T3 and Mucin... fluid loss?

[TiggerMe]

Hi all, today was the first time I had come across the term 'Mucin' and it seems that is possibly responsible for my weight gain over the last year?...

So I started on T3 7-8 weeks ago and in that time I have lost 4 kilos seemingly of pure fluid which seemed remarkable until I read about Mucin and saw the video showing thickening of the skin and inability to pinch your skin which I still can't on my upper arm

Has anyone else experienced this dramatic change or should I be worried?

I feel so much better but I'm hoping getting up to pee 3 times a night is going to tail off!

Edit... I ought to quantify this, for most of my adult life I have weighed around the mid 60kg so as of today I have lost 5kg in 7 weeks, my weight having crept up to 72kg over the last year.

If I were any good at percentages I'd work it out but as I'm not I'll say a large chunk of me has rapidly disappeared! 😆

[arTistapple]

Eeyore100 at the moment no-one seems to have replied to this extremely interesting question. I know others will be interested to find out more. Very much including myself - huge amount of mucin (no loss) and also peeing all night, which I have put down to my apparent type 2 diabetes I have only recently been told I have. I hope someone knowledgable answers soon. P.S. I am not yet on T3 yet.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to arTistapple]

It has been remarkable, I had obviously noticed changes in my skin over the years but had no idea this is where the fluid is stored, I assumed fluid retention effected all cells throughout the body trying to deal with the toxicity.... like they say every day is a learning day!

Are you low on T3 and thinking about adding it in? Interesting that you have excess mucin and still peeing a lot? Before adding in T3 I could easily go through the night...

I wondered if it is also because I have upped my Vit C intake as that always seems to increase the flow rate 😆

[arTistapple in reply to TiggerMe]

I am low on T3. Awaiting results of recent blood test and reviewing my status. Onwards and upwards I hope.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to arTistapple]

I know we are all different but T3 has been a game changer for me, good luck 🤞

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to arTistapple]

Have you tried T3 yet? 3 months in and my near pre-diabetic count of 40 has dropped down to 33 (fasting, first thing)! Lower than it was 3 years ago!

Mucin all but gone, night peeing kept on until I realised it was down to a drop in estrogen, so a little addition there and I'm back to my old self 💃

 therese3009  samaja  janeroar  Batty1

[arTistapple in reply to TiggerMe]

Your message could not have been more timely. No T3 start yet. Appointment with private endo 5th December. However you have also highlighted another issue of great interest. Time of testing for the type 2 diabetes blood test. Normally I get all my tests first thing - fasting for accuracy of TSH (which we have learned is not that much use without T4 and T3). I have watched my diabetes results for years and they have always teetered on the very border. My last two tests were taken late in the day and therefore non-fasting and hey Presto I have slipped into a diagnosis of actual diabetes. Fasting off course i know is very important for one of the diabetes tests but as the Ha1b (or whatever it’s called) is supposed to cover three to six months I did not give the fasting a thought. I wonder if fasting gives a more accurate result even on this test? I know that a major change has happened to me as my fatigue and myalgia or whatever it is, has become so bad I can no longer do the ‘forced marches’ (possibly for the last six months) I pursued to hopefully otherwise keep me healthy. I got the results from my GP last night so I am further depressed today. Roll on 5th December. I love your good news though. Everything crossed it keeps going well for you and remember to keep posting so we can all share.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to arTistapple]

You were obviously sending me vibes 😀 I too go before the Endo Judge on the 8th when presumably I will be told off for starting T3 before seeing them! 😬

I don't know about the timing of Hba1c? But I try to compare like for like where I can which is what's so handy about having Medichecks tests.

I know how you feel about the exercise I couldn't walk the route I used to run 3 times a week before I started T3, I'm gradually increasing my speed but get a terrible post exertion malaise if I get my cardio too high, just started supplementing my adrenals (realise I should have done this before the T3 but hey ho better late than never) and taking it steady.

My brain has sprung back to life, hence I am now an avid reader of this forum, whilst I wait for my body to hopefully catch up

Let's hope we meet helpful Endo's 🤞

Just had a quick look at some of your history and you sound just like me! I used to spend an hour or two a day in the bath to just try and warm up, I lost the ability to open jars... just no strength in my grip

[arTistapple in reply to TiggerMe]

Yes let’s hope we meet helpful endos. I wasn’t as brave as you starting your T3. Perhaps we can let each other know how we get on?! I want to ask you about your adrenals and your mention of oestrogen too. I got a book about adrenals second hand. I realised I had read it years ago and I must have thought better of it for some reason. I was surprised on reading it this time that there was absolutely not a single reference in it to thyroids which kind of put me off since it talked about hormones throughout. Maybe when we get through this ‘bit’ we can commune about adrenals.

[janeroar]

I hope you get some more replies too because I get fluid retention to the extent I can’t do the pinch test on my arms. I didn’t know it used to be part of the diagnostic tests doctors used to use for thyroid issues. I think possibly greygoose has posted about mucin. I had never heard of it before then but when I tried to do some research very very little came up.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

I have done a little more digging about and came across this...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

which greygoose has commented on

It does seem remarkable that this used to be a diagnostic thing that few of us know about now.... it seems we have moved on to blood tests which Dr don't really know what to do with, when before they would have just pinched your arm and hey presto diagnosed!

[samaja]

Myxedema/musicn is not quite fluid retention as popularly understood I think but it certainly is a symptom of hypothyroidism. I lost quite a bit of weight since starting T3 too though it was related to low cortisol as well which also can increase your need to pee at night.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to samaja]

Interesting... more to research

Last known my cortisol was 296nmol/l (133 - 537) so I've not looked into that, I've not heard of people needing to raise it? They are all the time talking about how to lower it as it is the stress hormone isn't it?

[samaja in reply to TiggerMe]

If this was your morning cortisol it's not brilliant. In some countries anyhting below 300 is treated as low and a sign of HPA axis dysfunction. You could probably do with the 4 point saliva cortisol test for adrenal function. Low cortisol is actually much worse than high in some respects and very often is the result of prolonged stress and permanent high cortisol and flight and fight response. When it's low, you do need to raise it, believe me because it's as crucial for optimal thyroid as all nutrients, minerals and vitamins and good blood sugar.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to samaja]

Thank you I'm going to get onto this

[Batty1]

I also have skin I can’t pinch and also hurts to touch my skin… annoying and Doctors don’t acknowledge this phenomenon.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Update... another half a kilo down and the tops of my arms are starting to soften up 💃

[therese3009 in reply to TiggerMe]

im Jealous!!! Im the opposite of you, - wishing that Id loose fluid!!! Maybe have your blood sugars checked for Diabetes type 1 - alot of peeing tends to point to this issue as well as all of the above.

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to therese3009]

I'm sorry... are you using T3?... it is really nice waking up every morning with a bit less rhino skin, though the next worry is I shall just look like an old paper bag 😩

Now you've put the fear in me I've looked back at my last tests...

June 2019 36 mmol/mol

June 2022 40 mmol/mol

Both say 'normal' but we know what that means!

Is this something that creeps up on you?

Over this period I have pretty much cut out sugary things so I'm a bit shocked it has risen, I don't actually know the timings of these tests so I'm guessing there is fluctuations throughout the day?

Edit... I've found another result which was definitely 9am fasting

May 2021 35 mmol/mol