Good afternoon everyone, I hope you’re all well and in good spirits amidst the madness we call corona. As if life wasn’t difficult before it’s been immensely tough lately.
So basically I’ve decided with the utterly disappointing doctors I need to start a trial of t3 to see how I go.
Before I start, i went for bloods today, basic thyroid as he wouldn’t order anything else and vit b & d folate etc. So difficult now with phone appointments!
I’ve recently reintroduced t4 @ my usual dose of 25mcg. Been on it 4 weeks but this time the initial 2-3 weeks I always get my life back (ifkyk). It works well for me. But maybe I introduced it back too soon because I think before my breaks away from it were at least a year. Anyhow such is my mystery.
My choice of t3 is morning side 5mcg at a very costly £150 for 28 tabs
As always any feedback on best way to implement this strategy is appreciated
God bless
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Khan-123
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You implement the strategy based on blood results so to help we would need to know TSH, FT4, FT3 and their ranges. Also what dose of levo you were on and for how long.
As vitamin levels are very important it is advised also that you check B12, folate ferritin and fit D before starting T3.
Guys i have some tests results coming in a few days hopefully! I have no ability to organise my life it’s a shambles before corona and now I’m literally like a cabbage
I have been on and off levo absolute years now... in my previous posts I reference my past in detail but long story short frm 2013 to around mid 2015 I was doing well with levo then a decline which led to me get an increase which in turn nearly crippled me with palpitation and tremors. I removed myself off the t4 altogether around 2017 and was told by my Endo im euthyroid. No need for levo at all I was told. We investigated cortisol and vitamins and all the usual protocol to check for other issues but again at no avail.
Due to the neglect I started levo a few time’s since then to see if I would respond better by changing lifestyle. Anyhow it miraculously worked on my return for a few weeks where I’m superman then gone. Back to square one. Hence I’m here with a packet of t3 sourced from a pharmacy in the uk through family members. No prescription and no Endo. Welcome to post corona life. We can totally forget about our health system now guys, it was poor for us before this and now we can wave goodbye..
Sorry for the rant but I now understand why suicide rates are so prevalent especially amongst quiet sufferers such as the thyroid patients
It's still important for those tests listed above to be done. I think it would be well worth the thyroid antibodies being done because if you've gone from hypothyroid to euthyroid and now hypothyroid again then it could possibly suggest autoimmune thyroid disease (aka Hashimoto's).
I think it's too soon for you to decide Levo won't help you and you need T3 instead .
If you 've only ever taken 25mcg levo, and the dose has not been increased following blood tests after 6/8 weeks on 25mcg, then it's to be expected that you only felt an improvement for 3 weeks . What should have happened next is :re-test bloods after 6/8 weeks on same dose, and increase dose gradually in 25mcg increments until TSH in lower part of Reference Range (and FT4/FT3 above half way through ranges) , or symptoms resolve.
Only when you have been along this route, and optimised your nutrition , and vitamin levels, is it necessary to contemplate adding T3.
Can i ask why you have not been put on a higher dose than 25mcg?
Khan 1 packet of T3 is not enough. It takes a minimum of 6 months to a year to adjust doses and for your body to adapt. you should not start unless you have a guaranteed supply.
Also finding your correct dose relies on regular blood tests every 8 - 12 weeks so again you are not advised to start if you can't do these.
I know I can source more but only if it works I’m hardly going to order lots given the costs.. I can fund for a few months thank God but if I need to I’ll take a loan and go abroad to source .. I’m at the end of my tether
I really think that you need to get your levothyroxine sorted first before you start t3. Some folks can manage on t3 alone but others need levo too. Until you know where you are with it and how it affects you shouldnt start t3.
Thats how levo works. It works for a while then it fizzles out as we need an increased dose. Then when we increase we feel awful for a while then it works for a week or two then it fizzles out. This continues until we get on a proper dose of levo or on proper doses of combo.
You will find that many of us on here have been in the same position as you. I started this journey in 2007 and as you will see in my posts I all but came off levo myself as i did not think it was doing me any good and blamed it for making me worse.
So you need to find out what is causing your thyroid problems if you can. Get antibodies tested if you haven't. This will let you know what you can expect if you have autoimmune thyroiditis as there can be fluctuations in levels with this.
You need to get vitamin levels checked and supplement if any are not over halfway through their ranges. This is essential for the T3 to work effectively.
Then if you wish to start T3 you start on a quarter of a tablet for a week. If that goes well you increase by a quarter of a tablet every fortnight until you are taking 1 tablet either as a dose or in split doses. Then you stop increasing and wait 8 weeks. You then do blood tests to see what effect it has had on your thyroid hormones. You factor in how you feel and then decide your next move.
It took me nearly 50 years to find out why my health was slowly declining decade by decade! I know about dead ends!
Many of us have been along a similar thyroid journey
When hypothyroid the body needs an adequate and constant supply of replacement thyroid hormone....for life.
For most people that is T4, for a smaller group that is a T4/T3 combo and for a few that supply has to be T3-only. I'm not sure your T4 dose is either adequate or constant!
25mcg is a starter dose for children or the elderly. You should start on 50 mcg test after 6 weeks ( the effect will be wearing off after 6 weeks signalling the body needs more hormone) increase if necessary by 25mcg, repeat until your symptoms go.
You say you gradually increased your dose....to how much.
Have you been tested for autoimmune thyroid disease.... "Hashi's"
Next thing....do you know if you adequately convert T4 to T3......indicated by a high FT4 with a low FT3.
You can also have a genetic test for a Dio2 polymorphism which affects conversion....if inherited from both parents (me) it causes greater impairment
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