Hi all
After so many people rave about the benefits of t3 I went to doctor to ask her if I could try
She checked my bloods and told me my t3 levels are fine!!!
My glimmer of hope has now disappeared
I really wanted to try this as I'm so desperate to feel better!!
Could I still try or do I need to avoid at all costs!!!!
Opinions are very welcome here 😢
It's the Free T3 that is the most informative not the T3. This is the reason and a short excerpt read the whole FT3 info:-
We at Thyroid UK believe that you need to know your Free T3 level too because this will often show low if you are not converting, and high if you have blocked receptor cells. Even if you are converting, the body needs the extra T3 that a normal thyroid produces. There has been some research to show that people feel better on a mixture of Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3). Effects of Thyroxine as Compared with Thyroxine plus Triiodothyronine in patients with hypothyroidism – The New England Journal of Medicine Feb.11, 99 Vol. 340.
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...
This is also another link. Maybe your GP would like a copy!! She will still stick to the guidelines though:-
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Oh right!!! I thought it was odd!!!
Well I'm going to try it anyway!!! If I start at 1/4 of a tablet and go from there
I will definitely pass on the info!!!
What do you think about me doing it myself? Am I being a fool x
I assume you are going to try levothyroxine first? In that case 50mcg is a starting dose. After about six weeks you will need a blood test maybe just TSH and T4 will be sufficient. You will also be aware if you are improving. Then add 25mcg and so on until you feel better. It's not a miracle and it can take a little while to get to an optimum dose but some do feel a difference quite quickly. A daily dose of Levothyroxine gradually diminishes over about 4 weeks.
Levo should be taken first thing with 1 glass of water (the tablet could swell in your throat). Don't eat for around an hour so food doesn't interfere with the uptake. You can also add 1/4 teaspoon of powdered Vit C in the water which helps convert it to T3).
No, I don't think you're foolish. You are a new mother with a baby and family to look after and if your hormones are out of whack you are forced to take some action.
This is an excerpt from a link and Dr Skinner fought single-handedly to change the system to no effect except appearing before the GMC regularly as he diagnosed upon symptons. He also wrote a book which you could borrow from Thyroiduk.org.uk for the cost of postage/ excerpt from link. Unfortunatley he died of a stroke but was a Virologist but was taught how to diagnose as a Medical Student:-
He is disappointed that many doctors have little enthusiasm or will to examine this critical shortfall in patient care which in part motivated his book “Diagnosis and Management of Hypothyroidism”.
This book was written to draw attention of the medical profession to a major faux pas in the care of patients with hypothyroidism. This arises from the inexplicable refusal of the medical profession to recognise that patients can suffer from hypothyroidism when the thyroid chemistry is deemed to be ‘normal’ if the free thyroxine or the thyroid stimulating hormone lie between 95% reference intervals. There is a further problem that when a patient is diagnosed as hypothyroid many patients receive too low level of thyroid replacement through servile reliance on thyroid chemistry with (often) cavalier disregard of how the patient feels accompanied by an implicit and bizarre belief that a level of thyroid hormone is a better index of wellbeing than the patient’s own view of his/her wellbeing.
This situation has arisen from the mindless deification of ‘evidence-based medicine’ which usually means laboratory-based-medicine where one chooses the evidence which suits and ignores evidence which doesn’t suit. There is no evidence that the efficacy of thyroid replacement is better correlated with levels of thyroid chemistry than with the initial clinical picture nor clinical outcome and in a small pilot study the author has provided preliminary evidence of this assertion.
worldthyroidregister.com/Go...
I hope you feel better soon.
Sorry I should've said I'm currently taking 25mcg levo blood test due in 2 weeks but In all honesty I feel worse than I did 4 weeks ago, im more tired, my hands puff up much more than normal
All I want to do is sit on my sofa, eat all day and hope everyone else sorts themselves out but of course with a 6 year old and a baby just turned one I cannot!!!
I was hoping adding a smidgen of t3 would give me some sort of life back!!
I'll look at that thanks very much for you reply cx
Even worse, 25mcg will not do much as it is very low and can have the effect of making us feel worse initially. 25mcg is usually an incremental dose. As Clutter says below: Get a print-out of your latest blood test results with the ranges and post for comments.
Ideally, when first diagnosed we begin 50mcg and a blood test every six weeks approx, and a 25mcg increase until we feel well (not as some doctors think to get the TSH within range). We need a TSH around 1 or below.
Also get the earliest appointment and leave approx 24 hours before the blood test - fast and take levo after test.
Take levo daily - first thing with a full glass of water and don't eat for around an hour.
Natj, what are your thyroid results? 'Fine' usually means levels are within range, which isn't necessarily the same as optimal.
I don't know my exact results but apparently my t3 levels r ok
But my levels were low enough to diagnose me as undersctive and put me on levo!!!
If I could afford the private blood tests I would!!
Just rung doctors for results they will not give me over the phone
I have to request a print out!!!! Gosh!!!!
I would go for it, Nat. T4 is a process that needs the body in good condition to transform it to FT3. To me, if a person is unwell to begin with, they probably aren't going to have the optimal conditions to process T4 very well, hence, lots of side effects. You still need to give T3 a chance to enter cells by clearing reverse T3 which we are probably loaded with as well. Silly doctors!
If they refuse you, order your own.
Nat, read the next post down. From Nefretiti; as she just began adding T3 to her levo, you will find it interesting.
Low total T3 but normal free T3?
'normal' TSH and T4, low T3
High TSH but ‘normal’ T4 and T3
RESULTS: LOW T4, NORMAL T3?
