Straight swap from Levo to T3?

[Bellerin]

Hello, still quite new on here, just wondering if anyone knows if you can do a straight swap from Levo to T3?

I currently take 100 mcg of Levo and wondered what the equivalent in T3? And can you do a straight swap, one to the next?

I am awaiting my latest test results and will update this post when I get them.

Results from May 2016 (most recent I have at the moment)

Serum TSH - 0.05 miu/L (0.3 -5.5)

Serum free T4 level - 15 pmol/L (12 -22)

Serum free triiodothyronine - 5.8 pmol/L (3.1 - 7)

Any help will always be appreciated, thank you.

[puncturedbicycle]

Generally t3 is thought to be equal to 3-5 times as much levo, so about 20-25 t3 should be about right. You might have to experiment a little.

You can stop levo and start t3, but you have to wait a little while for the levo to leave your system. I can't remember the exact time frame. Paul Robinson might address this on his website - ?

Have you tried a combination of both? That works well for a lot of people, even if (as in your case) you appear to have no issues w conversion.

[Bellerin in reply to puncturedbicycle]

I have thought I about that, and did try that a while ago, but think I increased too quickly. I have since found out I have a an allergy to dairy/lactose and can no longer take my Levo in tablet form. So I now have a liquid Levo in one 100mcg dose, so not sure how to take the T3, because wouldn't I have to decrease my Levo if I add T3? thank you

[Clutter in reply to Bellerin]

Bellerin,

30mcg T3 is equivalent to 100mcg Levothyroxine.

Uni-Pharma and Tiromel contain lactose so you will need Pfizer Cytomel or Paddocks Liothyronine which are lactose free.

[Jazzw]

As Puncturedbicycle says, you don't appear to have conversion problems, so you may find T3 isn't a magic bullet. Do you know your vitamin and mineral levels - ferritin, Vit B12 and Vit D in particular?

[Bellerin in reply to Jazzw]

Thank you, I am waiting on them. I have had them tested a few month ago, and they came back high! Can't understand how, when I am anorexic and have never eaten meat, so don't know where my high Vit B12 is coming from, never had any injections either ! Just getting increasingly desperate with getting worse, putting on more and more weight, and my GP saying everything is normal, and she doesn't know what to do.

[bunnywhisperer]

You may want to start at a low dose to wait for the T4 to clear. It can take 8 - 12 weeks for it to leave your body and usually happens slowly. Mine did it suddenly in 1.5 days! I was very hyper with palpitations and sweating. So you may want to keep that in mind just in case it happens to you too. I didn't take any T3 during that time and waited for it to pass. Then started at a low dose and started working my way up again. Hope that helps

[Bellerin in reply to bunnywhisperer]

Thank you, you didn't do a straight swap one morning to the next then? I am wary about stopping my Levo altogether, but can't decrease it as I have it in liquid form in one 100 mcg dose. Did you mean the Levo left you in a day and a half? Is that bad? Thank you

[bunnywhisperer in reply to Bellerin]

I was taking NDT and did do a straight swap, but at a very very low dose of T3. I think I even took my NDT dose in the morning and T3 in the afternoon! Most of the time, the T4 will leave your body within 8 - 12 weeks, for me it was about 9.5. At about 9.5 weeks after I stopped NDT (it has T4 in it) I had a day and a half of severe hyper symptoms. It was unpleasant, but at least I knew for sure that the T4 and RT3 were gone. Does that make sense?

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Bellerin]

Bellerin can you titrate in water? Do an amount of water divisible by 2, drop your levo in there and take half one day and half the next. You can do it in whatever fractions you want. If you draw the water up in a syringe it is easy to ensure you're getting precise doses.

You can't do a swap one day to the next. There will be too much t3 and t4 in your system.

[Glynisrose]

NO. Do not do a direct swap as the T3 is usually too much for the body to handle at first introduce it slowly.