Liothyronine query

[rosiegoescrazy]

Hi, finally today my doc issued a prescription for liothyronine (it's on special order though so it'll be the end of the week before i can take it). My thyroxine daily intake is 150mg and now it will be 50 levothyroxine and 20 liothyronine. Has anyone else successfully swapped over? I get the feeling the doc and endocronologist don't think the weight loss will be significant but i'd like to hear from people who have actually taken this step to find out their experiences etc.

[Hidden]

Congratulations on getting the T3. I take 125mcg Levo and 20mcg T3, and my weight is a real problem, and getting worse to be honest. But that is only my experience and yours may be different/better. I am swapping to self-medicating with NDT later this month.

[rosiegoescrazy]

Thanks for replying but what is NDT and how do i work out the dose?

[helvella Administrator in reply to rosiegoescrazy]

NDT = Natural Desiccated Thyroid

This document contains a lot of the abbreviations and acronyms used here:

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

Rod

[kizzy12]

hi i recently went onto tha same mix.....i found i got very ill...trembly , dizzy extreme fatigue..so came back off the liothyronine...i then started it again but split the tablets and take half in morning anhalf i evening a so far am feeling much better....lost a few pounds over first week but has stabilised now so hasnt helped much with all the weight i had put on......from reading lots of these posts i noticed most people found it better splitting the dose...good luck x

[rosiegoescrazy]

Thanks Kizzy. I'm to try it for 14 days then report back. Been on levo for so long and the only side effect that really bothers me is the weight - I can't shift it and yet I do so much exercise it's incredible.

[nobodysdriving]

I am on 180mcg T3 (liothyronine) daily and I 'still' have weight problems! for some it may help but it is not the answer for all

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to nobodysdriving]

Thank you. I can only try and hope for the best

[Babette]

I was on 100 mcg levothyroxine and told to take 75 mcg levothyroxine and 2 x 20 mcg liothyronine. Within 2 weeks I'd lost 3 kg but went hyper. I changed my dose to 20 mcg liothyronine (now on 25 mcg because my GP refused to take on the prescription from the hospital so buy my own). Most of the weight came back but I felt better than on T4 only.

To reduce my antibodies, I tried going gluten free and it seems to have made a difference. I'm slowly losing weight on that but no adverse effects (so far).

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to Babette]

This is probably the answer I wanted to hear. I've tried gluten free a few times but didn't get an overwhelming result despite the effort. I'll try again though while doing this

[helvella Administrator]

Your new dosing assumes that five units of levothyroxine are equivalent to one unit of liothyronine. Many people find that is not true for them - and end up nearer 4:1 , or 3:1.

So be wary of being under-dosed.

Rod

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to helvella]

I have to admit that did cross my mind. I queried it

[Hennerton in reply to rosiegoescrazy]

You may not have been at optimum level of T4 before reducing it to add the T3. This is one of those things I keep commenting on because it happened to me and then I was worse than on T4 only. It probably explains all the research that said patients feel no better on the combo. I always recommend people ask for a trial of a higher dose of T4 first and then if they feel no better, the T3 is added but this time to a better level of T4. I think we have Dr Toft to blame for this drastic reduction of T4 before adding T3 and I wish endos would think about it before blindly following his instructions.

[marmaris in reply to Hennerton]

I have been worrying about this as my Endo has just reduced my T4 down from 100mcgs and T3 upped from 20mcgs to 30mcgs. Very wary as have put on a lot of weight due to the fact I decreased T4 down to nothing and my tsh soared from suppressed 0.07 to 29

[gabkad]

Hi rosiegoescrazy (gotta love it), according to the Western Australia thyroid support website, 20 mcg Cytomel = 50 mcg Synthroid. Even if 20 mcg Cytomel = 60 mcg Synthroid (which in my experience it is not), going from 150 Levo to 50 mcg Levo and 20 mcg Cytomel might end up with under dosing unless 150 mcg Synthroid was too high.

I don't convert T4 to T3 very well which is why I'm on the Cytomel. 88 mcg Synthroid 15 mcg Cytomel for 1 week. So far so good. The bags under my eyes are reduced. I don't look tired anymore. Don't feel tired all the time and my appetite is reduced. Which is a bonus.

[JennyC2]

I was on the same dose as you. I found the T3 quite strong so following advice here I started on 5 - 10 and then increased to 20 and now take 25. I feel a lot better than I did but not quite there yet. I have lost a stone since last November and have a bit more to go. I wish you lots of luck and hope it works for you.

Jx

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to JennyC2]

Thanks Jenny I'm optimistic but I have to be. As you can imagine it's not been easy getting this trial. 14 days seems very short though

[mandy-white]

I just couldn't take Thyroxine so my endo stopped it and put me on 60mcg of T3 and I lost 1 1/2 stone in 3 months without even trying. It has now come to a standstill and I cant lose anymore.

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to mandy-white]

I found that with thyroxine - I lost water retention initially.

[cazlooks]

I liked it, especially the way it kicks in after 30 minutes!

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to cazlooks]

really?

[fiona]

To be honest it took me various dose combinations, and then I settled on a total of 80mcg liothyronine and zero levothyroxone a day. Unfortunately it wasn't as simple as witching over.

When I was on just 20 t3, I wasn't just on 50 levo though. Plus I found my energy crashed. Ultimately the short acting nature of the T3 meant I needed a tablet to cover me for morning, afternoon, evening.

If they are having to order it in, so please ask if they can keep ordering for you. That way you're not given owing slips and keep having to go back. Plus I think it risks cutting it fine with running out.

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to fiona]

Thanks for the advice Fiona

[Neeta-K]

I'm on 100mcg of Levo & 40mcg of t3 & my weight is a lot more stable now. My Endo would tell you that I' m over active based on my blood test results though. If i try to reduce my t3 i get bad chest pain so i don't listen to the Endo!

[rosiegoescrazy in reply to Neeta-K]

Oh not good. Did you find that out quite quickly?

[Nicky74]

Hello all

I was referred back to my endo after lots of bouts of illness one after another, of course I have had other symptoms but the sickness got me down the most.

I said I wanted to try T3 doc said no but when I got to see the endo he said I should try it and agreed to T3 treatment. I have my new pills (not started them yet) just have some questions about dosage. i’m going from 100mcg levothyroxine per day to 50mcg per day and one 3 times a day of 20mcg liothyronine. I have read people should try half a tablet first? I also wanted to know what time of the day is best to take it, can you take it at the same time as levothyroxine? any advice welcome, I want to make this work.

Cheers

Nicky