T3

[redhead99]

hi im new here , was diagnosed with underactive thyroid in November 2011, since then i have had varying doses of levo from 25mg to 200mg am now on 125mg . My gp today told me that all is normal despite my five stone weight gain since diagnosis, "you can not get t3 on the national health as not enough is known about it " ." If you buy it or start taking it i wont be monitoring it, l was speaking to an Endocronologist and was advised that levo is the only treatment available " ."Your weight gain and low mood could be to do with something else" . Not specified as to what though. I am in Northern Ireland and at the end of my tether can anyone help as to how i would get further help ? My gp suggested i might go private !

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

redhead99 Did you ask him about T3 for him to make that statement?

Do you have any thyroid test results you can post? Your current ones, with their reference ranges. If you have any older ones, particularly when dose changes were made, that would help us to understand why you've had your dose reduced. If you don't have them, ask your surgery for a print out, we are entitled to our results under the Data Protection Act.

The tests needed are

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid Antibodies TPO and TG (although TG are almost never done)

Any vitamins and minerals? Particularly

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Do you take any other medication?

Do you have any gut issues?

[redhead99 in reply to SeasideSusie]

yes i asked if she could prescibe it for me and what posted at first was her answer ! I take a b12 supplement calcium as was told i have thinning bones , and 20mg fluxoxetine antidepressent . Last time i saw her she asked if i wanted to up the dose of antidepressant !

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to redhead99]

Do you take a B Complex alongside your B12, that's needed to balance all the B vitamins.

Was your calcium tested by your GP, is she prescribing the calcium and keeping an eye on your level?

The antidepressant won't be helping, and if you're undermedicated then your low mood could be down to you still being symptomatic and the antidepressant may not be needed if you are optimally treated with optimal nutrient levels.

[redhead99 in reply to SeasideSusie]

yes calcium defieciency was noted after bone density scan was done , i take 4 pills a day two in morning two at night Adcal D3 caplets 750mg . I did nt know about the b complex i just buy the b12 and take myself .

[greygoose in reply to redhead99]

How can they tell your calcium level from a bone density scan? Surely it has to be a blood test. They may find thinning bones, but that doesn't automatically mean that you are deficient in calcium. Bones need lots of vitamins and minerals to form and stay healthy. In fact, magnesium is far more important than calcium. Have they prescribed magnesium?

Taking calcium supplements isn't a terribly good thing to do. Just taking vit D3 will increase your absorption of calcium from food, so calcium supplements often aren't necessary. But, if you absolutely must take them, then do take some vit K2-MK7 with it, to make sure it goes into the bones, and doesn't build up in the soft tissues.

[redhead99 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks greygoose , yes she did a blood test as well , which showed i was low in calcium.

[greygoose in reply to redhead99]

OK, but do take some magnesium and vit K2-MK7. And, if I were you, I would do some research into bones and calcium.

Is she keeping a strict eye on your calcium levels? If not, remind her! You do not want excess calcium.

[redhead99 in reply to greygoose]

i will ask her next tues when i get my thyroid printouts , i ll post them when i have them.

[greygoose in reply to redhead99]

OK

[redhead99 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks again 🙂

[greygoose in reply to redhead99]

You're welcome.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to redhead99]

Since the body generally steals calcium from bones to keep the blood levels normal, having low blood calcium might mean a problem with the parathyroid.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to redhead99]

There was a study (possibly in Sweden) that showed that the more you supplemented calcium the more likely you were to get osteoporosis and fractures. D3 and K2 is what you want, not calcium, which just ends up in the soft tissues and arteries.

[shaws Administrator]

I really wonder why doctors who are inept and poorly trained about conditions/symptoms of hypothyrodism try to frighten patients into submission.

First of all the problem could be your dose of levothyroxine, i.e. insufficient.

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

Weight gain is the commonest question on the forum.

What you need is a Free T4 and Free T3 blood test. T4 (levothyroxine) is inactive and has to convert to T3 (liothyronine) and the only active hormone required in our billions of receptor cells.

