Hello All
A friend has managed to procure some T3 (25 mcg) for me, and I would really like to give it a try. My question is.....should I incorporate it slowly in with the NDT (currently 9 tablets a day) I am taking, i.e T3 in the AM and NDT in the PM of vice versa, until I just completely take T3 or just stop the NDT altogether and take the T3 only?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
CatPaws
CatPaws
We really need to see your current results for TSH, FT4 and FT3 before making any comment. And are your vitamins optimal - Vit D, B12, Folate and Ferritin?
I wouldn't start t3 unless you have a reliable source. It is not a quick fix. You may need months and months to build up to your optimal dose with lots of tweeking. Then enough supply to give the body time to settle. If you don't have a reliable source then you will run into difficulties. I have been advised by the endo that I may need 6 months to a year of adjustment adding t3 to levo.
There are folks on here who are t3 only. Others need t4 too and need high levels of both in their frees. Be prepared that you may need to add some ndt or levo to t3. And then adjust the dosages to find your optimum of both frees.
Sorry if this doesn't sound positive but it is realistic. I don't want folks to think that t3 is a quick fix that works straight away. It brings its own problems and takes time to work and initially it can be difficult to work out the adjustments to find a balance.
Agree!
There are no quick fixes... just patience, determination, much reading and lots of good advice from experienced forum members
Couldn’t agree more...it takes months to tweak total dose per day, try different timings
And changing brands of T3 can take months to settle
Agree T3 is not the magic bullet people think. I have been T3 only few years and still crash if I over do things. I am not completely symptom free, I still get pain and fatigue but I am a million times better than I was. I am lucky my T3 on prescription as self source T3 getting very difficult over last year, most avenues have been closed down. If it works really well for you but you can't rely on supply you could be setting yourself up for disappointment. Even Ndt is getting harder to source and3 times more expensive in last year, it use to be €40 for 1000 now it is €120-150
Holy poop did I read that right 9 x Ndt tablets a day. That's 330 t4 and 81 T3. Are you resistant? What are your blood tests on that. I take 75-100mcg daily I am resistant but all that t4 on top. How do you feel on 9 tablets, sorry if I sound nosy.
Hi CatPaws- I don’t comment on here much but do keep an eye on all threads. I recently switched to combi therapy T4+T3 from NDT so thought I’d offer up my advice.
As the others have said, it’s a slow process. When I say recently, I mean, I switched last August and we’re still trying to balance them perfectly, but on the positive, I’m getting close! I’m surprised you’re adding T3 to the NDT as that stuff naturally has a higher ratio of T3 to T4 than what is normal in the human body, so I found my T3 was way too high on that alone. Even substituting out some of if for standard T4 still wasn’t enough.
I’m lucky that I’ve been offered to go on the combi therapy of T4+T3 on the NHS so now have a stable supply of both, but it did take 2 years of serious problems after a TT for them to finally agree to it.
Everyone is different in what they need, it doesn’t work for everyone, but I can hand on heart say that this is the first time in 13 years that I’ve felt normal, so I do recommend you try it!
T3 is much more active than T4. The ratio in humans is 13:1 to 20:1. I started off switching to 10mg T3 + 150mg T4 (yes, literally overnight but this was a calculated dose done by endo equivalent time what the NDT was giving me in a better ratio). After 3 months, blood tests showed that although my T4 was now in the middle of the normal range my T3 was at the very bottom of the normal and I was getting hypo symptoms so recently the endo has increased it to 15mg T3. I’m yet to find out if this pushes it too high.
Another thing worth mentioning is it’s half life is much shorter- it doesn’t last as long so you have to split the dose. I take all but 5mg of T3 in the morning and then take that other 5mg mid afternoon. When I tried taking it all in the morning, I crashed by lunch time!
One big issue I’ve found with the combi therapy is that it’s hard to get hold of T3 in the UK. They only can get hold of 20mg tablets (at least where I am in the UK) meaning I have to cut these tiny things into quarters! It’s a bit of a pain but worth it.
I’d honestly recommend trying to find a good endo or someone who can help you because it really is a balancing act which you need blood tests done regularly throughout. You also need a proper supply of T3 as, like I and the others said, it can sadly take months.
Good luck and get in touch if you need to. 😊
Whatever you do, don’t do a straight swap or you’ll be hyper. Remember most of the T4 in your NDT takes a few weeks to start converting & longer to leave your body so there’s a much longer lag time than T3. .
Nine grains is a lot of NDT. If that’s not helping you it might be sensible to check your cofactors are good & that you’re taking everything appropriately to ensure best absorption & conversion. Is there an issue with your gut health, diet , or meds & supplements timing that’s stopping your NDT working effectively? After addressing these potential issues, perhaps take a little T3 just 1/4 tablet for starters (though 1/3 is approximately the same as that in one grain of NDT) & drop your NDT gradually. Remember to allow for the T4 swooshing about your body.
T3 or NDT with poor adrenals?
Going from NDT to T3 only. 
Help with converting NDT to T3 please
Which T3 and Which NDT
Stick with T3 or try NDT
