Should I stop T3?

[Jojozo]

Hello lovely people, I went to see an NHS endo yesterday and he's just called with the results and echoed what I was told by a gyne a few weeks ago - that I may be overmedicating and he's told me to stop taking T3.

I'm currently on 125mg Levothoryxine and 12.5mg of Cytomel. I don't have the readings from the blood test that was done yesterday, but I've attached the last set of results from my GP.

I'm 45 and have Hashimoto's. I've felt 'under the weather' for as long as I can remember, but for the the last 18 months I've had nausea, sickness, fatigue, aching limbs, sinus problems, dizziness and depression/anxiety. I am single and self-employed and some days I'm so exhausted I'm unable to work, which is very worrying. I can be okay-ish one day, and then barely able to get out of bed the next. I also have flare ups of symptoms that last for around two weeks.

My doctor suspects I may have Addison's Disease based to two low results from previous cortisol tests, and I'm having another blood test next week. However, I am currently on 100mg oestrogen patches, which I have been told will push my cortisol level up, so I'm concerned it won't be an accurate reading.

I did raise this with the endo who told me 'not to worry about it'. He's also told me that if the reading comes back as normal he will draw a line under my symptoms being endocrine-based and discharge me. When I went to see Dr Peatfield he said my adrenals weren't working as they should be, and when I had a private blood test last year my DHEA was low, so it sounds like my adrenals are struggling. But if the result comes back as 'in range' I feel like I'll be back to square one.

Obviously I'm worried that stopping the T3 could make me feel worse, so I'm really conflicted. I can't afford to go privately again so I feel a bit stuck, and any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Jojozo

My opinion - do not stop the T3 until you have seen all the results together:

TSH

FT4

FT3

It's the FT3 that's going to tell you if you are overmedicated.

If your TSH is low or suppressed that is because you are taking T3 so it's not an indicator of overmedication.

If your FT3 is over range then you can conclude that you are overmedicated and may wish to drop the dose of T3 back a bit.

It would help to complete the nutrient level tests by having ferritin and Vit D tested.

[Jojozo in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks so much. The endo said all the other things they tested were fine, but I'll try and get hold of the results.

[MaisieGray in reply to Jojozo]

If he can look at a FT4 result of 16.3 (12 - 22) and declare that it means you need to stop your T3, I certainly wouldn't take his word that other test results were 'fine' (which is in any case a description of the weather, not a medical deduction 😉). As Susie has said, you need your FT3 result along with your FT4 and TSH results, in order to reach an intelligent and informed conclusion about you being over-medicated or not.

[Jojozo in reply to MaisieGray]

Thank you! I've just spoken to someone at the hospital and asked if they can email me the results, so she's checking with the doctor.

[Lalatoot]

Jojozo without a level for Ft3 there is no evidence you are over medicating. Ft4 is not showing overmedication but to really know you need Ft3. I suspect the are just looking at tsh.

[Jojozo in reply to Lalatoot]

Thank you. That's definitely what the gyne did but I'm not sure about the endo. I'm just trying to get the full results now.