NDT and T3 timings for blood test

Hello!

So currently take Levo, NDT, and T3 all at once at bedtime. Usually about 10pm.

I do blood tests around 7:30am.

Do I need to change anything before my next lot of. Looks please?

[Lalatoot]

It depends what you want to measure.

If TSH is not important (ie no doctor basing dose on TSH) then an early morning test when TSH is higher is not necessary. I always do my tests at around 2pm as that suits my dosing regime.

If you want to measure your peak levels (this is often what endos recommend and we ignore as again it can lead to dose reductions which we dont always need in our opinion) then you take your doses 2 to 4 hours before you test.

If you want to measure your average levels of thyroid hormones then you test approx halfway timewise between doses.

If you want to measure your lowest thyroid hormone levels you would do bloods just before your next dose was due.

[Hidden in reply to Lalatoot]

Thanks Lala!

I've always done my tests at 7:30am but that's just habit. Hadn't occured to me that I could test at any time now I'm not considering TSH!

I'll aim for about 10am then. I just want the average dose.

Thanks!

[TSH110 in reply to Hidden]

If you want direct comparisons with earlier tests you need to stick to the same time

[pennyannie]

Totally agree with Lala -

More importantly - how are you feeling on this current regime ?

I presume you are tracking on the T3 and looking for an increase from previous results ?

[Hidden in reply to pennyannie]

I feel pretty well on this regime, actually. More so than I've felt in a long time. Even thought about dusting off my running shoes last week; a hobby I'd long given up on getting back to.

I am tracking although lost my historical spreadsheet with dates and doses and results on. ☹️

Last test showed quite over range T3 of 8.6 (3.1-8.6) T4 was in range at 20.4 (12-22). That was on 105mg NDT and 75mcg Levo.

Hopefully these next bloods will align with how I feel!

[pennyannie in reply to Hidden]

There is a unique balance of T3 and t4 in NDT tht suits many people very ell - by adding in either T3 or T4 you are, simultaneously, both increasing and decreasing this unique T3/T4 ratio - I just wonder why you are taking all the different thyroid hormone replacement options - all together -

Did you ever try NDT by itself ?

[Hidden in reply to pennyannie]

I did try NDT alone but only briefly and it made me nervous and jittery.

I had hopeful that my endo would just add T3 to my levo in the first instance as my T4 was pretty high in range which showed I was a poor converter. So I figured he'd just 'top me up' with T3.

He prefers NDT believing it to be gentler on the system with a plan to wean me off levo but whenever my T4 got too low I was unwell. So we kept the low dose levo.

Convoluted regime but I feel pretty good at the moment.

[pennyannie in reply to Hidden]

Well feeling good is as good a reason as anything -

Just do not overdo the running - stop before you go as far as you want to - build up slowly as any exercise will be depleting your energy faster than having no exercise - and you don't want to jeopardise what you have achieved until you feel totally strong and resilient.