T3 Only

[BilliMarie]

Have been on Synthroid/T4 for 5 years. It has helped but I am still not as strong/fast as I was before my thyroid went downhill. And motivation is lower. Sports are a big part of my life (as well as napping 😁). If I take 25 mcg of T3 right before exercise/competition I can hang. But I tire quickly without it. New doc switched me to no T4 (said my body wasn’t converting it well anyhow) to straight T3 only (timed release). Is this usually successful?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

We don't have timed release T3 here in the UK (this is ThyroidUK's forum), but we do have members from the US who might be able to comment (I'm assuming you're in the US, we know that Synthroid is prescribed there).

[BilliMarie in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes, I’m in the U.S.! I’m curious how this has worked for anyone whether it’s timed release or just several regular doses taken throughout the day. Thank you for your response Susie!

[Hidden in reply to BilliMarie]

Hi BilliMarie. I was interested to know if timed released T3 is available in the US (I'm in Atlanta), just googled and found it is only available in a compounded form. I take my T3 dose twice a day as the 1/2 life doesn't carry me through the full day.

I take my am dose around 5 or 6am and the 2nd dose around 2 or 3pm depending on my schedule.

I want to share my experience with sustained released drugs. I learned this only several years ago as most doctors will say there is no difference in a sustained release and regular doses taken throughout the day. For me this is not inconvenient as it makes me feel better with this schedule. I always have pills in my purse and have my phone alarm set for the pm dose.

I have known for years that my body, for some reason, never does as well on a sustained released med as it does if I take regular doses at appropriate times throughout the day. I am a nurse (retired) and have felt for years that sustained release does not work well for me. I seem to get too much medicine released soon after taking an SR med, then don't get enough the rest of the day. Many doctors have said there is no difference and blew me off.

Finally several years ago my new electrophysiologist, who really listens to me, understood that sustained release cardiac drugs did not work for me and he explained there are patients who absorb at different rates and one size does not fit all. I felt this was the case and was finally glad to have some confirmation.

Big Pharma also promotes SR meds and sells a lot of SR (sustained release forms ) as they know patients love the convenience of once a day dosing. Trial and error will tell you what works best for you. I did see in your post that taking your T3 just before exercising works well for you.

Also I was reading a newsletter not long ago which had a small blurb of info about people with fibromyalgia doing better on regular multiple doses rather than SR's. This tells me that there are possibly patients who do better with multiple doses. This is something I want to research more.

I just know how I respond to medicine. I believe,despite what we may hear from health providers or Big Pharma, we are all different and have to experiment to find what works best for us.

One last thought: When a drug goes generic, the original pharmaceutical company who developed it (and collected big bucks before time ran out and their drug could be made by other companies,)cound continue to control manufacturing and profits if the original company could develop the med in a different form (ie SR) or find another use for the med and remake it with another name. This new form meant they could push back generic of the new form (ieSR) and make more money. This is true in the US. I'm not sure what laws are in place elsewhere.

Hope this helps. Take care. irina

[BilliMarie in reply to Hidden]

Hi Irina!

I get the timed release from one of the few pharmacy’s around here that does compounding and I guess they mix up the drugs themselves? It is not common here. From what I have a read a lot of people are not a fan of the timed release, which makes perfect sense. I am in the beginning stages so I guess I don’t know any different and so far so good. May be a different story in a month or so!

[Hidden in reply to BilliMarie]

Hi BilliMarie, If you've done well on other timed release meds you'll probably do well on this one. I talked with a couple of my doctors at different times and they think as I do that sometimes people just don't breakdown these types of meds evenly over time. If you open a timed-release capsule inside are hundreds of tiny tiny beads in several colors (they remind me of very small round candy sprinkles) and the different colors (usually about 3-4) are each designed to break down at different times.

But perhaps if our stomach acid is too high or for whatever reason some of us break down all the medication differently than we're supposed to.

Who knows but for me I seem to get a huge amount right away and then nothing the rest of the day. Whenever a once a day time release is offered I ask for the regular dose saying I don't mind taking 2-3 pills a day. Doctors must have heard this from others because they always understand and prescribe what works for me.

The time releases are convenient. Maybe it also depends on the med composition. I've never seen any actual literature supporting this-I just know how I feel.

The worst reaction I had was some years ago when I was switched from regular to timed-release cardizem. It hit me all at once and for a few hours I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I actually list "No Timed-Release Meds" as an allergy now. No problems doing this. Take care. irina