Hi Folks, my GF (Louise) had been suffering with Chronic Fibro fatigue, painful joints and shooting pains through her bones for a good number of months. It got that bad, she was turning into a zombie at 37yrs of age.
Recent blood work including a full thyroid panel came back without issue/action to be taken. A private test confirmed that T4/T3 was well within range....TSH was under 1.0!
At the time I'd been trailing T3 due to Hypothyroidism issues and during research, I stumbled on a paper explaining how T3 supplementation had considerably helped with fibro symptoms.
With Louise at her wits end and finally giving up, I suggested she try 12.5mcg of Tiromel Liothyronine.
NO JOKE, within 2 days the pain had completely disappeared. T3 has a fast uptake which is why the symptoms resolved so quickly.
It got better - The chronic fatigue is all but eliminated and yesterday she managed a 5.2 mile run. - A couple of months ago, she could not get out of bed.
I just wanted to put this out because we are both gobsmacked on how it has changed her life.
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Hi there you say you suggested your GF tried it may I ask did she get it from her GP and is she still taking it. was her Doctor happy to prescribe it for her even though it was not on her test results . Obviously she must have had something going on with her more than fibro ?
Please see the study below. I gave Louise some of my Tiromel after reading. We are aware that her FT3 levels could be supraphysiological but this is where she has gained her life back. Does not make sense but it works. For clarification, Louise had no issues with her FT4 FT3 TSH, THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES or THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES. They were all in perfect healthy ranges.
I (Hashi sufferer) purchased the medication online - Forget the NHS.
Louise could run into problems at some point if she carries on taking T3 when she isn't actually hypo. With her tsh under 1 her pituitary is telling her thyroid there are already adequate thyroid hormones circulating.
She will need to keep a close eye on her thyroid results.
Please see the study below that I've posted. We are aware that Louise's FT3 levels could be supraphysiological but this is why she feels so much better. Doesn't make sense I know but she has her life back.
Thanks so much for this! I am hypothyroid & also have fibro. I’ve recently been looking at research that does just this - trials T3 in fibro patients & the results seem to be amazing!
There is one chap who advocates taking the T3 in ‘portions’ throughout the day/night, which seems to get the best results.
I have been thinking about asking for a referral to an endocrinologist, to be able to source the T3 and with your girlfriend’s results, I will definitely be asking for the referral.
Once again, thank you so much for posting this and for sharing Louise’s good fortune!
I see an endocrinologist and have talked to him about T3 medications but he insists that the body breaks down the T4 to T3 and that is all you need. My twin sister was able to get her doctor to give her both the T3 and T4 and it has helped her.
I agree with you Judith. Just trying to get my endocrinologist to see the light has been challenging. He is a good doctor but he goes by what the endocrinology society say. 🤷🏼♀️
I have given up using the NHS for thyroid related issues- I so desperately needed T3 adding to my regime (proven with FT3 private testing) that I now purchase online. I finally have my life back!
Since you can only rule out other ‘ailments’ with blood tests and scans, and then get a rheumatologist’s diagnosis there might well be people diagnosed with fibromyalgia due to a variety of causes. T3 might help some of them, but it is a very difficult ‘medication’ to get right with strict folate, ferritin, b12 and vit D protocol.
I have had hypothyroidism for over 14 years ( plus diabetes, Hashimoto’s) and diagnosed fibromyalgia...so gone down Dr. lowe’s route of adding T3 to levo, then a year later T3 only, but as my FT3 is ‘ in range’ but never got to even halfway thru range no matter how much levo. taken, I have had to go DIY with T3, as most endos don’t know how to adjust doses relying on TSH in higher end of range! My fibro is better, not cured, but at least I can walk.
Effectiveness and safety of T3 (triiodothyronine) therapy for euthyroid fibromyalgia: a double-blind placebo-controlled response-driven crossover study.
John C. Lowe, MA, DC, Richard L. Garrison, MD, Alan J. Reichman, MD, Jackie Yellin, BA, Mervianna Thompson, RN, MSN, APN, Daniel Kaufman, MD: Clinical Bulletin of Myofascial Therapy, 2(2/3):31-58, 1997.
Background. Clinical features of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) resemble those of hypothyroidism although some patients have normal thyroid function tests results. The hypothyroid-like FMS features of these patients may result from partial cellular resistance to thyroid hormone. We treated euthyroid FMS patients with T3 to see if they would respond as do patients with peripheral thyroid hormone resistance syndrome: significant therapeutic effects with supraphysiologic dosages, without target tissue responses typical of thyrotoxicosis.
Methods. Seven patients were alternately treated with T3 and placebo over an 8-month period.
Phase crossover was response-driven, based on changes in measures of mean tender point sensitivity by algometry, mean symptom intensity by visual analog scales, and mean pain distribution by the percentage method and the ACR criteria. Testing for adverse responses to supraphysiologic dosages of T3 was performed for heart, bone, muscle, and liver.
Results. Significant therapeutic effects were shown in T3 phases compared to placebo phases on all measures of FMS status. Effective T3 dosages were supraphysiologic, and ranged from 93.75-to-150 µg. Available patients had maintained improvement at 2-month follow-up. Tests showed no clinically significant cardiac, osseous, muscle, or hepatic adverse effects.
Conclusions. In this study, supraphysiologic dosages of T3 were safe and significantly effective in the treatment of euthyroid FMS. Though these dosages produced thyroid function test results indicative of hyperthyroidism, our patients had no clinically significant adverse target tissue effects. Results suggest that euthyroid FMS is a clinical phenotype of partial peripheral resistance to thyroid hormone. We recommend that further studies be done to answer the questions: Are euthyroid FMS patients partially resistant to thyroid hormone? And if so, what are the molecular mechanisms of the resistance? Further testing is also necessary to establish the long-term safety of T3 therapy.
For clarification, Louise had no issues with her FT4 FT3 TSH, THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES or THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES. They were all in perfect healthy ranges. I've no doubt that now she is taking T3, her levels will be supraphysiological BUT this corresponds with the study below. This is where she feels the best.
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you say you suggested your GF tried it may I ask did she get it from her GP and is she still taking it. was her Doctor happy to prescribe it for her even though it was not on her test results . Obviously she must have had something going on with her more than fibro ?
Calling all Doctors with Fibro.
Neurological symptoms part of fibro?
In a bit of a panic - had other symptoms dismissed as fibro???
How do I help her, worried mum
God , my head is done in!!
