4 weeks after adding t3. Lab results. What to do now?

[Tussa]

I was supposed to wait 6 weeks until testing but I’ve got an email from my dr saying they are closing for a month on Wednesday (16th of December) so I felt I needed to go to check my levels before. I went this morning so unfortunately I took my last dose of T4 and T3 26 hours before testing ( not 8-12 h as recommended here).

I realize I have to increase T3 but HOW? I have hypocalcemia after my TT so I find it very difficult with the timing of food, supplements and t3. Or could I just take everything in the morning ( 10 mcg t3 + 75 mcg Levo) ?

My timetable

6 am- 75 mcg Levo + 5 mcg T3

10 am - magnesium

1 pm- calcium + vitamin d

4 pm - calcium

6 pm - b- complex, vitamin k

7 pm - zinc

10 pm - magnesium

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Perhaps only take one dose magnesium

Move B complex to 10am (B vitamins are recommended in morning )

Add 2nd 5mcg dose T3 mid afternoon

Retest in 6-8 weeks

[Tussa in reply to SlowDragon]

but mid afternoon will be to close to calcium. Isn’t it supposed to be 4 hours between calcium and t3?

I’m not sure I want to take all magnesium at once. I take 375 mg and that’s a large dose taking all at once. The company says up to 250 mg daily so I’m already taking “ to much”.

Sorry I was wrong. I’m taking b-complex at lunch.

[NWA6]

Do you have to take 2 doses of magnesium?

Defo add more T3 and maybe think about taking it at night and moving your schedule back a few hours. I thought magnesium was best with food? If so this would work better to take it first thing with breakfast and thyriod meds at night on an empty stomach.

[Tussa in reply to NWA6]

I’m taking magnesium bisglycinate and it doesn’t have to be taken with food.

Do you mean taking the morning dose like 4 am by suggesting moving my schedule back?

[NWA6 in reply to Tussa]

No I meant take magnesium at 6am

6am - magnesium

9am - calcium + d

12pm - calcium

3pm - b complex + K

4pm - zinc

5pm - magnesium

10pm - thyroid meds.

If I’m honest I’d probably change all of that schedule. It must be exhausting!

I’d probably take all of those together. Although I don’t know much about calcium and I don’t take iron.

This is my schedule.

7am - T3

6pm - all Vits together with dinner

11pm - Levo + more T3

[Tussa in reply to NWA6]

Thanks for the reply! See my reply to fancypants54 about spacing my supplements out.

[NWA6 in reply to Tussa]

So you know that mag. and calcium don’t go together for you. What about the other Vits? Surely they can go together? Vit D +K2 comes on a handy spray bottle so bypasses the gut altogether.

6am - magnesium + zinc + VitD spray +K2

9am - calcium

12pm - b complex

3pm - magnesium

6pm - calcium

10pm - thyriod meds

Still looks nuts to me but I guess if you have a history then you know what’s what.

But also you don’t know how the introduction of more T3 will help, could be that if you get an established thyriod dose that works you might not have so many deficiencies? Or you don’t need to take higher doses a d so don’t have to worry as much about them competing with each other.

[McPammy]

You could do with adding a further 5mcg 7hrs after your first = 1300hrs and you may even require a third dose of T3 5mcg about 1900hrs. T3 only lasts about 8hrs with a half life of 2/3 days. Are you feeling better in the mornings and then dipping after lunch time with only taking it once daily? It may need replenishing? When I take my T3 I take 5mcg twice a day as directed by my professor of Endocrine. If I am exercising on a regular basis i have been directed to take a third dose.

I’m also on 75mcg Levothyroxine.

It lifts your energy so much and just about everything in your body starts to work better.

[Tussa in reply to McPammy]

I don’t have any dips after lunch. Actually I’m feeling good so I was so disappointed to see that nothing happened to my t3 levels after adding 5 mcg t3. Maybe my Levo was to much decreased from 75x2 +100x5 to 75 everyday?

