T3 test results: Hi all Thanks to all who have... - Thyroid UK

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T3 test results

Natj123 profile image
35 Replies

Hi all

Thanks to all who have given me advice as of late, admins you are fantastic and I'm really greatful, can I just have people's thoughts on this

Ft3 5.0 (3.1-6.8)

this was taken whilst on 25mcg levo plus 25mcg t3

But still feel like death warmed up x

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Natj123 profile image
Natj123
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35 Replies
shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

FT3 is good but that's not the whole story. It's how you feel is the best way to judge, so I think you could do with an increase and my personal preference would be T3 but it's up to the individual.

I think your FT3 was obviously higher due to the fact that levo is quite a low dose to produce a sufficient quantity of T3.

In order to relieve symptoms we have to increase gradually until symptoms go.

Before the blood tests came into force the usual dose of thyroid hormones (NDT) was between 200 and 400mcg. Drs Skinner, Peatfield and Dr Lowe and other who were trained around the same time agree. Fortunately they prescribed for each patient and there was no adjusting according to the TSH it was if the patient felt they were on too much.

I assume you know to get the earliest possible blood test?

Has your B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate been checked?

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to shaws

I done this private and took my blood at 8:30 am

I definitely want to increase so will do so by quarter of a tablet and do from there

No, I've got to wait for doctor to authorise them and ice not got appointment until the 12th but will ask for them then! I'm glad my ft3 is the range it is because if it was high then I wouldn't have known where to turn!!!

Clutter profile image
Clutter

Natj, FT3 5.0 is good, especially after only 4 weeks. It can take 6-8 weeks to metabolise T3 and symptoms can lag by up to 2 months after biochemistry is good. There is room for a 6.25mcg T3 dose increase but I think it's mostly a question of you waiting for symptoms to improve as you do appear to be optimally dosed now.

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Clutter

Thanks clutter, I wish I actually felt optimally dosed, I feel worse today than ever!! Fatigue is difficult to manage

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to Natj123

Natj, that's what I'm trying to explain, FT3 is good, but symptoms can lag behind good bloods.

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Clutter

Ah right, I only thought that was for the levo but it's the same for t3 too then, well if I increase a quart, I'll wait for 8 weeks then re test my levels and go from there I think

in reply to Natj123

Your FT3 is only a small fraction above mid-range, I think if it started with a 4, i.e. 4.xx, most people would say it was not sufficient for the majority of people. I thought most people recommended FT3 to be in top third of range?

As Clutter says and others have said you've not been on meds very long so symptoms may improve.

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to

Yes I have a plan, take quarter tablet extra now, wait 8 weeks

Bloods then evaluate!!!

I thought it was only t4 that took a few weeks to work so I was expecting the t3 to work instantly x hope your doing ok

in reply to Natj123

Sounds like a plan. The half life of T3 is short compared to T4 so it's unlikely you would need to wait 8 weeks for T3 levels to reach a maximum value (in the blood anyway). T4 takes 6-8 weeks to reach a peak level in the blood - from what I've read anyway.

Some people don't feel symptom free until around a month of taking T3 (presumably on the right dosage!), so if I were you I would wait as advised and be pragmatic.

As members have advised before just keep checking temp, heart rate and blood pressure now and then. I bought a blood pressure monitor for this purpose and it's great. I've lost my obsession with it and only check maybe once a week rather than every few hours!! ;)

I feel like total crap this week through having cold for 2 weeks. My back and ribs are hurting beyond my wildest dreams (nightmares!) through coughing for 2 weeks. Hypo symptoms are coming back!! :(

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to

Oh no that sounds awful

Funny thing we all had a cold here and it hit me the hardest probably because I'm so low!! I felt awful and took me ages to get over

I'm fed up of struggling every day life

I'd love to be able to go to work!!

Yes something has to happen good right?? 😁😁😁😁 x

in reply to Natj123

Yeah that's me, it's crap, CRAP & CRAPPER isn't it!! I'm trying to work and usually just stare vacantly at the computer screen or come on here as my work just isn't happening and it needs to happen fast :(

It's taken me around 7-10 days longer than the two kids to even get remotely better!! They're fine now, which is good, but me - I'm still barking like a dog and feel terrible. But I've improved at least ha ha ;)

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to

I hear you!!!

I'm still waking up with a sore throat ha ha!!!

Yes I stare vacantly at things and stupidly I can't remember words I'm trying to say

People laugh at me but really it's not funny!!!

Also another thing that sets me back is my 'monthly' gifts!!!

Oh I feel drained from head to toe!!!

Yuck

I'm coming back as a man ha ha xx

in reply to Natj123

It's been a while since I've struggled to form words but I know where you're coming from!!

I'm not coming back as a human or any sort of mammal - reckon I'm coming back as something that doesn't have a f***ing thyroid!!!!!!!

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to

I think that all animals with backbones have at least a rudimentary thyroid. :-)

in reply to helvella

I may have to revise my list ;)

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to

😂😂😂😂😂 you've made me smile!!!

I'm coming back as a tadpole 😁😁😁

in reply to Natj123

Despite the suffering, things always seem better when you have understanding people helping you and a smile on your face!!!! Hope you feel better soon!! :)

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to

I totally agree with that

Sympathy I don't need, empathy helps!!

Thank you

I hope you feel better soon too!!! 😏

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK in reply to Natj123

Without sufficient thyroid hormone, you might stay a tadpole and never become a frog...

THE BEHAVIOR OF THE LEUCOCYTES DURING COINCIDENT REGENERATION AND THYROID-INDUCED METAMORPHOSIS IN THE FROG LARVA, WITH A CONSIDERATION OF GROWTH FACTORS.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/198...

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to helvella

Then hopefully I'll be a happy tadpole ha ha ha

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Natj123

More like a snack for a big fish!

