Ready to try T3...?

[Rkx212]

Hello there. This is my first post, after months of daily scrolling through the community posts (& lots of learning). I've attached a picture of my recent, private blood tests.

Current medication: Levothyroxine 125mg (increased from 100mg in Dec'16) Cabergoline (started in Dec '16, for a pituitary adenoma that produces excessive prolactin, the endocrinologist assures me it has not affected any other pituitary hormone or function)

Completed a 3 month course of iron supplements in summer 2016, brought ferritin level up from 40 to 100 (you can see the current level in the results photo)

Current supplements (stopped before recent blood tests): ( all +4hrs after meds), gentle iron, biotin, krill oil, evening primrose oil, silica.

I've been gluten free for about 5 years and take very minimal amounts of lactose. I'm very careful with my diet and I exercise daily (its exhausting and relentless!)

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 9yrs ago, when living in NZ. I very quickly "settled" with 100mg of levo daily, but have never been asymptomatic. My complaints are very recognisable; HAIR LOSS (this is my biggest problem, +50% gone & getting worse), weight gain/difficulty losing, extreme lethargy, poor sleep, dry skin, fluid retention, brain for, episodes of depression. My basal temp is always low (35.7) and with low pulse too.

My NHS endo will not even discuss T3 meds and I live too far away from any private clinic. It was my suggestion to take an iron supplement last year, as I felt 40 was not ideal for someone with my symptoms (endo not interested). In Dec'16 endo agreed we try increasing levo by +25mg and review in 3 months (but I won't get an appointment until June). Before the increase my results with same reference ranges were; tsh 0.63, T4 17, T3 3.8. I had expressed concern with the T3 result, but endo said my body would convert what I needed, so I obviously didn't need any more. Three months after increasing levo dose, I can exercise more (which is helping the weight, a little) but no change to other symptoms. And the results show the tsh is more suppressed (as expected), the T4 looks ok (maybe getting a little too much? Which could account for rT3 levels?) but it hasn't helped the T3 (or my symptoms).

So, advice please! I won't see the endo for months (& it took me 18 months to get her to tweak the levo!) and she doesn't want to even test the T3 again. What would you do as the next step? Based on the results I'm thinking:

1. Vit D3 supplement (with magnesium and k2mk7)... But I can't decide on dosages?

2. Continue with current supplements (am I OK taking vitamins and iron at the same time as long as +4hrs away from levo?)

3. Adding in T3. Can I purchase just T3 overseas or is it just combo T4/T3 available? May I ask anyone with a reliable supplier to send me a PM with contact details of how to order and your suggested starting dose?

Thank you all in advance for any help, I pleaded with my GP before my endo referral that I could not continue losing my hair & dragging myself out of bed everyday... That was 2 years ago now. I can't rely or wait on NHS care any more. Thanks again.

[startagaingirl]

Hi - and welcome to the community proper. You have a few points there.

Vit D - your's is much too low and needs supplemented. 10,000iu/day for 4-6 weeks followed by a step down to 3-5000iu/day then re-test in 3 months is sometimes suggested here. Optimum is 100-120 ish but is toxic at 200ish +. Keep this 2 hrs away from thyroid meds.

Folate - this is again too low and needs supplemented, optimum at least mid-range so 12+ here, but it works with:

B12 - yours is not bad but optimum is considered to be 1000ish. 1000mcg/day would bring this up, but all Bs need to be balanced so should be taken with a general B including methylfolte. Solgar, Jarrows, Thorne are usually recommended brands.

Ferritin optimum is 100-130 for hypo females so continue to supplement or eat liver once a week. Iron has to be taken 4 hours away from any other supplements or thyroid meds.

Foods - well done with the gluten, but it is casein - the protein in milk - not lactose, the sugar which can trigger Hashis, as it has a similarity in structure to the thyroid.

Exercise - strenuous exercise depletes T3 and your body is unlikely to be able to replace it when less than optimally medicated. So two interpretations of your results - 1. your deficiencies are contributing to poor conversion to t3. and 2. you are converting well but consuming too much t3 with exercise. In either case, it looks to me like a bit of t3 added in would potentially re-balance your system a bit, either that or stop exercising. But I am an exerciser myself and know what a wrench that could potentially be.

Good luck

Gillian xx

[Rkx212 in reply to startagaingirl]

Thanks for the supplements info.

I wasn't exercising at the end of last year, when my T3 levels were similar, so hopefully not too related to exercise since I can't not exercise (I would balloon weight wise and I think it helps mental health and sleep pattern too)

I'll get onto ordering the supplements today, thanks again.

[cwill]

Are you happpy for your personal info such as name and date of birth to be on here? You can edit the post using ^ at the bottom of your post. Perhaps you can repost with the top section of the report cropped.

[Rkx212 in reply to cwill]

Done! Thank you.