I am writing on behalf of a friend. She has been hyper for a while now due wrong medications levels, but now her doctor lowered the dosage of T4 and T3, and the levels have improved, yet she still is a bit hyper and only now, after it has been improved slightly, she has started to get some of the symptoms of hyper like occasional night sweats and finer hair. Is it possible to get hyper symptoms even after she is now less hyper than before or is it unlikely and should be contributed to something else? thank you xxx
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yuliyam
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If she was taking T4 and T3, she was hypO, not hypER, but possibly over-medicated. The problem often lies with the fact that doctors understand little of thyroid problems and don't always do the right tests. It could be that the doctor has reduced her dose too far, and what she's experiencing are actually hypo symptoms. Hypo and hyper symptoms often cross over, there's no rigid line between them. But, it's impossible to say anymore, without see her blood test results.
I've never heard of finer hair being a hyper symptom. Sounds more hypo to me. Also, it would take a long time for her hair to become finer, it doesn't happen over-night. What sort of time scales are we talking about it? It's difficult to answer questions hypothetically like that, we really need more detail.
OK, so her FT3 is still slightly over-range, so yes, she is still over-medicated. She needs to reduce her dose again. How much T3 and how much T4 is she taking? When was the last reduction made? By how much?
Thank you so much for correcting me. I am not sure about T4, but as for T3, she used to take 125 mcg per day and now it is 100mcg per day. So do you think her occasional night sweats can still be due to being over-medicated?
Is she self-treating? Because 125 mcg T3 + T4, is a huge dose, and I can't imagine any doctor putting her on such a dose.
You don't say how much she reduced by or when, but I think it might be a good idea to stop all hormone for a couple of days, get some of it out of her system, and during that time, find out some more details :
How much T4 is she taking?
When did she reduce her dose?
By how much did she reduce her dose?
She doesn't want to reduce too rapidly, or it will stress her body.
Yes, I believe she is self-treating after doctors did not prescribe T3 only T4 for her hypothyroid and she felt worse after. She may have started taking T4 all together, I will find out, sorry. As for the period. After she received the first blood result "the before one" two months ago, she immediately cut T3 by 25 mcg and has been taking it ever since.
Thank you again. For the first test, she took T3 several hours before the test (did not know she should not take it) and for the second test (the "after" one) she did not take T3 for 10 hours before the test
Did your friend take T3 before her blood test? T3 peaks in the blood for up to 6 hours so she should leave 8-12 hours between last dose and blood draw. If she did that she is still overmedicated and should reduce T3 dose.
Overmedication can cause hair loss. My hair was coming out in clumps when my FT3 was over range and it stopped after my FT3 was back in range.
Thank you for your answer. This is what I know. For the first test, she took T3 several hours before the test (did not know she should not take it) and for the second test (the "after" one) she did not take T3 for 10 hours before the test
She is still very overmedicated then. I suggest she skips T3 altogether for a few days to let some of the excess wash out and then resume 75mcg and retest in 6 weeks.
Hairloss is a typical hyperthyroid symptom and it is not uncommon to develop small bald patches. Overmedication also causes hairloss but less likely to result in bald patches. My hair came out in clumps when my FT3 was over range.
But she didn't say her friend was losing her hair, she said her hair was 'fine' - not thin. For me, that's not the same thing. You can have fine hair without having bald patches.
Like I said, you guys are phenomenal with all the knowledge and help. Yes, it is more about finer hair for her rather then balding, but of course it may look that way to her because there are less hair now
She says her hair appears finer, but has not came out in clumps. Congrats on resolving that issue! I think she is worried more about occasional night sweats and hopes it can be attributed to FT3 rather than anything even scarier
She's taking less, but not enough less - if you see what I mean. She's still over-medicated, and therefore will have the symptoms of over-medication. She should feel better after a couple of days off the hormone, and restarting on a lower dose.
Just in case she's unaware. Why was she taking so much T3 - did she think she should dose the same amount as the T4? T3 is much more potent than T4 and 60mcg is normally considered maximum dose for an adult who's taking T3 only - this would also be reduced if taking T4 as well. THere are a few people who need more for various reasons but not commonly - most I think take about 50mcg. I have no thyroid function at all so produce nothing of my own and only need 30mcg T3 and 25mcgT4.
Just thought I'd mention the differences between the two if helps make better decisions next time
If I could just add my two cents: regardless of whether she's hypo or hyper, while her levels are changing and fluctuating she's going to have all kinds of symptoms. It takes a good 6-8 weeks of being at a CONSISTENT dose for your body to adjust to the changes, so she can't treat and change her doses based on how she's feeling in a particular week.
In my personal experience, whenever me and my doctor tweak my meds, even a small amount, I go through about 5 weeks of rollercoaster hell of symptoms while my body adjusts to the new level of medication. After that, then I can determine if I feel like I'm at the right dosage or not. That's also why they don't do blood testing more frequently than 6-8 weeks apart.
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