So I’ve been taking Tiromel for weight loss, got my bloods back and my results will be added.
What I want to know is, if I stop taking T3 all together, how long will it take for my natural/normal thyroid function to kick back in?
I want to stop as the swelling/puffyness in my face is getting unbearable and very noticeable to everyone!
Thanks
Did you have a diagnosis of Hypothyroidism before taking T3 and did you have a conversion problem?
T3 is not for weight loss, it's thyroid hormone replacement, and taking it when you don't need it can cause health problems.
No, everything was fine. I was an idiot whom took this as adviced by someone at the gym to lose weight.
Oh dear.
I honestly can't answer your question I'm afraid. How much were you taking and how long for.
50 mcg per day for around 2 months. I was at the doctors today however getting the results as posted .
I don’t want to completely stop them and have no functioning thyroid means at all and pile on the weight.
Desperate to know how long it will take for my normal thyroid to return.
50mcg is an enormous amount if you aren't hypothyroid. I take 50mcg but am hypothyroid.
Oh dear! Unless you are very large, that's a huge amount, so reduce by no more than 1/4 tablet a day as i said earlier and stick at a particular dose for longer if you feel very bad. Minimum time to come off it will be about 7-8 weeks. You might want to go slower
You may never get your proper thyroid function back, but the usual gym recommendation is to reduce by 1/4 tablet per day for a week, each week until you are taking no T3. So if you are taking one tablet a day, reduce to 3/4 a day for week 1, then 1/2 in week 2 and so on. You might need to take it more slowly if you were taking t3 for more than a few weeks.
What sort of problems would you encounter Susie if you actually didnt need it?
Depends on how much you took and how long for but heart problems can be a result.
Just as an example, I changed brands. With my original brand I took 31.25mcg T3 with my Levo. I did a straight swap, same amount of the new brand. My resting pulse, normally in the 70s shot up to 117. My blood pressure shot up 195/?? (Can't remember) and I was feeling very jittery. I stopped, left off T3 for 2 days and things settled down, reintroduced the new brand at 6.25mcg and worked up gradually. I now take 25mcg of it.
I'm guessing that is impossible to say as we are all unique apart from anything else, but with respect its not your weight you need to worry about its your health. did you go straight onto 50 mcg daily or did you build up to that amount?
I done 2mcg for a week then upto the 50.
Have you lost weight and how are you feeling apart from the swelling and puffy face?
A wee bit and other than that ok.
Well, there we go then, just a wee bit with that large dose and all the risks associated with it. Not worth it then really. Not the miracle weight loss pill that it's sometimes cracked up to be. Just come off it Leigh-Anne. We all make mistakes but for the sake your health come off it and chock it up to experience.
I wish you all the best.
Thanks so much for not being judgmental! I know I’ve done wrong, thanks again.
It is a big misconception that T3 is for weight loss although I know that some, particularly body builders misuse this vital hormone.
If you were not diagnosed as being hypothyroid, you should never take thyroid hormones for weight loss alone.
If we take T3 (if hypothyroid) it reduces our T4 level and that's why yours is showing low and the reason why your FT4 level is well below the range (if people don't have hypothyroidism).
You just have to stop T3 and in about three weeks have another blood test to see if your 'normal' T4 and T3 are back within the range.
The blood test should be at the very earliest, fasting.
I completely understand I should never have took it now and deeply regret it, however, when your going on the advice by someone in the gym sometimes (me being me) I’m going to listen- well not anymore obvcourse.
The fact that you were taking 50mcg of T3 which is equal to around 200mcg of levothyroxine which quite near the top for people who are hypothyroid. It takes quite some time to reach 200 and the start dose is 50mcg, with 25mcg every six weeks.
Oh god! That’s made me realise how drastic this is!
I think I’ll cut down to 1x Mcg tablet per day until January and go cold turkey
Sometimes our desires overtake our common sense but the commonest question on this forum is about unexplained weight gain which is also a clinical symptom of hypothyroidism. So it stands to reason something which sounds good and could/may assist weight loss is very tempting. We are after all only human and none of us are perfect.
Don't beat yourself up - just reduce as you suggest and I am sure you'll be fine.
