T3

[bluehaven201]

Hello, please can you tell me if my t3 is too high? My GP has called saying it is 6.2 but should be below 5.

Any help would be gratefully received

[Greybeard]

Hi, reference ranges do vary, so you need to look at your old tests to check. Gp may just prefere it below 5. Generally it is best not to go over range, although some people do seem to need it so.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

What's the reference range?

If your result is in range then there shouldn't be a problem.

[bluehaven201 in reply to SeasideSusie]

The reference range went up to 5.8, and mine was 6.2

[Jazzw]

Are you sure he was talking about T3? That sounds more like something he’d say about TSH...

[bluehaven201 in reply to Jazzw]

Yes, that’s what she said.

I was stable on 200mcg levothyroxine but still felt rubbish and gained a huge amount of weight (9 stone!).

A friend suggested I may need T3 so I bought some and reduced levothyroxine to 175mcg in order to take 25mcg liothyronine as well. My GP felt I needed to reduce levothyroxine a bit more so ended up on 150mcg levothyroxine. I have lost 4 stone in a year, but since going down to 150mcg weight loss has virtually stopped. Today she told me to reduce dose to 100mcg AND stop T3. I’m scared of this because the T3 was making me feel alive again, and I’m scared the weight will pile back on. Perhaps I should collect a copy of my blood test and post it on here so you can actually see it?

[greygoose in reply to bluehaven201]

She's being rediculous! Why would you stop your T3 just because your FT3 is a little over-range. You just need to reduce it a tad. But, first, as you said, you need to get a copy of your blood test results before you agree to anything. I think she's just in a blue panic!

Have you had your antibodies tested? It might be nothing to do with your dose.

[bluehaven201 in reply to greygoose]

She admits that she doesn’t know much about T3, and I had to fight for an appointment to see an endo - which isn’t until July. She says over prescribing can cause heart problems and osteoporosis. No, I don’t think I’ve ever had antibodies checked. Would this help? I’ve felt so poorly since first being diagnosed 12 years ago when the weight started piling on, and now I’ve been told all the symptoms are fibromyalgia. I am wondering if levothyroxine doesn’t suit me (as I have problems taking most prescribed drugs). Is it possible that even though my Blood tests are indicating the right levels, that I am still suffering? I am also wipindering if the supplements I am taking are helping, hence the results changing drastically?

[greygoose in reply to bluehaven201]

If you have high antibodies, it would mean you have Hashi's, and therefore your results would have a tendency to jump around independent of your dose.

Long-term over-prescribing - but grossly over-prescribing - can increase your risk of heart problems and osteoporosis. Doubtful if your level would have any such effect. But, they're all such scaredy cats when it comes to hormones. They just don't know enough about them.

[bluehaven201 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for your help greygoose. I really appreciate it. My friend mentioned hashimotos to me, and that was why she mentioned t3. She battled for years to With her doctor and endo to get a proper diagnosis. I had almost got to the point of giving up, but I could not afford to gain anymore weight so I sourced the t3, and hey presto, I started losing weight (without changing anything in my already healthy diet) and felt alive again. Before this I was eating as little as 800 calories a day and my doctor suggested I tried 600! I am 5’10”!

[greygoose in reply to bluehaven201]

Doctors know nothing about nutrition. Never, ever take dietary advice from a doctor!

[bluehaven201]

T3 must have been helping me because since I was scammed online and run out of them, my weighloss has stopped and I’m exhausted again.

[greygoose in reply to bluehaven201]

Of course it was helping you. T3 is the active hormone, needed by every cell in the body. It's low T3 that causes symptoms like weight-gain.

[bluehaven201 in reply to greygoose]

That’s what I thought. I’ve heard of people who’s bodies don’t convert t4 into t3 and it makes me wonder if I’m one of them. Seems very coincidental that the only change is not having t3 and I’m feeling unwell again and stopped losing weight

[greygoose in reply to bluehaven201]

An awful lot of people have problems converting. More than doctors will admit. But you will only know if you are one of them if you test FT4 and FT3 at the same time, and compare them.

Funnily enough, I convert very well, but I still didn't do very well on T4 only. I needed T3 to start to feel well.

[bluehaven201 in reply to greygoose]

Maybe I’m the same as you then. I wonder if I should have the full thyroid test that medicheck offer. Would that tell me everything I need to know?

[humanbean]

How long a gap was there between your blood being taken for testing and your previous dose of T3?

[bluehaven201 in reply to humanbean]

I took the last t3 the day before my blood test.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to bluehaven201]

Bluehaven

With the top of the reference range being 5.8, your result was 6.2, and if you left more than 12 hours between your last dose of T3 and blood draw, then your result suggests you are overmedicated. To measure the amount of T3 normally circulating then blood draw should be 8-12 hours after last dose of T3. If you take it close to the blood draw you get a false high, if you take it too far away from blood draw then you get a false low. It's generally advised here that last dose of Levo is 24 hours before blood draw and last dose of T3 or NDT is 12 hours.

[bluehaven201 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you SeasideSusie. That is very helpful