Helping conversion

[Bootscoot]

Hi all, my doctor recommended seaweed extract to help conversion of T4 to T3, would this help? I take selenium but my T3 could be a bit higher. Tried to get an increase in Levo but doctor said no as my TSH is suppressed 0.04. Is there anything else to try and help?

[Angel_of_the_North]

I doubt it will help any more than eating a decent diet. Seaweed does contain iron, folate and B12 (but the B12 and folate are hard to absorb unless you have the right genes - and so is veg iron - although seaweed is somewhere between a vegetable and a fungus and an animal!) It will contain iodine which has been used to suppress thyroid hormone production for hundreds of years. No evidence that it will help with conversion (apart from raising iron, B12 and folate, which you can do in other ways). Are your levels of B12, folate and ferritin currently low? If your T3 is low, add some T3 to your levo

[greygoose]

What are your FT4 and FT3 levels? They're the important ones, not the TSH.

Never take nutritional advise from a doctor, they know nothing about it. They don't 'do' it in med school.

[Bootscoot in reply to greygoose]

FT4 19 (10-25) FT3 4.8 (4-6) My doctor is going to write to an Endocrinologist and get advice. He also said if I sourced T3 he would help me. Not sure I want to go there yet.

[greygoose in reply to Bootscoot]

Well, I think you might have to, because you do have a conversion problem. And your FT3 is very low. But, pretty sure that taking iodine doesn't help with conversion. How would it? Iodine is one of the ingredients of thyroid hormone, that's all.

[Bootscoot in reply to greygoose]

That's what I thought about iodine. Not sure what T3 costs, how much to take or where to get it.

[greygoose in reply to Bootscoot]

Costs vary, but it's not nearly as expensive on-line as it is on prescription in the UK.

To find where to buy it, post a new question asking just that, and people will PM you their trusted sources.

How much to take? Well, you follow the rules for taking all hormones: start low and increase slowly. So, with T3 that would mean 1/4 of a tablet (usually the tablets are 25 mcg - or sometimes 20 mcg) added to a dose of levo reduced by 25 mcg. Then you can increase by 1/4 tablet every two weeks as needed. But, when you get to one whole tablet, hold for six weeks and retest.

[Bootscoot in reply to greygoose]

Thanks Grey Goose, I'll see what comes back from the Endo though I haven't got high hopes. I'm on 125mcg Levo, which is the only increase I've had and I started right off on 100mcg 5 years ago. I'm in Scotland so our prescriptions are free

[greygoose in reply to Bootscoot]

All you can do is wait. Start a new post when you hear anything.

[Bootscoot in reply to greygoose]

Will do thank you

[greygoose in reply to Bootscoot]

You're welcome.