I started T3 6 weeks ago weening up to 10mcg that my NHS endo prescribed, I'm also on 100mcg of Levo...
My endo I gave me a 3 month trial for my mental symptoms , i.e anxiety and depression..
Though Iv got progressively worse my mental symptoms have took a nose dive I'm now so depressed tearful see no point in anything it's so so horrible i hate being like this...
My last blood test only tested ft4 and tsh
They were at
FT4 16 (11- 23)
Tsh 1.1 (0.27- 4.5)
On Levo only my levels were
FT4 24 (11-23)
TSH 8 (0.27-4.5)
FT3 4.60 (3.1- 6.8)
I'm on 100mcg of Levo and 10mcg of T3
Very sensitive to change in dose aswell!!!
I'm thinking maybe it's the drop in Levo that's done this to me..
I feel underactive but also overactive!!!
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ThyroidObsessed
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Obviously you need TSH, FT3 and FT4 tested together. Unbelievable they didn't test FT3
Likely you will have to do so privately
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
If/when also on T3, make sure to take last dose 8-12 hours prior to test, even if this means adjusting time or splitting of dose day before test
How much was Levothyroxine reduced when T3 was started?
Until you get FT3 result we can't really advise which to tweak
I suffered psychosis followed by a year of desperate depression after adding T3 to my Levo. I had previously suffered no mental illness except the clogging brain fog that Levo seems to invite to many of us.
Adding T3 alleviated all other negative symptoms, giving me back my energy and a good physical health that I hadn't experienced for many years. It also cleared the brain fog but my remaining mental health was in absolute tatters as anxiety and a loss in confidence took over and I cried everyday and couldn't "do" anything. Every day I too hated being like it.
After eventually having sex hormones tested privately, it became apparent I was totally deficient in both oestrogen & progesterone. Almost immediately after supplementing bioidentical HRT, my depression started to lift and has been gone for about a year now.
I am sorry you feel so desperate. It is simply awful but I tell you my story to give you hope. Some of us need more than optimal thyroid hormones and nutrients/iron. If you have the funds, get sex hormones tested privately as the tests are more comprehensive but if you don't, then ask your GP to test them. Post results complete with ranges for members to comment.
And remember this forum has many members who may have encountered similar feelings and be able to share. 🤗 xx
I can’t see anything wrong with these results but others may find something ? ? …..
Thyroid hormone levels can affect the metabolism of female hormones & interfere with the regulation of ovarian function ..... either to do with the fluctuations of oestrogens and progesterone, or cortisol related.
The HPA-Axis & HPT-Axis work should work in parallel, and cortisol & TSH should correlate. Sex hormones can activate some of the specific genes that play a role in symptom flares and many immune cells have receptors for these hormones, including many of the immune cells responsible for creating autoimmunity. That is why many members find they become more Hashi symptomatic or dolally around their period time.
Hormones behave differently depending on which tissue they are acting on …. oestrogen may have one impact on the brain but another in the uterus or in the fat cells. Also, hormones never work in isolation so other hormones may accentuate or block anothers action. (ie elevated testosterone may decrease oestrogen’s impact on female fat storage). The testing I referred to analyses how we metabolise, utilise and excrete hormones.
If you are at a loss of where to go next, read “Dirty Genes” by Dr Ben Lynch which explains why we may experience such diverse reactions to all these hormones, etc that others appear to tolerate.
Knowledge is power and so helps us to progress further in our efforts to regain wellness, and accept “stuff” that happens along the way (no matter how shitty it is). 🥰 xx
It can be difficult to have FT3 tested on the NHS but now you are medicating T3, have you asked your doctor that this be tested ?
As you added your picture with these results after you posted, starting a brand new post with as much detail as poss, will attract more members to comment.
I forgot to ask, what day of your cycle was blood drawn for this test ?
T3 is known to cause anxiety. Maybe try a private prescription of natural thyroid hormone to see if you tolerate it better. Find a private Endo. The forum members can recommend local Endos to you via private message. Good luck and more importantly don’t despair.
In an earlier post you said you were taking 100 mcg levo and your doctor told you to reduce it when you started the T3. You don't seem to have reduced it, which is probably causing the torture..
Typically, doctors reduce the levo by 50 mcg when they start patients on 10 mcg T3.
The levothyroxine lasts a long time in your body after you stop taking it, but the volume tapers down each day a little bit and you should start to feel better in a couple of days.
What levo that has accumulated in your body would last six weeks if you were to stop completely, which I'm not suggesting. I'm pointing this out to show you that you won't do anything bad by reducing the dose of levothyroxine as directed by your doctor. You could even reduce it by 50 mcg, taking 50 mcg per day. Since T3 is at least 10 times as powerful as levothyroxine, this is why doctors usually make the 50 mcg reduction. That would even out against the T3, which your doctor has prescribed to help you.
Hi i did actually reduce the Levo to 75mcg when I added 10mcg of t3 for 4 weeks but felt alot lot worse so upped back to 100 thinking maybe it was the drop in t4 that's effecting me.. I'm having a blood test next week with the ft3 included this time so hopefully I'll know more then...
