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Triiodothyronine also is known as T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone. \xa0T4 also known as thyroxine is made in the thyroid gland. \xa0T4 is then sent peripherally through the system, and mainly the liver will convert T4 to T3. \xa0You can have all the T4 in your body, but if your T3 is low, then you will have symptoms of low thyroid. \xa0\xa0\xa0\nIf suspecting a case of low thyroid, thyroid disease, hypo or hyperthyroid your conventional doctor is going to run a TSH blood test. \xa0The TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is a signal from the brain monitoring thyroid disease and the thyroid levels in the body. \xa0\nTo put it simple: \xa0\n\nIf the thyroid levels are high, then the TSH is low. \xa0\nIf your thyroid levels are low, then TSH is high. \n\nAs mentioned above the thyroid mainly makes T4, which is released into the blood and will travel in the body and be converted to the active form of thyroid, T3.\xa0 Approximately 60% of this conversion occurs in the liver, about 20% is converted by gut flora and about 20% is converted by peripheral tissues, such as muscle.\xa0\xa0\n\nAs we have always talked about before, your primary care doctor is looking for a \u2018disease.\u2019 \xa0If you have a \u2018disease,\u2019 your GP, internist, or endocrinologist can save your life. \xa0In the case of thyroid, your conventional doctor is going to run a TSH and perhaps a T4. \xa0That is because they are looking for thyroid disease, not low levels of T3. \xa0\xa0\nMany people with Low T3 get missed by their doctor because their TSH is in the normal range. \xa0They are told, \u201cyou are fine,\u201d even though they do not feel fine. \xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\n\nHow do you know if you have Low T3?\xa0\xa0You can do a blood test for Free T3. \xa0Free T3 is the bio-available thyroid hormone ready for use. \xa0In checking for Low T3, you want to check the free T3 levels, not the Total T3 levels. Total T3 levels in the blood represent all Free T3 and bound T3 levels. \xa0Testing for total T3 levels is not going to be accurate enough to find out if you have Low T3. \n\nYou may need to request blood testing for Low T3 from your doctor, or you may need to order it yourself if your doctor will not order it.\xa0\xa0\nBlood tests checking for Low T3 Level:\n\n\nTSH \nFree T4\nFree T3\n\nThis is where it gets a bit confusing. \xa0The reference range for Free T3 is broad. \xa0\n\nFree T3 Reference Range:\n\n\n2.3 to 4.4 (depending on the lab).\xa0\xa0\nIf your Free T3 is under 3.0, we would consider this to be a Low T3 level.\n\nTesting results we commonly see in patients with Low T3:\n\n\nTSH: normal range usually between 1.0-3.5 (reference range is .45-4.5) \nFree T4: 1.1-1.4 (reference range is .8-1.8)