I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. My private Dr says that taking T3 will give me the shakes, and I'm frightened that this will set off an attack? I just wanted to know what other people's physical and mental reactions have been when taking this medication for the first time?
Before I go though I would just like to say that although I have not contributed to the forum on a regular basis for I had (hopefully past tense!!!!!) some pretty horrendous demons to deal with. But I took heart from all of you and you made be believe that there is hope of getting better and reading your blogs encouraged me to take action. I had to do this by seeing a private GP and it's the best thing I've ever done. However it is not cheap, but infinitely worth it.
Thank you everyone. And I hope you can help me with my question?
PS I've just got my Liothyronine from Boots at a cost of £70 for 28 tablets - I nearly had a coronary. Said to the pharmacist 'I'm off to get drunk now, can't believe the price'. She said 'you can't! you can't afford it now' Yea too right!!!!!!
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T3 will likely only give you the shake if it is too much. If you start slowly, this shouldn't be a problem. If larger doses do give you the shakes, split the dose. I used to take T3 only and it never gave me the shakes.
Perhaps to start with only take half a tablet at a time and see how you go. After a few days take half a tablet in the morning and another half around the middle of the day and see how you are with that.
T3 is expensive but, as you have a prescription, there are online pharmacies that may be cheaper. Perhaps you could post a question about cheaper ways to obtain T3 WITH a prescription. I'm sure there will be someone who can help you
Hi Rod, thanks for your reply. I never realised that T3 was so difficult to come by. And you're right £70 is a small price to pay, but it was still a shock, especially when I don't have to pay for a prescription on the NHS. What I don't understand however is why it is so difficult to get hold of, seeing as it's been in production for a number of years. Perhaps as I read in another blog, the likes of Mercury Pharmaceuticals and others know that there is a demand, so they like to control the supply making it more expensive to purchase or even to get hold of. What can we do then?
I honestly believe that Mercury Pharma made a mess of things. Simple.
No, I really don't see it as controlling supply. Any other company or organisation could apply for a licence to distribute T3 here in the UK. It is purely a matter of whether any decide the cost/risk is worth it. That might well change if there were several unequivocal studies which support the widespread use of T3.
Mercury Pharma have already got themselves into a nice place (well, until this shortage débâcle) with the price and being the only supplier. Don't think they needed to do anything else!
I didn't mean £70 is a small price because many cannot afford that. Simply amazing you found a pharmacy able to supply!
Hi Rod, I know what you mean. I think for the likes of those who are on T3 should look to getting a supply from somewhere else. I was just reading a reply from marlathome and it's readily available in Greece WITHOUT a prescription and possibly in other EU countries as well.
When I took my prescription in to Boots. I thought he was going to refuse to fulfil it as he said that I should go to my local pharmacy and anyway he said he did not have any in stock and it could take a while to order. But funnily enough I got some the next day. Wondering if they are hoarding the stuff or something.
When I 1st started it - it made me feel calmer, focussed and organised and could sort items out as well as organising some problems I had learning a foreign language. Didn't last though...
I never gave up the t4, so if you are doing that let us know how you get on.
Hello Lynx. The Dr said that I was to have 5mg in the morning only and when I feel up to it to take a further 5mg in the afternoon. Like you, I want my mind to become clearer and more focussed. I just want me back! I'm going to stay on T4, but I'll still let you know how I get on.
Thank you so much I really appreciate your advice.
My Dr advised that I should take 1/4 tab i.e. 5 mg in the morning and when I feel up to it, take another 5 in the afternoon. It's great to hear that you never had any probs which gives me great confidence. And thanks for the advice about online pharmacies, I shall post that question too.
Hi, Carolyn, as usual is right.If slowly it is best. However, do not start without first having a TSH, FT3 and T4 test, FT3 must never be over range. Then re test 6 weeks after on the prescribed dose.. to check the levels for adjustment.Do you know it is much cheaper to buy armour, Erfa, for the T4 and T3. As you know T3 is very expensive.Also have you tried asking the GP? with a private Endo this is usual.
I did ask my private doc about Erfa, but he said that synthetic T3 & 4 is just as effective. Is this true? As it is I had to be pretty insistent that trying T3 was definitely the way I wanted to go, so I didn't want to push my luck too much or too soon.
I did have the usual bloods and from going from 225 mcg year ago with a T4 range of 21-22, which is on the higher side of normal, T3 was on the low side of normal TSH 0.01. To a dose now of 125mcg, with T4 right bang in the middle, T3 normal and TSH 0.85. But the funny thing is I still don't feel good but at least being on a lower dose I don't feel so frazzled or emotionally out of control.
