Different dosage during different seasons

[Gr8Nica]

I read it somewhere on the forum some people need a higher dosage of thyroid medication during colder months and lower during warmer months. Can any of you who's in that boat write your experiences and during which months you change your dosage please?

[MaisieGray]

I've never felt the need myself, to adjust dosage according to season, over 40 years; but if you have experienced seasonal shift in symptoms, when/if you alter your dose in response, would be individual to you and possibly different from others.

[Had-enough]

I have become overmedicated in the summer months for the last couple of years. This summer being so hot has been awful. It slowly creeps up on me and by the time I realise that’s why I felt so dreadful and slowly decrease my Levothyroxine, the weather changes and I have to slowly increase it as I don’t cope well with changes, and need to do it little and slowly and get the bloods tested after six to eight weeks. I need to keep an eye on my vitamin D levels as well.

[radd]

Gr8Nica,

Yes, I do .

Just increased my NDT from 1.5 grains to 2, to see me "well" through the next 3-4 months of dark, cold and damp months that previous experience has told me I do not tolerate well.

I have been well for 2 years but will always appreciate this new found ability to be able to keep warm and have enough energy. I will probably reduce meds again about march.

[milkwoman]

As a former patient of Dr. Kenneth Blanchard (he passed in 2017), I am very familiar with “seasonal change” dosing of thyroid hormone and have found that I do need more hormone replacement in winter and less in summer.

In a nutshell, this is how it is explained in his book “ The Functional Approach to Hypothyroidism” (summarized):

Our requirements change with the seasons - in Nature TSH falls in winter so levels of T4 and T3 fall - this puts us into semi-hibernation and allows energy conservation by causing mild fatigue and depression with greater need for sleep. The reverse is true for the summer. In modern times with food and warmth aplenty the imperative to do this declines. However some people need more thyroid hormones in winter to prevent severe fatigue and depression. In this event Dr Blanchard suggests "jump starting" followed by a different maintenance dose - so for example in the Autumn someone taking 100mcgs of T4 would have a jump start of 150mcgs for 3 days then maintenance dose of 110mcgs. In the Spring one would do the reverse - stop T4 for 3 days then return to the usual 100mcgs per day.

In my experience, a 10% increase/decrease in dosage (following a 3-day ‘jumpstart’ or a 3-was ‘stop’) is adequate to compensate for the seasonal change.

I hope this helps.

[Parbrook]

Yes, I increase my Liothyronine by 5mcg when it gets below 5 - 8 degrees C (as well as wearing more layers).

It makes a difference.

The mody's metabolism has to work harder when it's cold and T3 is the 'fuel' that powers the metabolism.