Newbie question on starting Liothyronine (T3)

[rustyempire]

Hello again to the forum.. I’ve just got my new scrip for a 5 mcg starter dose of Liothyronine and hoping for some wisdom/feedback on

1. How to take it (I’ve been told once a day but I know from this forum many split their dose.. curious why as well)

2. I’m currently on 100mcg Levo. Waiting for labs back to confirm my suspected conversion issues…but have scrip in hand to start T3 asap once I have numbers.

3. How soon does one usually see an impact? And what was the difference you experienced personally? Very curious to hear how it impacted you (positive and negative)

4. How soon does one retest after starting? And the next dose up should be how many mcgs?

I’ve been given no guidance by my GP…. No matter as I respect this forums feedback & experience above my GPs advice (if he gave any) 😏

Thanks in advance as always 🫶🙏🧠🫀

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

I've been on an added dose of 10mcgs T3 for about a month now. For now it's going to be hard for you to split your dose as 1. it's a small dose 2. It might be a capsule possibly? When you go up the dose to 10 then you could take morning and mid afternoon as I am now. Probably best to take yours first thing when you need the energy during the day.

Today I went out for about 6 hours and forgot to take my second dose with me. Clearly my morning dose ran out a few hours before I got home and I could really tell the difference. I'm trying to put in place things like carrying a few doses in my handbag at all times so that doesn't happen again!

T3 is the active thyroid hormone so you might feel a difference within 30 minutes of taking it, although that might just be you sense something different, as opposed to genuine symptom reduction which will take a few weeks to begin happening. T3 really helps my brain work better if that makes sense and somehow my body works better. I don't have any negatives other than if you forget to take it out with you when you're due a dose. My system is very down regulated after many years of Levo only and I would prefer a night time dose as well but that will have to wait a few more weeks until I increase again as planned with my Endo.

My Endo told me to restest after 4 weeks but maybe 6 is better? Dose increase should always be guided by tests of course but at the moment I'm in the process of reducing Levo and adding more T3. My next step will be to remove 25mcgs levo and add another 10mcgs T3, but I'll add the T3 in two phases.

[rustyempire in reply to Jaydee1507]

thanks you SO much for sharing your personal experience.

I’m feeling so shaky and weak lately (& emotionally down) so it’s really helpful to get insight like yours to help me with making these decisions to add T3. Thank goodness my doc was willing to try it out (even without labs as they do not test T3 here only T4 if “in range”. I’m trying to secure private labs …but we live in the rural prairies so I’m virtually SOL to get this done. All I can do is retest FT4 and TSH in a few weeks and tell him I feel better to get the next increase.

Again thanks so much for sharing your journey!. It’s so helpful right now.. Best of luck with your T3 combo going forward 🫶🙌

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to rustyempire]

If you're taking T3 then you do really need to test your FT3 level. There is a mail order blood test company I believe in Canada. Also, it may well suppress your TSH and many doctors don;t like that, but some are fine.

[buddy99 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Also live in the prairies and would like to know about the mail order company for the blood test. I used to use Letsgetchecked, but they are not available in Canada anymore (which is a big loss). Having another option would be fantastic.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to buddy99]

Just type what you need into Google and there are a few companies. Check if this one does Canada. everlywell.com/products/thy...

[buddy99 in reply to Jaydee1507]

USA only. I imagine the physicians in Canada are not pleased with laypersons ordering and interpreting their own tests bypassing the doctor. There are so many things in the medical system we know nothing about. Who knows what was done to prevent the availability of those tests in Canada. One of the rules is no test without a doctor's say-so. That alone would put a stop to going through a company offering those tests.

[rustyempire in reply to buddy99]

I did find this online doc that may allow you get lab requisitions necessary. If you take this to a specific lab you can pay out of pocket in theory for FT3. I’m going to message them for more info.

getmaple.ca/features/lab-work/

[buddy99 in reply to rustyempire]

If you live in Manitoba, there could be help to get your T3 tested. Let me know and I'll private message you.

[rustyempire in reply to buddy99]

hi I’d appreciate that thanks. I’m in MB 🙏

[cfft20021]

Your own thyroid does not release your daily dose of thyroid hormone all at once, it does sporadic releases throughout the day - which is why most T3 doses are split.



[Buddy195 Administrator]

I didn’t have the ‘eureka’ moment some members report when starting combutreatment. However, over a couple of months I began to steadily improve. Timings of doses are very much trial and error to see what works best for you. I initially took all thyroid medication in the morning, but now reserve a small amount of T3 for taking early afternoon.

[rustyempire in reply to Buddy195]

thanks for your reply Buddy195 🙏

[Heloise]

Hi Rusty, Some of us take 50 mcgs of T3 at one dose but I switched over from a natural desiccated tablet. But that automatically includes 9 mcgs of T3 if you take one grain so I'm not sure why anyone splits a 5 mcg tablet but it is an individual thing. It may take four days to feel the full effect of whatever dose you use. Just an opinion.

[rustyempire in reply to Heloise]

thank you Heloise 🙏

[Heloise in reply to rustyempire]

Very welcome. Listen to samaja below as T3 is hard to measure; T3 may also reduce FT4 results.

[samaja]

A good guide for adding T3 to your regime is Paul Robinson's Thyroid Patient's Manual and also there is a lot of useful info onT3 on Thyroid Patients Canada website.

Also, when you start T3 and especially when you get to a slightly larger dose like 10 mcg testing will become really less relevant as a lot will depend on when you draw the blood in relation to your last T3 dose and how good you are at metabolising it. You normally need to leave a good few hours before testing because T3 will spike and possibly go over the range while your T4 and TSH will start falling down, possibly quite significantly. All of the above tends to spook doctors and may result in withdrawing your script.

ANd for your own information the main thing is keeping track of your signs (vitals like blood pressure, heart rate and temps) and symptoms taken at least a couple of times a day nad generally half an hour before the dose and withing 2-3 hours afterwards - this is what informs dose changes rather than bloods.

[rustyempire in reply to samaja]

thank you Samaja much appreciated

[BiscuitBaby in reply to rustyempire]

hi rustyempire

I started on t3 earlier this year. I didn't have an immediate "light switch" moment. I just noticed that I felt a bit more like myself over the course of a few weeks. Everyone is different. I kind of feel I've done the same thing with t3 as I did with levo. I felt better for a while and its slipped back a bit so its now about fine tuning what's right for me. Hopefully you'll see enough of a benefit with 5mcg but don't be put off if not....you might just need a bit more. Hope you get sorted soon.

[rustyempire in reply to BiscuitBaby]

thank you BiscuitBaby 👍