T3 and food

[Vickisophieunicorn]

Hi

So I'm having a few concerns with T3 and eating and wondering if someone can help me.

I am on 30mcg of T3 spread across the day.

I do not eat for 30 mins after taking it but if I eat how long do I need to wait before I take it again?

I have gastroparesis so I don't eat main meals but need to snack throughout the day and I'm really struggling leaving big gaps of 2 hours to take it after I eat.

I also got told my someone that as I have liquid T3 I can hold it in my mouth to increase absorbion but this didn't seem right to me as it is olive oil and silica. I'm not sure I trust this advise.

My Dr didn't have any instructions on when to take it with/without food etc I just went by advise of Google and u guys so I don't eat /drink anything 30 mins after taking it. I am just worried with gastroparesis that my stomach is never really empty and that the afternoon evening dose I'm not absorbing as I feel pretty crappy on it still and I'm not losing any weight apart from a small amount on my face.

My consultant said that a dosage of 30mcg was plenty and just keeps telling me to wait another month.

Thanks everyone.

[FancyPants54]

The 2 hours after food and 1 hour after taking thyroid meds instruction is geared towards T4. T3 is absorbed differently and doesn’t need to avoid food and drink. It’s mixed though. Some do, some don’t.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to FancyPants54]

No way!!! That would be amazing!!! Like Amazing as I'm so struggling with the afternoon one and worried I am not absorbing it. Hopefully it will kick in soon then or maybe I just need to change it to morning and evening. I feel my first thing in the morning one helps but after that I dont seem to feel any effects

Thanks for the advise though, hopefully it will just take more time at 30mcg to feel it

[FancyPants54 in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

Did you start on 30mcg? If so that's too high a start dose. If I have too much I feel just as bad as too little.

Still need to avoid taking Iron or Magnesium supplements within 4 hours of a dose though, but it makes it much easier not worrying about eating times. I would make sure the first dose of the day is on an empty stomach, but after that, if there is no T4 involved, just take it when you need it.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to FancyPants54]

Hi

No I started on 5mcg and only started to see improvement in ft3 when I hit the 30mcg dosage but I still have brain fog. I haven't tried yet taking it just before bed my dosage has been throughout the day with last dosage at 5.30pm as I eat dinner late after walking dogs/gym.

I eat offal as I can't take iron supplements. This seems to help ferratin. I was just hoping my weight would shift abit and brain fog would get abit better.

I am also interested in Dr lowe one dose which I am going to look into.

Thanks

[Hidden in reply to FancyPants54]

does this by any chance also app to painkillers? I’m on Gabapentine and paracetamol and spacing those 2 hours away from T3 is proving hard. At least the food spacing not necessary with T3 will help.

[FancyPants54 in reply to Hidden]

I have never bothered about when to take paracetamol. I don't know about Gabapentin though. I can't see it would harm, but perhaps ask your pharmacist to look the 2 drugs up in conjunction and see if anything comes to light.

[Lilylampshade in reply to FancyPants54]

The Gabapentin is best taken at night (great for helping people sleep) while T3 has a wake-up effect for about 6-7 hours, so I wouldn't take T3 later than 5pm

[FancyPants54 in reply to Lilylampshade]

T3 helped me to sleep well if taken at bedtime. NDT taken at 8pm last night resulted in less than 5 hours sleep! But I had no choice, I was spacing it for a test today.

[shaws]

I take my T3 first thing (once daily) when I awake with one glass of water and wait an hour before I eat as food can interfere with the uptake of thyroid hormones.

I follow the advice of a doctor who was also a scientist and took T3 himself. Unfortunately due to an accident he died but I will give you a link to his website and I hope it is helpful:-

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

My symptoms have resolved and I feel well.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to shaws]

Brilliant. Thanks for the advise. It would be amazing if I could take my T3 first thing only. Do u mind if I ask how much T3 you are on. I am only on T3, no t4.

Thanks

[shaws in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

I am on 20mcg T3 once daily early a.m. and take it with a glass of water and I feel well.

I wait an hour before taking breakfast.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to shaws]

This stuff is amazing!!! Thank you sooo much for this. I don't know how iv never came across it before! Thanks again. I am away to read everything on this. The small amount I read explains so much.

Maybe I can now go down to 20 too!

Thanks

[shaws in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

When we get to the right dose and symptom-free, it is such a wonderful feeling. Our life continues as normal.

[Jazzw in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

Possibly—but I suspect you might ultimately need more T3. Doctors are nervous of prescribing it because it tends to make TSH go very low and they panic, thinking that’s going to cause heart problems and osteoporosis (that’s what they’ve been told). But it’s not low TSH that causes those problems—it’s high T3. So when you take T3, it’s very important that your doctor requests FT3 tests, not just TSH.

So long as your FT3 is in range you won’t be over-medicated. And many on T3 only find they feel best when the FT3 level is towards the top of its laboratory reference range.

