T3 conversion

[Maggiemay12]

Anyone know anything that helps raise my T3 which is 3.4

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Is that Total T3 or Free T3?

[Maggiemay12 in reply to helvella]

I think it’s free T3

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Maggiemay12]

OK - do you have the lab range? They do vary - far too much!

[Maggiemay12 in reply to helvella]

No but will check tomorrow but from what i remember mine is really low as range use to be 3.5 to 6.8 I think T4 is 19.6 and T-shirt is 4.03

[Maggiemay12 in reply to helvella]

I am sure that’s the range so any advice to improve it

[shaws Administrator in reply to Maggiemay12]

Always get a print-out of your results, with the ranges for your own records.

[Maggiemay12 in reply to helvella]

The free T3 range is 3.1 - 6.8

[TWATTOX in reply to Maggiemay12]

Thyroid s from Thailand did it for me..

[Kalicocat]

From what I've experienced in the last 3 years - sunshine, warm weather and liothyronine (T3) are the only things that have helped me. I feel great in the summer and CRAP in the winter. I started T3 in October 2018. Hopefully being on T3 will stop that dip in metabolism that the cold weather brings next fall.

[RhubarbGiraffe in reply to Kalicocat]

Have you tried taking vitamin D?

[Kalicocat in reply to RhubarbGiraffe]

I'm on 4,000 IU per day.

[Jodypody in reply to Kalicocat]

I adjust up in the winter and reduce back in the spring

[annnsandell in reply to Kalicocat]

Unless we are having a wonderful summer and you are baring your body every day, you won't be getting enough Vit D even in the summer in the northern hemisphere, let alone the winter.

[Kalicocat in reply to annnsandell]

Yes, I think sunshine is better than vitamin D supplements for sure. But also the warmth. Not getting cold down to the bone when you go outside helps with conversion.

[Hydejf66 in reply to Kalicocat]

That describes me to a T. I have crashed every year for 17 years really at the end of winter. I feel so much better in the summer.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

You asked about this in a previous post when you had results of

FT4 21.0 (10.6-23.2)

FT3 3.5 (3.1-6.8)

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

and SlowDragon suggested "For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4, FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies and also very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12"

Did you do these tests?

Optimal nutrient levels are necessary for thyroid hormone to work properly and good conversion to take place, particularly ferritin. If your nutrient levels are all optimal and your results stay the same with a very low FT3 then it's likely you need less Levo and add some T3.

[Judithdalston]

Can’t stress enough to get your vital mins/ vits tested, and if not at optimal upper ranges do something about it....from getting your GPs on board for further test nvestigation eg anemia, or B12 injections, or supplement. Seasidesusie’s replies to posts on supplementing, low vits / mins are great for dosages, brands and tips( eg liquid vit D as spray or drops with vit K2). Take selenium. Then if FT3 still low consider T3, if your FT4 is at top of range. T4/T3 combo is not easy to introduce or fine tune!

[tinkerbell22 in reply to Judithdalston]

I totally agree re nutrients being needed to help conversion of T4 to T3. However I also had a similar issue with T3 and conversion and my nutrients were all low but I was desperate to feel just a little better as I was bed ridden and I also had so many sensitivities so couldn't take vitamins and too exhausted to cook nutrient rich foods. So I turned to T3 meds. It Really helped me feel a little bit better, so I could have the strength to cook a bit and it got my metabolism working a bit better so I could start taking a few vitamins supplements. So I had to put the horse before the cart and do things differently to others. T3 also helped my brain work better so I could look into my root causes and see what to do that was best for me.

For reference I only needed a very tiny amount of T3 but my T3 was midrange not really low but conversion not good.

Hope this helps. Keep on trying xx

[asidist in reply to tinkerbell22]

tinkerbell, can i ask how long you needed the T3 or if you stayed on it?

[tinkerbell22 in reply to asidist]

Hi asidist, I stayed on T3. I may need to reduce it as my vitamin levels increase if conversion steps up so I'm just taking it day by day and keeping testing everything.

