Which T3 brand do you take?

[cc120]

Which brand of T3 do you take, how long have you been taking it and what dose are you on now?

For general info purposes. x

[Clutter]

CC120, how much one takes will depend on level of thyroid function. I have no thyroid and was prescribed 60mcg Liothyronine T3 for 3 months before being switched to 200mcg T4. Self medicated T4 + Tiromel T3 25mcg for 3 months. I've been prescribed T4 + Liothyronine for 18 months, currently 75/100mcg T4 + 30mcg T3.

[cc120 in reply to Clutter]

Thank you Clutter, do you have a particular brand or generic?

[Clutter in reply to cc120]

CC120, 20mcg Mercury Pharma Liothyronine is generic and is the usual T3 prescribed in the UK. 5mcg T3 can be prescribed and imported from the USA but is vastly expensive so you'll probably be expected to buy a pillcutter to cut down a 20mcg dose to 5 or 10mcg.

Tiromel is 25mcg TurkishT3 bought online or OTC in Turkey.

[cc120 in reply to Clutter]

Thank you Clutter, how does Cynomel compare?

[Clutter in reply to cc120]

CC, I've never tried it. There are several members who prefer Mexican Cynomel and don't like anything else but it hasn't been available since late last year and isn't likely be available before November, if then.

[cc120 in reply to Clutter]

Is it available from Greece?

[Clutter in reply to cc120]

CC, Uni-pharma T3 is the Greek T3 available OTC.

[cc120 in reply to Clutter]

I see, thank you Clutter.

[Parbrook]

2 x Perrigo/Paddock Labs 5mcg tablets daily for the last 18 months.

I tried half a Mercury Pharma tablet daily for a month and found them inneffective, whereas the Perrigo tablet has made a significant difference to my quality of life.

When I have been doing a lot of physical activity, I found that I need an additional 5mcg tablet, otherwise I am wiped-out the following day.

I also take 100mcg Levothyroxine.

[cc120 in reply to Parbrook]

Thank you yoursurname, I see that Perrigo took over Paddock and these are available from Boots with a prescription. So interesting that mercury pharma were ineffective but Perrigo have been so helpful.

[minus in reply to Parbrook]

did you have any reaction whe n you first took t3?

[Parbrook in reply to minus]

No reaction, but I found the Paddock/Perrigo T3 tablets significantly more effective than Mercury Pharma T3.

[cc120 in reply to Parbrook]

Could you let me know where the GP or I could obtain direct the Paddock /Perrigo, please?

[Parbrook in reply to cc120]

You will need to find a GP or Endo who will prescribe T3.

I was lucky with my GP, because I have a number of missing/poorly functioning organs, so FT4 to FT3 conversion was very low until I started taking T3 in addition to T4.

[Lisasones]

In my third month of taking Tiromel only, 25mg in the morning, 25mg around 2pm and sometimes an extra 12.5mg around early evening if I've had a physically busy day - I was taking slightly more for the first 8 weeks but my levels seem to have become topped up so I dropped the dose before bed and some evening doses without any problems - I've gone from hardly functioning to nearly back to my normal self which I hadn't been for decades 😊

[cc120 in reply to Lisasones]

Thank you Lisaones.

[mickstability]

Mercury Pharma 80mcg on waking. FT3 stable at high end of range, and I wish I'd switched from T4 years sooner. It took several months to stabilise at this one dose, but it's definitely worth the effort, as I finally feel normal again.

[cc120 in reply to mickstability]

Very interesting mickstability. Do you know why in your case you need such a high dose that can be taken in one go?

[mickstability in reply to cc120]

I had a TT 30 years ago and did fine on T4 until about 10 years ago, when it started to become less and less effective. It took me years and half a dozen endos to arrive where I am now, and I'm still going through the process of repairing the long term damage that being hypo for so long caused.

