Dizziness after 30 minutes of 10mcg T3

[nat66]

Hello,

I have been taking T3 for a month because of hight RT3. tests results from May

FT4 0.83 (0.54 -1.24)

FT3 3.1 (2 - 4,7)

RT3 0.38 (0.09 - 0.35)

I have read Robinson's book recovering with T3 and have tried to monitor my temperature, heard rate and blood preassure. I feel sometimes dizzy between 30 minutes to 2 hours after taking 12,5 or 10 mcg. I have not noticed any symptoms of overstimulation while taking this dose. I take the T3 without eating, has anybody experienced dizziness? Should I eat ?

Thanks for your suggestions

[SlowDragon Administrator]

For Levothyroxine or T3 to work effectively it's essential to have good levels of vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Can you get your Doctor to test these.

Do you have autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto's? Diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

[nat66 in reply to SlowDragon]

hi,

Thanks a lot for your reply. I don't have hight thyroid antibodies anti TPO 0,7 range (<9) and 0 TGB only RT3 is out of range. So my GP says I am ok but she did not want to look at my RT3 and my symptoms, always tired and cold. I have been intoxicated with metal for some times and I chelate at the moment. I consult a doctor online that went through metal detox and knows how metal messes up hormones in general and thyroid hormones in particular. He recommended me to take T3. I started with 6,3 mcg 3 times a day, went up till 37,5mcg but I started to feel dizzy. I already had that sensation a few times before but it has accelerated lately so went back to 21mcg over the past few days. I am on antibiotic which may not help (although I did not find any interaction with T3 medication.

I have done tests on vitamin D that I had low last year but corrected it by suplementing D3+K2. My B12 is quite high because I have been taking supplements for a while. No problems with iron (is ferritin the same?). Will ask to test folate.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to nat66]

Iron and ferritin are different

You can have different levels of iron compared to ferritin

[nat66 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks a lot, I'll check both then.

[greygoose]

Taking T3 is not a 'cure' for high rT3. The only way to reduce it is to find what is causing it.

True that if you are a poor converter and have top of the range FT4 and low FT3, reducing levo and taking T3 will reduce your rT3. But, if your problem is low ferritin, an infection or high cortisol - to name but a few of the many causes of high rT3 - just taking T3 won't help.

And, your FT4 is only about mid-range, and you convert well, so not likely to be the cause of high rT3.

Besides, high rT3 is not the problem people make it out to be. It is inert, and only stays in the body for a couple of hours before it is converted to T2. It is highly unlikely to be the cause of any of your symptoms.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

thanks for your reply. I ve had intestins problems for yeas because I do not digest sugar very well. I have started a specific carbohydrate diet 2 months ago and the inflamation is gone. I personally think that my high RT3 is due to that inflamation. With the diet I hope I have addressed the cause. But I fell a lot more energeric with T3 and I can sleep much better (which is one of my big issue).

I have quite high Cortisol too. So I do not know which is more important cortisol or disbiosis.

I did a 24h salivary test in May. Cortisol waking up 20 (range 6-21) 12pm after swimming 20.3 (range 1.5 - 7.6) 4pm 3 (range 0 - 5.5) before bed 2.2 (range 0 - 2). So I have it a bit high appart from after swimming.

I also did a test of sexual hormones where my morning cortisol was ok :6.7 (range 3.7-9.5) Estradiol 0,7 (range 1.3-3.3) Progesterone 2938 (range 200-3000) I use transdermal cream. Testosterone 36 (range 16-55) DHEA 5 (range 2-23).

You seems to know a lot about RT3, could you recommend me a book of articles to read about that.

Do you think I should stop T3 supplementation.

I know that my high cortisol could be addressed taking DHEA because it lower cortisol levels. Any tips on lowering cortisol? I am not stressed so I think it comes from metal intox.

Thanks for your patience and recommendation

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

Your high rT3 may indeed be due to high inflammation levels. But, it's the inflammation that is the problem, not the rT3 itself.

I don't have a book to recommend on rT3 - so much of what is written is out of date. But, there is this which explains some things:

zrtlab.com/search-results?q...

Your early morning cortisol is good, up where it should be. Strange about the 12 pm result, though. DHEA can lower cortisol, but taking it is not always a good idea. It could all convert to testosterone, which you really don't want. You could try taking Holy Basil just at the times when it's high, but you don't want to reduce it over-all. Does it stop you sleeping at night? If not, I would leave it as it is.

