planning to retry T3. Please could I have guidance on which private b/t to buy before I start?

[Oakwood4321]

Hi,

I’m just reposting this as I think forum was busy last time and I didn’t get any replies.

Apologies for long post, the bottom line though is to ask for suggestions on which private b/t to order before restarting T3.

🙏🏽

I have just had a follow up appointment with my nhs Endo after 9 months.

At my last appointment I was prescribed a trial of T3 and the dose given was based on blood test results my gp had done a couple of months earlier and only tsh was tested.

Thanks to help on here I did a private b/t and started my T3 with help from members.

In the last 9 months I’ve seen a private Endo a couple of times who wrote to my gp with follow up letters. On my last appointment in February I decided to stop my T3 due to slight chest tightness and get checked with cardiac dept. If all clear I would try T3 again.

the private Endo agreed but also thought it wasn’t anything to do with heart. Again a follow up letter explaining this was sent to my gp.

the chest tightness did stop after stopping T3.

I’ve now had cardiac tests and all is fine. All this info was on my notes.

At my nhs appointment last week I was surprised when she asked how I was getting on with T3 and she was surprised when I said I stopped 9 months ago.

Despite letters from private Endo and several gp phone discussions detailing everything above she knew nothing about it.

Perhaps she didn’t read my notes.

Endo is happy to start me back on T3 for which I am very grateful.

She said chest tightness could have been from too much Levo.

I’ve been advised a dose by her (5mcg T3 twice a day with 50 mcg Levo) I currently take 87.5 Levo.

This is based on a b/t I recently had done by gp for an nhs general check /mot as aged 67 years. I went for the nhs check not realising they would take blood and had already taken my Levo 4 hours earlier that morning. only tsh was tested.

the Endo said……all normal with my tsh in range so start T 3 on the dose above.

I’m going to get a private b/t , could anyone recommend one before starting t3 please.

I’ve posted the results from my nhs check last week , they’ve tested other things but this is while I was on Thorne Basic B Complex. I’ve now stopped the Basic B Complex in preparation for b/t.

Apologies if this post is too long winded. I’ve been feeling pretty rough /symptomatic since being just back on Levo and I guess I’m now trying very hard to get it right.

Thanks to everything I’ve learnt on here I’m certainly not going to restart T3 with 2 doses & reduce Levo all at once and this being based on an incomplete thyroid blood test.

[radd]

Oakwood4321,

Sorry you haven’t received a timely response. My answering will move your post back onto the 'daily feed' for other members to re-view. Alternatively you are welcome to pose your question again in a new post.

[Oakwood4321 in reply to radd]

Thanks for replying radd, really appreciate that. It’s a long post, I probably should of put most of it on my profile

[radd in reply to Oakwood4321]

Oakwood4321,

Yes, it's easier to read if there is less😬😊, and you've included FBC, liver function test & cholesterol results when asking which lab to use for TFT's 🤔🤣.

I agree you shouldn’t start T3 without recent comprehensive bloods. You will need FT4, FT3 & TSH tested. Some Hashi sufferers like to test thyroid antibodies TPOAb & TGAb also, but it not a requirement for starting T3. Members use private labs - thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

You can put your details in your profile with a copy & paste from above, and it's a definite encouragement for others to answer your posts.

[Oakwood4321 in reply to radd]

Thank you radd. I’ll copy and paste onto my profile, wasn’t sure how to do it before.

The results I posted were from an nhs health check visit, I thought it was just going to be a chat & blood pressure etc but she took a blood test and I’d already had Levo , breakfast, coffee and was on still on B complex - the works 🤦🏻‍♀️

Interesting how they don’t ask you if you’re taking any supplements etc - glad I’ve learnt on here to stop the Bcomplex.

I can use the cholesterol reading to compare future ones when hopefully it will be lower as my thyroid improves. 😊🙏🏽

[Regenallotment]

Hi in terms of private blood testing in the UK (I’m guessing you are in the UK) there is a complete list on the Thyroid UK website I think but from memory here are a few to check out; Medichecks, Monitor my health, Blue Horizon, among others. I’ve done 1 Medichecks test and same test for both my adult children, this test did TSH, T3,T4, TPO and TAb antibodies, plus Vitamin D, B, Ferritin, Folate, CRP cost £89 without any discount, but there are often offers and the thyroid Uk website may have voucher codes. This is expensive for me though and I needed thyroid hormone testing alone within the 12 week Vitamin D loading dose recommended so I’ve done a cheaper Monitor my Health test £29 for TSH, T3, T4 only. (My GPS lab won’t test T3 unless T4 is out of range so my GP accepts these, I just attach a pdf to their online admin form). My next test will be the full Medichecks one as I need to see how my vitamins are improving. I could test vitamin D only for £29 but I want to see the others too. I hope that helps.

These tests are finger prick diy jobbies, I did have a neighbour who is a nurse do a blood draw for me for one of them, you can pay extra to get a blood draw at a private hospital too if that suits you better.

Sorry I’m not proficient enough on my phone to attach links for you, but hopefully a quick Google will help you find these test sites.

Another thing to mention is for thyroid testing we stop B complex supplements with biotin 7 days (some people less) before the blood test as biotin can affect results. Plus we don’t take our Levo on the morning of the test (last dose 24 hours before), we also don’t eat anything before the test (fasting), and test early in the morning like 8-9am. This is when TSH is likely to be highest (many of us are looking for a high reading to build an argument for a dose increase as GPS are obsessed with TSH despite us knowing wellness is a better indicator but it’s a way to get what we want). I hope this helps 🦋💚🦋

[Oakwood4321 in reply to Regenallotment]

Thanks Regenallotment. I think I was confusing myself before! That’s a big help about how you do your testing. I will go for the full Medichecks this time before I start.

I hadn’t known I was going to have a blood test the morning of my nhs routine health check, thought it was a chat, blood pressure, weight etc, I was still on B Complex, had taken Levo and had breakfast. Shame as the FBC would have saved me buying that option. I can use the cholesterol reading to compare next time.

I hadn’t bothered before to add my private blood test results onto my gp online admin form as I didn’t think they’d accept them - I will start doing this now. 🙏🏽😊