Thanks for your advice and yes Carolyn does talk a lot of sense and I shall certainly do as she suggests and let you know how I get on
I can't rule out the possibility of other responses N, but as the others my own experience has been the opposite. That starting to take some T3 with my T4 transformed my health and gave rise to no side effects that i'm aware of in over 8 years.
There's no doubt others with experience of different routes into T3, but i started with a relatively low trial dose of 10 mcg of T3 halved twice daily. (that's 5mcg x2 or 10mcg total daily) Even that delivered an immediate and very noticeable improvement in my health and well being.
An increase some months later to 20 mcg also halved and taken in two lots daily worked quite well for many years, although recently increasing the proportion to 40mcg with 100mcg of T4 in response to these improvements delivered another step up.
Time will tell, but so far taking more T3 than that seems to cause a certain 'peakiness' - as in i start to feel tired a few hours after taking the last dose (possibly as it tails off?) - while keeping the 100mcg of T4 in the mix seems (in my case - others report otherwise) to stabilise things.
It can take a while (maybe a week) for the full effects of a dose change to come through (it presumably takes time for the blood concentration to build up, and for bodily processes to respond), and it's seemed like over time (months and years) that the ability to use a little more hormone has developed too.
A little too much T3 (or of T4) will cause the usual hyper symptoms - starting in my case with a moderate increase in resting pulse rate and a slightly edgy feeling. i.e. the effect has been pretty obvious long before developing into anything like palpitations or other more gross symptoms.
The key seems to be to ease up carefully to the dose that suits - to be guided by your body and what you feel. It's been dead reliable in my case - the biggest issue i've experienced has been doctor resistance to use of T3, reluctance to be guided by symptoms (the stock T4/TSH blood tests in my experience just confuse the picture on T3) and a lack of readiness to (carefully) trial dose options. Delays down to the latter have cost me years of sub par health.
For most of us (perception from watching posts here - can't say everybody as there could have been some reports) it seems like T3 does not of itself/generally produce side effects of the sort you are concerned about. (palpitations and the like) Not unless too much is taken too quickly. Most likely as a result of ramping the dose too fast...
What you are saying makes complete sense to me, just to take it slowly. Also as you say GPs are generally unwilling/reluctant to prescribe T3, and if truth be told when I asked my GP about trying out T3 he openly confessed that he didn't know enough about it to prescribe it. NHS Endo completely ignored all the evidence put before her and even when presented with my symptoms she said that the answer would be to lower T4 dose but not to prescribe T3 because it could 'give me a heart attack'.
Anyway I hope I'm on the road to getting better and thank you for your advice.
Yes, slowly does it. I've been on T3 since seeing Dr Peatfield last October and increased my dose too quickly, giving me hyper symptoms - feeling spaced out, slight agitation and then awful palpitations. I dropped my dose right back down to 25mcg and within 24 hours felt ok again. I do need more - I have no thyroid gland - and will now build it up gradually again over the coming weeks.
Re obtaining T3, I've mentioned on another thread that I source my from Greece, where it is easily and cheaply available without prescription - I have a friend who buys it for me at 1.20Euro for 28 tablets. My GP prescribes it privately for me as the local PCT told him not to prescribe it on the NHS because of the cost. Lloyds were going to charge me £80 for 28 tablets. Outrageous. As I've already said - why is it cheaply and readily available in other EU countries? Also, you can get it from Mexico and it's still cheaper than it is here. Unbelievable.
That's a thought! I quite often go to France and Bulgaria I shall find out if they too supply it without a prescription. This forum's great all this untapped information that everyone has, it's so helpful.
I intend to start T3 tomorrow, just with 5mcg in the morning. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time.
I wonder if a pharmacy abroad can fill a UK prescription? I've seen a poster on here say it's only about 3.6 euro a packet for T3 in Italy.
When I was on T4 and T3 I did go slightly over medicated once. I had a fine tremor in my hands that noone else but me would have noticed. I also felt tired, my legs were slightly wobbily and my heart sometimes did a (small) mis-beat. As I was taking some fast acting T3 I just cut my dose in half for a few days then built it back up to just a bit under what I was on at the time. That's a useful thing with T3, if you do go a bit over you can quickly lower what's in your blood rather than waiting weeks with T4.
I'm now on T3 only and doing pretty well and aiming to get even better!
I started on 1/2 a grain of Armour, which contains 4.5mcg of T3 and split this dose into 2. I could really feel the effect, and it was unpleasant, about 2 hours later. It has taken me a long time - over a year - but I am now taking 3 grains which contains 27mcg of T3, and am fine with it now. I used to suffer really badly with anxiety, but this is better now that I am on enough T3 Good luck xx
but did get serious itching for about an hour about 40 minutes after I took the drug for the first week.. now I just love it.. but I do have a bit of an upset digestion.. actually though.. I can live with that
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