Should I be on T3 only?

[Rebecks]

Hi everyone, I would appreciate any help & advice. I'm currently on 50mcg T4 & 50mcg T3 (25mcg taken in the morning & 25mcg in the afternoon). My health has greatly improved since introducing T3 but lately hypo symptoms are creeping back.

My latest results are as follows:

TSH - 0.29 (0.3 - 5.0)

FT3 - 3.21 (1.5 - 4.0)

FT4 - 0.55 (0.8 - 2.0)

RT3 - 35.2 (25.0 - 35.0)

With the help & advice on this forum, I'm considering increasing T3 to 56.25mcg but I'm not sure what to do with T4. Do I need to increase or reduce? My lab results have got me confused because I have low FT4 with high RT3. Even though I'm taking 50mcg T4 daily, FT4 levels are very low & as RT3 is high, I'm wondering whether the T4 is converted to RT3 & that maybe it's the RT3 that's causing hypo symptoms. Am I a candidate for T3 only? What will happen if I reduce T4 & possibly eventually stop taking it altogether? I'm assuming it will solve the RT3 issue but I'm worried about FT4 levels getting even lower as they are already very low...is this a problem? Also if I do decide to try T3 only, can someone advise me how to reduce T4 (in what doses) & whether I should further increase T3.

Any advice is greatly appreciated : )

[Clutter]

Rebecks,

I would increase T3 dose to 56.25 and leave Levothyroxine at 50mcg. FT4 is low because you are taking proportionally more T3 than Levothyroxine. rT3 is mildly elevated which is unlikely to be significant. If you stop taking Levothyroxine FT4 will become much lower but that's not a problem if you feel well on T3 only.

If you stop taking Levothyroxine you will need to increase T3 dose to compensate. You can increase T3 by 20mcg if you reduce Levothyroxine by 50mcg. Do have a FT3 test 6-8 weeks later to check FT3 remains within range.

[Rebecks in reply to Clutter]

Thanks for your reply Clutter & for all the good advice you give on this forum... : )