I can't say if you should stop the T3 without seeing any blood test results. Do you also take any levo?

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

Hi again,

Thanks for the link, looks like I am going to learn a lot. I think the 12pm cortisol is because I had just done sport. I can sleep at night but wake up every 2 hours and sometimes can't sleep from 4 till 6am, or sleep 5-6 hours and feel tired. i'll try holy basil then.

I don't take Levo. I have started T3 directly a month ago.

Whe you say blood test you mean TsH, Ft4 FT3 ect. Do you think I should do another one to see where my thyroid is doing? my last test was done in May and I started the diet which has stopped the inflamation in July only.

Thanks

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

I very much doubt your thyroid is doing anything. But, the tests I was interested in were FT4 and FT3, tested together whilst on levo only. That would tell us how well you convert. But, if you're going the T3 only route, it's somewhat irrelevant. However, in another two weeks, it would be a good idea to retest your FT3, see what your level looks like.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

Good idea, I agree with you, i'd like to know thyroid hormones levels. I have reduced my intake to 19 mcg per day. I feel less dizzy. Do you thing I should stay with 19mcg before the test? I don't know how long it takes to reduce and quit.

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. Why have you reduced your T3 dose to 19 mcg? Are you planning to come off it? Why? If you're hypo, you can't do that.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

Hi,

I have reduce the dose because I don't feel as dizzy with a lower dose., I don't feel cold ether. So I thought that it may be better not to take any T3. I have read the links you sent me from ZRT lab. It looks like - as you have said before - that high RT3 is due to inflamation (of the intestins in my case). However, I did not feel cold before I started the medication, I was quite ok with my new diet and the summer heat, even if I feel better with it (sleep better and more energy).

From what I understood from theZRT articles I should focus on the inflation and taking the right supplements -Selenium- rather than take T3.

Does that make sense?

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

No, it doesn't. Not if you're hypo. The article was mainly talking about the uselessness of doing rT3 tests because they don't tell you much. The mention of inflammation was just incidental.

Do you actually have a diagnosis of hypo? That's the first question. If you do, then your inflammation is more than likely due to being hypo. So, you need to get your thyroid hormone levels optimised. How you do that would depend on your labs. But, no point doing labs until you've been on a dose of whatever for at least six weeks - or, been off thyroid hormone for at least six weeks.

But, the main thing is: forget rT3. It's a total red herring.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

hello,

I have not been diagnosed Hypo, I just have hight RT3 so a doctor that knows about metal intoxication that I chat with online told me that I should take T3 to reduce RT3. I tested my thyroid hormones in May. My doctor was against giving me any T3. I felt cold during last winter and no energy. But in July I started a new diet that stopped the inflation of my belly completely. Then in August I started to take T3. I suppose that it was a mistake. I should have tested the thyroid hormones again to make sure that my RT3 where still high. I started to take T3 early august, it felt great at the beginning but after a couple of weeks I started to feel a bit dizzy. The dizziness is increasing with time. That is why I think that I may have done the wrong thing and should stop. I have reduced the dose and don't feel cold. What do you think?

Thanks for taking the time to answer me by the way

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

I think that that doctor you've been chatting to is dangerous! He should not tell people to take T3 without testing first. It's not something to play with, and it's not a cure for excess rT3, and rT3 isn't the problem, anyway. He's got it all wrong from A to Z.

I also think that you should have explained all that in your main question. It would have saved a lot of time.

And, I think you should get your FT3 tested as soon as possible. It's highly likely that you developed those symptoms because you had too much T3 in your system.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

You re right, I should have explained it all at the beginning, sorry to bother you with half told stories. You are also right that I may have to much T3, On their website, Cytomel is saying that dizziness is a sign of taking too much medication. I am going to test my Ft3 tomorrow . It takes 10 days for the results to come. I don't knon if I should reduce the dose a bit more, I still feel dizzy with 6,3mcg 3 times a day, but less than when I was taking 31mcg.

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

Well, don't reduce it until after the blood test. But, yes, maybe stop it all together now you're down to 6.25 mcg.

[nat66 in reply to greygoose]

ok, thanks a lot

[greygoose in reply to nat66]

You're welcome. And, if I were you, I'd ditch that on-line doctor! He could have killed you.