liothyronine dosage

[abartme]

Hi all-Question about liothyronine here.. So by lowering the levo dose and adding t3 which is in and out quickly how does one maintain a level dosage, especially during the night ? Also anyone out there experience tachycardia with t3 ? Thanks all !

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

abartme

Do you split your dose of T3?

Some people manage fine with taking T3 all in one dose, some split it into 2 doses, some into 3 doses. See what suits you best.

[abartme in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes I have done that, makes a difference.

[Marz]

OK it may be in and out as you say ! But the effects last in the cells for a day or three !

[greygoose]

T3 isn't in and out as quickly as some people believe. It has a half-life of 24 hours in the blood - which means that 24 hours after you've taken your dose, there will be about half left in the blood. But, the T3 that gets into the cells stays there for about 3 days. So, if you are taking a dose every 24 hours, or 12 hours, or whatever, the level should stay more or less constant.

[abartme in reply to greygoose]

Okay that makes sense, half live being longer then I've been told. In past when I tried adding cytomel I felt great but ended up with bouts of tachycardia on only 5mcg added to 50mcg Tirosint. What is odd is my free t3 didn't budge, stayed at 2.5. TSH went down to 1.05 from1.50 , no reverse t3, so doc has no idea why I had tachycardia. I felt better with a little t3 before that ! At least my hair didn't fall out (-:

[greygoose in reply to abartme]

I wouldn't expect your FT3 to increase on only 5 mcg T3. It's a tiny dose. And, rT3 wouldn't cause tachycardie - or anything else, come to that. However, under-medication can cause all sorts of heart irregularities. So, I would surmise that you were under-medicated - although no way to tell because you haven't given a range for that FT3.

[abartme in reply to greygoose]

Oh okay the f3 range is 2.4 to 4.2. Doc says t3 changes all the time and tests are not accurate ..He goes by TSH mostly but will still give me whatever I want to try

[greygoose in reply to abartme]

So, your FT3 is pretty low. I think you need an increase or two in dose.

These doctors are so weird! T3 does not change all the time. It has a daily rythme, in that it's highest in the early morning, and drops throughout the day. But, so does TSH! And, the differences with TSH are far more pronounced than with the FT3. Yet, they are quite happy to test the TSH at any old time of day, and believe the result tells them all they need to know. They are contradicting themselves, in denial, and refusing to learn about thyroid. Tell him to take his blinkers off, and read some of the latest research if he wants to help his patients. Makes me so cross!

[abartme in reply to greygoose]

yep my thoughts exactly. They really don't want to spend the time to go too far outside the box to know each patient individually .

[greygoose in reply to abartme]

They don't really want to diagnose/treat it at all, seems to me. Possibly because they realise how little they know about it.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Do you have Hashimoto's

Are your vitamin levels optimal. That's vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

As soon as we add almost any dose of T3, frequently TSH because suppressed m even if not on high enough dose of Levothyroxine/T3

So it's absolutely essential to test FT3 and FT4 regularly

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

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

Is this how you do your tests?

Add recent results and ranges on Thyroid and vitamin levels and members can on supplements needed

[abartme]

I do test 24 hr after last dosage but I don't always fast. Have coffee and light breakfast. Vitamin levels are good, even tested too high for B12 which I do take. Funny, thought I'd be low. No hashimotos's just half a thyroid. I agree with more frequent testing.