BLOOD TEST RESULTS ON T3 ONLY

[mspolly]

HI everyone i had my blood test on the 8th of april and have only just got a print out,

after much  hassle, since being on t3 only [30mcg 2x5 mcg +1 20mcg] i have been told they only need to check my t3 this cannot be right what about my t4 etc, although i feel like i am not being poisoned  as i felt on t4and t3 combined i  do feel,

much better taking the t3 i take one dose at 8 every morning i feel tired about 4 oclock. i know i could spilt the dose but do not want to do this, and think may be up the dose by 5mcg any suggestions' most appreciated here are my results' can someone please look at them for me.

SERUM FREE T3 -[JM]- NORMAL 3.45 PMOI/L              2.60- 5.70 PMOI/L                             SERUM TSH LEVEL-[JM] NORMAL 2.01 MU/L              0.40- 5.00 MU/L            

Thank You

[shaws]

My personal opinion is that it is not necessary to have TSH or T4 when on T3 only. Your dose of T3 is still too low and you should raise it. I take mine once daily and it is more convenient. I have no clinical symptoms at all now and feel well.

So I'd increase your dose. My dose lasts more than 24 hours but, of course, I take it daily and I have no 'ups/downs'.

[mspolly in reply to shaws]

Please can i ask how much you take and at what time  do you take it my, endo wanted me to start of on 20mcg three times' a day which was too inconvenient so i chose to take the 20mcg and 2[.5mcg] but come 3 or 4 in the afternoon i am very tired, also thank you for your advise just after, christmas i feel a lot better on t3 only  t4 was making me really ill,

i do not want to take the 60mcg my endo wanted me to take all in one dose as i feel it is too much,  how much should i raise it by i thought maybe by 5mcg the thing is i am running out of 5mcg tablets'  the ones' i  now have on repeat precription are all 20mcg i went to my gp and asked if i could have 20 and 5  t3 tablets'  he went mad he said if it were up to him i would not be on, them at all but still on t4   i told hm thank god it was not up to him as i ,            would stil lbe lying in bed for another three years' i see endo in may so will ask her thanks; again for your help.

Miss Polly 

[shaws in reply to mspolly]

60mcg straight off does seem a bit excessive. It's not like levo which has to convert.

If it was me, and already taking 30mcg of T3 (thank God for T3 only). If I had symptoms I'd increase slowly. I'd increase by 1/4 tablet every 2 weeks till all symptoms ceased and I felt well. Keep and eye on your pulse/temp too. If they rose too much and felt overdosed I believe it's easier to drop by 1/4 than a half as 1/4 might all you need to find a 'perfect' dose.

I take around 40 mcg. once daily. I'll give you a link to read about T3 and he was also a scientist and his dose was 150mcg of T3 daily. He didn't have hypo but was Thyroid Hormone Resistant. You can see in it that T3 should have no side effects. (that was USA T3 not UK.)

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

Just let's hope your GP doesn't become hypo - he'll soon change his mind about meds if T4 doesn't improve his condition.

Splitting doses means you have to find a 'window' where stomach is empty as food interferes with the uptake.

[mspolly in reply to shaws]

Thank you again thats' the only thing with splitting doses' having,

to watch the time yo do or dont' eat etc and i have to eat little, and often or i feel really ill  also trying to loose weight, i think,  some GP'S think we only want t3  for weight loss i have not lost any weight since taking t3 but have started at a slimming group and have lost half a stone but its' really hard to keep it off i have,  never eaten junk food in my life so it is so unfair  to see my, weight go up by 2 stone  but i will keep trying  thats' all we can do.

Best  Wishes'

Miss Polly

[greygoose in reply to mspolly]

You haven't lost any weight because your T3 isn't high enough for you. It has nothing to do with what you do or Don't eat. Life is unfair that way.

Something else that will stop you losing weight is nutritional deficiencies. Have you had your vit D, vit B12 folate and ferritin tested? These all need to be optimal, too.

[mspolly in reply to greygoose]

yes i was told that they were ok  i take  vit b12 100ug,

2 vitamin C 500mg tablets'

1 vitamin d3 5000u

should i be taking more t3 and if so how much more,

i get a little frightened about  taking too much

[greygoose in reply to mspolly]

You're a long way from taking too much. Your FT3 isn't quite mid-range. Plenty of room for an increase.

Did you get a print-out of the results for the B12 etc. 'OK' is just an opinion. It has no scientific value. And you need to know what your results were to know how much to take.  

[humanbean]

Since you are taking T3 only there is a good chance your thyroid doesn't bother to make T4 any more. When I was on T3 only I had a test that showed my Free T4 to be less than 3 when the reference range started at 9 or 10. There really is no point in measuring it. I felt fine despite the low Free T4 - the T3 provided everything I needed.

This is a personal point of view, based on my own experience, it may be irrelevant to others :

1) People who do well on once daily dosing of T3 probably have Thyroid Hormone Resistance.

2) People without Thyroid Hormone Resistance probably need to multi-dose T3.

3) I think it is possible to have Thyroid Hormone Resistance temporarily, caused by other medical problems. If the other medical issues can be fixed or improved then the Thyroid Hormone Resistance may disappear. I needed very high doses of T3 when I first started taking it (150mcg - 200mcg per day). Having fixed many of my other health problems - it took a long time - I now need about 25mcg - 35mcg per day.

I was doing well on multi-dosing T3 but decided I would try and switch to once-daily dosing because it would be easier for me. I made the change gradually, amalgamating doses to reduce the number of times I took it. I never managed to get to once a day dosing - my heart just didn't like it. I ended up with my blood pressure and heart rate going up quite dramatically.

Another point - too much thyroid hormone can cause extreme fatigue and brain fog. If raising dose doesn't do the trick, consider dropping dose. Also, try changing your dosing pattern - increase/decrease the number of doses per day, change the times of doses, change the sizes of individual doses without changing the total daily amount.

[mspolly]

Thank you for getting back so soon, i might try spiltting the dose, my endo wanted me to take 20mcg 3 times a day but i found it was to hard trying to do it this way i did not, what to take 60mcg all at once so i  opted for 30mcg  what time of day do you take your first t3 and how many hours do you leave it until your second dose also how long do you have to wait until you have food before or after second dose, i take mine at 8 every morning then eat nothing for a hour not sure how long if i had something to eat, 

i would have to wait before taking the second dose what do you think of my blood test results'

Thank You

Miss Polly