80mcg isn't a high dose for me, and I'm considering upping to 100 on alternate days to see if this alleviates the remaining symptoms (tinnitus and excessive sweats), although it's hard to distinguish between hypo and hyper as the symptoms can be the same for both.

The single dose is important to me as I want to be able to ignore my thyroidless state and get on with my life, and this wasn't possible with a split dose regime.

If found that once I was taking enough T3, all the surges and dips disappeared and I really don't feel as if I'm taking any medication at all - I just feel normal. This is useful, as I can attribute any aches or pains to a non-thyroid related condition, rather than suspecting that my dosage may be at fault every time, so it is quite liberating, if you see what I mean.

What are you going to do with the info you're getting?

Best wishes Richard.

[cc120 in reply to mickstability]

Hi Richard, info just out of interest. I have excessive sweats, but still have my thyroid, though hypo (undiagnosed for over 10 years). Taking NDT doesn't seem to be dealing with my symptoms, though there is an improvement. Endo scheduled ultrasound and MRI for pituitary gland. So is it usual for people without thyroids to take high T3?

[mickstability in reply to cc120]

CC, I can't give an opinion on whether more people with TTs end up on T3 than not - I simply don't have the data. Perhaps one of the site admins ( Helvella's your man for stats) might have some info.

I do know however that there are a great number of people out there that aren't on this site, and the tendency is to only comment if there is a direct relevance to one's own condition or experience, so this would tend to skew any result thus obtained.

Also, people that have had a TT due to cancer, like myself, will have had periods on T3 probably prescribed by an oncologist or radiographer due to it's very short half-life, thus enabling radiotherapy to be delivered in a timely fashion. This early introduction to T3 will have heightened the awareness of such patients to it's efficacy, so they are more likely to push for it if they feel T4 is not working as it should.

Ideally, I should like to give NDT a go, as I'd just prefer a naturally derived hormone to a synthetic, but the way the wind's blowing at my CCG I'll be lucky to hang on to my T3 script.

[cc120 in reply to mickstability]

I buy NDT online, if you are interested in the source, I can PM?

Also have know recommended T3 sources.

Interesting that t3 is the start for people who undergo radiotherapy.

[Lisasones]

I still have my thyroid but it's worse than useless, when I first started on T3 it seemed like my body/brain was a sponge soaking it up, so I was either producing no T4 or my body wasn't converting it (my GP refused to test anything) and it's very easy to determine if I'm too low as I get Tinnitus back and my neck aches - I don't know why the medical profession are so reluctant to use it, I've found it easy to dose and I've not yet gone hyper - it seems to be scare mongering or a mechanism to keep us ill to justify more pharma based prescriptions 😏 I know some people add T3 to their NDT and if you haven't tried this it might be worth a go xx

[cc120 in reply to Lisasones]

I have tried that, but went overrange at that point. Still finding it hard to sort out optimum dose, did you ever try NDT?

[cc120 in reply to Lisasones]

Hi Lisasones, what led you to your T3 dose?

[Lisasones in reply to cc120]

Do you mean the amount I dose? (that was slowly increasing it over weeks and months until i felt like I was functioning properly - started on a quarter a tablet a day now taking 87.5mcg a day split over 4 intervals).

[cc120 in reply to Lisasones]

Hi Lisasones, yes I did mean your dose as it seems higher than what I usually see on here, but obviously works for you and no danger of RT3 when you take only T3. I don't seem to be doing that well on NDT, going up so high that I just went over range both FT4 and FT3. Suspected RT3. Reduced NDT and added 25mcg of Tiromel, but didn't feel any better. Now back on 180mg NDT (Thiroyd) better but still not as much energy as I should have and wondering if I should try solely T3. So was interested to learn how you came to be on such a high dose, as I wondered what the risks of going too high on T3 could be?

