FT3- is higher always better?

[RickGrimes]

Within the range of course.

Has anyone experienced top of range FT3 but actually felt better when they dropped their T3 dose?

I'm wondering if my FT3 might be too high which might be the reason for symptoms (currently waiting to test) as I seem to get fatigue, aches, muscle weakness and heaviness when over replaced as well as under. Helpfully😂

[pennyannie]

Hello RickGrimes :

Quite where your Free T3 and Free T4 need to be for you to feel well is very much down to the individual.

Considering most of us tend to under medicated we generally read of people feeling better with a higher level of T3 than they previously had as it is too low a T3 that causes the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism.

No thyroid hormone replacement works well until your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are up and maintained a optimal levels -

The symptoms you describe are generally associated with hypothyroidism but what do you mean by heaviness and what do you consider as being over replaced ?

Do you have any results to share and what thyroid hormone replacement are you taking ?

[RickGrimes in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks for your reply.😊 I think I've been overreplaced on two occasions. Once when I was on T4 only. My FT4 was over/top of range and so I'd pushed it to the limit trying to find the right dose and feel well. Then when I dropped T4 in preparation to start T3 I felt an improvement within a week.

Then another time on T4/T3 combo I was feeling pretty shocking with fatigue and muscle weakness and limbs feeling likei had weights strapped to them(that's what I mean by heaviness). My FT4 was high in range when I tested as advised on here and actually over range when I tested as per endo. I dropped my T3 dose and felt better within a week or so. This was when I was recovering from COVID however so I have always felt a bit confused about whether the dose change was what did the trick or whether I finally got rid of post COVID fatigue ( took 5 or 6 weeks)

I'm at 6 weeks post dose increase of T4 and waiting to test. Not feeling as good as I can be and so I have a suspicion that my T3 may need to come down. I'm on a fair dose 30mcg T3 and 75mcg T4. I'm only 8 and half stone.

Good point about the vitamins and iron most are optimal but vit D could be better

[tattybogle]

These are 10 healthy people (not taking thyroid hormone) so not a direct comparison , but does explain how different everyone's 'normal levels for them' are in real life .. so i can only assume it's is 'similar' once we are taking replacement .. e.g perhaps you might expect person 1/2/3//5/6 to feel overmedicated with T4/T3 @ 95% whereas you might expect person 8/9/10/ to feel good ?

TSH/FT4/FT3 from 10 healthy people over 6 weeks

[Batty1 in reply to tattybogle]

Do they have one for people who are over 50?

[tattybogle in reply to Batty1]

I've never found one ,that image is taken from Tania S Smiths thyroidpatients canada website... thyroidpatients.ca/home/sit...

you could have a look , but it will take you 3 months to read it all. lol

[Batty1 in reply to tattybogle]

older folks always seems a distant thought..

[RickGrimes in reply to tattybogle]

This is a great graphic, thank you. And interesting that all participants have their T4 at similar percentages through the range as the T3

[tattybogle in reply to RickGrimes]

also ,, half of then have T3 a tad higher than T4.