[asidist in reply to tinkerbell22]

makes sense, thanks! glad it helped and hope you continue to feel better

[silverfox7]

I will second that. I've been abit lax recently taking my vits etc and trying really hard now to reverse that and I now feel so much better. We seem to under estimate how important they are. As thyroid patients we tend to be very low and many of us supplement and it's well worth the effort. I'm sure many give up as well but it's not an instant fix and can take several months before the results are felt. If took a long time to go down the slippery slope so it can take a long time to climb back up. It helps the Thyroid to feel better, helps with conversion and can ride you of some symptoms but once taking sublements it's generally for life or we slip quickly back again. Once optimal we can look into maintenance doses but only try one at a time so you know what is helping. I managed to go every other day with folate and then I went into methyl folate, more expensive but it's absorbed better so I have lowered my dose a little since.

[Polly91 in reply to silverfox7]

V interesting to know silverfox. I too slipped a bit with minerals and my T3 dropped massively. How much difference did it make to your T3 levels when you didn’t take your supplements? Also How much and which brand selenium do you take? Thanks v much

[silverfox7 in reply to Polly91]

My latest test which might help in that has been lost at the hospital. I'm assuming it's the paperwork that has gone adrift rather than the actual result! Had bloods done 18 January. Checked that doctor had t received them 7 March and told by hospital doctor not seen them yet! Checked again a few days ago and report typed but not found! The secretary told me just has to be retyped and sent so waiting 'patiently'. Selenium -Lambert's also includes A, C and E.

[HLAB35]

I cannot add much to what has already been said other than I don't think it is a coincidence that the things that help support our adrenals ( zinc, selenium, b vitamins, vitamin c, vitamin d and magnesium) will help the thyroid too with conversion. I supplement all of the list but regularly check iron through blood tests as well as it is best not to overdo that one or allow it to drop too much either.

[jgelliss in reply to HLAB35]

I was going to add that beside having all vitamins in place Adrenals are a very important factor to be supported . In addition Omitting any allergens . Going Gluten dairy sugar soy free is very beneficial as well .

[Polly91]

I’ve heard the same things about all these supplements. The other one I heard was vitamin E is important.

Do you get any symptoms associated with low T3?

[HLAB35 in reply to Polly91]

I supplement that too but below RDA as my diet probably has sufficient, not sure of its role... and will look it up now thanks. Also should have mentioned Essential Fatty Acids in general are good and work alongside vitamin E and A.

[Jeppy]

.....eagerly following as I've been working on the same a long time now

For me also my Vit D resistant in increasing

[leoopard in reply to Jeppy]

Ihad the same problem with increasing vitamin D until I took some Liothryonine. It took dangerously (in theory) high doses to get mine up. Once I started on some T3 it came up very quickly and easily.

[asidist]

hello, i’ve recently realized this is a big issue for me as well. according to the research I did, as (or even more) important than the vitamin and mineral co factors mentioned above is the fact that stress, high cortisol, and lack of proper sleep/rest inhibit conversion. i believe this is affected by adrenals - with my hashimoto’s mind what i remember from my research for sure was that the bottom line is that stress has a huge impact on conversion. looking back through my years of lab results, though FT3 and vitamins/minerals were largely missing, the years when I felt better seemed to be when my TSH was lower (below 1) and Vitamin D higher (above 45 ng/ml), though that may be coincidence. I’ve long had sleep issues so not surprisingly I can’t remember if I was sleeping better those years, but I have been sleeping horribly (averaging 4-5 hrs) for the past few years when my issues seem to have amplified (and my issues have clearly been worse in phases of worse sleep these recent years), so for me the stress/lack of sleep aspect makes total sense.

Interesting about the summer vs winter, thanks for those who posted about that. I will be paying attention to this going forward. And thank you to all the amazing people who administer and advise on this forum. I will be following this thread closely also.

