Hello I am new to this forum, I live in the USA. I have used for a couple of years another thyroid related one, but I'm at a stall with my hypothyroidism. I need to explore other views.
Here's my story.
I'm hypothyroid with Hashimoto's and cortisol and aldosterone issues.
Started a new therapy last July: 60mg NP Thyroid + 25mcg Liothyronine 3 times a day + Adrenal extract 300mg, 250mg, 200mg, 150mg throughout the day + 0.1mg Fludrocorticone (this help raise aldosterone).
I saw some improvement of my hypothyroid symptoms, but never even close at feeling optimal. So I have been struggling with understanding what is wrong.
My labs said I had lots of T3 (even slightly above range) and normal T4 and obviously very very low TSH.
My electrolytes became optimal and I stopped feeling faint as a consequence of low aldosterone.
Last month, as I was experiencing very strong headaches lasting all day, while still having hypo symptoms with over the top T3 in lab work, on February 18 I decided to stop taking T3 and chose to stay on 60mg NP and slowly raise.
what resulted of that:
My headaches disappeared immediately
My fasting blood sugar and baseline during the day dropped over 15 points (I'm a low carber and had noticed a strange increase in my BG)
My liver enzymes became normal.
Even my resting heart rate had been trending lower down below 54 as opposed as above 62 on T3.
On March 6 I increase my NP from 60mg to 90mg:
I immediately started to notice an increase in my fasting glucose.
On March 17 my
TSH 0.31 (0.27-4.20)
FT4 0.65 (0.59-1.70)
FT3 1.90 (2.77-5.27)
On March 22 I increased NP to a total of 120mg (is this right: all in one dose in the morning?).
Results (possibly) of this increase:
My fasting glucose is going higher.
Headache: this morning I woke up with a headache. The ones I have had very often ever since started thyroid meds: not a pounding one, but present in the middle of my forehead. I'm afraid it could get worse.
I'm supposed to increase in about 10 days, but I'm really afraid of side effects.
I'm discouraged: It seems like these meds are toxic to me, yet I'm hypothyroid.
Too many markers go out of whack when I take them.
I don't think it's all about my cortisol: I'm never really tired (rarely I am) and never was even before starting ACE.
What do you guys suggest? I'm afraid I'm running out of options.
Please help me understand
Written by
Thonyc1968
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The one thing that jumps out at me is that you're increasing/decreasing by too much in one go. On here we always recommend increasing/decreasing T3 by 5 mcg every two weeks maximum. And NDT by 1/4 grain every two weeks maximum. You have to give the body time to adjust. Adjusting doses too fast/by too much is countre-productive.
Also, you haven't mentioned nutrients. It's essential that nutrients are at optimal levels for the body to use thyroid hormones correctly. So, have you had vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested? If so, what were the results?
Hello Greygoose, what is 1/4 of a grain, 15 mg? I understand better mg, my natural desiccated thyroid pills are 60mg. Yes I decreased T3 abruptly, but my headaches were terribly painful, I thought I was gonna explode. I have been increasing NP Thyroid by 30 mg every 10-15 days: too quick?
these results are from
September 2021B6 114.5 (5.3-46.7)
B1 129.7 (66.5-200)
B2 286 (137-370)
B12 1307 (232-1245)
Folate 13.5 >3
D 25 hydroxy 80 (30-100)
These are from December 2021
Iron 71 (59-158) this value came down from being 120 (on iron supplement). Iron fell because I started taking Curcumin and only later realized that curcumin reduces iron absorption. I stopped curcumin.
Iron Binding Capacity 218 (250-450) this one is always low, been taking lactoferrin. Any idea how to raise this value?
There is a table of such grain to milligram conversions in my Vade Mecum document. A quarter of a grain is only sometimes 15 milligrams. At other times it might be 16.25 milligrams. Not a big difference, to be sure, but enough to make people question the arithmetic.
helvella - Vade Mecum for Thyroid
The term vade mecum means:
1. A referential book such as a handbook or manual.
2. A useful object, constantly carried on one’s person.
Please don't get put off by the number of pages!
In particular, it is not intended that you sit and read the document. Just that you download it and know you can look things up.
Not everything is in this one document - my major medicines document is still separate!
At the time of the blood draw I might had been taking a B complex, but anyway my Bs are always high. Might be the keto diet.
So, my nutrients seem good, therefore it might not be them my problem.
Why do you think the headache? I have had them also when I was steadily on NP and T3 for a while they were sort of in the "background", then they became unbearable, so I dropped T3 (I know, very bad, I stopped without tapering). I knew it was because of too much synthetic T3 (in fact my FT3 was almost 2 points over the top.
Immediately after my headaches disappeared.
Then after 15 days I started raising NP (at this point my FT3 is below range) of 30mg (suggestion of STTM forum) So you would ascribe my problems to too much increase?
I'm discouraged! I'm starting to think these meds do not work on me: I'm still hypo and yet I get even these strange side effects like higher BG, higher liver enzymes, headaches. On the other forum they seem to blame my adrenals. I did get a cortisol saliva test which resulted in 3 daily lows and high at night, low aldosterone. But I take adrenal cortex extract and fludrocortisone. Do you here consider the interference of adrenal on the absorption of thyroid meds?
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