This is going to be a female- only post unless any men on the forum have any words of wisdom! š
So two years after starting my T3 journey Iām now feeling amazing... most of the time. Having tried various things and made some properly stoopid mistakes, I think now I know what Iām doing and what I need from my T3.
Iām struggling with one thing though. Having realised that I definitely need to supplement my progesterone to aid my thyroid hormone uptake (Iām 44), Iām struggling for the 12-14 days that I donāt use it.
Iām still menstruating (stuck with that for a while yet me thinks), so the advice is to stop using it for the first part of your cycle until ovulation. For the last couple of months though this means I donāt feel great, my motivation drops and I get dizzy spells.
If anyone has experience of progesterone replacement and can advise what I can do, Iād be grateful. Otherwise, what are peopleās thoughts? Am I likely to be slightly āoverā dosed because the hormone isnāt going anywhere, or am I under medicated because my body canāt use it? Iām inclined to think the latter but Iām not sure increasing my dose would help, as itās not going to be utilised. My latest bloods show that Iām very slightly over medicated but as I feel so well Iām sticking with it. Iām trying to reduce my second dose slightly but as itās so tiny itās a bit hit or miss how much I take each time (trying to split 20mcg into 2.5mcg bits!)
What I really want is to be able to supplement all month long, but I donāt think thatās an option or sensible. Iām aware of options like the mirena coil but I canāt say Iām convinced that it wasnāt involved in my becoming ill in the first place, so Iām not keen. Plus, itās synthetic hormone and Iām not keen on that.
Any ideas? I feel so great when Iām great now that I really take this couple of weeks feeling poorly again ill out.
Thanks in advance š
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Murphysmum
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You might have to experiment with a few more blood tests. Because as I understand it, T3 stimulates the release of progesterone from luteal cells. It stands to reason that your progesterone levels would be higher when youāre using the cream than during the days that you arenāt? (Think that makes senseāhappy for others to check my logic ). So I guess what youāre experiencing during the non-progesterone-cream-assisted part of your cycle is effectively a huge drop in progesterone. Makes sense youād notice it!
How much T3 are you taking? And at which point in your cycle did you do the last thyroid hormone test?
Iām just speculating at this point but wondering whether you might need to take fractionally more T3 during the part of your cycle when you arenāt using the cream?
(Had to edit this almost immediately as I did indeed use some faulty logic! So I had another go at explaining what I thought I meant... In fact, I think now I could be completely barking. ).
Thinking about it some more, maybe itās actually that youād need to reduce your T3 dosage slightly during the part of the cycle that youāre using the cream...
I mean the obvious thing is just to try it but it would be lovely to hear peopleās thoughts first.
I hadnāt actually thought about the action of the T3 on progesterone production, I kind of had it the other way around - the progesterone aided the uptake of T3.
"Progesterone aids in the retention of zinc and potassium in our cells. Zinc and potassium allow the thyroid hormone to enter the cell and then to be converted to the active form known as T3."
Tbh I canāt remember! Iād need to check exactly what it is but itās just the measured pump as recommended. It makes such a huge difference though, I can feel within a couple of days when I stop taking it.
Tbh my ferritin and folate could be a bit higher (heaven knows Iāve tried) and this will affect my monthly cycle too but I really really need the pg.
Having read through that page, I may increase slightly and see what happens. As mentioned on there, I do feel slightly like Iām fire fighting, not actually fixing the issues so maybe an increase would help.
Iāve been careful to keep an eye out for any side effects though so Iāll keep doing that. Thanks, itās all useful reading š
Thank you. I was wondering about a reduction earlier. And the only reason it popped into my head is that Iāve noticed around half an hour after taking my morning dose of T3 (doesnāt happen with the later dose), is when I get some dizzy spells or tend to feel a bit āoffā. This used to be the time when I began T3 that Iād get crazy heart beats and palpitations that were quite scary initially, so itās obviously the time when my meds kick in.
The pg-cortisol-T3 thing makes sense and oestrogen dominance is something Iāve struggled with since my thyroid issues started. In fact, with hindsight it was around before the problems really started but that definitely exacerbated things. Now with regular supplementing of pg Iāve got my thyroid levels sorted and the issues that oestrogen dominance causes are much less - I just need to find month long consistency!
