Self medicating with T3 Recent Blood Results

[lucylocks]

Hi

Just a little back ground about my daughter.

She has had typical hypo. symptoms for over six years but as her TSH was in the so called range she was diagnosed with CFS even though her TSH was creeping up every time it was checked

The last time the G.P. checked it, it was 4.7 which is very top of range but Doctor said as her anti bodies were negative at one then they would not treat her. She was diagnosed with celiac disease four years previous so she had been eating a gluten free diet so I wondered if this could have accounted for her low anti bodies level.

She eventually went to see Doctor Skinner and he prescribed her Levo.

She got up to 175mcg. but did not find any relief.

She then self medicated with Thyroid - S again this did not help.

Her Adrenal saliva test showed awfully low 1st sample, 2nd low, 3rd and 4th high.

She takes all the usual supplements.

After posting on here a few months ago a member kindly sent me Paul Robinson's

T3 book and so she starting dosing with T3 following his method.

She got up to taking 100mcg. T3 daily and felt better than she had in years,

not 100% but she started taking her daughter to nursery on her bike, going out more in general and only taking a short nap during the day.

Beginning of the summer she had a private T3 and her level was around 7.6

range 3.1 - 6.8 so she reduced her dose to 75mcg. After she was on this dose for few weeks she started getting hot sweats so reduced her dose to 50mcg. as she was still getting over heated she reduced further to 25mcg.

Since then she has gone downhill, feeling really exhausted, back to sleeping for several hours during the day, feeling down in the dumps, irritable, aches and pains, migraine and although still feeling hot at times the past few days she has had the old feeling of been cold to the bones.

She has just received her result from a private blood test.

She had been taking 25mcg. for about 10 days before the test and did not take any T3 24 hours before it.

Her TSH 0.39 range 0.27 - 4.2

T4 1.7 range 12 - 22

T3 2.6 range 3.1 - 6.8

so her T3 is now under range even on 25mcg.

In all the time she has taken T3 she has never had any overdose symptoms apart from over heating, even on 100mcg. T3

Her pulse was around 72 and B.P. 120/65

She obviously needs the T3 and is now gradually increasing her dose but would anyone like to comment on her recent results and if she should add a little T4 to take along with the T3

Also I am now wondering if she has the D102 gene and think she should get tested for it.

I am also hypo. taking 125mcg. levo. and my T3 never gets above mid range so maybe I have the gene and past it onto her.

Any thoughts and advice gratefully received.

Many thanks browny

[Clutter]

Browny, your daughter's dose reductions were rather drastic. It would have been better for her to titrate in 12.5mcg increments and when she felt close to feeling well in 6.25mcg increments.

If your daughter felt unwell on T4 only, she has cleared any build up of T4 and may find T4+T3 combination tolerable and a smoother ride than T3 only.

She can either introduce 25mcg T4 or increase T3 by 12.5mcg, one or the other, not both, and should hold dose for 4-6 weeks before increasing either.

thyrophoenix.com/adjusting_...

If either of you has the DIO2 gene impairment which affects conversion, supplementing T3 overcomes the conversion issue. How is your FT4? If it is low or mid-range having FT3 mid range would indicate good conversion.

[lucylocks in reply to Clutter]

Many thanks Clutter for your reply,

I will pass the info. onto my daughter, she cut it down as she was concerned about the hot sweats.

What do you think of her T3 level been under range even though she has been taking 25mcg. T3, if she was not taking any it would have been even lower.

Regarding my T4 my recent result shows T4 19.24 range 12 - 22 and

T3 4.58 range 3.1 - 6.8 so I do not know if this shows if I am converting or not.

[Clutter in reply to lucylocks]

Browny, 25mcg is equivalent to 75mcg Levothyroxine, it's not a high dose and is obviously an insufficient dose for your daughter. The sweats could have been due to overmedication on 100mcg and reducing to 75mcg might have been sufficient if she had allowed time for FT3 level to drop which can take 6-8 weeks. What dose T4 was she taking prior to T3?

You are converting, 4.58 is shy of halfway through range, if you weren't converting it would be bottom/below range. If you are symptomatic there is room for a T4 dose increase to raise FT4 and FT3 or you could add 6.25mcg T3.

[eeng]

Those results are weird. Her FT3 and FT4 are well under range so her TSH should be very high, but it's not. This means something else is wrong - her body should be telling her Thyroid to produce more hormone but it's not. This may be a pituitary issue or Secondary/Central hypothyroidism. She needs more medication - no wonder she feels terrible. However she will need a good doctor who doesn't just look at the TSH reading. Hot sweats don't always mean overmedicated - it can mean undermedicated too.

[lucylocks in reply to eeng]

Many thanks eeng for your reply,

I thought if you were on T3 only then T4 and TSH would be low, but please correct me if I am wrong.

[Clutter in reply to lucylocks]

Eeng, makes a good point, TSH would normally rise in response to low FT4 and low FT3. FT4 is suppressed by taking T3 only.

[lucylocks in reply to Clutter]

Does this mean the cause is something other than thyroid such as pituitary.

She did have a scan on her pituitary last year and they said it was normal.

Do you know what other tests she could have ?

Thank you browny

[Clutter in reply to lucylocks]

Browny, TSH 4.7 and clear MRI rule out pituitary dysfunction. Your daughter was previously taking 175mcg T4 and recently 100mcg T3 which are suppressive doses. It can take 2-4 weeks off medication for TSH to recover and rise after being suppressed.

My TSH is stuck <0.01 after being suppressed 3 years. A couple of dose reductions haven't nudged it up. I'm sorry if my comment worried you.

[lucylocks in reply to Clutter]

No you did not worry me Clutter.

It was eeng saying her levels looked weird and you saying she had made a good point made me think if there was something else going on, but now you have explained it can take time for the TSH rise.

She came off the levo. for several weeks and that is when her TSH went to 4.7

She then tried NDT without success then went onto T3