Liothyronine and feeling sleepy

[AS14]

Hi

I started t3 6 days ago and feel extremely sleepy, more so than on t4 alone and that was bad enough.

Doctor prescribed 10mcg x2 a day but following advice from here Im going with the low and slow approach so for the first 5 days I took 2.5mcg at 7am and mid day. Today Ive upped it to 5mcg x2 at the same times.

I know its a very low dose and Ive only just started but to feel so sleepy is confusing to say the least.

I can tell Im taking it but hard to describe what I mean, my limbs feel lighter and in general it just feels odd , very hard to explain what I mean. Certainly no rush of energy or feeling like Ive just woke up like so many people describe.

Approx 45 minutes after taking a dose I have very brief palpitations, but other wise my blood pressure, pulse and temperature are fine.

Has anyone else felt sleepy and if so does it pass.

Im not sure when is best to increase next, I dont want to increase too fast but equally I want to start to feel better

Any advice would be much appreciated .

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Yes, initially first 1-2 months I struggled to keep my eyes open about 30-45 mins after taking each T3 dose

I still find it improves sleep

Many people on T3 take small dose before bed, for that very reason

Try leaving it a bit longer between doses 7am and 3pm

Suggest you consider adding 3rd dose at bedtime after 1-4 weeks on 2 x 5mcg

[Lalatoot]

I don't think that many feel a sudden rush of energy or wellness with lio. It is only the odd one or two.

Most of us need time for the body to adapt and doses to be adjusted. It has taken me a year of dose adjustments to fine tune levo and lio doses.

Don't feel that you have to keep increasing your lio. If you feel like stopping at 5mcg x 2 daily do. Wait 8 weeks and do bloods.

If you are on a combo because of poor conversion sometimes we only need a little lio to make up for the inefficiency of our body - so a little top up might be all you need.

[AS14 in reply to Lalatoot]

Hi

Sorry for the late reply

Yes Im taking it for poor conversion and I had hoped that just a small amount would make a big difference to how I feel.

I understand low and slow and that well need different amounts Id just hoped to of felt something at 2 x5mcg but theres not even a hint of an improvement.

So far all I feel is worse, it feels like the t3 is poisoning me more ill than I already felt and even more sleepy, cant stay awake and I didnt think I could feel any worse than I did. I wasnt expecting miracles but certainly not to feel like this.

I hope this is just my body adapting to it and that side effects wear off soon and I start to feel some symptom improvement.

Thanks very much for your advice.