Has anyone gottten their T4 up with T4 only meds and no t3? And lowered TSH? Lost weight and toned up? I’m on Armour. But low low T4/T3 now

[Jo1884]

Has anyone gottten their T4 up with T4 only meds and no t3? And lowered TSH? Lost weight and toned up? I’m on Armour. But low low T4/T3 now that TSH is 0.8. Lost all my muscle tone got saddlebags flabby thighs flabby butt and keep gaining I don’t know what else it is

[fuchsia-pink]

Nope. The other way around for me, sorry! ie could only lose weight when put on T3 - despite eating healthy, home-cooked food and doing the intermittent fasting thing [see recent separate thread]

You don't say what your T3 and T4 results are, but putting on weight sounds more to me as if you are under-medicated ...

[greygoose]

Taking T3 doesn't raise your T4. Taking T4 raises your T4. T4 is basically a storage hormone that converts to T3. But, it's all about how much you take and being on the right dose for you. I agree, sounds like you're under-medicated.

[Treepie]

Yes.

[Jazzw]

3 grains of Armour might not be enough for you. When you’re chronically a bit hypothyroid, your gut stops working so well and doesn’t do such a great job of absorbing the dose you take. It seems to me that you need a raise in dose. Another 1/4 or 1/2 grain a day might make all the difference. As Grey Goose commented the other day, 0.8 is *not* a low TSH for someone on Armour. I’m on 3 grains of Nature Throid and mine is often below 0.1.

Additionally, how are your Vit D/Vit B levels? You need both your Vit D levels and Vit B/folate levels to be optimised for your gut to work well.

It’s a delicate balance and it can take some time to find. In the short term, you may find an increase in dose helps while you’re sorting out any nutritional deficiencies (when they’re optimised you may find you can reduce it again).

[Jo1884 in reply to Jazzw]

I think mthfr gene us affecting this?! I do have Bs good. Low vitD

[Angel_of_the_North]

The only thing that will tone you up is working your muscles and having enough protein and a good enough metabolism to replace and rebuild the damaged tissue. You can reduce TSH by taking T4 only, but that doesn't often help the way you feel. FT3 defines how you feel. Some people can raise that on levo only but others can't.