Hi, I first posted on here back in August last year. I'd been suffering for years with exhaustion & resultant depression and it was only a chance meeting with a lady who had similar symptoms that led me here. I've since received a lot of advice, most good, which has helped me greatly. Thanks to SlowDragon, Marz and HumanBean I've dropped a lot of medication various GP's had prescibed but were actually impeding me (no GP had ever mentioned thyroid might be a problem). I've made some progress but I don't have any medical experience so it's been a struggle. The first time I took some T3 it was revelatory, I felt re-energised for the first time in years. Since then it's been ups and downs (I've found a good source for Greek Uni-Pharma) and what I'm looking for is some guidance on how much I should take. Am I better taking it in one go or splitting it throughout the day? Should I only take it when I'm feeling low? I know this can be subjective depending on the individual but my problem is my GP won't even acknowledge that T3 is the only thing that's had a positive result, after years of being given anti-depressants and various other junk that only made me feel worse. I did get a referral to an NHS Endo but he didn't want to do anything other than sit on the fence, although he did admit that one consideration in prescribing T3 was the price. I've uploaded my most recent blood test results which seem to be in range although they've added the caveat " Falsely high (FT3) results may be observed in patients ...ingesting biotin supplements". No one asked me if I was taking B12 supplements and no, I'm not. As advised I have taken a coeliac test which was negative (thank God, I couldn't live without toast!)
As ever thanks in anticipation for any advice, best wishes to all and please stay safe. (Got my husband to help with this, I'm still not lucid enough to do it all myself!)
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Poppyfaery
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I'm afraid those labs aren't much use for talking about T3 because there's no FT3 result. What were you taking at the time they were done? How were they done? Early morning and fasting? 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood draw?
what I'm looking for is some guidance on how much I should take.
There are rules for taking hormones: start low and increase slowly until you reach your sweet-spot.
What that means for T3 is starting on a 1/4 tablet and increasing by 1/4 tablet every two weeks until you get to a full tablet, then hold for six weeks and retest, see how you feel.
Am I better taking it in one go or splitting it throughout the day?
Only you can answer that question. And, you'll only find out by trial and error.
Should I only take it when I'm feeling low?
Definitely not! T3 will only have the desired effect if you take the same dose regularly every day. You cannot chop and change with T3 like you can with T4.
Hi GreyGoose, thanks for such a prompt reply. My bad, the FT3 result was on a seperate page, it was 4.3 pmol/L. I was aware of the rules you mention and adhered to them. I'm currently taking one 25mcg tablet a day. I'm very grateful for your advice, I'll keep on trialling and erroring, there's been a lot of the latter so I appreciate your comment about not chopping and changing. As for "Have you had your antibodies tested?", this is why I said I'm not medical, I don't even know what that means. Any advice on where to get this done? Also, on one of the links SlowDragon sent me a while ago included a company (I probably shouldn't mention the name here, but they offer Thyroid UK members a 50% reduction) that did a food intolerance test. I wondered if you've any thoughts on that, or any other testing that may be beneficial. Thanks!
You haven't given us the range for the FT3, but it looks rather low - especially for someone taking 25 mcg T3! Do you always take it away from food and other medication/supplements, just like T4?
You can mention names of companies that do blood tests. And, most of them will do antibody tests. You want Thyroid Peroxidas antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin antibodes (TgAB) They will tell you if you have Autodimmune Thyroiditis - aka Hashi's. If you have, it won't affect your treatment, but will possible affect your lab test results. So, it's best to know if you have it.
I don't have any thoughts on food intolerance testing, no. But, have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested?
You'll have to forgive a lot of ignorance on my part, GG, I thought the range would be a one-for-all thing. In my case it was 4.2-6.9 pmol/L. Thanks for your advice on antibodies though, invaluable to me and I'll get on it tout suite. Had Vitamins D & B12 tested back in August, I'll put the ranges in parentheses. Vitamin D 56 nmol/L (50-175), B12 440 pmol/L (flagged as Deficient <145, Insufficient 145-300, Consider reducing dose > 569), Folate 24.3 nmol/L (8.63-30.8) and Ferritin 101 ug/L (13-150). Incidentally Magnesium was 0.99 mmol/L (0.66-0.99). Thank you again for your time.