A couple other notes that I don’t think have been mentioned yet: Magnesium and Zinc are also widely considered co factors, (though I don’t think I came across a ton of solid research about those). Additionally, though I read about this before I was documenting and paying good attention to the quality of my research sources (and, not at ALL that it’s nec false, but there is a LOT of information out there that is wholly uncited and not always backed by research - a different topic) it is my understanding that with all vitamins and minerals balance is essential, and that with iron, mag, and zinc, it is important to keep balance between those as well as copper, manganese, molybdenum, and calcium, and to ensure you have enough Vitamin A in your system to properly utilize things like iron and calcium. Iron is also better absorbed with Vitamin C and/or protein. More recently there is also some research though not a lot that K2 is important and mitigates possible adverse effects of higher Vitamin D levels as often recommended for those with autoimmune issues. The issue of balance makes sense to me because I know minerals in large doses compete for absorption and too much of one can cause depletion of others (zinc and copper in particular is often heard about). My takeaway regarding this is to not take super high doses for long periods, get proper testing, and eat a balanced diet. [Edit: I see HLAB35 did say this and much more succinctly. ]

I hope that helps.

[jgelliss in reply to asidist]

Very informative post . Thank you . In addition to having all the nutrients in place and omitting allergens having the right thyroid dose T4/T3/NDT is very helpful with having a good nights sleep too .

Adrenals and Thyroids work in *Unisom* .

[asidist in reply to jgelliss]

thanks jgellis, that’s a good point about the need for more hormone for relief of some issues.

in my plan adding T3 is a last resort in trying to get things in order, but it is certainly hard to know what’s a cause and what’s an effect of too little hormone, or an effect of other things entirely for that matter. tinker bell’s story also left an impression - i only recently realized how many of my varied symptoms could be thyroid related so have been dealing with things progressing for a long time and am in a similar boat. i’m hoping to have things with conversion sorted out as best i can within the next few months (already much of the way there in terms of nutrients/diet i think - though i feel no better yet prob due to at least somewhat to lack of sleep), but if i get tired of fighting the good fight and working through my plan of trying to improve conversion (and finding docs to help), i may (re)start the T3 journey early - i do know for some, including possibly myself, it may be the best or only option. that said, i am personally quite hesitant to add exogenous T3 in any form for many reasons and want to exhaust all possible options beforehand. in terms of T4, although that is also a bit low for me based on my bloodwork, upping even a tiny bit seemed to make things worse (from my understanding excess T4 can further inhibit T3 via RT3) so I may switch T4 brands but for now am focusing primarily on better T3 conversion.

also agree with your mention of allergens - so important!

one more thing in case it helps anyone: i think many here are already familiar with this, but ashwagandha has a good bit of research behind it showing it lowers cortisol, raises t4 and possibly helps conversion/raises T3 a bit, and in some cases, has been shown to even cause hyPERthyroidism of people who were previously euthyroid - though I’m not clear whether the increased output was permanent. it reportedly has quite a few other benefits as well including improved cognitive functioning, which some people attribute to increased T3 (haven’t looked into the mechanism myself). in general it seems safe (less is stimulating, more is sedating), though i’m not sure how long it should be taken and can’t remember all possible adverse effects, if any. the only one that stood out to me that i remember (memory clearly an issue...) was that some people report increased hair shedding soon after starting supplementation but my guess/hope is that that happens when people are pushed into hyperthyroidism and shouldn’t be an issue for those who are hypothyroid (assuming thyroid hormones are not pushed into hyper levels), and may actually help with hair loss 🤞. i personally haven’t tried it properly but plan to. might be worth researching quality, standardization, and preferably third party testing of ashwagandha supplements for those interested. there are lots of powerful herbs out there that may help, at least for some time. would love to hear experiences or knowledge of others regarding ash or other herbs for conversion/hypothroidism/autimmune issues - may create a separate thread about this. thanks!

