I have been seeing a consultant with regards hrt. She has re checked bloods and says my hormone levels are now good and she thinks my symptoms are down to thyroid. She has suggested I take Levo and T3 . I would like to speak to my own GP about this as I would prefer to be monitored closer to home than the 2hr trip to the consultant . She is not an endo so I'm not sure if she is correct and would appreciate any advice.
I have many symptoms which I assumed were menopause related but seems like most could be thyroid also.
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Sampydoodle
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Not sure what specialism your HRT doctor was, but was she expecting your Gp to prescribe levothyroxin and T3? Since most CCGs have halted newly diagnosed hypothyroids from being prescribed T3, this combo seems highly unlikely on the NHS. Have you been on levothyroxin alone- by itself it might suit, normal starter dose 50 mcg, then test after 6 weeks and raise another 25 mcg. et al. Your TSH should be 1 or under, FT4 say 18-20, and important FT3 nearer 5 +. Also worth getting Vit D, B12, folate and ferritin tested - optimum levels for good thyroid health in upper half of ranges ( see Seaside Susie' regular replies to previous posts re vit/min levels, supplements etc).
Thank you judithdalston and greygoose for your comments.
I have been on B12 injections since 2014 so no point testing that one, tho the others you mentioned were last tested around august last year. The hrt consultant is Is happy to prescribe the thyroid meds, I was just hoping to get the follow up bloods done locally through my gp, maybe I'll ask anyway.
She did initially suggest trying T3 only, not sure if that's the best way to go or do I need both T3 and t4?
The need for T3 and/or T4 is a very individual thing. T3 only might be the right way to go for you, but you won't know unless you try it.
It it were me, I think I'd let the HRT specialist do the prescribing, and do my blood tests privately. The GP cannot be relied upon to be co-operative, and might throw a spanner in the works.
Following on from last week, the hrt specialist has decided I only need T3, and has prescribed thybon (not sure if that's correct) starting on half a tablet(25) daily, so 12.5mcg .
I have been doing some thyroid reading, maybe this explains my breathlessness, fatigue, palpitations, constipation, weight gain, hair loss, nail breakages etc all of which I thought was hormone related.
I have had the palpitations followed up with various ecg and scan and tomorrow am having a heart monitor fitted for 24hrs, could this all be thyroid related? Strange tho, the tests so far have all been normal.
Hopefully the T3 will start to sort things out for me.
Any ideas how I cut these tiny pills in half or even quarters to start with?
OK, well, you've got to start somewhere. But, I would start with 1/4 pill, not half. I just use a pill cutter I bought in Sainsbury's. Does the job quite well.
Yes, I would say that your low T3 is the cause of all your symptoms. T3 is needed by every single cell in your body to function correctly. So, it there's not enough to go round, you can get symptoms everywhere and anywhere. This is one of the things that confuses doctors - although, to be honest, it doesn't seem to take a lot.
But, one very important thing you have to understand is that there's no such thing as 'normal'. When a doctor says 'normal', all he means is 'in-range'. He has no idea how 'normal' that it for anyone. And, given that the ranges are so wide, all the readings can't be 'normal', can they. There's a huge difference between the top of the range and the bottom of the range. Your FT3 is right at the bottom, and looking at that result, I would expect the person to have a whole heap of symptoms and be feeling pretty ill!
Your FT4 is also too low, so, I'm not convinced that your don't need to take T4 (levo) as well. The problem is that nobody really knows what T4 does. We call it a 'storage hormone' but it's quite possible that it does have other uses that haven't yet been discovered. I was on T3 only for a long time, because any form of T4 - levo or NDT - upset me terribly. But, now, after all these years, I find I can add in 25 mcg T4 to a reduced dose of T3, and I feel better for it. Something seems to have changed in my physiology, but I've no idea what. And, we can't know anything without trying it first. So, try your T3 only, and see how it goes. You can always try adding in T4 later, just to see how it makes your feel. Nothing is definitive.
thank you greygoose, I do feel pretty awful and am getting worse. Everything seems such an effort, one thing in a day makes me feel wiped out , not to mention the aches and pains,not much fun I'm afraid. I printed off the symptoms list from the thyroid U.K. and can tick off quite a few. It's quite scary to think how many people don't get full tests done and therefore no treatment.
I'm hoping I can get some relief from the T3, I'm a little wary tho as I seem to react to medication quite easily so quarter tablets may be the best start. Are there any particular side effects I should watch out for as I start? I am quite anxious these days, another symptom I believe.
T3 is not a 'medication' in the normal sense of the word. It is a thyroid hormone, without which you cannot live. It's not a drug. You might have some sort of reaction to the fillers in the tablet - although that seems to be rarer with T3 than T4 - but you shouldn't have any side-effects to the main ingredient, the T3.
Hello again, sorry to keep asking questions , I have put a lot of weight on over the last year even though I was exercising regularly. I stopped the exercise around Jan then began some training sessions again around April , I have to admit I'm struggling for energy, and realise now it's probably thyroid related. Do I need to stop or can I carry on with it? I'm not sure if it's actually causing harm / worsening my condition. I also have a symptom that doesn't fit the hypo, on mild e exertion, (walking) I sweat down my back, from what I have seen hypo usually says less sweating than normal? Not sure if this is related or something else? Thanks.
Well, less sweating, yes. But, it would be very concerning if you stopped sweating altogether!
With such low FT3 you should stop your training altogether. You're not listening to your body, are you? It's telling you to stop and you're ignoring it. You will be reducing your conversion by using up all your calories and making yourself more hypo. All you should be doing at the moment is gentle walking for short periods, until your FT3 is optimised. It's not going to help you lose the weight, anyway, because you didn't put it on due to not exercising enough, you put it on due to being hypo. The solution is to stop being hypo - i.e. optimising your FT3. And, there's always the chance that you could damage your muscles that way.
Hi, I had been on hrt for 3 yrs,then last year I saw a consultant who wanted me to change to bio hrt, we have recently increased dose and now started on testosterone and dhea also. I haven't started thyroid meds yet but she seems to think I don't need to take t4.
I'm in uk and had to go to a private consultant, fortunately the hrt I'm on is available on NHS so my gp is happy to continue. I'm having to fund the other items and I'm assuming even if I tell my gp about the thyroid meds, I won't get T3 prescribed.
No, my gp said she could prescribes the oestrogen and progesterone as they are available on NHS but the rest I pay for from the private consultant. I'm not sure how long I have to take the dhea or testosterone for, I'm hoping from a financial point it's only temporary until the levels rise. I don't know if my gp will even take any notice of the thyroid results as they were only prepared to test tsh which came back within range and no further action!
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