Does splitting T3 keep T4 and tsh more ‘normal’?

[Timsywhimsy]

Hi all, so just want to throw this out there and see if anyone has any thoughts......always trying to figure stuff out!

I can post my doses/values later but not sure it matters for this question.

When I split my t3 my t4 doesn’t tank and tsh may even be higher. I haven’t been able to figure out why but then I read something by someone on here (sorry, can’t link it and he didn’t cite anyway) saying pituitary responds to highest daily value of t3, not the average amount in your blood. If that’s true then splitting t3 would mean no big spikes that could drop tsh and t4?

Love to hear thoughts/experiences....thanks!

[LAHs]

I imagine that splitting T3 would be better than taking it all in one shot in the morning (as I do). The reason I do not split my NDT (has T3 in it) is because I cannot guarantee an empty stomach twice a day and then be able to wait an hour before lunch (or dinner). If you can, more power to you.

I know for sure that taking the full dose of NDT in the morning causes your T3 to spike well above the maximum for normal because I was once very busy, knew I had a blood test on my job list and did it forgetting that I had taken my pill. The doctor phoned me within the hour telling me to stop NDT immediately since things had gone awry, I did not stop, I just became aware that the first three hours of taking NDT causes an overload of T3. I now take my pill at about 5:00am these days so the first two hours are spent half asleep anyway, so no harm appears to have been done.

[Timsywhimsy in reply to LAHs]

Thanks for your reply! Out of curiosity, what were your t3 levels shortly after dosing and what are they usually? Oh, and how much t3 did you take?

[LAHs in reply to Timsywhimsy]

OK, I was taking 1.5 grains of Armour NDT. Tested within an hour of taking the pill:

my TSH was 0.01 ulU/mL (0.40 - 5.00) ulU/mL

my Free T4 was 1.2 ng/dL (0.8 - 1.7) ng/dL

my Total T3 (sorry it's not Free T3) was 181 ng/dL (50 - 170) ng/dL

That was taken on 7th November 2016, a day that will go down in infamy in the US. And that's why I was completely distracted and stupidly got a blood test after taking my pill. Oh well, interesting.

The T4 and T3 in Armour NDT is 9 mcg T3 and 36 mcg T4.

[virtualreality]

Hi, yes I've found splitting makes a difference too, even with low doses of T3. I tried taking my 15mcg as two doses (10+5) first of all because it was easier to fit around meals/coffee/supplements. But now I've switched to three (5+5+5) and my TSH level has increased. The effect on T4 isn't so clear for me because that seems to jump around a bit. But definitely the TSH.

[Angel_of_the_North]

It doesn't seem to make any difference to my free T4 (but the total amount does) or TSH, but I feel better with smaller, frequent doses. But I have central hypo so TSH is pretty meaningless