I have been on 100mcg of Levo for 10 years. The past three years my symptoms became worse than ever along with weight gain. After having private bloods done, these showed what I thought might be the problem. Not converting to T3 and low in vit D and I have Auto immune disease. Which was never explained to me by GP.
I bought T3 and posted my results on here asking for your reccomendations on how to use the T3, my Dr is aware but not supportive in helping but referred on to an Endo at sometime in the future.
For the past 7 weeks i have added T3. The T3 helped so much. I started with 6.25 adding the same dose in increments until reaching the full 25mcg tablet. For two weeks I lowered T4 but gained more weight very quickly. Went back to 100mcg. Since going back on full T4 I am feeling nervy forgetful palpations only at night in bed with sweating hot flashes hair falling out more than usual its just like I was before. As though I had not had any T3. My body is not my own rapidly gaining weight swollen and what looks like cellulite on arms, body feel like someone has pumped my body up. I am taking selenium vit D & K2 vit B12. I started on the Keto diet two weeks ago to address the auto immune issues. I am gaining even more weight.
I have NOT taken T4 today. I have taken T3 in three doses .25 at 6am 12.50 at 2pm and 6.25 6pm.
I want to rid my body of T4 but have no idea how long this will take ? And would like to know how much T3 would I need to take to equal 100mcg Levothyroxine.?
I feel so sad n lost. I am desperate and do not know what else to do. I would not have an ounce of knowledge up to now if I had not found this supportive community which I am thankful for.
Sorry for the long post but tried to give as much detail as possible in the hope someone could help.
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Mishy12
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To be honest I knew little or nothing about my thyroid issue until joining this community. I was relatively well up until three years ago when it all went haywire.
Its an absolute mine field. I seriously find it too complex for my frazzled brain.
Thank God for the well educated members on here willing to give their time to help us out.
Thyroid hormone can't work unless nutrients are at optimal levels. Your B12, Folate and Vit D are nowhere near optimal.
You have Hashi's with both types of antibodies very high. Gut and absorption problems go hand in and with Hashi's so you need to follow the advice about being strictly gluten free and taking selenium to help reduce antibodies but it doesn't happen over night, you need to give it time.
In that post two weeks ago it was suggested that to know if you need to reduce Levo any more, you'll have to do another test for TSH/FT4/FT3 6 weeks after reaching 25mcg T3. You've reduced your Levo and put it back up again, and I can't quite work out how much T3 you're taking from what you've written above. You have to be patient and give dose changes chance to work, it's not a quick fix, it can take months of tweaking to find what dose (or doses of on Levo plus T3) works best for you.
Don't change both at once. If you've just altered your T3 dose then leave the levo as it is for now. My suggestion is (and I am not medically trained, can only speak from my own experience) to be stable on whatever your dose is now for 6 weeks, retest and see how your results are then. Then see how you feel, see what your results show, then decide how to tweak your dose.
T3 is approximately the equivalent of 3-4 times Levo, so 25mcg T3 is approx the equivalent of 75-1000mcg Levo.
If T4 was not converting and I take 25 T3. Would that suffice as a dose.
I wanted to know if it would it be ok to stop the T4. I dont like the thought of putting meds in my body as it is, more so if they are just sitting there doing nothing.
Mishy12 It would be less confusing if you deleted one of your accounts and just used one user name, I thought someone else had jumped on your thread.
Levo and T3 aren't meds, they're not drugs, they are hormones to replace the hormones your body can't produce.
No-one can say if you can stop the Levo. It's a case of work through tweaking doses, wait and see. By doing that, I realised that if I reduced my Levo too much, even though adding T3, my FT4 plummeted to a level where I couldn't function. Personally, I need my FT4 at a certain level so I need to take Levo as well as T3. It's not like that for everyone. Only you will know.
And no-one can say if 25mcg T3 alone will be enough, again it's an individual thing.
I only have one account Ss. Two devices. Will check this out.
Your comment is very helpful so thank you for that. I now realise that some people DO need both. Your also right that I actually dont know if I am one of these people yet.
I am pretty. Much. In the. Same. Situation. As you. I was taking. 50mcg and. Was making. Me feel worse. And worse. Unemotional. Nervous. Forgetful. Vague. Zombie. And I stopped. Taking. T4 I take. Thyroid. S and thought is was only. T3 but. My. New. Doc. Says. It's. A combo. Of T4 and t3. I feel slightly. Better. Even. Almost. Normal.but. If I take. The whole. Tablet. I cannot. Function feel nauseous. And dull headache. Eat I suspect. The T4 is. Affecting. Me a homeopath. Made. Up a Thyroid. Stimulating. Drops and I'm experimenting. With. That today. I take. A quarter. Of the sthyroid. I take. Cannabis oil. Since. Three. Months. Ago. And I suspect. It's. Calmed. Down my. Hoshimoto as I don't. Get. Anxiety. Attacks. Like. I used. To and heart. Palpitations. I think. T4. Is the evil. For. Me as. My. Body. Cannot. Handle. It. I hope. I'm off all. The. Sthyroid soon and. Wil. Be on t3 only. And my. Via d b12 magnesium. Spray and vitamins. C and B complex.
I take. Digest. Aids. And betaine as my. Digestive. Systems. Are. Sluggish. I take. Macca. Tea. Or green tea it. Is good. For. Adrenals. Cortisol. I also. Take. Collagen to repair. My. Leaky. Gut.
And adrenal support. Also. Gluten. Free. Auto immune. Paleontology diet. But. Looking. Into. Keto. Diet
I have. Not. Found. A doctor. Yet. Who. Understand s what. We go through. To feel. Normal. So this. Site. Is all important. To me and offers. Me hope
Depends what you mean by 'equivalent'. I don't think you should just jump up to a high dose, just like that. You should increase slowly. It's all very well saying T3 is 3 times more potent than T4, but if you can't convert the T4, it has no potency at all. You are already at 25 mcg T3, if I've understood correctly. If I were you, I would increase by 6.25 mcg every two weeks, until you reach 50 mcg, then hold for six weeks and test. Stop before that if you start to feel any hyper symptoms.
Been off T4 for a week now and taking 25mcg T3 only. No adverse reations until Friday getting a back ache, over the weekend pains in arms legs in my back in the kidney area n feeling lethargic. Also have had no period for 5 months but bleeding slightly, with horendous pulse pain in the area of overies. Which maybe unrelated.
Do you think this is T4 leaving the body or or am I undermedicated now.
You said to wait two weeks for T4 to clear.
I wonder if it would be ok to increase T3 by 6.25 now or should I continue to wait another week.
I actually feel well mentally but phsically I am hurting a lot.
You could try increasing T3, now, just in case you are under-medicated. I didn't actually say 'wait two weeks for the T4 to clear'. You asked me how long it took, I said about two weeks, but no reason why you shouldn't continue to increase your T3 every two weeks while it's leaving.
Are you taking it the same way you take levo? On an empty stomach, etc?
I dropped my T4 slowly as I increased my T3 as per instructions in Paul Robinson's book "Recovering with T3". And also Dr Tofts book.
IT did say that we would feel awful whilst there was still some T4 in our bodies and that it takes eight weeks for our bodies to be free of any T4 after we had stopped taking it.
I found that he was exactly correct and have been T3 only for the last four years.
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