T3 dose

[Dexterpuppy]

Dear all

I have just been prescribed T3 in the form of a 10mcg capsule that can’t be broken in half as suggested by endo. I really struggled to find a chemist to dispense it and had to wait a week. It has no manufacture name on the bottle just special in brackets.

After reading another post about the different manufacturers and ‘best strength’ would anyone have an idea why these had to apparently be made specially?

I don’t actually feel any different and am still taking 50mcg of Levo normal non brand and withering whether I would do better on T3 only at a higher dose and no T4? Or a NDT?

I only got the T3 as I broke down in Endos office after having to resign from my well paid job of 4 years due to feeling so exhausted and ill constantly. I think it actually hit home to him how unwell I actually am to give up a job like that.

Thank you in advance for any advice

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

How come you can't open the capsule? They tend to be in two halves joined together, it's possible to gently prise them apart (keeping contents tipped into one half) then tip our approximately half and then rejoin the two halves of the capsule.

[Dexterpuppy in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi Susie

Oh I didn’t think you could do that I thought it had to be swallowed in the capsule? So I could tip half into a drink then ?

Not that I’d want to as 10 is not doing anything for me yet I feel no different.

Thank you

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Dexterpuppy]

Unless it's something containing acid, like Betaine HCl (for low stomach acid), then there isn't a problem. The capsule shell just ensures it gets to the stomach before dissolving (assuming you have no problem swallowing capsules and it doesn't get stuck half way down!). I did it with one of my capsules I wanted to start off with just half. I tipped it into a small amount of orange juice. Water would be fine, unless it has a nasty taste. As the pharmaceutical companies are putting in the patient information leaflet for T3 tablets to dissolve them in water and syringe a measured amount out when needing less than the whole tablet, there shouldn't be any problem.

[Dexterpuppy in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you Susie I didn’t get any info with it just the bottle and dose on the front. Thank you for the advice

[helvella]

They have to be made specially because there is no 10 microgram liothyronine product - anywhere! (At least, not one that I have heard of.)

But it is some sort of madness to get them made and then expect you to split them! Why didn't he get 5 microgram capsules made? Or prescribe 5 microgram tablets which can be obtained from the USA (Pfizer Cytomel, Mylan and SigmaPharma and - possibly - Mayne Pharma which was formerly Perrigo or Paddock).

Or even get Liotir from Italy supplied - a liquid product with which you can achieve any dose.

I have no idea of current costs for all these options but sounds like your endo isn't that much more aware.

[Summer64]

Like Helvella I havent' heard of a 10mcg tablet in the UK as that is what I take and I have to halve a 20mcg tablet. I can't understand a pharmacy being able to make you one specially when Mercury have to go through stringent controls to produce theirs to comply with the licence. The usual way to get a smaller does is to dissolve the 20mcg tablet in 20 ml of water and then take off 10 ml. You could try that with the capsule but it would be 10 mcg to 10 ml water and take off 5 ml. Are you in the UK?

[helvella in reply to Summer64]

"Specials" have always been possible - but not usually provided where there is already a suitable product available. Obviously, any such special cannot undergo the same level of testing and scrutiny and a fully-licensed and licensed product. This ends up being a matter of trust - does the patient trust the specials manufacturer?

Specials manufacturers do have to be licensed and conform to certain standards. So they should be of good quality. But things like thyroid hormones are extremely sensitive to small dose changes. (Unlike, for example, if someone ordered a paracetamol special, where the dose could be up or down quite a lot before it made any appreciable difference.)

[Summer64 in reply to helvella]

How interesting. Not heard of that before. So it's not a case of the pharmacy, say Boots, that make it but a manufacturer?