Nat, it's not just a question of popping that T3 tablet in your mouth that makes you feel better. Hormones are not aspirin.

I Don't know how long you were hypo before you were diagnosed - Don't suppose you do, either. But during that time, when your body knew there wasn't enough T3 to go round, it had to switch off certain receptors so that the really essential ones - like your brain and heart - would get a maximum of T3 to keep you alive. And it's the switched off receptors that cause the symptoms.

When you start taking T3 - or converting the Levo - there enough T3 has to be built up in your system to reactivate your receptors, switch them on again. That doesn't happen over-night, but one receptor at a time over quite a long period - depending on how many were switched off so that you could survive.

So, you have to be taking enough T3, for long enough, to make a difference. :)

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to greygoose

Ah right!!!! That makes sense!!! I am reading a book!!!

Just had a phone call from my surgery saying my iron is very very low and to continue to take my iron sachets!!! I've got appointment on the 12th I want something done

I've got a list ha ha xx

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Natj123

If your iron is still very low after supplementing, perhaps you need to take more.

Good luck for the 12th!

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to greygoose

Thank you!!

I'm taking double the supposed dose! They gave me a blood transfusion last year!!!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Natj123

:)

in reply to helvella

You are a mine of information!

Lisasones profile image
Lisasones in reply to

My body soaked up T3 like a sponge for the first few months, it's levelled off now and I seem to have a reserve, if I miss a dose it's not crucial although I can notice it X

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Lisasones

Ah right!!! I just want the energy to get out of bed without wanting to cry, and want my weight to stop creeping up!!!

Patience is not a string point of mine!!!!

Lisasones profile image
Lisasones in reply to Natj123

I find I needed 12.5 mcg before I even felt any benefit, and I started off slowly on 7 then 10mcg to make sure my body was ok with it - I'm on 75mcg now and more on a busy day - and I take magnesium, Vit D & K2, and B12 injections, folate and iron tablets and drink coconut water for potassium - getting all your levels optimal will help your thyroid meds to do their job - it's taken me since Jan this year to now to be nearly 100% - oh and I went gluten and dairy free too (that's the hardest most boring bit for me as I love my food! ) X

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Lisasones

That sounds difficult I must be honest!!!

I never used to eat much gluten really but I'm craving carbs right now!!! Never before!!!

I need to get the rest of me sorted too!!!

How did you decide on 75 mcg? Did you go by bloods? And how long did you leave it at one dose before increasing? Sorry to hound you!!! :-)

Lisasones profile image
Lisasones

The carb cravings might be because your body needs more energy and thinks more food is the answer, getting your T3 sorted should alleviate that hopefully, I don't get my T3 levels checked, my GP refused to test anything so I'm self treating (I had an initial private test done which showed I wasn't converting) and for me it's pretty easy to know how I'm feeling and if I need more T3 - I took my temps every hour at first (for a week before I even started on T3) introduced 7mcg three times a day at first, went up to 10mcg, still didn't feel anything, went up to 12.5 mcg (3 times a day) and definitely felt something lift, my temps were very slow to raise but I could see they weren't going above normal at all, also my palpitations stopped after I took the T3, once I got to know how the alleviated symptoms felt, (less tired, more concentration, less joint paint) I soon knew when I was getting low or it was wearing off (my body had not built up any reserve levels at this point) so I then tried a whole 25mcg tablet in the morning dose and saw how I felt keeping the other doses at 12.5 for a fortnight and so, it was gradual and slow but I never went hyper and over a couple of months I ended up on 3 doses of 25mcg (first thing on waking, 1pm and 5pm) and 12.5 at bedtime - just in this last week (maybe because it's got colder) I've increased the lunchtime dose by half a tablet as I was feeling the four o'clock fatigue creeping in - but I had been a bit slack on my daily coconut water so I've got back on that today and didn't need the extra - for me it's been a life changer so worth the faffing with doses and times, I've got my life back :-D

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Lisasones

Thàt sounds great... Well mine was mid range and that was when I was taking 25 mcg!!!

Did you have a problem with your weight by any chance? I'm still gradually gaining, maybe because of the carbs?? And yes what you said seems to make sense, the tired-er I am the more I crave them!!!

I was advised to increase really slowly and no more than 6.25 mcg at a time! I'm just so eager to get better!!! :-)

Natj123 profile image
Natj123 in reply to Lisasones

By the way my temp never goes above 35!!!

Lisasones profile image
Lisasones

Yes my temp was around 35.1 - 35.4 - I haven't measured it in ages now as I no longer have icy cold toes for the first time in my life and my bones aren't achingly cold so I figure it's working! I had definitely put on weight and had the puffy face typical of hypoT, my face has returned to normal now and although I don't weigh myself I have definitely changed shape, am not so bloated and my clothes fit easier, I'm loathed to say I've lost weight because of the T3 as I don't want to start a rush on it 😉 but the extra energy I've had and the loss of water in my cells can be directly attributed to it - (I honestly think my cellulite has disappeared but don't tell anyone) 😂 I think once you've been on it a month or two and know that your body is ok with it I think a 12.5 increase in one day and then holding that for a week wouldn't be pushing it, you'll soon know if it's too much, it took me three months to get to the levels I'm on now and if I take or miss half a tablet it really doesn't phase me now, listen to your body is the best thing - I think I was very low and so needed a fair bit to even register - but as I said earlier making sure my other vitamin supplements were optimal was crucial too - good luck X

Natj123 profile image
Natj123

Sorry for delay

Ah I'm so depressed I'm now taking almost 37 mcg and I'm still gaining weight, I feel puffy and have more cellulite on my legs, honest

I'm so tired I could cry

I wonder if it's worth me taking it. Xx

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