I just don’t know how to add the extra 5 mcg t3 with all the supplements and food...

[McPammy in reply to Tussa]

If you want to try to add 5mcg T3. Do it just prior to lunch. I don’t think T3 absorption is effected as much as Levothyroxine with food. You could take it at 12 noon and eat at 1pm. I take my T3 6/7 hours apart. I don’t feel that food intake makes a difference. I’m not on any supplements so not sure about them. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Give it 2/3 days to build up your T3 half life before you should start to feel a difference. You can get all caught up with timings, food and supplements and then that messes up your mind.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Tussa]

Many/most members if taking magnesium only take it once a day, usually afternoon or evening (timing depending if taking levothyroxine/T3 at bedtime)

Your Ft3 result will be false low as you left 26 hours between last dose and test

Ft3 only lasts about 8-12 hours in blood after taking it

Many members end up on 3 doses T3 per day approx 8 hours apart (7am, 3pm and 11pm )

Or twice day - 7am and 7pm approx.....obviously still need to fit around food and supplements

[FancyPants54 in reply to Tussa]

Your blood test was way too long after your last dose of T3 to give an accurate reading. So your result could have been much better than this. Although your TSH is still high, so you aren't quite there yet.

How do you cope spacing all those vitamins and minerals out like that! Would drive me mad. I take iron and Vitamin C with dinner at night and magnesium at bed time when I remember. The B vitamins and anything else I'm taking get slugged down all at once 4 hours after my thyroid meds. Life's too short for this sort of schedule.

[Tussa in reply to FancyPants54]

This timetable is driving me totally crazy but I have no other choice but to follow it. Since my operation I have hypocalcemia( low calcium). Because of that and stress related gut issues I learned the hard way I can’t be without the other supplements.

Minerals compete with each other for the absorption when taken at the same time. I took magnesium and calcium together and I was always deficient. As soon as I spaced them out my levels were good.

[Lovecake]

I’d take b complex at 10am. Magnesium at 6pm and another 5mcg of T3 at bedtime - so, any time from 10pmI may not be right, but worth a try

[humanbean]

Your timetable :

6 am- 75 mcg Levo + 5 mcg T3

10 am - magnesium

1 pm- calcium + vitamin d

4 pm - calcium

6 pm - b- complex, vitamin k

7 pm - zinc

10 pm - magnesium

A suggested timetable :

6 am- 75 mcg Levo + 5 mcg T3

10 am - Vitamin D + B Complex + Vitamin K

10 pm - calcium + zinc + magnesium

[Tussa]

Thank you everyone for replying! I think I found a solution. There is a zinc supplement called zinc bisglycinate from Thorne which (according to their homepage) doesn’t compete with other minerals for absorption. So I will take this and magnesium together once a day and magnesium once a day on its own. This way there is a free space around 19. It will just be 1 h after dinner but it’s the best it gets.

Another question: can I take the second 5 mcg T3 tonight or do I have to start with just 0,25?

[Lovecake in reply to Tussa]

I went from 5mcg with levo and added another 5mcg. Didn’t go for the 2.5mcg. As my tablets are 20mcg, it’s quite difficult to get 1/8, not impossible, but not very even

[Tussa in reply to Lovecake]

Thank you! I will do the same.

[Lovecake in reply to Tussa]

Let us know how you get on. I hope it suits you and you feel well.

[JAmanda]

A lot of people take everything in one go. I was inspired to try it and find it just fine. Started doing 50 Levo plus 20 T3, then changed to 75 Levo and same T3 with no probs at all. I THINK that magnesium massively affects me. I take in evenings for constipation plus was low in mag for a while. But last sat I had a bath midday with Epsom Sslts in it and felt like hell afterwards - wanted to cry or be sick or faint - after a few hours I was ok but I guessed the serious amount of magnesium had really stopped the absorption of meds. So I do keep mymeds far from the mag.