After some research and advice here, I’m going to reduce my levo and add in T3. I plan on adding it in 5mcg at a time, spread through the day.
I have some questions.
1. Where do I get T3 (online)? I know the name of one place but wonder if there are others. Please PM me - thank you
2. How much should I reduce my levo by? I’m on 125mcg
3. How long should I leave it before introducing the next 5mcg?
Thank you very much.
2. How much should I reduce my levo by? I’m on 125mcg
Depends on your FT4 level. You might not need to reduce it at all, because just taking T3 will lower your FT4.
3. How long should I leave it before introducing the next 5mcg?
Depends how well you react to the first 5 mcg. If all goes well, add in another 5 mcg after two weeks. When you get to 20 mcg - if you get to 20 mcg - hold for six weeks and retest.
Thank you very much for your answers. They are very helpful. I will stick with 125mcg in the first instance and see how it goes. I’ll add in increments of 5 for the T3. Thank you again.
You're welcome.
Dr John Lowe. an Adviser to Thyroiduk.org.uk before his accidental death never split T3 and took his in the middle of the night so that nothing interfered with its uptake. He stated that T3 had to saturate all of the T3 receptor cells (we have many) and they then send out 'waves' throughout the day and that can last up to three days..
I follow his advice with one daily dose and am well and symptom-free. When having a blood test, I take my one daily dose with a glass of water after the blood draw - not before.
tpauk.com/main/article/the-...
Gosh, that’s so interesting. I’d never have thought about doing that. It would be easy enough because I always wake in the night - around 4am or so. Sometimes a bit earlier or a bit later. I’ll read the article. I’m desperate to start because I just don’t feel right.
How sad that he died accidentally. Tragic. I’ll look him up too and read what he says.
How do you get your T3? And how much do you take? Did you reduce your T4? I’m so sorry for the questions.
I was wondering whether to try things and see how I feel. Then when I feel well, wait eight weeks and take a blood test. Does that sound sensible?
Thank you so much again.
I am prescribed T3 by the NHS. I take 20mcg when I awake with one glass of water daily. I feel well and have no symptoms.
Everyone is different. Some recover on a dose of levothyroxine that suits them. Some on a T4/T3 combination.
Do you only take T3? I guess it’s about trying different things and seeing what works. Is it through an endo or your doctor? Each area of the UK seems to be so different.
Yes T3 alone I take. T4 gives me awful palpitations that puzzled the Cardiologist after many overnight recordings and he was thinking of putting an implant into heart.
Thankfully T3 was added to T4 and I felt so much better and I eventually took T3 alone. Palpitations resolved and I never needed advice of Cardiologist again, nor a heart implant.
I feel well.
Don't spread T3 throughout the day. One of Thyroiduk's Advisers who was also a scientist and expert in the use of T3 (he took it himself) states that a once daily dose of T3 should saturate all of our T3 receptor cells and they send out 'waves' throughout 24 hours in the day.
I have followed his advice for several years, I feel well and have no symptoms. I also have energy.
tpauk.com/main/article/the-...
I thought I had replied to your message but I can’t see it. I have read the article and it’s really interesting. I will read more from him. And I’ll continue doing research. I’m looking into various options of getting T3. I want to ensure it’s safe whatever I do! Thank you
That’s dreadful! How can doctors be quite so clueless? I had no idea that thyroid can affect your heart.
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu.... Thyroid Hormone effects on Heart (too much and too little )
Thank you very much. It’s so interesting. I b he v learned a huge amount this week. Thank you again.
Dr John Lowe was an expert/scientist/researcher who took T3 himself. He was also an Adviser to Thyroiduk. He took one daily dose so that it saturated all of the T3 receptor cells that then sent out 'waves' between one to three days.
This is a link to Dr Lowe:-
I was just reading the posts and had a question for shaws . My results probably about a year ago indicated I might need t3, I was advised on here to get my iron etc in a better place. In that time I had to increase Levo. My iron is better but the results are not truly normal, but that’s another issue.
Why I’m I now not suitable for t3? I’ve had issues with it before as it’s truly rocket fuel, but I think it was the fillers. I can’t forget the fog in my head did clear. I’ve an endo appointment soon and she sees no reason now to give me t3, yet I feel awful in myself. Do I have any argument, do I need t3? How can I indicate a slight issue with t4 to t3 conversion? and now my results don’t? I am on a very high dose of Levo. Sorry to disrupt the post a little, but it’s got me asking questions.
I follow the advice of Dr John Lowe who was an Adviser to Thyroiduk. He was also a scientist/researcher . Unfortunately he died due to an accident. He was an expert in the use of T3 and he, himself, took his dose once daily (actually he took it in the middle of the night when he awoke so that nothing interfered with T3's uptake).
I’m going to try taking it in the middle of the night. Can you take 3 and 4 at the same time? Thank you again for all your help.
I would not start taking T3 in the middle of the night. You need to be awake to see how it affects you until you reach a stable dose. You could switch and try it in the night if you felt you needed to change something when established. There are many ways of taking it. All at once and in the night is just two of them. Valid for some but not others.
Take your first 5mcg with your Levo in the morning as normal. When you move to your second 5mcg take that 5 or 6 hours after the first and see how it goes.
I recommend either the The Thyroid Patient's Manual or Recovering with T3 books by Paul Robinson for a good grounding in T3 before you start. He also has a blog and web site paulrobinsonthyroid.com where you can find his books. His methods are very different to Dr Lowe, but they talked together about all this a lot before Dr Lowe died. I think he's done a forward in one of the books. Paul had to work this all out for himself, the hard way, and for him he needs regular daytime dosing.
T3 needs to be treated carefully. You need to know what you are doing before you start. You need to know what you are looking out for. You also need to know what your TSH, FT3 and FT4 levels are before you start. As Greygoose said, you don't need to reduce your Levo if your FT4 is lower in the range. But you can't make that decision without testing first. You also need to get fresh iron, ferritin, folate, B12 and Vitamin D tests ready. So you might have to invest in some private tests to get set.
3. How long should I leave it before introducing the next 5mcg?
I'm probably the special case, but I've never been able to tolerate more than 1-2 mcg of liothyronine or the equivalent amount of T3 in NDT. I get heart arrhythmias, tachycardia, all jittery and anxious. I ended up in the emergency department at the hospital the same day I started 5 mcg of liothyronine prescribed by a well meaning doctor. I hope you do well on T3, but do go slowly... at least in my case 5 mcg was a huge dose.
That must have been horrible. I will go slowly for sure. I’m hoping it’ll be okay. Thank you very much for the warning. I appreciate it and will know if I feel like that I need to stop.
T3
Increase my t3 and levo
T3
starting T3 - advice welcome 
T3
