Is there anything to avoid when taking T3? - Thyroid UK

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Is there anything to avoid when taking T3?

Hiphypo profile image
14 Replies

There is a list as long as your arm for things that conflict/upset T4, I am not able to find out if anything has a similar effect on T3. I do realise it is a totally different chemical, but have been wondering if anything helps/hinders.

All info will be much appreciated - will be back tomorrow pm to 'see' you all.

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Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo
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14 Replies
Hennerton profile image
Hennerton

I have been on T3 only since Feb this year and have not found anything obvious that conflicts with it. I take mine sublingually, which I think is better as it goes straight into the bloodstream, without mixing up with stomach contents! How do you take yours? I expect you will have a feast of replies to this one, so should be interesting to get people's thoughts.

in reply toHennerton

I did read that taken sublingually T3 can give you a rush so I had been rather put off doing it this way, obviously it works well for you.

Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo in reply toHennerton

I swallow the first dose at 5.30 - 6am with water, but if I've forgotten the water then just put them under my tongue and roll over. The rest of the day is the same: if I have fluid handy, I prefer that because grinding them up with my teeth results in the tiny gritty bits sticking in my throat and choking me.

sarahstevenson profile image
sarahstevenson

Hi Hiphypo

I have been on T3 only since Oct 2011 and for trial periods apart from this. I have experimented with timings of the dose and with amounts from 20mcg to about 60 mcg both can make quite a difference for me. Examples are one dose early am to split dose 3 x a day with largest first thing in the morning up to 2 hours before waking.

I am now trialling an early ish dose 25 mcg at between 5 and 6am to match with cortisol production and then adrenal support at 11:00 ish half an hour before my second dose 6.25 mcg at about 12.

As to what to avoid - to absorb as much as possible , like Hennerton I take it sublingually and as far away from food as I can.

Paul Robinsons book Recovering with T3 or his new facebook group might help

facebook.com/recoveringwith...

Good Luck

marmaris profile image
marmaris in reply tosarahstevenson

Hello Hiphypo can I ask how you take it sublingually?

sarahstevenson profile image
sarahstevenson in reply tomarmaris

hi marmaris I crush mine with my teeth then pop the pieces under my tongue allowing them to disperse in their own time.

Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo in reply tosarahstevenson

Thanks Sarah, that is helpful. I wasn't sure if one needed to be as rigid with T3 as with T4, so will watch to see how things go. I used to take the lot at 6am but then have been splitting it up into 3 or 4 doses, and I seem to get on better like that.

I have Paul's book, but haven't yet read Diana H, so should really do something about that.

My brain fog is bad at the moment (even typing this is a minefield) so Paul's book is just a step too far. Also, as a dyscalculic I really am completely swamped by all his technical stuff, I find it inaccessible and struggle to both understand and retain what I'm reading. The version I have also lacks an index, so I have to re-read the book each time I need to know something - and just now have no energy for this. That aside, it is a great resource, and I do read his blog/fb page.

T3sortedme profile image
T3sortedme

I am on pure T3 (since oct 2012). I take 20mcg at 6.45am, 20mcg at 12.00 and 10mcg at 5pm. This means it is digested well before any meals. Maintaining the exact timing is crucial for me. If I take a dose 30 minutes late, it affects me significantly. If I miss by 45 minutes or more I will lose all my energy for the rest of day and there is nothing I can do about it (I can rake extra but it has no effect). I wonder if the body develops it own cycles based on the inputs we put in (tablets and amounts) and it does no cope well with sudden change. If I get a cold it also throws me out for a few days before the cold symptoms show! It is important to decide whatever dose and regimen you choose and then stick with it. I would not make a change for 3 months. Make notes and evaluate what is happening. I rate my energy levels from 10% = hopeless to 100% = normal so that I can graph it. I note what I did for the day if it was busy or restful or stressful etc. After 3 months or so you can make a change and see what happens as your body adjusts. This may sound slow but progress becomes clearer and more reliable as there are many external factors (emotions, work load, stress etc) and internal factors (colds, body rhythms etc) which can affect these things. Hope this helps! Paul Robinson's book Recovering with T3 from Amazon is a brilliant resource.

Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo in reply toT3sortedme

T3sortedme, this is very good of you to explain how you dose, and I was brought up short by you finding that the timing is so crucial for maintaining energy levels: and how developing something like a cold can make such a difference. When I first started on T3 alone on April I was at 80 mcg, and I was feeling better and better until, 3 weeks in, I went down with a vicious virus that floored me for the next 6 weeks, and it was like going back to zero.

Since then the dose has been slowly increasing and it now stands at 115 - 120 mcg.

I used to take it all first thing but am getting on much better now with splitting the doses. I take 65/70 mcg at 5.30 - 6am, then 25 at 12:00, and 25 at 14:00 - 15.00. Until now I've never bothered about when I took it relation to food, so perhaps i need to look at that too. I am rotten at record keeping and numeric things, so I would probably just jot a change in dose in the diary, as before. Very slow on the uptake these days!

This last dose is when I can start to flag, and the one that makes the most difference to keeping going for the rest of the day. It's really starting to pay dividends as I have just had the best week of feeling back to normal, ever, for 13 years.

However I am starting a sore throat and my glands feel sore and swollen: 2 days ago I felt tired for no good reason, so your theory fits. Fingers crossed, tight.

wall profile image
wall

Thyroidtears.co.uk

and a book by Diana Holmes on Amazon worth a read !!!

Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo in reply towall

Will have to sort this out with the bookshop, thanks.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator

I have several times searched for definitive cases of interference with T3. Unfortunately by far the majority of the "information" out there simply takes what is known about levothyroxine and applies it to liothyronine.

It is a reasonable first guess that liothyronine might be similar to levothyroxine - but absolutely rubbish when it gets repeated and passed on as if properly researched.

I have never found any properly supported information.

Rod

Hiphypo profile image
Hiphypo in reply tohelvella

Well, Rod,

That's what I did - search around, I mean, and found nothing so hence the question here.

I realise that I may end up writing to the manufacturer, so will post if I find out anything. It may be that there have been no/few issues and so no further investigation has been required.

After all, it is an actual replacement hormone, not a pro hormone like t4, a different chemical.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toHiphypo

Fully behind you asking the manufacturer. But I would be amazed if they said anything not in either the Patient Information Leaflet or the Summary of Product Characteristics - both here:

medicines.org.uk/emc/

For USA products maybe have a look here:

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov

Rod

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