We can survive without T4 but not without T3 if you are not good at converting T4 into T3. Getting the above two tests will throw some light onto whether or not you are on an optimum dose. Read on the following link about FT4 and FT3 which are rarely if ever done. We have recommended labs which will do them but am not sure if Ireland would be included but you might be able to get a local lab to do them. Some are postal tests and you could enquire.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Many in the UK have had T3 withdrawn due to the company raising the cost from about £29 to over £300 per month.

This statement is pure fantasy:-

you can not get t3 on the national health as not enough is known about it "

Many on this forum have added T3 but had to source it privately but there has been a shortage on it for some time now. If someone has info they'll send you a Private Message as no information is permitted on the forum.

Several Researchers have shown that adding T3 to T4 alleviates many of the patient's clinical symptoms.

We should have no clinical symptoms if optimally mediated with a FT4 and FT3 towards the upper part of the range.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Blood tests should be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose of levo and test and take afterwards. Also take levo with one full glass of water and wait about an hour before eating. Eating interferes with the uptake of hormones.

Always get a print-out of your results with the ranges for your own records and you can post if you have a query.

You can source NDT (natural dessicated thyroid hormones) which was the very original replacement for hypothyroid people from 1892 up till levothyroxine was introduced. NDT contains all of the hormones a healthy gland would have, T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. This was prescribed up until a few years ago when they BTA stopped and insisted on levothyroxine alone.

Your B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate should be optimal too.

[redhead99 in reply to shaws]

im am getting a printout of my results next tuesday as that was the first available appointment .

[SlowDragon Administrator]

You also need to know if you have high thyroid antibodies. Do you know if these were ever tested?

If TPO antibodies were high at any point, then cause of being hypo is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto's (but medics hate using term Hashimoto's) Autoimmune is the most common reason in Uk for being hypo.

If you have Hashimoto's then need to consider possible hidden food intolerances, usually gluten.

Also extremely common to have low B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D

All these issues really need sorting first before considering T3

As your GP sounds immensely unhelpful you might want to get full blood test done privately

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Most popular test from Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or from Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven. Both are DIY finger prick test, or option to get private blood draw. £99 Both companies often run money off offers.

There are plenty on here who are prescribed T3 via NHS, but due to recent extortionate price increase (price solely increased to NHS in UK, not elsewhere) it is now increasingly difficult to get NHS to fund it. Other options are private prescription which can allow access to lower cost T3 from France or Germany mainly, or self medicating without prescription from elsewhere, but increasing difficult supply issues as so many have had NHS prescription withdrawn inappropriately on grounds of cost.

british-thyroid-association...

[redhead99 in reply to SlowDragon]

thankyou to all who replied 🙂 i will post my test results next week when i get them. I am going to uk Newcastle Upon Tyne to visit my daughters on June 29th for a week , if anyone has any info on anyone to seek out there would be greatly appreciated....

[Maranello46]

I'm new here too, I have come off my tablets as I feel absolutely no different, I have gone on amazon and you can buy T3 from them, so next pay day I will be placing an order, xx

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Maranello46]

You can't buy T3 on Amazon UK. It's not liothyronine they are selling but a diet supplement called "t3" or "t-3" or even "T5". Don't be fooled.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

100% endorse that, Angel.

I love to see people who put up products like that prosecuted. They might as well be removing money from our wallets.

[redhead99 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

so i assume Angei you don t know of any good endo s in the Newcastle area then ?? ☹

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to redhead99]

Nope. But someone else might.

[redhead99 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thanks.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to redhead99]

Redhead99 - email [e-mail] for the list of thyroid friendly endos, see who is in your area then ask for feedback from members (they will have to reply by PM)

[redhead99 in reply to SeasideSusie]

will do , thanks Susie.

[Maranello46 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Ok thanks for letting me know, is there any where I can by it, as I just want to feel normal (what ever that is) again and stay awake a few more hours xx