More tired and lethargic on T3

[Highland49]

Hi,

I've been on 5mcg of T3 for 11 days. Reduced thyroxine from 75mcg to 50 at the same time. (Recent blood results are in my profile).

The first two days were fabulous, my feeling of suffocation was much reduced and not so tired and lethargic. But particularly in the last few days, I'm wiped out by 3pm and struggle to stay awake in the evening. The air hunger is worse again, whereas the first few days, it was still better even once the tablet had worn off.

Should I wait until day 14 to increase my T3 dose to 10mcg or should I reduce to 2.5mcg, then gradually increase by 2.5mcg every two weeks? On another post, it mentioned about reducing to balance out the cortisol levels.

Or as I've been feeling cold, could my thyroid be struggling more as the weather has turned colder?

I was similar when I started on thyroxine, a really quick improvement, even with the first tablet but then it petered out.

Many thanks as always.

[silverfox7]

It does sound as though you might benefit from a little more but not familiar the right way to do that. Asyou are already taking T3 then we can't tell if you are converting well though if you have ateat prior to adding T3 that might give a clue. Have you had Vit D, B12, folate and ferritin tested. They need to be optimal, not just in range and they will help your thyroid work better though it can take time depending how low they are. Getting things optimal can also help any conversion issue and well so well worth looking at that.

[Highland49 in reply to silverfox7]

Thanks silverfox7,

I wasn't converting the thyroxine well so that was the reason why my endo put me on T3. He wants to check my vitamin D next time but the level had improved last time it was checked. (There's more info on my profile). Folate is always slightly over range, ferritin has been worked on and I self inject B12 on alternate days.

Hopefully it is just early days and that once I'm on the second dose, I will be less tired and sleepy.

Thanks for your reply 😊

[silverfox7 in reply to Highland49]

You seem to be doing the right things. Vits etc though take time to build up though depending how low they are so remember patience may well be called upon!

[Highland49 in reply to silverfox7]

That's my trouble, I've never had an abundance of patience 😉

[silverfox7 in reply to Highland49]

Patience crops up a lot but it's sometimes difficult to accept in our quest to feel better. I just keep telling myself if I try to rush it will be back at square one!

[Highland49 in reply to silverfox7]

I'm definitely having to pace myself and decide what I really need to do each day. Now currently waiting for my second dose of T3 to start kicking!

[Pascha1]

Some times it can take about 3 months to get full benefit from T3 but as you had it the 1st few days , it might not be the case on you.. what brand of T3 are you given? I’ve heard Teva is not so strong as morningside or Mercury Pharma. Tbh I am finding Mercury Pharma very inconsistent at the moment and keep having days of bed on that brand and that’s one of the better ones we have on the market you could probably do with upping your dose but take it in two doses as it doesn’t last that long in system, I top up mine in afternoon, I wilt take my 2nd part of T3 and I have energy , I do have a lull in between doses though but I th8nk I metabolite them quicker than most,

[Highland49 in reply to Pascha1]

Thanks Pascha1,

That's good to hear of your experience. It seems we're a bit beholden to the pharmacy companies. I hope you find Mercury Pharma settles down for you soon.

The one I'm on came from Thame Laboratories. My local independent pharmacy sourced it for a bit cheaper. It doesn't say anything else on the bottle. I have noticed, though, the tablet size for the T3 5mcgs is so much bigger than 75mcgs of thyroxine. They must have so many fillers.

[greygoose]

Try increasing by 5 mcg, and see what happens.

[Highland49 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks greygoose,

I was all set to just bring in the second dose, but then searched for other posts on here about T3 and worsening tiredness and found a reply about the adrenals and needing to reduce the dose.

That's good, back to my original plan 😊

[greygoose in reply to Highland49]

You're welcome.

[Angel_of_the_North]

You have reduced your overall dose slightly (to the equivalent of 65mcg levo). I'd put levo back to 75mcg and continue with 5mcg T3 and then retest after a month. Or you could add another 5mcg t3 in the afternoon and stay on 50mcg levo (making about 80mcg levo equivalent) . it depends what your results were before you started T3.

[Highland49 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thanks Angel,

My T4 was a little high and T3 a little low (more details on my profile) so it sounds a good plan to increase the T3 first but I've got the fall back plan of going back to 75mcg if I feel I need to. Plus my TSH had dropped slightly more.

If I do need to up the thyroxine back to 75, how long do you think I should wait before knowing if that's helped? It seems with T3 that you know more quickly.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Highland49]

If you increase levo, I'd wait the usual 6-8 weeks before retesting

[Highland49 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thank you. I'm not back to see my endo until 11th December so I'll have lots of weeks to allow things to settle down and for little tweaks to be made.

[Peanut31]

Hi

When using T3 it can be tricky.

I am self medicating with T3 alone and I keep a record everyday of how I am feeling including times, recording my temperature, blood pressure and heart rate.

I try to make one change at a time as well, as if you make too many changes it hard to pin point any issues. By keeping a record you can look back and see when you felt ok or not ans see if there is a pattern. My thyroid journey is still on going and I am far from perfect, so its not a quick fix.

I tried taking just two dosages a day, but I was lacking energy and felt the gap was too big, so I am currently taking 3 dosages a day.

I take 12.5mcg of t3 at 7.10am (upon waking) 12.5 mcg at 12pm and 12.5mcg at 5pm = 37.5mcg . I have built this dosage up over a period of 60 days. However, you are also on Levo as well, so be careful not to be taking too much.

I recently had a cortisol saliva test which showed I had high levels in the morning and mid morning so I stopped taking my T3 an hour before waking 6am and now take it at 7.10am, again it too early to see if this is helping.

I have tried another increase twice, but I ended up with flu like symptoms, so I am going to look at other things that maybe causing this.

Just remember small increases, slowly, if you are having trouble cutting your T3 tablet in tiny amounts either try your finger nails or a craft knife.

Best Wishes

Peanut31

[Highland49 in reply to Peanut31]

Thanks Peanut31,

That's really useful to know your experience and experimentation. I've got a pill cutter that works fairly well. It needed to be bought after I cut myself on a b12 ampoule!

I know my basal morning temperature before I started treatment and after starting thyroxine so I want to continue to do this weekly. Was 35 underarm or slightly more each time and taken with an old fashioned mercury thermometer. My cold hands and feet have improved a bit since treatment started (thyroxine) but hasn't yet increased my temperature. The only thing I've really noticed is the improvement in my breathing rate, when I've still got the T3 in my bloodstream. Before, it was only 6 or 7 breaths per minute but it does slow down again in the evening. I haven't checked my waking pulse for a little while but hopefully it's not still 60.

It's frightening really just how much of an impact thyroid disorders have on all body systems. I didn't grasp until recently just how much the body struggles with enzyme function when it's too cold.

All the best 😊