Lowering T3 dose- feel really weird. (Take T3 only not T4)

[Nutripea1220]

Hi All,

Thank you all for your help so far. I was on 125 T3, but due to symptoms of feeling possibly overmedicated, and gaining weight, I have cut back to 75 -100 for the last 5 days (alternating each day) . I woke up this morning feeling really shaky, my heart is racing (like I'm hyper), but can't be... I feel weird, like there's pressure in my brain. Dizzy, short of breath. I feel horrible. Should I stick this out?. My doctor told me to increase (not decrease) but I was afraid of how much I was taking, and my Ft3 was already high. Has anyone experienced this? I feel like I can barely move. No energy, I just want to sleep but my heart is pounding.

[Clutter]

Nutripea,

You don't say how far FT3 was over range but dose reductions should be gradual not in 50mcg increments. I would have reduced from 125mcg to 112.5mcg for six weeks and retested to see whether FT3 had dropped into range before making further adjustment.

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

Just in case you didn't see nutripea has responded 🙂

[Clutter in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, Rusty64.

[Nutripea1220]

My Ft3 was 5.4 (2.3-4.2)

Vit D 47 (30-100)

Ft4 0.26 (0.8-1.8)

TSH 0.008

Iron 123 (40-160)

I feel as bad on 75-100 as I did on 125 though less hungry. I never felt hyper. But my Ft3 looks pretty high right? 😪 does it HAVE to be in range to be safe? My doctor doesn't seem to mind if it's higher as long as I feel ok... but I don't. However I don't feel hyper. So frustrated. Feel hypo... with a racing heart. He says my heart is racing because it needs MORE medication. So confused.

[Clutter in reply to Nutripea1220]

Nutripea1220,

You weren't madly over range so reducing dose by 12.5mcg would almost certainly have been sufficient. Why not try 112.5mcg and see how that feels?

If your heart was racing on 125mcg it is more likely overmedication. You certainly weren't undermedicated as TSH is very suppressed and FT3 over range. FT3 ovr range for long periods increases the risks of developing atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis.

If your heart is racing on 75-100mcg you probably are undermedicated.

VitD 47 is suboptimal. Optimal is around 100. I would supplement 5,000iu D3 daily x 6 weeks and then reduce to 5,000iu alternate days and retest in April. Take vitD 4 hours away from T3.

Iron looks good.

[Nutripea1220 in reply to Clutter]

Clutter thank you so much for all this! My reply button is grey (I'm using a phone app) 😐 I hope you get this.

I am admittedly a terrible patient. I try something for 5 days then give up. I've never tried anything for 6 weeks consistently. I will take more vitamin D as you suggest and try the 112.5 dose. I don't know why I think I can get away with such cavalier dosage. I go up and down as I please and wonder why I feel awful. It's just SO frustrating (urrrrfggggghhhh!!!!!!) that the symptoms are the same for hypo and hyper... I mean how the heck can we ever know? 😫

I think I'm also very tired. Not sleeping, which isn't unusual for me sadly and when I'm tired, everything feels bad.

[Clutter in reply to Nutripea1220]

ps, If you reply use the green Reply tab and I'll be sent an email and onsite notification.

[ljk1 in reply to Nutripea1220]

Why don't you trust your Doctor? I have read your other posts and you don't follow any advice,it sounds to me that you are suffering from anxiety attacks and panicking, I'm sure he could help you more if you explained to him?

[Nutripea1220 in reply to ljk1]

You have a valid point. He is wonderful. I was concerned about raising t3 dose when I am Already out of range. He believes bloodwork doesn't matter as much as symptoms --Which I greatly respect! I don't want my heart to stop though and have read too much on the horrors of taking too much. It's true, I can be an anxious person, I am also overly concerned about my weight because of my work.

[SilverAvocado]

Nutripea1220, I agree that this was a large drop in dose. Also different sides on alternate days with T3 sounds like a bad idea, as there half life is approx 6 hours. You're just jerking yourself around giving your body a different experience each day. It works with T4 because the half life is 6 days, so it stays in your body for ages and all events out.

You don't mention whether you split your dose through the day, but it's definitely a good idea to do that with T3. When I started splitting mine I had a huge improvement in my symptoms all day.

When adjusting dose it's extremely important to persevere and stay on doses for a consistent amount of time. It takes the body a while to settle and relax on a specific dose. It's my experience that I often get unpleasant experiences over the first few weeks on a new dose, and have had changes in how it feels even months after trying a particular dose. It's always a bit of a stress being on a new dose, and it can feel hypo or hyper for a while, but that's got nothing to do with how you'll feel once it's settled in.

[Bettan]

Reducing T3 on alternate days is not such a good idea. Instead try to reduce the t3 dosage gradually but daily and you may feel better. (based on own experience) Good Luck!