Thank-you! Just scared to immediately come off it now and pile weight on.
Leigh-Anne01,
1 tablet is 25mcg. You can stop taking 50mcg tomorrow. It will take 3.5-4 days from last dose for the T3 to start clearing your system. You should be clear 2-3 weeks after last dose and thyroid levels will probably be normal after 4-6 weeks.
Thanks!
50mcg T3 is a massive dose for someone to take who is not hypothyroid. There are people who are hypothyroid who can only manage 5mcg or 10mcg per day. It will be a shock to your system if you come off it suddenly. I would suggest dropping by half a tablet every 4 - 5 days or so until you stop altogether.
But you can expect to feel hypothyroid for a while, because your thyroid will have to start producing hormones again at normal levels for you, and that may take a while.
Whether you will have done any permanent damage to your hormone balance I couldn't say - you'll have to wait and see.
Do you know how well your thyroid was functioning before you took the T3?
Based on gym experience, I'd say that was too fast.
I've just read your post above. I hadn't realised it would have to be that slow. Thanks for the info.
You might be able to go faster at the very beginning esp if you feel overmedicated now (sweats, anxiety, high heart rate diarrhea etc), but if you reduce too fast, your own hormones won't kick in right away so you'll feel appalling. But I think it's worth finding out if you were actually hypo to start with. If you are really hypo, you might find you actually do well on a slightly lower dose than you are on now. It's also worth finding out your B12, folate, ferritin and D3.
AOTN,
Why is it too fast? I came off 60mcg for 2 weeks prior to RAI and 4 days during.
Just from observation, it tends to take a long time to regain natural thyroid function (esp if weight training and not really hypo). Years ago, I came off 25mcg in 3 weeks and put on 3.5 stone over the next 6 weeks (and felt appalling. If you are having RAI, you don't expect to get natural function back (as you won't have a functioning thyroid any more) and it is just for a short time, so not quite the same. Some people do fine more quickly, but a lot don't. Plus the OP may actually be hypo and need some meds.
Hang on a minute, before you start panicking and beating yourself up, those labs, are they on 50 mcg T3? Your FT3 is not over-range, which I'm sure it would be if you took 50 mcg T3 without needing it! Do you have any labs from before you started taking it? Because it's always possible that you were hypo and did need it. Just because your doctor didn't diagnose you, doesn't mean you weren't hypo!
Don't worry about your FT4 and TSH. They are where one would expect them to be for someone on T3 only. But, seems to me that, if you weren't hypo, and your thyroid had been functioning normally, your FT4 would be higher than that.
But, the most important question is : how do you feel taking 50 mcg T3? Do you have a racing heart? Diarrhea? Feeling anxious and nervy? Climbing the curtains and smoking the curtain rail (as the French would say)? Or do you feel better in any way than you did before?
However, the mistake you made was to increase too quickly, even if you did need it! And that might make you feel weird. But, as you've been taking it for two months now, I think you would know if you didn't need it.
So, if you've got pre-T3 labs, post them, and let's have a look. I don't think you've done yourself any damage because your FT3 isn't over-range.
I don’t have any previous labs, can only go on what the doctor said and that was that my thyroid was completely normal then (this was in June). I’ve read online that having low t4 can cause many symptoms one being the swelling/puffyness and my face really is bad the now for others to immediately notice it, aswell as me feeling it!
It's low T3 that causes symptoms, T4 is the storage hormone that is converted into T3. But, certainly, a puffy face can be a symptom of low T3.
Can you ask your doctor for the last thyroid test results he did? They must be on your records. It would be good for you to know. Are you in the UK?
You pituitary will pick up quickly and release TSH to stimulate your thyroid. It will take a few weeks for your T4 levels to build up. I would halve your dose now and then discontinue it in a couple of weeks. The longer you go with your TSH more or less suppressed the more likely your pituitary will down-regulate and not be able to produce it's full amount of TSH in the long term. It's better to feel a bit tired for a few weeks rather than carry on as you are. Hopefully you will be back to normal in a couple of months.
