Liothyronine

Hello, I've been on Liothyronine only for ten years or so. It suits me fine. I take 40mcgms in divided doses 10mcgms four times a day. Does anybody else take Liothyronine only and if so what dose? Thank you xx

[Marz]

I take 25 mcg x 2 daily

[jimh111]

I currently take 2 x 30 mcg liothyronine, is was up to 2 x 60 many years ago and was 2 x 20 mcg a few years ago. I find taking before breakfast and at bedtime is fine. Do you need to go to the bother of 4 x daily dosing?

[Hidden in reply to jimh111]

Hello, thanks so much for your reply, I've always been advised to divide the doses because of the rapid uptake and short half life. I'm not too well from other health issues but when I've recovered I will try to take 20 twice a day, it would be like freedom! Thanks so much x

[jimh111 in reply to Hidden]

L-T3 has a short elimination half-life but doctors tend to forget the difference between 'pharmacokinetics' and 'pharmacodynamics'. Kinetics tell you how the body processes the medicine, how quickly it is absorbed and eliminated. Dynamics tells you how the medicine affects the body. T3 has to be transported into the cells and T3 receptors have to be saturated for several hours before they respond. So there is a much smaller variation in response to T3. Taking L-T3 twice daily (or possibly thrice daily) is a good compromise between having a steady supply and practicality. I find the night time dose very important, it improves sleep quality and this leads to improved mental capacity and wakefulness during the day. Interesting to note greyfoose takes it before bed.

The only other benefit I can see from taking L-T3 two or three times a day is that it will be easier to get a more accurate blood test result. For patients who absolutely need high dose L-T3 (> 60 mcg daily) the clinical response is more important than the blood test.

[greygoose]

I take 75 mcg in one go before bed. Have done for several years.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Of Liothyronine? 75 is a high dose....

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

You need what you need, and judging other people's doses is not helpful.

Yes, liothyronine, T3. It is the dose I need to function.

The short half-life of T3 is a red herring. Yes, it only stays in the blood for a short while, but it stays in the cells for several days. However, if you only take teeny weeny doses at a time, the cells never get saturated, so it needs replenishing frequently. And there will never be enough to reach all the cells. Self defeating, really. I think it's at least worth a try, taking it all in one go.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

I was in no way being judgemental, I've never known anybody take more than 60, so I apologise to you for any misunderstand. It is interesting what you say, I shall try taking it bd so as to saturate the cells. What a good idea. If my heart is ok with that then it'll be life changing. I wish you all the best. Xx

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Thank you.

[tcpace in reply to greygoose]

Interesting. Not heard anything about the need to saturate the cells with T3 before. Have you got any literature references for this? Also, how long have you been on this regime? Does it affect your pulse rate? My wife takes her 30mg T3 morning, mid-day and late afternoon, 10mg at a time. She feels more T3 would be beneficial but is reluctant to go higher especially as she has had AF (now "cured" following a second ablation). She has in the past, when undertaking physically and mentally demanding tasks, upped her T3 to 60mg temporarily (only for a day or two) which helped her a lot in coping with the situation; however, her pulse rate tended to go up significantly on those occasions. Whether that was due to the increased T3 or the pressure I don't know. It would be very interesting to hear about your own experiences if you're happy to share them - particularly how you arrived at what seems to be a fairly high T3 dose.

[tcpace in reply to tcpace]

30mg etc should be 30mcg etc of course!

[greygoose in reply to tcpace]

To know about the need to saturate the cells, read Dr Lowe. He took 150 mcg every night, in one go. Sorry, I don't have any links.

And, I never, ever take my pulse. I have in the past, and it always chugged along at 80 - 90, come what may, no mater what I was taking or how much. So, I gave up.

I have no opinion about her doubling her intake on certain occasions - except that it sound rather hit and miss - how can she possibly know by how much to increase? Not surprised her heart rate goes up. T3 should only be increased in tiny amounts, not 30 mcg at a time. And, I can't help but think that taking different doses on different days is bad for your body - you need a steady flow. There! I have given an opinion, after all. It is not something I would do, or have ever contemplated doing.

I would imagine that I arrived at that dose like everybody else that is self-medicating - I listened to my body, and increased until increasing anymore didn't make me feel any better, and then dropped down. But, I can't remember the details, it was a long time ago.

[Blue_Lagoon]

Yes I take T3 only too. 50mcg once in the morning. Not sure if I've got the dose right yet but working on it ☺ have you read Paul robinson's book called recovering with T3? It has lots of useful info for sorting out what dosing strategy is best for you.

[Hidden in reply to Blue_Lagoon]

I'll have a look at that, thank you xx

[Smotv80 in reply to Hidden]

Does everyone self medicate with T3? Or are some of you getting it on prescription? 😊

[Blue_Lagoon in reply to Smotv80]

I get mine on prescription. So far so good...

[Said321 in reply to Blue_Lagoon]

Can I ask a question: why it is so difficult to find Endocrinologist who can prescribe T3 only Meds for us? Do you think they are against this method of treatment? or they have preference to T4 or a combination T4/T3 medication? I am asking because I ma trying to find one in Greece as I am afraid to self medicate.

