was told her TSH normal too, but no one looked deeper than that.

Eventually she saw a women’s health clinic (not a naturopath, just someone who actually listens) and they ran a full thyroid panel (just like Seraphina mentioned). Turns out her Free T3 was low and so was her progesterone which was throwing everything out of whack. They explained that low T4 might not be the full story, it’s how your body’s converting it that matters. That was a bit of a lightbulb moment for her!

She’s now on a really low dose of compounded T3/T4 meds. It’s only been 6 weeks but she’s already feeling better.

Hope this helps you and your beautiful wife.

I really appreciate the response. I’ll definitely look at a suitable clinic in Brisbane for her.