I might be chasing the holy grail on that last point, and starting on the slippery slope toward 50 maybe Iāll never find it, but itās worth a shot.
i canāt really advise but iām in a similar position about really missing the progesterone cream when i stop it day 26-14. i just got my thyroid labs back ( on my profile) and weirdly my ft4 and ft3 are much lower. i decreases my ndt around 6 months ago after my female hormones and thyroid seemed to show over medication ( my shbg was high which i now understand from sttm site is quite common when on t3). my fsh and lh were high last year as was my ft4 and ft3 so iāve over done it with reducing from 5.5-6 to 4.5, so now iām taking it back upitās really hard trying to navigate female sex hormones as well as thyroid and there doesnāt seem to be much good info out there!!
Last year for me was finding my ideal T3 dose, and I thought I had as I felt great but I started to notice the monthly correlation when I did the couch 2 5k. Iād feel great and have more in my legs until I hit days 28-3 and my energy levels just plummeted. I knew it wasnāt my dosing, that never changed. I did find out my testosterone was very low so that wasnāt helping either.
After (stupidly) trying pregnenolone for a while, Iāve got my thyroid doses and levels back on track but this female hormone interaction thing is really bugging me!
So to be clear, your bloods suggest your under during this time? I really should do some next month maybe, just to compare.
Itās odd because the dizzy spells I get tend to happen when Iām taking about too much, but the rest of the symptoms suggest Iām a bit low.
Ffs! It really is a minefield isnāt it? Canāt wait for menopause proper to kick in! š¤¦š¼āāļø
yes my ft4 is 4% and ft3 50% ( there is a little spreadsheet on my latest post). i went from 5.5 grains to 4.5 over the last 6 months as i understood progesterone increases t3 uptake?! may be true as my t3 isnāt too bad but my ft4 crashed. itās as low as when i was unmedicated in 2014 ( i never had ft3 tested before starting ndt so hard to judge whatās going on there)
i also started weight training again 12 weeks ago after a year off, so that could account for why my body is needing more thyroid meds. maybe you becoming active has impacted your bodily needs too??
iām getting a day 3 test this week and day 21 next month so iāll let you know if anything of interest
i really suffer when i stop the pg cream on day 26 but iām worried about taking it all month as i donāt want to play around with my hormones too much!
Iām EXACTLY the same. Iād love to feel the same all month too but like you, I donāt think playing about with hormones is a very clever idea.
More activity definitely increases demand. At the start of last year, just pre lockdown as it tuned out, I saw my endo and at that point was taking 40mcg a day and said to her I thought Iād end up on around 50mcg as my activity levels were generally much better.
Fast forward to mid summer and C25K and Iām at 55 to feel well. After my latest little blip Iām now on 60 but as I say, my last bloods tell me thatās slightly over.
I stopped taking levo completely last year too so have no FT4 at all. I feel much better this way.
I thought that progesterone aided thyroid hormone uptake/use which I guess is kind of the same idea as you but on that theory it would mean Iām maybe over medicated over those days Iām not using pg cream? I need to do bloods I think... itās the only way Iāll know.
Youāre getting thyroid bloods days 3 & 21 or hormones? Yes, let me know how you get on, Iād be really interested to know.
See this is why we canāt approach doctors about this.. not only are they fairly clueless on thyroid matters (she says, making a sweeping generalisation š) but thereās no way theyād āgetā what we have going on here.
i found this website called alva for menopause info. it was set up by a GP and her daughter who were shocked at the lack of info on menopause after she went into it after breast cancer. they can help with HRT for relatively low cost. it might be worth looking them up? i canāt do anything until i see where my sex hormones are at currently. i tried to post their website here but it wouldnāt let me. just google alva menopause
Well both Male and Females need Progesterone it's that Least mentioned of the hormones but more important than either T or E as it's the Precursor to both of them.
Also, Progesterone works on Prostate issues no less!
Hi Murphysmum I'm just wondering where you ended up since this thread ten months ago? I've started taking progesterone and I am starting to see a pattern of better days generally 1-14 then crashing, so opposite to you, but wondering what you found out, if anything? Also what dose of progesterone cream you ended up taking since the progesteronetherapy site recommends such a high doseage. I have read the website with a lot of interest and keen to increase dose slowly. I'm very fatigued still (bedridden mostly) but recent hormone bloods showed me as having progesterone and estrogen both on the floor! Working on things now but keen to hear other experiences! Thanks
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In fact, I think now I could be completely barking. 
Dipping my toe into the possibility of thyroid issues
On T3 only and having a 'dip', any other tests I should request from GP
looking for answers about thyroid and adrenal 