Since T3 is at least 10 times as powerful as levothyroxine, this is why doctors usually make the 50 mcg reduction. 3 to 4 times maybe; but no where near 10 times as strong. You are badly mistaken on that.
Your FT4 is lowered but it does when you take any form of T3 but your TSH is high for anyone on the correct dose of T3, should be suppressed so you really need a retest and insist that they test T3 because you are taking T3!
Looking st your results of Levo only your FT4 is slightly over range It your FT3 is lower so suggesting then that you weren't converting properly so throwing T3 at the problem isn't always the answer with addressing other issues. I would get Vit D, B12, folate and ferritin tested and get them optimal as they help your thyroid work better, can help with conversion issues and other symptoms you may have. It's not a quick fix but well worth doing and I managed to reverse my conversion by doing that. But some who go down the route of just adding in T3, which can work for many, still find they need to get the vits etc optimal as well. May be you fit into that category?
Hi thanks for your reply however i have got all my vitamins optimal by working on them for over 2 years, when all this started in 2016 I was in despair and joined this group and did so much research on the thyroid and vitamins etc... and have tried desperately over 2 years to get all vitamins optimal and change my entire lifestyle and diet...
But after 2 years my labs still came back that I'm a rubbish converter...
I don't suffer physically at all, I suffer really bad mentally... so my nhs endo had agreed a trial of t3 to Help, I think I just need to find the correct dose, I'm really really sensitive to dose changes too and sensitive to any kind of medication so have to take things slowly....
As SlowDragon says without a T3 reading it is just guesswork at the moment but it is look that your FT3 reading would be low. Really without it it's impossible to say. Just reread you post re optimal vitamins, have you retested them recently? I'm pleased you made the effort to get them optimal, and I'm assuming you are still supplementing but can you let us know if I'm correct in assuming that's the case?
I agree with your gut instinct, that you might just need a little bit more T4. The brain works primarily off of T4, and some patients with depression are prescribed very high doses, like 300 mcg.
I'm sorry to read the T3 doesn't appear to be helping you at the moment. It does tend to get " hyped up " probably because it's difficult to get - a bit like prohibition.
I know, I've said it all before - but for me, having had thyroid ablation, T3 was like wearing stilettoes all day, 2 sizes too small, whereas Natural Desiccated Thyroid is like having my slippers on.
I gave myself a trial of both T3 and NDT so I took charge, felt in control, and could choose for myself the most appropriate thyroid hormone replacement for me.
I'm self medicating, and not going on blood tests, as to " fit into " these blood tests meant I was kept under medicated and with severe cognitive impairment.
I hope this comparison makes some sense. NDT feels kinder and softer, on my body.
How are you feeling today, thyroid obsessed? If you feel in crisis, don’t forget that despite it being a Bank Hol, both 111 and mental health phonelines will be open. Sounds as if you have been taking all of your health issues in hand for the last two years. Must be very frustrating that this last piece of the puzzle has left you feeling worse than before. Other prior commenters have much more to say than I have about your blood tests, I just wanted to say ‘hi’!
Thank you for your kind words, yes it is very frustrating and heart breaking... if been like this for a week now, but I keep going for my children, who are my saviour in all this....
I need T3 for energy and drive, but only a tiny amount, I take between 2,5 and 3,75µg. It works for me. More is not better. All in all, I take 150µg T4 and 3,75 T3 at the moment. So 10 might just be too much.
This is interesting to know.. I lowered my Levo to 75 from 100 and added in 5mcg of t3 to start With, but started with anxiety attacks so thought I needed more, I upped levo back up to 100 then added another 5 of t3, so I'm on 100 Levo and 10 t3 now.. but baring in mind I was technically undermedicated on 100 of Levo as my tsh was at 8 and ft4 top of range....
I feel horrendous mentally it's awful I just don't know what to do, I'm hoping my ft3 level gives me some idea when it's done....
Check out TiredThyroid for her take on T4/T3 proportions.Her take is many need less T3 to T4.
I have had 2 mental health crises-one on T4-only,one on T3-only.Now on NDT & a little T3.
My crises got full-on overnight(depression with severe anxiety)
The first lasted 2 years,the second I took Sertraline for 18 months.I couldn't face months of that living hell again.Sertraline was a sanity-saver for me.Been SSRI-free for 6 months & hoping NDT will help me avoid a 3rd.
Hi thanks for your reply and support, u sound exactly like me if been suffering for 2 years, and finally got given t3 by my nhs endo, it's not been long enough to know if adding the t3 is gonna work as it's only been about 6 weeks, I feel like I'm not on the correct dose yet, I'm really hoping it works as I definitely don't convert very well, if actually been given setraline but never took them there still in my cupboard I'm trying so hard to get better with t4 and t3 because I only turned like this since my levels went off so that's why think it's my thyroid hormones causing it.. if had about 10 days in 2 years where I have felt normal 😔....
During my 2 depressions with severe anxiety,I always felt almost normal from 5-6 pm til bedtime,only to awake with unbearable anxiety the next morning.My first depression improved enormously when I started self-medicating with SAMe(S-Adenosyl-Methionine)which I bought on Ebay.It didn't work when I tried it the second time,unfortunately.I hope T3 can really help you & you won't need ADs.
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