Help me understand

[Trophygirl]

Hi all can anyone help me. AboutT3 .ihave graves had. Blood test done just rang endo he told me my t3. are low so told me to stop carbimazole and have another blood test. In 2weeks.told him I am feeling very unwell my eyes are bad too .he said it could be virul.don't understand what t3 are and what they do .thannk you for any advice.

[Valarian]

T3 is one of two thyroid hormones (the other one is T4) checked when our thyroids are hyperactive, as is typical with Graves' disease. It regulates much of what goes on in our bodies, for example affecting metabolism, heart rate and the ability to regulate body temp. Because it does so much, when the levels are too high or too low, we feel absolutely awful.

People who are hyperthyroid often produce too much of this hormone, so the endos typically prescribe carbimazole, which is an anti- thyroid drug, to bring the levels down to the point where your thyroid starts (or at least gets the opportunity to start) operating normally again.

It's difficult to get the doses right, which is why we have regular blood tests. Sometimes the endo prescribes a thyroid replacement called levothyroxine alongside the carbimazole. In this case, you are unlikely to end up being hypothyroid (i.e. levels too low) as a result of being over-medicated, but need to take a high dose of carbimazole throughout treatment. Alternatively, they prescribe a high dose of carbimazole at the beginning, and 'titrate' or reduce it until they reach a minimum dose, by which point hopefully the thyroid will be functioning normally. However, because under this regime no thyroid replacement is prescribed, it is possible to end up hypothyroid.

The low level of T3 might actually be good news - your T3 levels may be back to normal, but the high dose of carbimazole is driving them below range.

Hopefully you will begin to feel better within a couple of days, as the carbimazole wears off, and if not, you can arrange to see the endo again after your next blood test. (If you begin to feel much worse before then, make an appointment with your GP or endo). Your GP's surgery will be able to give you a copy of your most recent bloods if you ask for them, and some kind person here should be able to help you interpret them.

Re the eye problems - if they are down to a virus, they should have cleared up by your next endo appointment. If they are down to an allergy (I had much worse hay fever when my Graves was at its worst earlier this year), antihistamine should relieve it. If your eyes still feel bad in a week or so, write down all your symptoms so you don't forget them, and discuss with the endo , specifically asking for reassurance that you haven't got symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease. (Someone here may chip in with some advice on TED).

If you have had a virus, it could be contributing to you feeling generally unwell. The thyroid sometimes looms so large in our lives, it's easy to forget we can get 'ordinary ' coughs, colds, headaches and viruses !

Hope you feel better soon Trophygirl.

[Valarian]

By the way, how much carbimazole were you on, and when did you start taking it ? Was anything else prescribed, by either your endo, or possibly your GP ?

[Heloise]

This website can answer lots of questions for you, this one is about Graves.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/g...