[Lisasones in reply to cc120]

I think you would know if you were on too high a dose - I'm following Paul Robinsons "recovering with T3" book and protocol - my dose is not unusual for someone on T3 only and some people take a lot more (I have seen sides of 150-300mcgs being used) we're all different 😉 - the usually banded about fears about too much T3 are starting to be proved wrong (like osteoporosis) and I don't get my levels tested now as I feel fine (in fact great most of the time) and it is also thought to be unnecessary and that symptoms are more accurate (unless you have a brain biopsie you can't tell how much T3 is actually getting to the brain and being used for example) but I appreciate other people take great comfort in a test result so that is a personal decision - to be honest, I could probably increase my dose by another half a tablet as this cooler weather sets in and on some days I bring my next dose forward when the tinnitus and neck ache return with a vengeance, for me it's been a life saver - I hope you find right combo for yourself - I use Tiromel and have not had any problems with it - it seems others do - do you know if you have a conversion problem? X

[cc120]

Thank you Vindaloo, I have also heard that some don't get on with Tiromel.

[cc120]

Hi greeneyes, most people on here buy there own T3/NDT online. I know because there was a poll done at one point. So it would be more accurate to say that most of the people who took part in the poll bought online.

[Parbrook]

My GP agreed to a trial of T3. When I found that Mercury Pharma T3 had limited effect, my GP agreed that I could try Paddock/Perrigo and this brand is named on my prescription.

My Endo also agreed, as long as I accepted 'the risk'!

I have been on this for almost 2 years now, along with T4 and feel much better than T4 only.

[cc120 in reply to Parbrook]

Hi yoursurname, what was your TSH and FT4/FT3 when you were diagnosed with hypothyroidism?

[Parbrook in reply to cc120]

I cannot remember now.

In 2009, treatment for Hep C with Interferon damaged my Thyroid gland. In 2010, my TSH increased, so I started on T4.

T4 was gradually increased to 125mcg, but I felt over-prescribed.

Dropping to 112.5mcg was OK for a while, but still struggling.

With the FT3 being low triggered the prescribing of T3. Initially, 5mcg, then 10mcg, then 20mcg. Then settled on 10mcg T3 and 86mcg T4.

[cc120 in reply to Parbrook]

Thank you yousurname. Was your FT4 in range/high when your FT3 was low? Would you benefit from taking just T3 without T4?

[Parbrook in reply to cc120]

Before taking T3 and I was on 112.5mcg T4, my TSH was 0.02, FT3 3.7 and FT4 23.3.

When I was on 20mcg T3 and 75mcg T4 for 6-months, mty TSH was between 0.02 and 0.04, FT3 between 3.8 and 4.4, FT4 between 12.8 and 14.4.

I then tried 100mcg T4 and 5mcg T3 for a few months, then 86mcg T4 and 10mcg T3. FT3 is still a bit low at 3.7 and FT4 at 14.7 last September, so I recently increased t3 to 15mcg and t4 to 100mcg.

The complication is that my Ferritin level is probably low at the moment, so this is not helping and the T4-T3 conversion will, consequently, be reduced.

I missed last month't Ferritin blood test, so I am probably overdue for an iron infusion. So, I will have this before checking my thyroid hormone levels again.

I am still able to do some conversion from T4 to T3, so I am happy on a mixed T3/T4 dose.

I just need to find the right level of T3 to compensate for the absence of T3 from the Thyroid gland and the limited T4-T3 conversion, because i am missing one kidney and spleen, plus have a very low function in my remaining kidney.

[cc120 in reply to Parbrook]

Hi yousurname, thank you. I see you have a complicated health history. Good that you still have some T4 to T3 conversion. To increase my iron and ferritin I took ferrous fumerate 210mg a day, with vit c, unfortunately my iron went down from 12 to 9, and my ferritin increased to double upper range.

[minus in reply to Parbrook]

How did you get your go to do trial of t3? What are your circumstances with thyroid level? My Dr and endo point blank refused t3, unless allergic to t4.

[Parbrook in reply to minus]

I have already answered this in this post already.

The situation is different for each of us.