Ranges vary from lab to lab, depending on the type of machine they use. So, we always need the ranges that came with your results. A lot of labs have a range of 3.1-6.8 for the FT3, so your result is even lower than I thought. Incredibly low for someone taking 25 mcg T3. How long did you leave between your last dose of T3 and the blood draw?
Your vit d is very low. I think you ought to have a word with your doctor about that.
I, personally, would want my B12 higher than that. But, check out low B12 symptoms and see if you have any. If so, that needs raising.
Your folate and ferritin are good.
Magnesium is not worth testing, due to the way the body handles magnesium. You can have a high result be still be deficient, so just take some - excess is excreted, anyway. And, if you're going to take vit D, you need to take magnesium, because the two work together.
Thanks, sadly I can't remember the time between taking T3 and the blood draw, I'll be more aware next time. My GP did prescribe Adcal D-3 because my Vit D was low although this is where I get confused, some members have warned me it could end up lining my arteries. As I said these results were from August. I've been reading on the NHS website about B12 deficiency symptoms and I have some so I'll look into that, as well as Magnesium. I've had a quick shufti at Magnesium on the NHS website, I'll investigate further. Once again I greatly appreciate your advice.
My GP did prescribe Adcal D-3 because my Vit D was low although this is where I get confused, some members have warned me it could end up lining my arteries.
Adcal is basically a calcium supplement, with a lot of calcium and a small amount of vit D. Quite why such a supplement is manufactured, and why some doctors think it's a good idea to prescribe it, is a mystery to me. When you take vit D, it increases absorption of calcium from food, so you would rarely need a calcium supplement on top! What's more, the type of calcium it contains is very difficult for the body to absorb, and that's what is likely to end up lining your arteries, not the vit D.
What you need is vit D by itself, or with added vit K2-MK7. The vit K2 make sure the extra calcium goes into the bones and teeth, and doesn't end up in the soft tissues/arteries causing problems. Don't be afraid of vit D - as long as it's not in excess - it needs to be optimal.
It only affects it if antibodies are tested. It doesn't do anything special to the TSH/FT4/FT3, they will just tell you if you're hypo/hyper/euthyroid.
they've added the caveat " Falsely high (FT3) results may be observed in patients ...ingesting biotin supplements". No one asked me if I was taking B12 supplements and no, I'm not.
Biotin isn't included in a B12 supplement, it just contains B12.
It's B Complex that contains all the B vitamins including Biotin (B7).
If you don't take a B complex or a separate Biotin supplement then that's OK, if you do then we advise leaving it off for 7 days before any blood test.
As long as your test was done early morning, nothing to eat or drink except water before the test, last dose of Levo 24 hours before the test and last dose of T3 8-12 hours before (splitting dose and adjusting timing of T3 if necessary) then results should show normal circulating hormone levels. However, when taking T3 it's essential that FT3 is included in the test alongside TSH and FT4.
Thanks Susie, was misinformed by Google about Biotin being B12. However I'm not taking any B Complex products either. Will bear your other comments very much in mind.
Falsely high (FT3) results may be observed in patients ...ingesting biotin supplements". No one asked me if I was taking B12 supplements and no, I'm not.
Vitamin B12 is not the same as biotin. People often take biotin as a separate supplement and it is also usually found in B Complex products.
The problem with biotin is discussed in these links :
Hi, I know this is a post from a year ago, but it came up when I searched for Uni-Pharma. I'm looking for a good supplier. Are you still happy with yours? If so, I'd be very grateful if you could PM me their name 💗
Hi used to get it from <redacted source> but they no longer stock it, i got pharmaqo from same place wich im not sure of im so depressed with a personal happening i cant tell, another member e mailed me that unifarma is available from <redacted source> there based in montenegro but i havent orderd any yet myself, as i ve another called citomed which after texting you im going to start trying them as ive used 62 of the pharaqo keep in touch and ill let you know how im feeling on them hope this is helpfull im always exhausted
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