starting T3

[princesslinda]

Please could I have some advice on the quantity of T3 I should take. I have bought THYROID -S 60 mg. My consultant explained the cost of T3 and the impossibility of NHS funding. It was acceptable to purchase T3 myself so I have. I started on 15mg x3 daily and now take 30mg x3 daily. My last test result in February was TSH 0.413 mU/L T4 level 14.4pmol/L I will have another blood test in October and would very much appreciate any guidance, especially when I have little knowledge regarding the readings also.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

princesslinda

I'm not quite clear. Have you bought T3 in additon to Thyroid-S? Or do you think Thyroid-S is T3?

Thyroid-S is NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) which is made from pigs' thyroid glands and contains both T4 and T3.

How long have you been taking Thyroid-S?

For anyone to be able to help with suggestions for how much you should take (of what, as it's unclear at the moment) you will need current results - with reference ranges - for TSH, FT4 and FT3.

Also important is to know if you have positive thyroid antibodies, and to know your vitamin and mineral levels.

If you have current results for the following please post them with the ranges

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies

Thyroglobulin antibodies

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

If you don't have those and can't get them done with your GP, then you can do a private test with one of our recommended labs who do home tests which can be done by fingerprick or you can arrange venous blood draw if you prefer.

Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus Eleven

Medichecks Thyroid Check UltraVit

[princesslinda in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi, I bought thyroid s thinking it's T3.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to princesslinda]

princesslinda

So you have a bit of a problem. 60mg of Thyroid-S contains 38 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3.

You say you're currently taking 30mg x 3 = 90mg so that is 57mcg T4 and 13.5mcg T3.

So you've increased your T4 from 112.5mcg daily (average) to 169.5mcg plus the addition of 13.5mcg T3.

I think you really need to test your TSH, FT4 and FT3 but this should only be done when you've been on your current dose for 6 weeks because any sooner and your levels wont be stable and you wont get an accurate level.

What made you think Thyroid-S was T3? How did you find out about it in the first place? If it was recommended to you then it should have been explained to you what it was. And if your consultant gave the OK to purchase T3 yourself he should really have given you some kind of an idea of what to buy and maybe given you a source.

[princesslinda]

princesslinda here, I forgot to say that I am already on Levothyroxine 100mg and 125mg alternate days. Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to princesslinda]

princesslinda

So we need to know if you are continuing with your Levo and whether you have started Thyroid-S and whether you also have T3 or if you think Thyroid-S is T3. Plus test results as mentioned in my previous post.

[princesslinda in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you, I am still taking Levo 125 alternate days 100, plus Thyroid s. I believed Thyroid s was just a T3. I have not purchased any T3 as I do not know what to buy and would like help with this as my consultant did not give advice. I have been taking Thyroid s for about a month. I started on quarter x 3 daily and increased to half x 3 daily. I do have positive antibodies. I have no test results for T3 , TSH is 0.413 and FT4 is 14.4

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to princesslinda]

princesslinda

I'm having trouble getting my head around an endo who is happy for you to take T3, tells you to go ahead and purchase it yourself because the NHS wont fund it, then doesn't give you any help on how to source it, nor test your FT3 so he can tell you how much to take.

Let's try and sort this out.

1) Do you wish to take T3 with your Levo instead of the Thyroid-S?

If so you will need to start a new thread asking if anyone can send you information by Private Message for a supplier of T3.

2) Before starting T3 you need to decide what thyroid meds you take in the meantime:

a) whether you are staying on Thyroid-S plus Levo (not recommended)

b) whether you go back to Levo only for levels to settle so that we can see how much T3 you need to add to your Levo (recommended)

You need to be on your choice of (a) or (b) for 6 weeks then retest your levels.

3) Before starting T3 there are tests that it is essential that you do:

a) TSH, FT4 and FT3 from the same blood draw

b) Vit D, B12, Folate and Ferritin. These are important because they need to be optimal for T3 to work.

If you can't get all those tests done on the NHS you can do one of the following:

Same test, different company

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...

c) Post your test results, including reference ranges, on the forum for members to be able to guide you with adding T3 to Levo.

**

As you know you have positive antibodies, this confirms autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's - has anyone told you that and have you looked into it? This is where antibodies attack the thyroid and gradually destroy it. The antibody attacks cause fluctuations in symptoms and test results.

You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.

Gluten/thyroid connection: chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.

Hashi's and gut absorption problems tend to go hand in hand and can very often result in low nutrient levels or deficiencies, so it's important to get those vitamins and minerals tested that I have listed above.

[princesslinda in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for all your help and advice, there is a lot to take in and will get in touch as soon as possible once I get started. Just not feeling brilliant at the moment with depression maybe all linked with other issues, ckd stage 3, daily diarrhea with daily laxatives as my bowels haven`t worked for 19 years. Maybe all my nutrients are quickly evacuated. I also have migraines regularly so I need to sort myself big style. Can you recommend a T3 medication ?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to princesslinda]

Princesslinda

T3 is difficult to get at the moment. I would let things stabilise first on whatever you decide to take. Then you need to test thyroid and nutrient levels, post results for members to comment, then decide on the way forward.

[silverfox7]

I was on the same thyroid dose as you when I changed over to Thyroid S. I stopped my Levo and started with half a grain of Thyroid S and held it for a couple of weeks. You don't notice the low dose as you still have some T4 in your body but as your store going down then you are increasing your NDT which is what Thyroid S is classed as. We start low to get our body used to the T3 it contains. I can't remember now how I moved you but I followed the STTM (Stop the Thyroid Madness) book for how to do it. I'm sure if you search on here you will find it. Basically when you get up to 2 grains you then add in only a quarter at a time so you don't miss where you needed to be. I missed my. Exause my sweet spot was 1.75 so missed it as I went from 1.5-2 grains! I wasn't feeling worse on the dose I went to butvi wasn't quite right. But we are all different. Before I started I had a. conversion problem as well so I addressed that first and then had no problem other than increasing too much when I changed over. Endo saw my bloods were too high and told me to drop down to that which I thought would be too much but he was spot on!