can I ask you to please resubmit the labs. They are sideways and very blurry. Thanks

What I could see is a suboptimal TSH (above 2) but the range of her T4 isn’t clear. Is her result on the lower end of the clinical reference range? It would be great to get a full thyroid panel to be able to have a clearer picture of her thyroid function.

Here’s a video explaining the markers in a complete thyroid panel.

If her T4 is on the lower end of the range, it might mean that her medication dosage needs to be adjusted/increased since TSH is also slightly elevated. Suboptimal thyroid function will definitely make it difficult to lose weight, and can even lead to weight gain.

Was a blood sugar panel ever taken? Here’s a video with suggested markers to check. High insulin will also make losing weight very difficult because insulin in itself is a fat storage hormone and affects thyroid function. Here’s a video to better understand how insulin affects thyroid function.

If stress is high, elevated cortisol can also be part of the picture and affecting thyroid function. Here’s a video to understand that dynamic.

And I can see that sex hormones were measured (which can affect thyroid function) but I can’t see the numbers clearly. In any case, here’s the video on how sex hormones can impact thyroid function.

After watching these videos, please let us know which of these players you feel is at play and we can better guide you from there.

And perhaps your sister be interested in joining B Better so we can better guide her?

 Ok, thanks for resharing. Now that I can see her thyroid values, it’s clear she’s not converting her T4 to T3 properly. Her Free T3 level is suboptimal low compared to the clinical reference range.

This T4 to T3 conversion requires nutrients; iron, zinc, vitamin A, selenium. It also requires good liver function which is where most of the conversion takes place. Her AST seems to be a little on the higher end of the optimal range, so there could be a connection there as well.

I encourage you to go through the Thyroid course or as a minimum the following video on reasons for low T3 (functionally low – not clinically low).

You can then watch foods for a healthy thyroid and supplements for a healthy thyroid for additional support.

 does she experience symptoms of high testosterone like anger, aggression, irritation, quick to snap, scalp hair loss, body hair growth, facial hair, acne?

 ok, so some reasons that can cause high testosterone are:   
• High insulin which pushes the Theca cells to make more testosterone
• Stress. If the HPA axis is ramped up and making lots of cortisol, the body can make lots of testosterone too.
• PCOS but not always 

Her insulin seems optimal from these results. How is her stress level? Has she ever done a multi-sample salivary/cortisol test to check? Has her ACTH been measured? Has PCOS been ruled out? Does she consume fenugreek by any chance? All of these can push higher testosterone production.

Now to help lower higher testosterone, here are some points of consideration:
• Liver detox support (important for thyroid conversion too)
• White peony (paeonia lactiflora)
• Green tea extract
• Licorice
• If she’s 5 alpha-pathway dominant (this can be shown in a DUTCH hormone test), it can be blocked with things like saw palmetto, nettle root, EGCG, zinc, pygeum, spearmint tea, and reishi mushroom