High T3 low T4

[Mags1867]

Hi looking for some advice currently taking 50 T3 and 50 thyroxine went to docs today was having afew things checked he said blood results had come back high for T3 and low T4 whats does this mean ?

[galathea]

It means you may be taking too much t3 and not enough t4. 50 mg of t3 is a bit of a hefty dose.... How long have you been on that much?

Have you taken more t4 in the past? How did you work out you needed t3?

G x

[Mags1867 in reply to galathea]

Thought i would try t3 as t4 was doing nothing for me was feeling terrible tired all the time weight issues joint problems the list is endless started off taking 25 t3 and 100 t4 and thought i would increase the t3 and decrease the t4 and have been feeling alot better since taking t3

[Clutter]

Mags1867, If FT3 is over range you're taking too much T3. FT4 will be low because taking oral T3 means you don't need much T4 for conversion to T3.

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I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[Mags1867]

So should I cut back on the t3 to 25mcg and 50 mcg t4 ?

[galathea in reply to Mags1867]

Maybe not that drastic, Why not try 1.5 tablets of t3 and up the t4 a little.

Xx g

[faith63 in reply to galathea]

you don't need to take t4 at all actually.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to faith63]

Some people feel unwell without sufficient T4 intake.

[faith63 in reply to helvella]

i seriously doubt the reason they feel unwell is lack of t4, but lack of t3, caused by lack of t4..which means they convert normally. It has been shown and proven again and again, that t4 is a pro-hormone, that needs to be converted to active t3, which then "runs the show". Otherwise those on t3 only would be unwell and/or dead.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to faith63]

The distribution of T3 achieved by taking T3-only (assuming zero thyroid function in the person) will be different to that which occurs on a T4/T3 combination.

You don't have to accept the disputed claims that T4 has some direct effects in order to believe that the effects of a combination will be different to either possible monotherapy.

There are people who have tried T3-only and/or T4/T3 combinations and only reach their best state with a significant T4 component.

[Stourie in reply to Mags1867]

Did you take any t3 before the test, because that would give a false high reading. I took my t3 one evening before the test next morning and had a reading of 15. something but the doc didn't bother when I told him what I had done.

Jo xx

[LAHs in reply to Stourie]

Good point Stouri. Guys, don't take your medication for 24 hours before a blood test.

[faith63]

some people as part of there condition, over convert, which may cause problems.

[faith63 in reply to faith63]

if you feel good and ft3 is high or over range, then you should be fine. You will know when you are overmedicated.

[Jackie]

Hi On T3 also often means low T4. T3 must never be over range so I would say you need less T3.

Jackie

[Gismo333]

Hi if you are taking this ratio and you feel well with no symptoms of hypothyroidism then it should be fine. The bloods will not read correctly if you are taking T3. Firstly it suppresses the TSH reading so just by looking at that it will not show the true picture. Bloods are a guideline, nothing else. You cannot monitor someone by the bloods and expect the patient to be well, it just doesn't work that way as with the FT3 and FT4 you are just measuring what is in the blood and not in the cells, only symptoms and pulse and body temperature will tell you this information. A good doctor will measure muscle reflexes, listen to the heart and look at the patient which my doctor does in Belgium. I hope this helps.

[Eddie83]

I can't give a good answer without numbers. When your doc gives you vague info like "high" or "low", you should say "give me a printout of the numbers"! But generally, the issue is: how do you FEEL? I am on T3+T4=15+75 (T3:T4=1:5 ratio) daily and feel quite well at that dose. I have a FT3 that is 3.3 pg/ml (range 2.3-4.2 from a US lab) and FT4 that is 0.76 ng/dl (range 0.82-1.77 from a US lab). My TSH=0.47. I run my FT4 near the bottom of the range because that is where I feel the best. If I attempt to push FT4 up into the range, I don't feel well (feel anxious, jumpy). If your FT3 is above the top of the range used by a UK lab, then you should probably reduce the amount of T3 you take. When a patient is on T3+T4 therapy, the T3:T4 ratio is usually in the range 1:4 - 1:10. Your ratio of 1:1 is unusual. BTW, I am on T3+T4 therapy because I cannot get my TSH below 4.1 on T4-only, without feeling unwell (anxious, jumpy).

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[LAHs]

The ratio of T4 to T3 in human blood is T4=14 and T3=1. i.e. T4:T3 ratio is 14:1

In pigs, (the source of Armour NDT) it is T4=4 and T3=1 i.e. T4:T3 ratio is 4:1

In humans you need 14 units of T4 to get 1 unit of T3

In pigs you only need 4 units of T4 to get 1 unit of T3

This means that you get more T3 in NDT than you would make if you had a healthy thyroid.

In either case it is not 1:1 or 50:50 which is what your doctor prescribed.

Your doctor might be doing this empirically, meaning that s/he doesn't really know how to dose this but he is trying. S/He NOW knows s/he must reduce the T3 to get the right proportion.

This is a classic case of why I tell all non/feeble converters (of T4 to T3) to go to NDT and not rely upon a doc who can't get T4 straight to branch out into trying to introduce T3 in the correct ratio. Oh and yes, I know pig NDT is not the perfect ratio for humans but it's better than,"Oh let's give 50:50 a shot".