Dose ratios of T4 - T3 tablets: Dose ratios of T... - Thyroid UK

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Dose ratios of T4 - T3 tablets

CJH81 profile image
7 Replies

Dose ratios of T4 - T3

I have to reduce my T3 levels, and found these guidelines on the following website. verywellhealth.com/hypothyr...

Am I right, if I take 75 T4, I need only 5.35mcg of the T3 tablet.

Doctor just said reduce dose - not much help really.

Thank you all in advance.

So tired (literally) of trying to get myself sorted correctly.

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CJH81
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Lalatoot profile image
Lalatoot

We take whatever doses we need of each to get our blood levels FT4 and FT3 where we need them to be as individuals.

Without seeing any blood results we cannot advise you as to how much to reduce by or what we would advise from our own experiences.

However reductions (and increases) in T3 liothyronine are advised to be by a quarter tablet as this is easiest on the body.

If you care to post recent results and ranges then we could offer advice.

CJH81 profile image
CJH81 in reply toLalatoot

Hello Lalatoot!

Here are my latest results.

16/06/2020

]TRIIODOTIRONINA (T3) LIBRE *4,6pg/mL [ 1,8 - 4,2 ]

]TIROGLOBULINA ANTICUERPOS 1,73UI/mL [ 0 - 60 ]

TIROXINA (T4) LIBRE 1,14ng/dL [ 0,71 - 1,85 ]

TIROXINA (T4) TOTAL 7,81µg/dL [ 4,5 - 12,5 ]

Lalatoot profile image
Lalatoot in reply toCJH81

What Susie says is good advice. I would also recommend reducing by a quarter tablet. Test again in 8 weeks.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

CJH81

Am I right, if I take 75 T4, I need only 5.35mcg of the T3 tablet.

How did you come to that conclusion?

That would be T4:T3 ratio of 75:5.35 = 14:1

Are you going by this

When adding T3 to T4 during thyroid replacement therapy, most experts recommend administering a ratio of T4:T3 of between 13:1 to 16:1, which is the ratio that exists in people without thyroid disease.

It does say that is the ratio that exists in people without thyroid disease. People with thyroid disease is a whole other ball game.

If that ratio was correct, why does NDT have the ratio of T4:T3 at approx 4:1?

We are all different, we need different balances of T4 and T3. Some need them perfectly balanced when on combination hormone therapy, some do fine with a low FT4 and FT3 in the upper range. There is no one size fits all. So you experiment, tweak doses and find what suits you.

With your results of

FT4: 1.14 [ 0.71 - 1.85 ] = 37.72% through range

FT3: 4.6 [ 1.8 - 4.2 ] = 116.67% of range

We can clearly see your FT3 is over range and needs reducing. Whatever amount of T3 you are taking then the usual way to reduce dose is by 1/4 of a 20mcg (or 25mcg) tablet at a time. You may also need to increase FT4 (that would be too low for me) but you may be fine with it at that level.

Looking at your previous post here

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

we were waiting for you to confirm exactly when you took your last dose of Levo. It would seem that it was 12 hours before the test and it was explained that if that was the case then you have a false high FT4 result in which case you could very likely need to increase Levo after you've reduced the T3 - don't do both changes at the same time though.

greygoose profile image
greygoose

If you feel well on that dose, personally, I wouldn't change anything at all. :)

No, it's not correct and these "ratios" are usually based on a misreading of a study by Pilo who actually showed that healthy people vary immensely in the amount of T4 to T3 that they produce - but then "researchers" took an average of these very divergent results and said "OK, one size fits all, so that what everyone needs." You need what you need to make you well. See thyroidpatients.ca/2019/06/... and part 2 on Reductionism linked at the bottom. The article describes what IS done in the US, not what SHOULD be done

CJH81 profile image
CJH81

Thank you all for your input x

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