I’ve just come to Poland for a couple of days and I went to see a thyroid specialist because my endocrinologist in the UK literally let me change my daughters on my own and does not control me.
I’ve just come to Poland for a couple of days and I went to see a thyroid specialist because my endocrinologist in the UK literally let me change my doses on my own and does not control me.
This new doctor gave me the above meds… at a dose of 100 mg of T4 and 20 mg of T3. I’m currently taking 75 mg of T4 (levothyroxine).
I don’t know whether to trust his doctor, because he said that anxiety and depression is all psychological and has nothing to do with thyroid hormones.
I’m sure that we all know that this is not true, hence why I’m not sure if I should trust him and start this medication.
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Angie10116
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I have a colleague on Novothyral. It´s a good drug if you need it, ie have low FT3 levels due to impaired T4 to T3 conversion. It contains T3 and T4 in a fixed ratio which may or may not be ideal for you.
Anxiety and depression are both common in hypothyroid patients (hypothyroid = suboptimal FT3 levels). The fact that your doctor claims it isn´t shows he is not very knowledgeable to use an understatement!
I know! I felt so undermined and annoyed when he said that! I think my t3 is fine. He is trying to lower my tsh. I’ve put on 10kg in the last month or so and it’s been a yo-yo. I’ve been on t3 and separate T4 before and my anxiety got worse.
Why lower your TSH? Normally, you would would work on optimising the free Ts, especially free T3, and when that happens the TSH usually drops. But lowering the TSH sounds like a strange goal in itself because the TSH does not do much once on thyroid hormone replacement. It´s low free T3 that causes hypo symptoms such as weight gain. I had a below-range TSH on levo only along with low FT3 and had a lot of hypo symptoms that kept getting worse.
Is that really 16 or 1.6???? Because a TSH of 16 means seriously under medicated if on any kind of thyroid hormone replacement, and full-blown hypothyroidism if not on thyroid hormone replacement!
We´d need reference ranges with those results as they vary from lab to lab, but your free T3 seems low which would mean inadequate T4 to T3 conversion. How much thyroid hormone do you currently take? Or did you decide to stop levo as previously mentioned? What did your lab results look like before you were prescribed levo?
Just being in-range doesn't mean that the results are right for you. The ranges are usually too wide. But, we do need the ranges to understand the results. There's no such thing as 'average ranges' because ranges vary from lab to lab, so we need the ranges that came with your results.
Your FT4 looks as if it could be high, and your FT3 low in comparison, which would mean a conversion problem, and a need for T3. But, that TSH is totally out of sync with the Free results. Is the TSH result of over 16 a one-off? Or is it always that high? It could be that there has been interferrence in the testing. It does happen.
For you to be able to tolerate T3, all your nutrients need to be optimal - not just 'in-range'. Do you have results and ranges for vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin? Often when people have problems taking T3 it's because they have one or more nutritional deficiencies.
So, suddenly taking 20 mcg T3, as in 1 tablet of Novothyral could be totally the wrong thing for you. It is normally suggested that one start on 5 mcg T3 for two weeks, and then increase by 5 mcg every two weeks until feeling well - increasing more slowly if necessary. Starting on 20 mcg would be a shock to the system - especially as you'd be increasing your T4 at the same time. And, cutting those tablets is not recommended. Although, at a pinch, you could do that. Alternatively, you could try the solution suggested by diogenes in this thread:
So, I think your suspicions about that endo are right. He doesn't really know what he's doing. He doesn't understand the finer points of treating hypothyroidism.
I read that many people do well on Novothyral which I doubt is even considered as a treatment option in the UK.
The medication you have been prescribed is with a fixed ratio of 1/5 T3 to T4 :
i believe Novothyral also offer an alternative with a fixed ratio of1/4 ratio T3 /T4 :
Some of us take T3 and T4 independently to find our unique T3/T4 ratio :
Most people seem to feel at their best when their T3/T4 conversion ratio comes in at around 4 - so if you have a conversion issue it's likely better than just T4 monotherapy.
I think this new thyroid hormone replacement dose is much higher than you are currently are and without seeing some current T3 and T4 levels it's difficult to say much.
Your current dose of 75mcg T4 will take around 6-8 weeks to leave your body as T4 is a storage hormone and this new medication is higher at 100 mcg + 20 T3 - which is the active hormone and if you have never taken T3 before I would suggest you go slow and cut down these tablets into 1/4s to start off with .
Well, yes, balancing T3 and T4 independently can be challenging and takes time and patience.
How are your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D levels as these need to be maintained at optimal levels to support your body and assist in the conversion of T4 into T3 ?
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