t3

[julietelew]

hi iv been put on thyroxine 50mg to start with for 6 weeks then they will increase it, after they have done bloods. i want to take t3 with it i have 25ug tabs, how much and when should i take them, many thanks. my tsh levels are 12. thanks in advance

[Greybeard]

Why do you want to start t3 at this early point in your treatment?

[julietelew in reply to Greybeard]

just feeling desperate to feel well, when would i be better starting them do you think

[Greybeard in reply to julietelew]

Let the doctors go as far as they are able. The vast majority do ok on t4, these pages are mostly inhabited by the ones who don't. You must be patient there are no quick fixes I'm afraid, 6 weeks, blood test, dose increase as required is the formula. The average dose is between 100 and 200 mcg so yo ucan see that you could be 6 months or more before you are on the right dose. Those looking for a quick fix often come unstuck. Checkout what seaside-susie has to say about vitamins they are very important.

[julietelew in reply to Greybeard]

many thanks for your help really kind, il be patient

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

You can't possibly know if you need T3 at this stage.

You need to start on Levo, give it a few months, see what your FT4 and FT3 levels are once your TSH reaches around 1, then you can see whether you convert T4 to T3 well enough. Only then can you know if you need T3.

Many people do very well on Levo alone. But treating hypothyroidism isn't a quick fix. We're replacing hormones here and you can't rush that. Taking T3 when you don't need it will cause other health problems. Be patient and see how you go on Levo for now.

Make sure you have 6 weekly retesting of thyroid levels and increases of 25mcg Levo each time until symptoms abate. The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their ranges.

Always book the very first appointment of the morning for blood tests, fast overnight (water allowed) and leave off Levo for 24 hours.

Take Levo on an empty stomach, one hour before or 2 hours after food, with a glass of water only, no tea, coffee, milk, hot chocolate, etc as absorption of Levo will be affected. Take Levo at least 2 hours away from other medication and any supplements.

[julietelew]

thank you for the advise, i have so much to read and learn about this, so im really grateful for your advise

[SlowDragon Administrator]

You can’t rush fixing this

Essential to get vitamin levels optimal, so you can ask for vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin to be tested when thyroid levels are retested

Also have you had thyroid antibodies tested? If not it’s a good idea to request these too

If antibodies are high this is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s. Low vitamins are more likely so important to test

[julietelew in reply to SlowDragon]

i shall ask the doctor about the tests when i go in 6weeks many thanks for your advise

[EbonyEvans]

Julietelew,

This forum is great for advice and help. At the point you should be aware that this can be a long road at the beginning. As advised, vitamins and minerals will most likely to be needed to help the T4 to be better absorbed.

Selenium and other vitamins. Good quality - no multi vitamins as they are not of a high enough quality for us thyroidians.

Research is a great way to understand this condition, most learn the most from this forum - search bar etc.

Important to know you’re not alone and slow & steady is best when introducing T4. Fingers crossed it’s all you need. 25mcg every six weeks. Blood tests just before dose increase. First thing in the morning after fasting over night and miss your dose that morning. Take it after your blood test. Also take T4 on an empty stomach and hour before food or drink. Take with a full glass of water.

Also take into consideration - brands work differently with some people. There are lactose free ones etc. You might want to look up Hashimotos as well. When you get your antibodies blood test results.

Btw welcome to the forum. You’re in great hands.

Ebony 🤗💜

[julietelew in reply to EbonyEvans]

thank you Ebony much appreciated. i'm reading up on it, can;t keep the information in my brain so writing stuff down.

[silverfox7]

Welcome to the forum. Yes there is a lot to learn and digest but we. An help you through it. Levo-T4 works well for many people so well worth giving it ago. We don't hear from them on here asthey feel good. But we do see a lot of common problems and one is not converting the T4 to the T3 that every cell in our body needs. We can tell if we have this problem because our FT4 is pretty high but FT3 is very low by comparison. However you can only test for this if you are talking only Levo as once taking T3 the only accurate reading is the FT3 one. So that's a very good reason why everyone should start on Levo. Many think they need to add in T3 but quite often they aren't on enough medication so no wonder they don't feel well but increasing the medication should solve that scenario. Yes adding T3 can make you feel better but it's another learning curve to take on board and not so easy to get right so again much. Enter to get to grips this the basics with Levo and learn as well how your body responds etc before thinking of changing medication. Doctors can tell you that taking one little pill can cause instant success but it's not as easy as that for most of us and lots of patience is needed as well as progress is slow in the Thyroid world and we can't speed it up. But we shall help all we can. Pleased to see your doctor has told you to come back for a retest, many don't butvpost your results and the ranges. The ranges differ from lab to lab so we need to know yours but we can help you understand them and also comment on anything else your doctor has suggested. You are now amongst friends.