[jgelliss in reply to asidist]

Your Very Welcome . One must be very careful when supplementing with adaptogens .

[asidist in reply to jgelliss]

no rush but would love to hear more about why you say that / any experiences, jgelliss!

i’m expecting it’ll be tricky to take hormone levels into my own hands and stimulate to the right level esp when already on medication - nervous but hopeful that going low and slow with trial and error will work, and it won’t be too difficult to monitor things by not just sense of wellbeing but also heart rate, bb temp (allowing for normal fluctuations), etc. maybe the only circumstance in which being undermedicated might be helpful! might allow for more leeway

[RockyPath]

I had every known metabolite, mineral and hormone checked and everything looked splendid, had two brain MRIs, ultrasounds, EKGs, tests for rare pituitary and adrenal tumors, that all came up clear, and still I felt like death warmed up and would collapse after exercise.

If my endocrinologist knew how much T3 I’m taking at bedtime, he’d probably faint, but my metabolism is closing in on normal, and I finally feel noticeably well.

[Polly91 in reply to RockyPath]

Good to hear you are feeling well. Which supplements (doses) and thyroid hormone do you take?

[tinkerbell22 in reply to RockyPath]

RockyPath did you try a hair mineral test? I did this and was amazed to find a toxic metal was Really high for me! And it can damage the thyroid. T3 can help eliminate the poisoning that I have. Maybe your T3 in high doses is clearing something out? Xx

[dusty4444 in reply to RockyPath]

How much T3 are you taking? And why are you taking it at night?

[jgelliss in reply to RockyPath]

I'm very Excited that your feeling your well self . It's very sad that we need to take matters into our own hands to feel right . My Big Concern is why are Dr's treating a piece of paper instead of the Patients Symptoms ????

[Jeppy]

So intetesting thanku

Will readcand digest later as at work

Digesr being operative word!!!

.....yes theres also something about folic and b12

I find it all a bit overrwelming

Yes stress prevurser for all

Am Adrenal supporting daiky now

And has been for months

As on metavive can i take some t3 too i wonder,

And im in an ongoing stressful situation so now isnt really a time to play

Im just trying to keep adrenals coping

Had 20 weeks of high stress and not over yet.

[Judithdalston]

Just a note....If you add all these vits /mins suggested above you will find it difficult adding T3 too as you need to leave timed gaps between thyroid hormone, food/ drink, other drugs and separating out the various supplements eg iron should be 4 hours away from thyroid ‘meds’ and two hours away from any other drug/ supplement...it doesn’t leave much time to add T3 for eg as 2 or even 3 doses in smal doses. As you T3 dose raises you could just have one dose with levo. in middle of the night.

[SweetLife615]

Hello Maggiemay12, How much is your vitamin B12 kevel? Iron? Folic Acid? Selen from full blood? Cortisol?

[Jeppy]

Hia. Well can I take a bit of t3 with metavive (t4&t3)?

... Dr Peatfield was keen for me to try natural which he far prefers and so want to explore properly but t3 still down there, and boy do I feel it

I e been taking vits at tea time, I can't reach him sadly

He wasn't keen on any of the stringent rules that you have to take everything apart, his sec takes everything together once a day so Iv become befuddled - I like the idea of ease, difficult

But I do take 2 metavive and one Adrenavive early then another at oneish

[Jeppy]

. I'm now not hell bent on naturally converting better as it's taken too much precious time

[LAHs]

All excellent info above. One last point, don't forget the enzymes (biological catalysts) for the T4 to T3 conversion are called selenoenzymes. Go get your selenium (Se) level measured, if it is low (in the lower half of the scale) go get some Se supplement or eat a couple of Brazil Nuts per day (only two though, they are potent). Do this for about three weeks then measure your FT3 again and your T3 should have increased. If your baseline Se level is high or adequate then one of the solutions above should fix your problem.

[Jeppy]

Often read that selenium 200 is the safe dose

And that soil doesn't contain it like Olden times