Help! want to increase my metabolism.

[Angy77]

Hi I am not too sure if anyone has self medicated t3, I have been on levoythryoxine for over 10 years and I cant seem to loose any weight, in fact Im gaining weight even though I have a good diet, plenty of excerise and I can not seem to shift 1lb of the scales. I was thinking of purchasing some t3 and try a small dose to see if this would kick start my metabolism. I went to the doctors and they gave me some diet pills, which was pointless as I hardly eat any fat and it made me really ill. What I dont understand is that my gp was ok to prescribe me diet pills, which cost the NHS £40 a week but cant prescribe some t3. Has anyone gone out and tried introucding t3 themselves and was there any side effects.

[Ruthi]

Before you add T3 it would be a good idea to know what your levels are now. Otherwise you can't tell if its poor conversion (which would be a good indication of needing T3) or just under-medication.

I imagine your GP is like all the rest, so it would mean private testing. Blue Horizon or Medichecks.

There is one big downside to medicating with T3 or NDT. The T3 suppresses TSH. Now in principle that doesn't matter too much in comparison to feeling OK, but since the medical profession only look at TSH they get into a panic when your TSH goes down. I self medicate with NDT and my TSH is 0, and believe me, they get in a flap whenever a new one looks at my results.

[shaws Administrator]

T3 has no side effects, except if you take too much. Also excessive exercising reduces T3 which causes us to feel awful.

Increasing your levo can also increase your metabolism as the GPs are insistant that the TSH remains anywher in range when we feel best if it is 1 or lower. Adding some T3 to T4 can also be another method.

This doctor only prescribed Natural Dessicated Thyroid Hormones or T3 only for his Resistant Patient. Two excerpts from the following link:

"Dr. Lowe: Whoever posted the statement was right. In my experience, for thyroid hormone resistance patients, sustained-release T3 is a poor alternative to plain T3 taken once per day. We don�t have enough evidence to know why plain T3 is more effective.

It is possible, however, that some patients have resistance due to mutations in the c-erbA-beta gene. Such mutations would result in a patient having mutant T3-receptors that have a low binding affinity for T3".

and

Dr. Lowe: The physician should call a pharmacy and request the leaflet given to patients when they pick up a Cytomel (T3) prescription. The physician would learn, as the patient leaflet on Cytomel explains, "POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: NO COMMON SIDE EFFECTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED with proper use of this medication." Other than Nystatin, he probably will find that no other drug he might prescribe is as free from adverse effects as T3.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Angy77 in reply to shaws]

I have increaded my levo from 100 to 125 with no difference , I play alot of tennis and for the last month Ive played on sunday for 5 hours and I feel fine apart the feeling tired constantly that Im ok apart from the weight issuse.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Angy77]

If you can get a print-out from the surgery of your most recent blood results with the ranges and post on a new question members will respond re your blood test. Before blood tests were introduced our normal dose was between 200 and 400mcg (Natural dessicated thyroid hormones).

[Angy77 in reply to shaws]

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Ask GP to check levels of vitamin D, folate, ferritin & B12. Common to be low in some or all of these when hypo. We often need them at higher end of range

Also do you have high antibodies- been tested? If high this is autoimmune thyroid called Hashimoto's.

You need to know as if have Hashimotos then changing to gluten free diet may help

[Angy77 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi Yes I do take Vitamin D, andB12 and yes I have hashimotos, so I try and avoid gluten and to top it off I'm lactose intolerant as well.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angy77]

Avoiding gluten needs to be strictly 100% to be effective.

naturalfoundationshealing.c...

chriskresser.com/still-thin...

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Angy77]

If you take B12 do you also take vitamin B complex? Often suggested to do so on here. But if you do take B complex you need to stop it 4-5 days prior to any TSH test as biotin in B complex may falsely affect TSH result

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

Have you checked vitamin d level twice year since supplementing to check not to high or too low

[Angy77 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks I will see if I can get tested for vit d again.

[LittleFeet]

Angy, I too have hypothyroid and never had a weight problem before but am trying to lose some weight . I started a protein low carb eating plan and in 2 weeks have lost 7 lbs, now thats pretty darn good for someone with low thyroid and because of the protein I am full and not left hungry. I usually start my day with a small glass of tomato juice with 1 tbs. of vinegar and lemon juice and a hard boiled egg or a small banana, and one day a week I allow myself a carbohydrate day, usually a weekend day cuz we like pizza. It will get easier to plan meals as time goes on, and I love veggies so thats a plus, but no mayo, And I use butter not margarine, and lemon on my fish instead of tartar sauce now, little changes make big changes in weight . Good Luck.

[Angy77 in reply to LittleFeet]

Wow that is impressive. How much levo do you take ?

[LittleFeet in reply to Angy77]

Hi Angy, my doctor raised it not long ago because my symptoms remain but I am still having huge hair loss fatigue and weight gain plus terrible wrist pain, was checked for carpal tunnel, negative. It was raised from 50 to 100 mcgs. Guess I am just stuck with the hypo symptoms that go along with it. I was very sick for 9 years with what they call cyclic vomiting, got down to 97 lbs. from 125 lbs. then last year it just stopped and due to the low thyroid I put on over 40 lbs. so am trying to lose some of that, but in a healthy way. Mostly protein and veggies with low carbohydrates. Doesnt work for everyone but it seems to have worked for me ( so far ).

[Legoparis]

What is your age as I have found as I reached 60 I had to reduce my calorie intake to around 1100 per day or less to keep same weight - increasing T4 just made me feel terrible-sad truth I think is our metabolism slows down - many of my slim non -thyroid friends in same age group barely eat much in their diet.

[Angy77 in reply to Legoparis]

Hi im 47 and quite an active person, dont drink or smoke, have a healthy diet. I dont think thyroxine is doing anything for me, I am going to try some thryoid supplements to see if that gives my metabolism a boost!

[LittleFeet in reply to Angy77]

Be careful with anything , mixing with ur thyroid or any other meds.

[LittleFeet in reply to Legoparis]

Legoparis, not sure who u were addressing but I am 59 yrs. old, 5'7 and always flucuated between 120 and 130 lbs. Am now almost 30 lbs. over weight to feel healthy anyway.