Hi friends, as some of you know I’ve started T3 on Friday. Starting on 5mcg once a day in the morning with my T4 based on the advice from learner members here. Endo wanted me to go straight to 2x5mcg a day.
I’m feeling better immediately, feel warmer, more energised and like I’m not dragging myself through life. All well and good.
Side effects include diarrhoea (which I can live with) but more concerning is a slightly uncomfortable feeling in my chest. My heart rate isn’t much changed since before starting treatment on T3 and I’m otherwise fine. No tremors or shakiness, just a discomfort in the chest.
Anyone experience this? I feel I may need to reduce my T4 slightly.
Written by
Wired123
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The general view of the regulators (e.g. the MHRA in the UK) is that lines on tablets are not there to facilitate splitting doses. They are to help allow splitting to make them easier to swallow and for identification.
I happen to think this represents a change - and the score lines used to be intended to split doses.
Some tablets might expressly state that their score lines are suitable for splitting doses. In which case, fine.
Just to be absolutely clear, I am reporting what MHRA have said! I don't mean to tell you not to split them.
The arguments include:
The active ingredient might not be evenly dispersed.
The split might not be accurate.
Crumbs from splitting might be lost.
If we consider coated tablets, there are many more considerations!
The Summary of Product Characteristics for one UK liothyronine product says:
3. Pharmaceutical form
Tablets
The score line is not intended for breaking the tablet.
AND
• For doses lower than 20 micrograms, the tablet should be allowed to dissolve/disperse in 20 mL of water for 10 minutes, in a small measuring cup.
• The patient should gently swirl the solution occasionally to aid the dissolution/dispersion. The patient should then swirl the solution for a few seconds prior to using a suitable oral syringe to withdraw the amount of liquid corresponding to the dose prescribed (5mL for a 5mcg dose; 10 mL for a 10mcg dose).
• The patient can then squirt the liquid directly into their mouth from the suitable oral syringe by gently pressing the plunger.
Stick with it, I found it took a few days till my body got used to it. Like Slow Dragon I'm on 20mcg but I take the whole tablet first thing in the morning along with 50mcg of levo.
I've also started T3 this week and have the 5mcg pills. I had to make myself take the Levo in my original dose of 88mcg for almost 4 weeks before adding T3 just to get stable first. Now I find it easier to add T3. For the first two days I took 2.5mcg once daily, then days three and four I took 2.5mcg twice daily. It was then I started having that feeling in the chest you describe. 88mcg puts my T4 at the top end of the reference range and T3 about mid range so on day five I reduced my Levo to 75mcg and took 5mcg T3 in the morning and 2.5mcg at 12 noon. That feeling in my chest went away and I started to feel... normal. I felt relief after reducing the Levo but that's only because I was at the high end and starved for T3 so I needed to make some room to get what I really need.
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