long-term health risks of a high T3 level

[Helsbells68]

Are there any long-term health risks of a high T3 level?

As mentioned in my post 3 days ago I am currently taking 2 x Thro Active 2 by Regenerative Nutrition. Each tablet supposedly contains 75mg desiccated whole raw porcine thyroid gland but they do not provide a T4/T3 breakdown. Previously taken 2-2.25 grains Nature Throid before their potency then supply issues.

Latest bloods after taking Thyro Active for 8 weeks are as follows, monitor my health ranges in brackets:

May-21 TSH 0.02 (0.27 - 4.2) T4 13.7 (12.0 - 22.0) T3 7.5 (3.1 - 6.8)

So according to these results I am now over-medicated however I do not have any symptoms, quite the opposite.

TIA

[radd]

Helsbells68,

Many members seem to get results similar to yours when medicating glandulars. I am assuming you mean FT4 & FT3?

If T3 is continually elevated it can lead to complications such as changes in the thyroid binding proteins. This will alter the amount of bound and free thyroid hormone. If too much is left free you risk receptors becoming desensitised. If too much is bound there will be the obvious short fall in the free that available for use.

If T3 is very elevated such as in long term hyperthyroidism we risk atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis as the metabolism runs too fast for other systems to keep up.

Yours is only just over range and it is difficult to test T3 because of the peaks, troughs and other factors that influence it. If you don't feel over medicated, if these were my test results on glandualrs I wouldn't be worrying. Did you leave 12 hours between blood draw & last dose?

[Helsbells68 in reply to radd]

Yes, 12 hours between last dose and blood draw, blood done first thing in the morning. My T4 levels often used to be just below range when taking NDT.

Resting heart rate mostly in the mid 50s, though this can drop into the 40s a couple of times a week. No weight loss and no real appetitie

[penny in reply to radd]

A couple of things, Helsbells68; I was under the impression that one is either hypothyroid or hyperthyroid and over-medication for the first does not cause the second; I also thought that the claims of osteoporosis and AF had no basis in science. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong.

[radd in reply to penny]

penny,

You have mentioned Helsbells68 but sent your question directly to myself so I will answer.

I think you are getting mixed up with the doctors common misbelief that a low TSH level can give us osteoporosis & AF. The low TSH has no bearing on these conditions and in fact many medicating Levo will require a low TSH to be able to get enough T4 from their meds. T3 & NDT tend to naturally lower the TSH anyway making bloods even more complicated for the uneducated doctors.

Long term elevated T3 will bring risk of osteoporosis and AF. This is because healthy bones require an optimal amount of thyroid hormone so old bone can be dissolved/resorbed & new can be produced to replace what was resorbed in a healthy proportionate measure. Too low thyroid hormone levels decrease both bone resorption & production resulting in brittle bones (osteoporosis, osteopenia). Too high thyroid hormones speed metabolism so bone absorption exceeds bone production with a net loss of bone mass and again brittle bones.

With regard to the heart, low thyroid hormone slows metabolism & all heart functions, and indirectly causes AFib by raising cholesterol/BP, allows fatty acids build up & elevated homecysteine, becoming overweight, etc. Elevated T3 does much the opposite by increasing metabolism and causing an elevated cardiac output.

"I was under the impression that one is either hypothyroid or hyperthyroid and over-medication for the first does not cause the second"

Yes, it causes 'overmedication' just as you state, but symptoms may be the same as those felt in hyperthyroidism. Is that what you were referring to?

[goatheard]

Regenerative Nutrition does provide the T3/T4 breakdown in mcgs. It is at the bottom of your packing slip. Each batch varies slightly.

[Helsbells68]

Thanks goatheard , I did not notice that.

Interesting to read that it is inspected according to USP39 and the assayed levels are declared yet it is still classed and sold as a glandular/supplement.