New on T3

[Lebogang]

Hi I've been on 20mcg of t3 three times a day for six days as well as 100mcg t4 should I stop the levo or continue on both. How long​ till I feel better? I feel a slight difference in my energy levels​. Is this it? Thanks.

[cjrsquared]

60 mcg, 3x 20 mcg of liothyronine is a full replacement dose. when I was transitioned onto liothyronine from levothyroxine I reduced levothyroxine over a 4 week period and slowly increased liothyronine. Liothyronine is often considered to be 3 to 4 times more potent than levothyroxine so the Levo should be reduced in proportion to the addition of liothyronine, there is also the long half life of Levo to consider. Liothyronine is normally added in either 5 or 10 mcg doses held for several days before raising. Did you have any blood test results prior to starting t3 ?

[Lebogang in reply to cjrsquared]

Yes I did I don't have the results with me right now but will post them my energy level was very low but the results were almost normal. But I'll post them so that we can discuss whilst looking at them.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Lebogang]

You are probably overdosed. If you want to go on a combination of T4/T3 the recommendation is 3:1. i.e. 60mcg of T4 to 20mcg of T3.

[Lebogang]

Can I go off levothyroxine completely?

[Saggyuk in reply to Lebogang]

You can do, as I did for over 10 years, but everyone is different and will respond to different treatments differently. However, since I stopped producing a little T4 of my own, I have had various symptoms and cannot get my tsh down so have now added a little T4.

You should have replaced more gradually as you are probably over medicated at the moment on both (60mcg of T3 is full dose) and doing a straight swap so fast will probably make you feel worse for quite some time confusing the issue and your symptoms. When I swapped over, I replaced 25mcg of T4 for 10mcg of T3 and then waited a while on each change to allow my body to adjust. I was on a higher dose of T4 to begin with though so you might want to swap 25t4 for less than 10t3 or quarter of a tablet. If you do it this way, you will also be able to determine which combo makes you feels best whether it be t4 and t3 (and in which amounts) or T3 only

[Lebogang]

Ok thanks I'll give that a try I was so fed up with feeling unwell that I just followed what the doc wrote on the script. But having said this one problem that has been instantly resolved is the dry flaky skin🙂

[humanbean]

60mcg T3 is roughly equivalent to 180mcg Levo (T4). So, in 6 days you've increased your dose from 100mcg T4 to the equivalent of 280mcg T4.

[Lebogang]

Ok following from yesterday here are my latest results:

TSH 0.55

FT3 3.2

FT4 16.77

VIT D MODERATELY DEFICIENT

ANTI THYROID PEROXIDASE >1000

THYROID ANTIBODIES 11.23

iv never really understood these figures so I would really appreciate any help figuring them out. Thanks.

[Marz in reply to Lebogang]

Best to post in a new post so more people will see them and reply 😊