Papers showing no ill effects of T4/T3 therapy

[diogenes]

This recent paper (June) may have been posted before but I'm putting it forward in case

Effects of Long-Term Combination LT4 and LT3 Therapy for Improving Hypothyroidism and Overall Quality of Life

June 2018 Southern Medical Journal 111(6):363-369

DOI: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000823

Anam Tariq Yijin Wert Pramil Cheriyath Renu Joshi

[Caesard]

full article available here: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Conclusion and Key points:

Key Points

Even after years of levothyroxine monotherapy, some patients believe that they still have an impaired quality of life.

The meta-analysis of combination therapy has been negative for combination therapy in managing hypothyroidism, and the data reported on some general well-being questionnaires also are inconclusive.

Low levels of 25[OH] vitamin D, vitamin B12, and hemoglobin were checked in our study to rule out other causes of fatigue and hypothyroidism before starting combination therapy because they have not been ruled out in previous literature.

In our population, the symptoms of hypothyroidism improved significantly as reported on follow-up encounters with subsequent improvement in laboratory thyroid function studies and questionnaires, and furthermore, not resulting in hyperthyroidism that caused hospitalizations for medication adverse effects, arrhythmias, or cardiac death.

Conclusions

This is the only retrospective study reported to use long-term (mean 27 months) thyroid replacements with combination therapy and to compare between the two forms of therapy: synthetic and natural. For patients undergoing either therapy, we did not identify additional risks of atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular disease, or mortality in patients of all ages with hypothyroidism.

Combination therapy of LT4 and LT3 has remained an experimental treatment that can be used at the physician’s discretion. Our observational study concludes that for a subset of patients who feels suboptimal on LT4 monotherapy, synthetic therapy is beneficial and safe in controlling hypothyroid symptoms and improving quality of life. We are hopeful that our analysis will raise awareness and promote further RCTs focusing on appropriate dosages and populations. An interesting future study should be to compare the practices of endocrinologists and primary care physicians in their management of patients undergoing combination therapy

[Koosha]

I take levothyroxin daily but i have all hypothytoid symptoms severly i took liotronin with levothyroxin for three month but i didnt have any improvment

[TSH110 in reply to Koosha]

Perhaps the T3 dose was too low? I take NDT and find it much superior to Levothyroxine monotherapy. It got rid of almost all of the persistent symptoms that T4 alone left me with

[Caesard in reply to Koosha]

I would advise to detail in a separate topic, describing your "story", side conditions, therapeutic approach, effects, test results and symptoms.

These guys here are a lovely bunch, they will try to help.