[Hidden in reply to Said321]

Nowadays in the U.K. It is the cost that bothers the GPs, 28 tablets cost over £250. Good luck in your search x

[Hidden in reply to Smotv80]

I get my on prescription (I'm in the UK). That said it's become so expensive I had to see a specialist to continue on that instead of T4. All very stressful. I wish you well xx

[Said321 in reply to Hidden]

Was it difficult to find a specialist to prescribe for you T3 being in the UK? do you think we can find a doctor through Genova Diagnostics?

[Hidden in reply to Said321]

I've been on T3 alone for over ten years. It recently I had to see a specialist to be "allowed" to continue- presumably for financial reasons x

[Said321 in reply to Hidden]

I am surprised from the price because in Greece the T3 cost Euro 1.20 for 30 tablets. Can I ask you how did you feel self treating for 10 years without supervision from doctor.

[Hidden in reply to Said321]

Sorry, I didn't self medicateI saw a specialist10 years ago too. T4 just didn't work for me. Good luck. You have to inform yourself and be empowered. With all good wishes xx

[Said321 in reply to Hidden]

That is what I am trying to do. I established recently that T4 is not working for me in the last 3 years. The difficult part is to find a doctor here in Greece to convince him to swap from T4 to T3. I will do my best. Thank you for your notes. Best Wishes

[jimh111 in reply to Smotv80]

Prescription.

[Hidden in reply to Blue_Lagoon]

I've ordered it, thanks so much for the info. Xx

[Blue_Lagoon in reply to Hidden]

No probs ☺

[loueldhen]

I take 40 mcg per day in one dose between 4 and 6am whenever I wake. Then drop back into a deep sleep just in time for it to kick in for the day. Prescription in the UK.

[Hidden in reply to loueldhen]

Thank you x

[Bettan]

I am on 40mg Liothyronine which I get on Prescription (uk). I take 20 mg at 4am and 20mg at about 4pm.

[Hidden in reply to Bettan]

Thank you 😊. I'm definitely going to give it a go, twice daily would be so much more convenient xx

[JanePound]

This is a red herring but I take extended release T3, compounded in the USA at 82.5 mcg twice a day. I've taken this dose for over 17 years and I feel great. I obviously don't have any ups and downs. At 90 mcg twice a day I feel 'overheated' but at 75 mcg twice a day, my hair falls out.

[BlueStringPudding]

This is a really interesting thread, thanks everyone. I've read elsewhere that taking T3 near bedtime keeps you awake. As I have terrible sleep quality (1-5 hours a night since developing ME and its various comorbid friends, when healthy I had 9-10 hours a night) I've been wary of taking my T3 any later than about 5pm. I might try that tonight though. It would be lovely if it helped with sleep - it's been three years since I felt like I had a deep sleep.

I self-medicate and have only been taking T3 for about a month. My bloods were low but not below range (although I have hashimoto's antibodies) so I'm cautious about the dose. I'll retest my bloods in a few months time. At the moment I take 12.5mcg three times a day and feel a noticeable lift in thinking ability, mood and a little lift in the way of physical energy within about 90 mins of taking a dose. My resting heartrate has increased from its very unhealthy low rate (it doesn't indicate fitness when in someone with ME and Hypothyroidism, it indicates poor metabolism). And my basal temperature has increased from a miserable 35.4 to 35.9 degrees centigrade. So the T3 is certainly helping.

When I accidentally took a whole tablet (25mcg) instead of a half, my blood pressure shot up and my heart pounded hard in my chest for hours. It wasn't very nice. So I'd be cautious of taking my 37.5mcg dose in anything less than three small doses throughout the day. I've not heard of the saturation thing either. But intrigued to learn more if there are any scientific studies about it.

Any other advice for T3 use please?

[Hidden in reply to BlueStringPudding]

I'm in the UK and I pop a tablet under my tongue and allow it to melt and absorb. Xx

[Hidden]

Thank you everyone for all your differing opinions. I decided to bite the bullet and I took my 20mcgm tablet, whole, sublingually, at 6am today. My pulse is stable and I'm thrilled, next dose will be 6pm! This might be life changing for me as I halved the tablets and took 10mcgms four times a day! Xxx

[heathermr]

I am one of these people that seems to need a large dose of 125 mcg of T3 to be able to function. I get half of this prescribed at present but buy the rest and I have not told my Gp as he will freak out. This is right for me and only me, and it also helps to keep my hypothyroidal dementia at bay. I have recently convinced my Gp to change my prescription to Cytomel which reduces the cost dramatically to just over £2 per tablet instead of £9 plus. I don't have a TSH due to a head injury so I can only take T3, I took T4 years ago at the Endos insistence and it very nearly killed me so I won't be going there again!

Heather

[Hidden in reply to heathermr]

Hello, interesting that you can only take T3, I have isolated TSH deficiency (secondary hypothyroidism due to pituitary failure) and T4 didn't work for me. I hope you stay well x

[Hillwoman]

I take T3 alone and self-medicate with occasional advice from Dr P and another private doctor. Currently on 125 mcg, trying to work my way back up to 150 mcg and beyond, which is where I got to last summer.

After a couple of months at 150, I developed ectopic beats in the evenings. They developed further into completely irregular arrhythmia that I suspected might be AF. I dropped down by a total of 37.5 mcg mcg, which has not had a good effect on my health! I wonder now if the irregularity was actually due to insufficient adrenal support, because my last cortisol test was a flat line at the bottom of the graph.

Too bad so many of us have to puzzle out these very serious problems without reliable mainstream medical advice.