Is my T3 too high?

[Mazes]

Hi everyone,

I did my regular 6 monthly medichecks thyroid test and my T3 levels have slowly been getting higher with my T4 levels staying around the same and I was just wondering if this is a problem.

I have absolutely no hyper symptoms and am still housebound/often bedbound with CFS.

I take 2g Armour, one on waking and one midday.

For the past few years I have been taking my test around 20 hours after my second dose as I’m doing it for monitoring rather than for my GP. This is what I did for this test as it works best for me. For my previous test, after reading advice on here, I took it 10 hours after my last dose.

June 2022 test - timed - 10 hours after last dose

FT4 range 12-22 result 16.2 which is 42%

FT3 range 3.1-6.8 result 7.9 which is 129.73%

January 2023 test - timed - 20 hours after last dose.

FT4 range 12-22 result 15.3 which is 33%

FT3 range 3.1-6.8 result 6 which is 78.38%

As you can see, if I leave just 10 hours after my NDT then my T3 is way over range. And I presume that as T3 has a short life, whats left after 20 hours is only a small percentage of whats circulating usually.

Is this a problem if I have no hyper symptoms - is this just what my body needs? Are there downsides to having high T3?

[pennyannie]

Hey there again ;

I think that's quite a normal response based on the 24 hour circadian rhythm of the body and your dosing strategy - only wish it was helping you better with your continued symptoms.

I take 1 + 1/2 grains at around 3 AM in the morning and after 10 hours my T3 is a little over range as is yours :

If I eat breakfast and then test it's likely in range and yes, if I waited longer I think the reading will diminish throughout the day as I use it up - though I'm not aware that I feel more compromised as the day goes on - though do confess to an PM catnap for around 20 minutes and go to bed at around 10 pm and wake around 6.00 am.

I'm 75 so not as active as many but still manage to mow my lawns and walk out everyday to keep my body more mobile but probably more sedentary than most.

I'm with Graves post RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 and now self medicating with full spectrum thyroid hormone replacement having failed to get a trial of either T3 or NDT through my surgery and hospital in early 2018.

NDT was the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism and successfully used for over 100 years and long before we knew of the science of blood tests and the ranges which were introduced to be used when Big Pharma launched it's T3 and T4 treatment options on the back of NDT and then went about systematically gaining their market share.

[Mazes in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks pennyannie,that’s very reassuring. It’s funny how the numbers still matter to me even though I dose myself according to my symptoms - years of indoctrination I imagine! I shall try to have more confidence in myself.