Still severe fatigue: Dr raised me to 20 mcg a... - Thyroid UK

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Still severe fatigue

Quiltgirl profile image
11 Replies

Dr raised me to 20 mcg a week ago of sustained release t3. I was on 15 for almost 3 weeks. Before that I was using Cytomel and up to 12-15 mcg split in 3 doses it took me about 2 1/2 months to get up to that.

This new dr said the sr t3 would be better for me then trying to dose the Cytomel. He has me on 10 mg of HC as well. My problem is my fatigue has been real bad and I only had a few days here and there that were half way decent. I began to add small doses to my sr t3 with Cytomel. Only 3 mcg 2x a day had a little response but now back to just exhaustion. My dizziness and balance seem worse too. Am I just under medicated? My dr isn't getting back to me so I'm trying to figure out what's wrong. Why am I feeling worse.

I know 20-26 mcg is low dose and I've had hashi / hypo that's gone untreated for at least 6 years

Any advice is greatly wanted

Ty

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Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl
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11 Replies
humanbean profile image
humanbean

Many patients who have experience of Levo and T3 believe that T3 is approximately three times as potent as Levo.

If this is true (and, personally, I believe it is) then 20mcg T3 is equivalent to about 60mcg Levo - and this is a tiny dose.

Without blood test results it is impossible to say what you should do, sorry.

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl

Ty humanbean

Ya it seems I just keep crashing and struggling daily just to do survival tasks.

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl

So u are saying the same as humanbean that this dose I'm on is to small? I'm on t3 sustained release only no t4 . And on my own added Cytomel!

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl

Well ferritin was up to 69 b12 was very high vit d 70 he didn't run folate

Kitten1978 profile image
Kitten1978

Hi Quiltgirl,

Have you heard if the circadian T3 method (CT3M) of improving adrenal health? It may be worth exploring:

recoveringwitht3.com/

There is also a group called "recovering with T3" on facebook. The only thing is that "normal T3" as opposed to sustained release T3 is usually used for CT3M.

Take care

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl in reply to Kitten1978

Yes I've read the method.. thank you

MormorK profile image
MormorK

SR t3 is considered quite a bit weaker than other t3. (They vary in strength with Cynomel being the strongest). That does add to the likelihood you are underdosed.

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl in reply to MormorK

I've read others saying they didn't respond to sr t3. You figure I have 20 mcg releasing over 24 hrs! Not much at all!

MormorK profile image
MormorK in reply to Quiltgirl

Best wishes with finding a level or treatment that works. It seems a disgrace the medical system can't be more useful to us who suffer with thyroid troubles.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Quiltgirl If I'm understanding correctly from looking at your previous posts, in the last four months you appear to have started on cytomel, changed to NDT after two weeks, and at some point which appears to be a very short time again you have gone back to cytomel. Why the change? A couple of weeks on anything isn't going to be enough to know if it helps you.

In your first post you say you have positive antibodies confirming Hashimoto's. Are you addressing this? Have you adopted a gluten free diet and are you supplementing with selenium L-selenomethionine 200mcg daily to try and reduce the antibody attacks?

In your above post you say your doctor raised you to 20mcg T3 a week. Do you mean you are taking 20mcg a week or 20mcg a day?

Quiltgirl profile image
Quiltgirl in reply to SeasideSusie

dr put me on t3 . The ndt I bought to try on my own before dr gave me t3.

I then found a alternative dr who specializes in hormones and Lyme disease. He wanted me on sr t3 . He started me at 15 mcg sr then raised it to 20 mcg sr . I take 1 pill in morning.

I have addres the antibodies and have been on ldn for 3 years plus gluten free 2 yrs. I did a aip diet for a year the added some things back in.

Today I took my 20 mcg with a small dose cytomel about 3-4 mcg . 3 hrs later I've taken another 3 mcg cytomel. Heart rate is 76 and temp 98.1 so I have been monitoring these and they haven't gotten high or showing over medicated. I'm left to try and figure this out since dr hasn't gotten back to me. When he raised me to 20 mcg he told me not to use the cytomel with it so I didn't and felt ok only the first day I started the 20 mcg. Since then I've been adding a little cytomel. Just not sure how much to add and how long to wait before adding more. Even with the added 6-7 mcg of cytomel I'm still battling the fatigue badly. Does it just take time for body to adjust?

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