T3? Messed around and confused please help! :)

Ok I am new here, hi everyone basically I was last year severely anorexic at a bmi of about 11.5 (mad. Mad.) And went all out on recovery because I knew I was going to die. So a year later I am unrecognizable because I am now a bmi of about... 28-29?!!!! The crux of the matter is I have ALOT of hypothyroid symptoms, and this endless weight gain is hideous. I am exhausted 24/7, myxedema, constipation, craving sugar, I have low blood pressure the works. What is weird is I also feel hot/sweaty all the time and my hheart rate is fast if anything. Everything else correlates with hypo. Is that possible? I am going to the doctor soon to get tests, but I have been doing research and it seems taking a careful dose of t3 would be the best thing. I won't until I've been tested obviously! I'm just wondering where you all buy your t3 from and whether it's possible to get one that is vegetarian (gelatin seems to be a common feature). If there isn't I will just have to take the stuff, I can't live like this. Butif anyone has a safe source of t3 I'd love to hear about it. I don't think I'll have to take it forever, apparently hypo is a temporary symptom of anorexia recovery sometimes, but because I was so severe for so long (4 years) I think I might need some extra help in the thyroid department. RReally grateful for your time, TIA!

[RedApple Administrator]

What is not clear from your post, is whether you are already diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, and whether you are taking any thyroid medication at the moment?

[PinkNinja]

It could be thyroid or it could be adrenals. It could also be various vitamin and mineral deficiencies such as iron, vitamin B12 etc which can make you very unwell. It may be that you have all these things all together, which is surprisingly common.

T3 is not usually the best thing. It's usually a last resort when other thyroid hormone treatments don't work because of a problem converting thyroxine. Some would argue natural desiccated pig thyroid is the best option because it contains all the thyroid hormones. Some feel a combination of thyroxine and T3 is best as you can control the ratios to exactly what is needed. Many do best with thyroxine alone.

If you were severely anorexic, the chances are you will have some adrenal dysfunction in which case T3 can cause you to crash. In fact any thyroid treatment would have to be administered very carefully. The same if you have an iron level anywhere near the lower end of the range.

Whatever you do, please do this in conjunction with a doctor. You may have underlying problems due to the anorexia and thyroid treatment, especially T3 may reveal these by making you quite unwell. On the other hand, it may be just what you need but please proceed with caution under the care of a doctor, preferably one with experience of eating disorders and thyroid disease.

When you get your test results, post them here and we'll help you interpret them if you need us to. Sometimes people have results that are in the range but are far from optimal.

You have done really well to recover from anorexia. It is not an easy thing to recover from!

Carolyn x

[jimh111]

This is complicated and will need a doctor's oversight. One point. When you have substantially reduced food intake for a long time your hypothalamic pituitary thyroid axis is down-regulated and the TSH produced has reduced bioactivity. Sorry, this is very technical. Basically, it means your body may not be regulating your thyroid hormone levels correctly and the TSH number from the blood test may not be reliable (although the thyroid hormone levels, fT3, fT4 will be). From a thyroid point of view I think you need to see an endocrinologist due to the complex issues.

No doubt there will be other issues, I've only addressed one.

[Hidden]

Thank you so much lovely people for your helpful replies! I am not taking anything yet, neither have I been diagnosed. I wasn't intending to rush into anything (although it probably sounded like it, ha ha) but I will definitely be really careful with this. I am planning to see a doctor this week, I will post my results asap and see if anybody finds them interesting I actually have some kelp tablets but I thought I should wait for tests before taking any as I hear that can make some problems worse...? I take liquid magnesium atm because I didn't seem to be getting enough from food. I also take iron (bisglycinate). Perhaps I should look into b12, d3? Anyway, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate

[faith63 in reply to Hidden]

I went from a trembling thin mess, to being sluggish and heavy, in 1 week, i gained 11lbs. I continued to gain 30 in 3 months, with out being barely able to eat as my food just sat in my stomach and no doctor believed me. They thought i was eating an extra 3,000 calories a week, i guess. It was very demoralizing. You sound like you have autoimmune thyroid disease.. it is fluid that does this, it's not from food. I would request thyroid antibodies along with the rest.

[Heloise]

This man explains the thyroid/adrenal connection and is rather entertaining. It's important how you decide to approach this.

youtube.com/watch?v=2ZWnpQm...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden in reply to Heloise]

Thanks, very interesting video, made sense and lots to factor into all my decisions. I will of course be very cautious about what I put into my body. I want to get it right this time! I actually can't wait to have some blood extracted, how daft. I'm actually really working to make my diet as nutritious as possible recently, so this is very relevant. I now go into battle armed and dangerous, thanks guys

[Heloise in reply to Hidden]

Congratulations for overcoming anorexia. This man is brilliant and I hope his conclusions are all correct. If you check out his video on "Neuropathy" you will learn a lot about the brain and nervous system...very enlightening. Yes, off to battle, but the less you see of your doctors the better in my opinion. But have them explain the results of your blood tests if there are any that are "off". There are websites that relate which levels are right for hypothyroids. Normal or within range is not good enough! Ask for your results.

[Hidden in reply to Heloise]

Thanks! I am eencouraged I will definitely ask for my actual results. I will probably have to basically tell them what to do anyway - "hello! Yes, blood test, this one, no not paracetamol, antidepressants won't help either, just the results please, marvellous..." I take all they say with a large pinch of salt. Figuratively

[Heloise in reply to Hidden]

Yes, don't allow them to ruin you any further. Keep us posted.