Day 6 on t3 only -what a difference!When to inc... - Thyroid UK

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Day 6 on t3 only -what a difference!When to increase my dose?

Ari3 profile image
Ari3
9 Replies

It is my 6th day on t3 and I can not explain what a difference has it made .iam on a very low dose -first three days on 5mcg and than now on 5mcg twice a day (7am and 15:00pm) .Just a question-when should I increase my dose and how much ? And how long should I wait for any increasment ? Should I increase one dose at a time?

I can not thank to t3 what it is doing to me -my pains are easing down from allergic reaction I had of Levothyroxine.I feel so energetic today after so so many months of misery and pain ! I even cleaned house and washed clothes ! I know it’s a long road for me to go to set my right dose and final but those people who went through the same situation as me will understand what iam talking about.My body is warm 36.7C I sleep better mood wise -energy is back! I still study Paul Robinson’s book and try to work out few things .I have ordered Wobenzym N also having enzymes with my meals and probiotics supplements-such a differece.Soon my adrenals will be sorted by nutritionist! I hope this will lead to the best days of my life!

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Ari3
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9 Replies
marsaday profile image
marsaday

What else do you take ?

If feeling good, there is no reason to go higher. You really want to let what the T3 is doing to you to settle down and allow it to interact with your other hormones. There are knock on effects to the other hormones, namely adrenal ones.

I would be wanting to see what a month is like on this dose and assess from there. I feel you went up much to quickly doing an increase after only 3 days.

Ari3 profile image
Ari3 in reply to marsaday

I was on Levothyroxine before 50mcg (but couldn’t go higher as I had severe allergic reaction to it and 50mcg wasn’t my final dose) .So my private endo told me to start t3 .He told me to start on t3 as 5mcg for couple of days and than 5mcg twice a day which makes 10mcg roughtly 50mcg of Levothyroxine if iam not wrong.So I took 5mcg for three days (bare in mind that I was off Levothyroxine more than a week already and didn’t commence anything and my hypo symptoms worsened ) and than I felt I need more so I followed endo plan and took second dose .He also told my to take second dose at bed time but personally I think it wouldn’t make me sleep so I took first dose at 7 am and second at 15:00.So now shall I keep myself on this dose for couple of weeks and than increase?m slowly again? Of course I have hypo symptoms -constipation hair loss pimples and acne on back and jaw line n face hissing in ears etc.As I just started my treatment.apart from my mood nothing has changed maybe I should wait and see one or two weeks on this dose and than increase?

marsaday profile image
marsaday

I would wait as long as you can on the lowest dose. If things are good at the moment, don't change it.

Acne is not a typical hypoT symptom. Possibly more to do with the adrenals over compensating for bad thyroid performance and so you get more testosterone put into the system.

The body makes about 2-3mcg T3 per hour, so replicating this can be a good idea.

you want to creep up on the correct T3 replacement dose for your body. Some people need very large doses over 50mcg, some need around 25mcg. A typical daily dosage for T3 only replacement is 25-75mcg.

I found anything over 55mcg T3 only made me hypothyroid !! To much thyroid hormone can also make use hypo and not HYPER as normally expected, so watch for this. I think in my case the body was very good at protecting itself and so was able to shut down when the T3 level got to high.

I found T3 only not to be a long term success. A minority of people do better on T3 only. Hopefully it will be your answer. I would follow the Paul Robinson T3 blog. He uses T3 only (about 50mcg i think per day) and has written some good books on how to approach this topic.

Finally some T3 at bedtime, as your endo suggests, is a good idea. I take my T4 at bedtime, but T4 is known as the night hormone. T3 is more stimulating and so taking a lot at bedtime may work against some people and keep them wired.

A 2.5mcg T3 dose is a good bedtime dose.

phoenix23002 profile image
phoenix23002

Ari3... Especially when dosing T 3, it is always a wise precaution to start keeping a daily log... nothing fancy... take your body temp and heart rate about 3 pm each day (this is when readings are at maximum as a rule), note your dosage and how you are feeling.

Your goal is normal body temp at 3 pm and feeling good. If you see numbers rising and you are feeling anxious, irritable, trouble sleeping, time to back down to a previous lower dosage of T 3. Be sure to have labs done at the 6 - 8 weeks mark and see how you are doing. You need Free T 3, Free T 4, antibody numbers and, of course, make sure your D 3, B 12 and iron numbers are optimal, not just within range, but optimal. Otherwise, it is hard to stabilize thyroid med dosages.

Ari3 profile image
Ari3

All is alright it is just muscle pain iam getting in both arms and legs-what it could be? yesterday i didnt have any pain what so ever could it be cause body is adjusting or something else? it starts to worry me...my back is also in pain-muscles. so sore temp is 37

EleanorM-G profile image
EleanorM-G

Go slow. T3 can be amazing stuff for some. But....Taking too much T3 can be dangerous and will also make you feel awful.

After any increase/decrease, I wait 6wks, re test, and alter my dose accordingly.

Good luck.

Ari3 profile image
Ari3 in reply to EleanorM-G

should i stay on 5 mcg for now for a bit than and than move to 5mcg increasment?

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7

Take it slow and steady. My instruction said once up to 2 grains then increase in quarters but I couldn't get that feeling of getting there! Saw Endo who looked at my readings and dropped me back to 1.75! Turns out that was where I needed to be but I had missed my sweet spot as went from 1.5 to 2.0 grains! Easily done but a good lesson to learn-being slightly over feels the same as being slightly under! So when I think my meds aren't right now I always drop back first before I think of increasing as it's easier to work out where you are then see if bloods confirm.

EleanorM-G profile image
EleanorM-G

I have no medical training, but if it were me, I’d go back to the dose you started on. Then do a blood test in 6-8wks to see where you are. Most feel best with their T3 in the upper quarter of the range, as a guide, but everyone is different.

As someone wisely said above, you good miss your sweet spot by going up too far, too fast, & bring over medicated feels as bad as under medicated.

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