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
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?
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!!!
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.
Thanks clutter, I wish I actually felt optimally dosed, I feel worse today than ever!! Fatigue is difficult to manage
Natj, that's what I'm trying to explain, FT3 is good, but symptoms can lag behind good bloods.
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.
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
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!! 
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
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
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
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!!!!!!!
I think that all animals with backbones have at least a rudimentary thyroid. 
I may have to revise my list
😂😂😂😂😂 you've made me smile!!!
I'm coming back as a tadpole 😁😁😁
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!!
I totally agree with that
Sympathy I don't need, empathy helps!!
Thank you
I hope you feel better soon too!!! 😏
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...
Then hopefully I'll be a happy tadpole ha ha ha
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.
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
You are a mine of information!
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
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!!!!
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
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!!!
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 
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!!!
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
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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