GP wants to try t3 only trial.Have been taking thyroxine foe 24 years.So ill at present.How will t3 help and is it safe/

[susiebow]

[Anuba]

I am just about to try this too......I would give it a go! Cant hurt fro a wee while to see if it makes a difference. If you dont like it just say to doc but is a good thing they wanna try it as levo just dont work completely for those who find it had to convert. Just take notes on how you feel but yes cant be any worse to try it than feeling rubbish on levo alone. Thats how I feel about my situation anyhow. Goodluck

[beaton]

I was on T4 but it didn't help much so I made the decision to go T3 only,which my GP oked. It takes some weeks to get the T4 out of your system but then,wow what a difference. I would never go back to T4 again. Goodluck. xx

[ovey123uk in reply to beaton]

Hi, I was just reading your message above and was hoping you could give me your advice. The day I took T4 it made me feel worse. I carried on this way for around two year's and then started looking into why I was more ill after taking T4 then before even being given it. Like you I have just stopped taking T4 two weeks ago but not with my doctors blessing. My doctors are truly scum and they haven't ever cared about how T4 made me feel. As long as my lab tests told then everything was in normal range, how I was feeling never even come into it. I never mattered at all, just as long as they didn't have to proscribe any other medication than T4. I was always feeling so ill but that didn't matter to my doctors nor did it mater to the Endo I went to see. Therefore I just stopped taking T4 and have been taking T3 on its own. Do you have any advice for me because I'm having to do this all alone without a doctor's support and I don't know why but without my doctors support it makes me feel slightly criminal as if I'm doing something illegal. Can I ask you how mach T3 you doctor lets you take daily and do you take T3 at different times throughout your day. What's the best advice you would go back and give yourself (if you were able) and do you actually feel well daily on your medication because I'm staring to think dose anyone with thyroid disease ever feel full of life and well ever again.

[shaws Administrator]

Susie T3 is very safe indeed. This is a link which is quite informative. I am pleased for you and I take T3 myself. I found it extremely calming and all my palpitations stopped. Best of all it doesn't need conversion like T4 does (i.e. into T3). T3 is the active hormone our cells are desperate for.

I hope it works for you and you have my best wishes.

Go to the question/ answer dated November 9, 2005 and this is an excerpt from the following q/a.

Now, to address your rheumatologist’s assertion that T3 is dangerous, and his implication that amitriptyline is not. I think the best way to reply to him is to quote publications that are available to him. In the USA, when patients get their prescriptions filled for T3 (usually the brand Cytomel), the pharmacist usually gives them a leaflet on the product. The leaflet contains the following statement:

"NO COMMON SIDE EFFECTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED with the proper use of this medicine." (Medi-Span, Inc.: Database Version 97.2. Data © 1997.)

This statement makes a fact perfectly clear: When used sensibly, T3 is extraordinarily safe among prescribed drugs. When I say extraordinarily safe, I’m comparing T3 with drugs such as the amitriptyline which your rheumatologist prescribes for you. Below is a list of potential harmful effects of amitriptyline.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[shaws Administrator]

Susie, it will take a number of weeks for T4 to reduce in your bloodstream so don't be too anxious if you think T3 isn't working so well.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Shaws....Am I right in thinking that you have stated at sometime that it's OK to take NDT and T3 together? Could you confirm for me if so?

Would I be OK with replacing my 75 mcgs Levo with 1 grain Armour?

My T3 is only 10 mcgs so if it is ok I would anticipate an increase needed soon.I would like to get Levo right out of my body and see how I am,before seeing my Endo at the end of this month.

I will appreciate any thoughts you have.x

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

It takes several weeks for levo to leave your body (I think the dose you take today takes about 6 weeks, of course it reduces daily).

Yes, it's fine to take NDT and T3 with it and you can do a straight swap over.

1gr of NDT is equal in effect to 100 levo, so with 1gr NDT plus 10mcg of T3 you would be taking equivalent of approx 150mcg levo. Because NDT is more synergistic with the human body than synthetic T4 and T3 goes directly into our cells, hopefully you will feel much better. Take note of things like your pulse, temp, pain etc. and you can adjust things very slightly. You can always 1/4 T3.

Wishing you well.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Thanks Shaws....it's reassuring to hear your thoughts as I have made this swap from Levo to Armour of my own accord.I am hopeful that this is going to work for me and with 4 weeks to go I should have a pretty good idea of how it's going before seeing my Endo.I will have to source my NDT myself but will cross that bridge later,after my appointment.

Thanks for your help and I will report how it goes.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

I look forward to hearing from you. It did make a big difference to me.

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Let's hope I can be successful too ......will keep in touch x

[Aurealis]

It is likely to help, especially if you're having difficulty converting T4 to T3. I was worried about taking it at first but a few years down the line, I feel it's a very safe drug... But you do have to get the dosage right... Just like with thyroxine ... and probably be willing to dose several times a day though you do get used to it. I didn't feel that it made much difference in the first few weeks, though I knew it was doing something. Incidentally, I felt really poorly on T3 only, I wasn't able to reduce T4 to zero. But if your GP is offering, I'd say, go for it!

[hwbrand]

WOW! an enlightened GP - good luck.

[susiebow]

Hi I am converting well and all bloods normal.Just cannot tolerate my usual 150 mcg dose of thyroxine, now on 100 mcg ,if I raise it by 12.5 mcg I go hot in face ,sweaty hands ,acne,if I lower by 12.5 mcg I am achy and low mood.But still feel ill and lethargic every day whatever.

Will it be ok to try t3 when all bloods normal ranges ,but feel so ill?