Having trouble raising t3

[puncturedbicycle]

Suggestions welcome thanks. In response to my results below, I have left my levo at 75 (from 75/100) and increased t3 to 15 for the last three days but as usual I can't seem to raise t3 above 10 w/o feeling hyper.

I am deffo now not in a good place whether in the range or above it. I have that wired/tired feeling like my upper body is wound up like a coiled spring, I keep sighing and my head sort of feels like it will pop off. My heart feels a bit fluttery and pulse is 84, don't have temp as I'm not home and haven't got a thermometer on me but I don't feel especially hot, not sweaty, no gut overactivity, no visible tremor etc.

Any thoughts? So should I stop levo for a day or two (or three?) and either reduce to 50 thereafter or again have a go at 75 and hope the gap has given it time to settle? Thanks in advance!

My last post: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

And my last results (from a few weeks ago):

ENDOCRINOLOGY

Thyroid Function

THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE 0.27 mIU/L 0.27-4.2

FREE THYROXINE 16.0 pmol/l 12.0-22.0

TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) 100 nmol/L 59-154

FREE T3 4.8pmol/L 3.1-6.8

REVERSE T3 * 25ng/dL 10-24

REVERSE T3 RATIO*12.3

15.01–75.00

ThyroidAntibodies

Thyroglobulin Antibody* 376.2IU/mL 0-115

Method used for Anti-Tg: Roche Modular

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies * 234.1 IU/mL 0-34

HAEMATOLOGY

Vitamins

Vitamin B12 136 pmol/L 25.1–165.0

Folate (serum) 7.9 ug/L 3.9->20.0

25 OH Vitamin D 50 nmol/L 50-200

Interpretation of results:

Deficient <25 nmol/L

Insufficient 25-49 nmol/L

Normal Range 50-200 nmol/L

Consider reducing dose >200 nmol/L

BIOCHEMISTRY

Inflammation Marker

CRP-High sensitivity 1.8 mg/l 0.0-5.0

Iron Status

FERRITIN 26 ug/L 13-150

Optimum Ferritin level for females : >27 ug/L

[Clutter]

PB,

Low ferritin/iron may be why you aren't able to raise T3 dose comfortably.

tiredthyroid.com/feeling-hy...

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Clutter]

Ok, maybe that's it. Have been supplementing for three weeks but only 20mg X 2 per day (w vit c). I'm on gentle iron (ferrous bisglycinate) as I feel rough on the harsher stuff. I've started having unusually heavy periods (age I think) so this is an uphill battle.

Years ago when I first learned I had a problem my ferritin was 19! That was before supplements but also before my periods went wonky.

[Clutter in reply to puncturedbicycle]

PB,

Low iron can cause heavy periods. Make sure you take 1,000mcg vitamin C with each tablet to aid absorption and minimise constipation.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Clutter]

Yes, I always do.

When my iron was very low I had very light cycles but it's a very complex system, I'm sure changing sex hormones have a part to play.

[Silver_Fairy]

Your Vit D could be higher i think, so too, your Folate? How is your B12 (I think thats the active B12 and not sure how to interpret that figure) Ive read on here that if your vitamin levels arent optimal you may have problems when you try and raise your T3 dose.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

I supplement all of those but had dropped my supps as I was meant to have the blood test in two weeks' time and one thing after another delayed it so I was off the supps for much longer than I had intended. Next time I won't stop taking them until I have the blood kit in my hand and the appt all sorted.

I self inject so b12 should be v good most of the time (blood draw was maybe two weeks after my injection).

[Silver_Fairy in reply to puncturedbicycle]

I don't know much about RT3 either, but isn't yours high?

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

Yes, just over range. Not sure if that means I should be reducing levo, stopping it and raising t3 or if the rt3 thing is all a nonsense.

[Silver_Fairy in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Hmmm who knows! I do think sometimes, as has often happened before, that in 30 - 50 years time they will be saying "guess what they used to do for (insert disease) years ago??!"

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Silver_Fairy]

Oh absolutely! I agree!

Last night I took only 50 levo and 10 t3, then 5 t3 this morning. No palps or wound-up feeling but absolutely exhausted, slept 11hrs and still struggled to get up this morning. Maybe just adjusting to falling t4. No anxiety as such, but am pretty irritable. I may just never be right w my t3 close to the top of the range.

[humanbean]

I have high cortisol (or I did when it was last tested ages ago). When I went through a period of prolonged stress lasting over a year I felt worse and worse with symptoms I personally associate with extremely high cortisol - really bad anxiety, a lot of episodes of heart rate well over 100, total inability to sleep, jittery feelings throughout my body, severe brain fog.

During this time I had to lower my T3 to levels which were far too low for me. (I don't take Levo.) When I got past the worst of the stressful period I hoped things would improve but they didn't, and none of my attempts to increase my T3 worked. I just felt really hyper every time I tried.

In the end I decided to experiment with Holy Basil supplements, and luckily for me it worked. I have now increased my T3 by 50% and my blood tests are a lot more sensible.

I take this product : healthmonthly.co.uk/swanson...

The dose is supposed to be 2 capsules 2 times a day, but I've found I need 2 capsules 3 times a day to feel relatively normal.

I haven't tried any other kinds of Holy Basil apart from Three Tulsi Tea by Pukka. It was pleasant, and I quite liked it, but the dose of whatever I was getting wasn't doing anything useful for me.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to humanbean]

Thanks for that. When last tested (not recently) I had low cortisol, low dhea. Would this be ok to try or could it reduce cortisol further?

Also is this why the Thais are so relaxed? (I understand that is a huge generalisation and that there are Thais who lead stressful lives. But as a culture they seem to have an admirable resistance to rushing and/or wigging out about minor irritations.)

[humanbean in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Oh, sorry, I don't know. You'd have to research it yourself. Holy Basil is an adaptogen and I've read that they are useful for people with low or high cortisol. But do you know what? I wouldn't believe it without some good research. I find it hard to believe that one supplement or herb could simultaneously lower and increase cortisol. But I suppose stranger things have happened.

It might be worth investigating adaptogens generally. There are a few of them and I don't believe they all have the same effect.

I have read that low cortisol and high cortisol have a lot of overlap in their symptoms. But my reading has tended to concentrate on high cortisol, so I can't offer anything else on the subject of low cortisol. Sorry

[puncturedbicycle in reply to humanbean]

Oh sure, I didn't mean to stick you w that I just wondered idly if the treatment for high cortisol might be the opposite for low. I only have the most simplistic understanding of it. But yes, I will research it.

Ugh it can be difficult. I want to avoid becoming someone who obsesses about their health, but you really do need to go down that rabbit hole if you want to be well informed. The fatigue and adrenaline stuff have been very resistant to treatment so now I'm forced to look further afield.