Can someone please help. Day 2 of T3 only and its making me really depressed.

[lexilou]

I feel like I will never be able to tolerate thyroid medication, have started Nax to support adrenals had a 2 week break from thyroid medication, added T3 slowly at 5mcg 2x per day and I feel awful. I don't know what to do, should I stop it straight away. I'm running out of options my only hope now will be NDT and I'm scared that wont work. I actually feel better when I don't take any medication.

[puncturedbicycle]

Sorry to hear you're unwell. It's so distressing when you feel like you will never get to the bottom of it.

I assume you've gone through the usual tests (b12, d, folate, ferritin etc) and that is all optimal - ? What's your resting pulse like? What's your gut like (over/underactive)?

How bad are your hypo results? Could you do without meds if they make you feel worse?

Like you I'm on t3 only and this is my last stop before ndt, so I understand how much is resting on this last chance saloon. (I don't feel actively unwell like you do but I don't feel better either. I was hoping for an improvement.)

xx

[lexilou in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thanks for the reply pb.

TSH 29 on diagnosis. I have been supplementing b12 iron and folic acid for a couple of months now all were low.

It just feels like nothing will work and I feel maybe It would be better to just let nature take its course.

[marmaris in reply to lexilou]

Hi lexilou this happened to me. I reduced my Levo T4 down to nothing from 100mcgs and continued with T3. My TSH soared to 29 like yours from 0.07 doc put me back on Levo and now after stabilising a bit, Endo has downed my T4 to 50mcgs and upped my T3 to 30mcgs. Not there yet but all I know is when I came off T4 tsh soared. I am trying this course slowly, but believe me I had to wait 19 years to get this far. Was only ever given T4 and yes I have thought about NDT and would love to try Armour, but would have to buy it privately as I cannot get Endo to give me a prescription. Hang in there, hope it gets better for you.

[Heloise]

How much levo were you taking each day? You probably should take the equivalent of T3 sooner than later. If you were taking 100 mcg. T4 you might be happy with 25 mcg. of T3.

You may also be correct that you need no hormone. Read the first few paragraphs.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/t...

[lexilou in reply to Heloise]

Thanks Heloise, I have took 25mcg this morning will see how I feel, I was previously taking 50 levo and 10 t3 but still felt Hypo.

[LouiseRoberts]

Have you got your latest thyroid bloods with the ranges please...?

If you haven't been tested lately, including TSH, FT4, FT3 and thyroid antibodies then you should be!

We sometimes hear from people who were treated on the basis of their bloods, rather than symptoms, and it turned out that they probably didn't need to be treated at all!

Everyone is very different and people's bodies need their thyroid hormone levels to be a wildly different places!

L

x

[lexilou in reply to LouiseRoberts]

23rd may Tsh 3.29 (0.2 - 4.0) this was after stopping all thyroid meds on 20th may.

March Tsh 2.11 (0.2 - 4.0) on 50 levo and 10 t3

Tpo antibodies on diagnosis were 730 (0.0 - 50.0)

Dr said he would test ft4 and ft3 and didn't so I have done a 24 hr urine collection with genova awaiting results.

[Heloise in reply to lexilou]

They ALWAYS seem to test FT4 even though the labs often refuse to test FT3. I don't understand this at all. I would ask again for the FT4 test to be taken. Of course, your TSH is in range to them so that could be the reason. Not a good reason though.

I am trying to figure out what you took today. Was it 25 mcg. of levo or T3 please?

[lexilou in reply to Heloise]

My Dr said if TSH is within range they wont test anything else. I have took 25mcg of t3 this morning which has helped a little, I'm not taking any levo at all, I'm keeping an eye on my bp and pulse, currently pulse 68bpm and temp 36.6 which are the best I've had in a while, although I am feeling really tired now.

[Clutter in reply to lexilou]

Lexilou,

You'll need to take more than 1 x 25mcg T3 to feel better. It may take a week or two for your body to absorb enough T3 to feel better.

Are you splitting the dose or taking it in one dose?

[lexilou in reply to Clutter]

Hi clutter I have taken it all in one dose today, I initially only took 5mcgs this morning but half an hour after taking it I felt awful, like a depressed feeling so I took another 20mcgs after reading my replies from last night, about half an hour after taking that the depressed feeling lifted . I was gonna take another 10mcgs this afternoon but got a bit scared in case I over medicated, this going it alone takes some courage.

[Clutter in reply to lexilou]

Lexilou,

Self medicating is fine but you mustn't do too much, too soon. The T4 you were taking will be in your system for at least 8 days after you last took it. It can take up to 8 weeks to completely clear.

Stay on 20mcg T3 for two or three weeks before increasing to allow your body to absorb and utilise it. You are likely to feel an improvement in mood, fatigue, lifting of brain fog and clarity of thought within a few days of taking T3. Brain grabs what it can and leaves the rest of the body to cope with the dregs. When the brain is full you'll feel improvement in bodily aches and pains and weakness.

I found an improvement quite quickly but then hit a wall after 4 weeks and needed to increase.

If you increase beyond 20mcg it's advisable to split the dose twice daily.

If you aren't sure you're on track, yell for 2nd opinions before increasing and we'll help you

[lexilou in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter will do.

[Heloise in reply to lexilou]

I wouldn't take both T4 and also 25 mcg of T3 right now, you might be overdosing. Keep in mind that the T3 is part of a process and it is not immediate. Some people split the dose but I take mine all at once in the morning. You'll probably feel a bump up a few hours after taking it.

Here is an excerpt about T3 getting into the tissue where it will do the most good:

With an improved understanding of thyroid physiology that includes the local control of intracellular activation and deactivation of thyroid hormones by deiodinases, it becomes clear that standard thyroid tests often do not reflect the thyroid status in the tissues of the body, other than the pituitary. This is especially true with physiologic and emotional stress, depression, dieting, obesity, leptin insulin resistance, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, inflammation, autoimmune disease, or systemic illness. Consequently, it is inappropriate to rely on a normal or low TSH as an adequate or sensitive indicator of normal or low tissue levels of T3 in the presence of any such conditions, making the TSH a poor marker for the body’s overall thyroid level.

In order to be appropriately and thoroughly evaluated for thyroid dysfunction and obtain optimal treatment, it is important that patients find a thyroidologist who understands the limitations of standard thyroid testing and can clinically evaluate patients by taking an extensive inventory of potential signs and symptoms that may be due to low tissue thyroid levels despite normal standard thyroid tests. The free T3/reverse T3 ratio can be valuable in evaluating potential deiodinase dysregulation and measuring the speed of the relaxation phase of the muscle reflex, and the basal metabolic rate can also be helpful additions in the evaluation of tissue thyroid levels.

[Heloise in reply to lexilou]

Here is a short video about TPO:

youtube.com/watch?v=3_uaUXi...(Not working as expected?)