Increasing activity. Do I need to increase T3 medication.

[McPammy]

I have Hashimotos for 12 years and last year very low cortisol. I now take 5mcg Liothyronine T3 twice a day after finally being diagnosed as a poor converter, after 11 years just on Levothyroxine. Plus I now take 75mcg daily. My thyroid and cortisol are now in a good position after as I was very unwell last year for about 15 months I also have B12 3 monthly injections due to low B12 and I take ferris fumerate 210mcg often

I have DIO2 positive gene test from one parent and I don’t convert T4 to T3 very well

So all in all I’m doing pretty well from where I was last year which was housebound after working full time for 44 years

Last week I decided to join a local gym as I’m feeling good but my weight is too high and I just want to get back to a weight I was before I got so bad last year

On my first day I took it easy and just walked fast on a treadmill for 30 mins then spent 10 mins on a rowing machine I felt good

I left a day in between then went and repeated what I did on day one However, after this time I started to feel very weak a few hours later and nausea too So I took another 5mcg T3 that evening as I felt quite bad Within a couple of hours I felt much better I’m not sure if this is what I need to do I can’t increase Levothyroxine as I just can’t convert very much, even after increased dose last year my T3 level could not get above 3.9(3.7-6.0)

I’m thinking that if I want to increase my activity and can’t convert Levo T4 hardly do I need a T3 increase I was thinking of taking another 5mcg later in the day to build up my stores as I believe there is a short half life of T3 of 2/3 days

Any thoughts or experiences on how to mange T3 when increasing activity would be greatly received

My latest results 20 Sept 19

T3 4.8(3.7-6.0)

TSH 1.22 (0.35-5.50)

T4 10.5 (7.86-14.41)

Cortisol 9am 313 (155-607) if my T3 is lowing my cortisol drops

Ferritin 50.4 (22-322) on meds

Vit D 84 (above 50)

B12 1500 (150-750) just had inj

Cholesterol gone up from 5.2 to 6.7!! Not sure why?? I’m on a healthy diet So hence my idea to exercise too Can T3 meds increase cholesterol??

Folate 10.9 (above 4) this goes up when on ferris fumerate

Thank you!!!

[greygoose]

Just looking at your labs tells you you need an increase in T3 - and you really over-did it in the gym for your level of T3. So, yes, give yourself an increase of 5 mcg daily, and see how it goes.

And low T3 means high cholesterol - they have an inverse relationship. Cholesterol levels have nothing to do with your diet. It's made in the liver. But the body cannot utilise cholesterol properly if T3 is low, so it builds up in the blood. Nothing to worry about.

[McPammy in reply to greygoose]

Thank you Greygoose for your reassuring reply. And thank you for taking time out to reply also.

I took a little extra T3 day 2.5mcg this morning and then went to the gym again. I’m only walking fast on a treadmill for 35 mins followed by 10 mins on a cross trainer today. I found it exhilarating to be honest. Headphones on with my favourite dance music. I then went shopping, came home and walked around my village that takes 40 mins. So far I feel just fine today. I hope this continues. I’ll keep on with the extra dose now. I’ll be having more bloods done next week when I see my NHS Endo on the four monthly routine. It’ll be interesting to see what my bloods are then. Honestly I feel so good. It’s nothing short of a miracle compared to this time last year. T3 is so very important for us.

Interesting what you say about cholesterol. It went up when I changed T3 brands recently. I wonder if my latest brand Mayne Pharma isn’t as powerful as ThyBon I’ll keep my eye on it

Thank you again and I hope you too are feeling well and happy with your life currently.

Without this forum I don’t know where I’d be. 👍😀

[greygoose in reply to McPammy]

You're very welcome. Hope you continue to feel so well.