Whilst some hypothyroid patients have no choice but to be on T3 it is not perfect. Some tissues require T3 from the blood and some use T4 to convert to T3 as and when they need it. So, if you switch to T3 only (by suppressing your natural production of T4) you can get inconsistent tissue response. This might explain your puffiness. Unfortunately, the heart gets a lot of its T3 directly from the blood, so by taking T3 you are putting a strain on it.
I’m going to half it to 1x 25mcg tablet per day for a few weeks then come completely off it and hope/pray what your saying is rite . Hoping it will just take a few weeks then to get back to normal.
This is an interesting comment about long-term TSH suppression...I have been wondering about that lately as other doctors than the one treating my thyroid condition keep telling me I need to normalise my TSH without delay. I have had a suppressed TSH for over ten years, first on T4 only after a doctor told me patients with Hashi's need a below range TSH to calm antibody activity, and then on NDT which seems to suppress my TSH below 0.05 even if I only take 1 grain...I have been playing with the idea lately of going back on T4 only long enough to make doctors shut up, and then go back on NDT, but maybe it's not that simple when you've had a suppressed TSH for years...? I know it's not directly related to the original question, but wanted to reacted to your comment about long-term TSH suppression and the ability of the pituitary gland to "come back to life"...
I've never heard of a suppressed TSH calming antibody activity, I think it's a load of nonsense. Antibody activity tends to settle down after the thing the antibodies are attacking has gone. i.e. after the thyroid has been destroyed by the antibodies.
The pituitary will come back but may underperform, specifically the thyrotrope, not the whole pituitary. If you go onto levothyroxine only and you get a very low TSH with average fT3 and fT4 you know the pituitary (thyrotrope) is underperforming.
Jimh111,
Suppressing TSH reduces thyroid activity which can help reduce Hashimoto's and Graves activity. Graves TED patients post thyroidectomy may be advised to keep TSH suppressed to protect eyes.
I've never heard of this. Hashimoto's is the result of an autoimmune response to thyroid tissue. I guess if you give large doses of thyroid hormone that shrink the thyroid there will be less autoimmunity. But, the object is to achieve clinical euthyroidism, not throtoxicosis and perhaps make use of any residual thyroid funtion. It comes back to the autoimmunity being a response to thyroid tissue - do you promote a slow decline / long period of autoimmunity or let things progress and perhaps have higher autoimmunity for a shorter time.
In Graves' normalising thyroid hormone levels is a priority. However, it seems that it is the autoimmunity per se that harms the eyes, so I guess it might make sense to shrink the thyroid in this case. This presents a conflict, to balance the harmful effects of thyrotoxicosis against a presumption that the thyroid tissue is promoting thyroid receptor antibodies. In this case I'd prefer a thyroidectomy as it will cure both the thyrotoxicosis and the theorectical antibody stimulus. In either case you are stopping production of thyroid hormone and reliant on thyroid tablets.
Jimh111,
Thyroidectomy does not eradicate Graves which can go on to attack other organs, usually the eyes. TSH suppression is recommended to avoid stimulation of Graves in TED patients.
Even a small amount of remnant thyroid can 'attract' Hashimoto's so unless a radical thyroidectomy for thyCa is done Hashimoto's may not resolve. Again, TSH suppression can reduce stimulation of Hashi's and reduce frequency and intensity of attacks.
OK, we're going in circles! Eye damage in Graves' comes form the antibodies. I was just searching for a reason why TSH suppression might reduce TSH receptor antibodies. Again I don't see how TSH can stimulate Hashi antibodies which are antibodies against thyroid tissue - other than reducing thyroid volume. I haven't seen any accredited recommendations to use TSH suppression in the treatment of Hashi's or Graves', which is why I have never heard of it.
Clutter are there any studies on this as I may need written evidence to convince my GP that suppression is needed to keep TED at bay.
Bantam12,
Definitely info in 1st link. Not sure about the other two.
goodhopeeyeclinic.org.uk/th...
rnib.org.uk/eye-health-eye-...
kellogg.umich.edu/patientca...
