Can someone give me advice on T3 dosing please?

[PottyDotty]

Good morning and thank you to all the wonderful members who are always so helpful, especially Slow Dragon and Seaside Sue. I have now just started self medicating with Tiromel T3. I started about 10 days ago with a quarter of one 25mcg tablet and reduced my prescribed Levothyoxine from 175mcg to 150mcg. I believe I need to increase the T3 to half a tablet at the 14 day point but not sure if I also need to reduce my Levothyoxine by a further 25 mcg as well. I would be grateful for your advice once again. Many thanks.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

PottyDotty

Serum Free Triiodothyronine (XaERq) (Below Range)3 .0 pmol/L (3.1 – 6.8)

SerunFree T4 level (XaERr) 15.5 pmol/L (12.0 – 22.0)

Assuming that these are your latest results on which you based your decision to add T3, then your FT4 was only 35% through range, and you reduced your Levo by 25mcg? I wouldn't have reduced my Levo at all with those results.

So if that's correct, reducing your Levo will have reduced your FT4, taking T3 often reduces FT4 as well, so if it was me I certainly wouldn't reduce my Levo any more and would just add an extra 6.25mcg T3 at this stage.

Are you working on your D3? The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L and your result in your previous post was 80nmol/L.

[PottyDotty in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much. Yes, they were the results in my last test at the very beginning of August. So at the 14 day point, I just need to add a further quarter tablet, making it up to half a tablet and keep my T4 at the present level of 150mcg? Then should I keep both T3 and T4 at that level?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to PottyDotty]

PottyDotty

So at the 14 day point, I just need to add a further quarter tablet, making it up to half a tablet and keep my T4 at the present level of 150mcg?

That's what I would do.

Then should I keep both T3 and T4 at that level?

I find that any change in dose takes 8 weeks for me to stabilise and my results to reflect the change (others may not take that long), so as you're just starting out with T3 and trying to find the doses which suit you best you could do one of two things.

1) Increase T3 by 1/4 of a tablet every 2 weeks until you reach 1 whole tablet then retest 6 weeks later or

2) Take it slower and leave it at half a tablet for 6 weeks then retest and see where your levels lie, then you can decide what adjustment to make to either your Levo or T3 at that stage.

I went with Option 2.

[PottyDotty in reply to SeasideSusie]

Wonderful advice as always. I must admit to thinking about holding at half a tablet myself to see how things pan out. I am really grateful to you. Xx