T3 - I have gone on a detox, stopped my meds in despair, cut out diary and milk in an attempt to feel better.

[Serencoch]

A bit of background for you I was diagnosed around 3 or more years ago I think (brain fog never gone away !) with Hashimoto's.

I started on 50mcg Levo, then raised to 75mcg then 100mcg before going back down to 75mcg. Vitamin D test came back at 20 so almost severely deficient, was never prescribed anything for this but took a sublingual spray from H&B which seemed to do the trick and also took B12 spray.

Last year I felt that the levo just wasn't working for me, my weight was continuing to balloon, fatigue was terrible, puffiness and swelling on face and upper body etc so I decided to slowly reduce my Levo and began self-medicating very slowly with T3 until I was taking 50-60mcg. I was beginning to feel almost human again and during this 'up' time my Endo appointment finally came through and upon seeing the improvements she said it was likely I had an intolerance to T4 and was happy to prescribe T3 for me......

However, since taking the UK T3 I have felt myself gradually going downhill, tiredness has returned with a vengeance, VERY low mood, irregular and fast resting heart rate which resulted in me going to see the GP as it was 116 bpm when I was lying in bed and I could feel my heart pounding which was not only uncomfortable but very disturbing.

I have also seen the facial puffiness return, my trunk has ballooned, shooting pains on the left hand side from under armpits down to bottom of my rib cage only on left side, tender breasts and inverted left nipple, excruciating stomach pains at times, stomach bloated after eating or drinking the slightest thing and just generally a feeling of blurgh, size and weight increases significantly from when I wake up utnil the end of day. I personally think it could be gut problems......GP sent me for blood tests TFT and also H Pylori, she has also requested I have a upper abdomen scan and is sending for a breast scan - so she's certainly not sitting on her hands.

Blood test results :

H Pylori - came back negative

TSH - 0.06 - not sure of range but GP said it was the lowest it could be.

T4 - 1 - not sure of range but labs marked it as low.

T3 - 4.6 (range 3.2 - 6.5)

Awaiting upper abdo scan - I think they will only be checking the gallbladder

Only just been referred to breast people.

Now because I feel I have numerous issues going on I have decided to detox......I haven't taken my T3 for 3-4 days and the pounding heart and fast pulse have stopped I can just feel the odd flutter of an irregular/missed heart beat.

To add to the mix I haven't been taking any iron or B12 for months due to finances and haven't had any recent tests so don't know what my current levels are.

I have cut out milk and sugar to see if that was having an affect on my gut and I do feel an improvement already.

My dilema is not knowing if my pounding heart, fast pulse and palps was caused by me switching to UK prescribed T3 OR could I be going Hyper OR maybe it's my iron levels again ? Oh I do hate this disease and the numerous symptoms it brings.

Has anyone else been on UK and overseas T3 and seen a difference in strength / symptoms ? I'm wondering if it could be fillers. I'm debating going back on the T3 I bought from overseas...but any input would be very much appreciated.

[Hidden]

Serencoch, hi. I'm sorry to hear about how things are going for you. There a lot to respond to but I wanted to pick up on the inverted nipple (sorry, no pun intended there!) Can you clarify, was it always ok but has since become retracted? I ask because that may benefit from being checked out for anything untoward going on.

[Serencoch in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hypnoteq, for years it's been in and out and misbehaving but recently always inverted and the whole area is more tender than usual, my GP did ask me if I wanted her to check them but I said no as I felt embarrassed by the whole thing and then asked if I wanted to perhaps have a scan which I did agree to. x

[Hidden in reply to Serencoch]

I would urge you to have it checked out by a specialist. I went about a wart-type thing that appeared suddenly and both the consultant and junior Dr (both male) were as matter of fact as if it had been on my finger! Good luck!

[Clutter]

Seren,

I've taken MP T3 20mcg and Tiromel T3 25mcg and I honestly haven't noticed a difference other then the extra 5mcg. You may have gone a little hyper but 60mcg isn't a vast dose. I'm more inclined to think vitD deficiency and low iron are causing the palpitations and heart fluctuations. When my vitD was <10 I was prescribed 40,000iu loading dose for seven days plus 8 weeks 2,000iu daily. Retested at 116. Tell your GP that you can't afford to supplement and ask for vitD and iron prescriptions. There are new guidelines published 2 days ago which you may want to pass to your GP vitamindcouncil.org/vitamin...

I was very ill on Levo for more than a year and felt an improvement when I added T3 but it plateaued. I stopped T4 and just took T3 and again a little improvement then hit a wall. I was so fed up and desperate I stopped all meds for 4 weeks hoping to detox. The symptoms cleared by week 2 and I felt so much better despite a TSH of 107.5. I'm thyroidless so had to take T4 and adverse effects started 3/4 days later so I added T3 which calmed the T4 side effects. I'm taking 100mcg T4 and 40mcg T3 and thriving on it. 6 months ago I was suicidal and mostly bedridden.

I wonder whether a combinaton of T4+T3 might be beneficial now you've cleared your system of any build up of T4. The combination certainly works better for me than either monotherapy.

Although you're clear for HPylori you may still have gut issues. Gluten is the usual villain and normally gluten-free helps with wind, gas and bloating.

I hope you get the help you so badly need.

[Serencoch in reply to Clutter]

Thank you so much for your reply Clutter, you've been a great help and I have wondered whether or not I'd benefit from going back to a combo of T4/T3. I do tend to agree with you that my problems are most likely iron/B12 as I'm still suffering with a high pulse rate despite having ceased my meds. Thank you again.

[missdove]

Hi there, sorry you feel so crap...Pretty normal for folk on here sadly! I have gone everything free to help with my Hashis, no sugar, no dairy, no caffine, no booze, have been GF for quite a while now...Basically nothing processed just eating fresh food home cooked...I am starting to feel a slight increase in energy, have lost some weight and feeling a bit more able to do more...I have also had to reduce my T3 due to the diet...

Its taken me a while but it has finally sunk in that gut health is of the utmost importance, and I have decided to take control as I am sick to death of feeling so unwell these past 4 years, I will never get those years back but I am determined to not just exist and I will do anything to help support my ailing immune system and regain some of my good health...Hope this helps in some way...Best wishes D x

[Serencoch in reply to missdove]

Thanks MissD and yes it does help. I think that a lot of problems are caused by diet and a change of diet can probably help more than a change in meds. I'm glad you're feeling better now and hope your better health continues. Thank you x

[missdove in reply to Serencoch]

Keep us posted and good luck with it all...D x