Tweaking T3

[Jasma]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone could give me advice on tweaking my dose of T3. I'm taking 40mcg T3 / 50mcg Levo. I've been upping my dose of T3 by 5mcg every week, with a few weeks on 30 over Christmas while I was waiting for some more. At 30 my FT3 was 4.8 and at 40 it was 6.8, at the very top of the range. I've always had a few palpitations but I notice I seem to be having them more often now. One day last week I had two big involuntary RLS-like contractions in my foot and abdomen but nothing since. I spotted from day 30-34 which must have been in lieu of a period. So I think I might be a teeny bit over-medicated and am wondering if I should wait it out and see if things settle? Would I adapt to the new dose if i do nothing? Or should I go back to 35 and if I do will I feel bad for a bit? I don't want to yoyo around unnecessarily so i'd appreciate some advice from someone in the know!

Thanks a million.

[Jasma]

Thanks Scrumbler. I take 20mcg T3 with my full dose of levo in the morning and 2 other doses of 10mcg later in the day at 12 and 5. There were 11 hours between my last dose and testing. The symptoms are very very subtle, the palpitations are weak, not big thumps and I've no sweating, itching, anxiety etc. When I had the jerking movements last week I decided to cut down but since they haven't happened since I became unsure. On the same day I felt a split second of carpal tunnel-like pain on the inside of my wrist but again nothing since.

[greygoose]

Well, I wouldn't say you're on a high dose. But, I would say that you've increased too fast and have possibly missed your sweet-spot. Normally, one increases every two weeks, but as the dose gets higher, increases should be spaced further apart. When did you last have a blood test?

[Jasma in reply to greygoose]

Thanks greygoose. I didn't realise that. The last test was about 2 weeks ago , then it took about a week to get the result.

[greygoose in reply to Jasma]

So, when you were on 40 mcg? But, how long had you been on that dose? You should stay on a steady dose for at least six weeks before testing, to give things time to settle down. And, how long did you leave between your last dose of T3 and the blood draw?

[Jasma in reply to greygoose]

11 hours between the last dose and my blood draw. I had just been on 40mcg 1 week, I knew about leaving 6 weeks for levo but I didn't got the impression from my doctor I could just test after a week. Thinking about it now he didn't exactly say that. I started to have the muscle contractions about 2 weeks after going from 35 to 40. Now just an ocassional palpitation and the menstrual symptoms. Cut back a bit?

[greygoose in reply to Jasma]

As you're not having so many symptoms now, I think it might be a good idea to wait for six weeks before retesting, and then see how you feel and what the results are.

[Jasma]

Thanks!