Clutter, Thanks for these links. The first one points out there are TSH receptors in the eye and that antibody attacks on these receptors cause problems. Logically high levels of TSH might aggravate the situation, additional stimulation to already overstimulated receptors. The paper suggests keeping the TSH slightly low. (A number of tissues other than the thyroid have TSH receptors).
bantam12 ,
If you have Graves' it is important to have expert care during the early stages as it can make a big difference. I don't have Graves' but I went to a talk in London a few months ago and the speaker made it clear that early treatment is very beneficial.
I think greygoose has a point. Are you hypothyroid but undiagnosed? You and I are on 50mcg of T3 - my blood test is 5.5 pmol/L and your is 6 and within your range.
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Not that I was ever aware of as my bloods done in June for something else but including thyroid were apparently all normal and ok. I think they would have told me if otherwise as they have done the now.
They usually only test TSH and T4. None of the others suggested above. I was never diagnosed as hypothyroid despite eventually a TSH of 100 when the top in the UK is 10 for a diagnosis. In other countries it is just over 3. I was given plenty of other diagnosis but not the right one.
The best ones for diagnosing is FT4 and FT3 plus thyroid antibodies. Rarely tested.
If you can get a print-out from the surgery of your results with the ranges. Post them on a new question. A lot who've read your post will be curious.
I think @greygoose has made a very important comment. Are you hypothyroid but undiagnosed? The reason being that you and are on the same 50mcg as I am.
My blood test is 5.5 (which is satisfactory ) (range 2.60 to 5.70) and yours is 6 and not over range on your ranges.
I suggest, when you've been off T3 completely for a few weeks get a new blood test for the following. If GP wont do all of them I'd get a private blood test from one of our labs. They do pin-prick home tests.
Ask GP for TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies. (GP or lab may not test all of them so you can get those not done privately). Ask GP to test B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate too as deficiencies can cause problems.
The blood test has to be at the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and if you were taking thyroid hormones you'd allow a 24 hour gap between last dose and test and take afterwards.
Post your results on a new question and you will get responses.
If you do another thyroid blood test you will need to leave more than a few weeks as there can be a bit of a rebound when you stop hormone treatment. I'd suggest leaving a couple of months. I'd only bother with a blood test if you have clear symptoms of hypothyroidism. My understanding is that you started T3 as a weight loss mechanism and don't have anything to suggest you are hypothyroid.
Ok, No need to beat yourself down or be beaten down. A lot of scaremongering on here.
Your thyroid functions should kick in as soon as your artificial t3 will deplete. You didn't damage your thyroid either.
I'm afraid 50mcg t3 is not much to make you lose weigh. Whoever advised you at the gym should have given you rundown on how to use it properly.
You really ought to post your question on bodybuilding forum as they're experienced in using t3 for weight loss. And yes, it does help to lose weight but you need to run proper cycle(s) and it's in varying and bigger dosing but in shorter cycles.
Don't panic, you won't die and your thyroid will get back to normal after you stop it. You may have couple days of withdrawal but that's about it. It may even go unnoticed. 👍
You won't die if you stop taking T3 but you may die if you pay attention to bodybuilding forums and take large doses of T3. Thyrotoxicity is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke. Once AF has set in for some time it may not reverse, you have to have a cardiac reversion with drugs or surgery. A history of AF will make it difficult to get health or travel insurance. The abuse of T3 for weight loss is not a good idea.
I agree with you! I deleted my previous post after all the criticism about scaremongering etc, but I reacted when a forum member recommended someone to contact body building forums to get advice on how to use T3 for weight loss...the original poster may very well be hypothyroid or borderline hypo, and thus benefit from thyroid hormone therapy, but the question was about using T3 as a weight loss drug, and I am surprised not everyone condemns that.
I don’t think they condemn it due to the fact they understand from reading my replies the innocence as such behind it. I took it with the advice from someone at the gym, when you attend a gym (well as a female whom had just started) I took the advice of the “professional”.
Yes, I understand that, and I was not criticising you in any way, just expressing my surprise at some of the comments here...
trelemorele - I dont see any scaremongering, but I do see you giving irresponsible advice.
The following is a list of clinical symptoms:
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
and interpretation of blood tests.
Weight loss, tired, depressed, lightheaded.
Milk causing throat swelling
"Tiromel is a weight loss drug....."
Weight loss
Weight loss