I’m sure Shaws won’t mind me mentioning that her dose of T3 is one of the lower dosages we see here (and reports feeling well on it ). But you need what you need—we’re all a bit different and many people need somewhere between 40-60mcg T3 daily (some actually need lots more).

Hopefully your doctor is up for going on a learning curve with you. It’s great that you have a doctor who’s willing to prescribe it but you might have to coach him through dose increases if they’re needed, LOL.

So—remember—you’ll need FT3 tests done when you have your thyroid function tests done. And don’t be surprised if your doctor thinks that isn’t necessary—they didn’t get taught this stuff at medical school.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to Jazzw]

Yes my consultant is a regular prescriber of T3 (recommended on here). I always get ft3. Thanks for all this inforl, very very good.

[overunbykids]

I am on combined T4 and T3 therapy, and take both early AM, once a day.

[T3sortedme]

I take 50mcg T3 per day in 3 doses (no T4). 20mcg at 6.45am (an hour before breakfast) 20mcg at 12.00 (an hour before lunch) and 10mcg at 5pm (30 mins before tea). The most important thing is to take it on time. If I take it 30 minutes late it’s not too bad but any more eg 1 hour puts me out for the rest of the day (low energy/brain fog) so I am very disciplined with timing. Hope this helps but it’s been key for me.

[shaws in reply to T3sortedme]

The following may be helpful.

Dr John Lowe was an Adviser to TUK before his death due to an accident.

google.com/search?client=fi... to an accident.

I follow his recommendation and am well and have no symptoms.

I take T3 when I awake with one glass of water. and wait an hour before I eat.

google.com/search?client=fi...

He, himself took his one daily dose of T3 in the middle of the night so that nothing interfered with its uptake.

He stated that all of our T3 receptor cells had to be saturated and it then sent out waves for up to three days.

[Vickisophieunicorn]

Thanks for this. I think I am abit overwhelmed by trying to find the time that is right for me too. I am worried that with gastroparesis my stomach is just never empty really. I am going to work on my timings now and do abit more reading into it. I just felt so good at the beginning then now feel terrible again. Like worse than before I started it so not sure what I'm doing wrong. Thanks for your advise.

My consultant who prescribes is a professor talked about in this forum who suggested him to me. he seems to know his stuff so I'm abit nervous going up.

I Def Def get my free T3 tested. My GP just does what he asks thankfully.

Thanks again

[heathermr]

I take my T3 in smallish doses throughout the day too but I take mine sublingually which means I only have to wait about 10 mins before I can eat or drink. This works very well, the tablets are tasteless and dissolve very quickly under the tongue and get into the blood stream almost immediately. Bio chemically this is the best way to take T3 although Dr's don't like you using this method as the T3 gets to work very quickly and they think it could cause heart problems. Having used this method of taking T3 for almost 20 years I can say that it is not true. I can feel the T3 starting to work after just a few minutes of taking it, I become warm and my brain starts to clear. After 10 mins I can eat or drink freely again.Another thing to remember is to make your doses of T3 mimic the thyroid curve, ie more first thing in the morning and less later in the day.

Hope this helps

Heather

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to heathermr]

Oh my godness!n where did u source this T3 from. I have been looking this sublingual tincture but can't find it. I felt it best for me as I have gastroparesis.This is great news thank you. I do take more first thing then less the next 2 doses.

Thanks

[tattybogle in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

'sublingually' just means letting regular T3 tablets dissolve in the mouth (rather than swallowing them and letting the tablet be dissolved in the stomach and the thyroid hormone be absorbed into the blood via the small intestine etc ...... not taking a 'different sort' of T3.

Whether doing this is actually a faster/ more effective way of absorbing the actual thyroid hormone itself into the blood stream is a matter of opinion / personal experience .

[tattybogle in reply to tattybogle]

These papers may have some information re. dissolving thyroid hormone tablets in the mouth vs swallowing them .

Mostly they are only referring to Levo not T3 . but contents may still be of interest :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... levothyroxine-treatment-and-gastric-juice-ph-in-humans-the-proof-of-concept

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... Levothyroxine Therapy in Gastric Malabsorptive Disorders

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... A Review of the Pharmacokinetics of Levothyroxine for the Treatment of Hypothyroidism

academic.oup.com/edrv/artic... Gastrointestinal Malabsorption of Thyroxine

[heathermr in reply to Vickisophieunicorn]

I take standard ACE Cytomel T3 tablets which are prescribed by my NHS Endo after a long fight. I prefer Cytomel as I feel the strength is much more consistent than British T3. The saliva in my mouth is plenty to dissolve the tablet and it's gone and working within 30 secs.

[Vickisophieunicorn in reply to heathermr]

Thanks for all this. I actually couldn't find a tablet that didn't have a filler that made me sick so I stuck with the liquid one. Thanks for all info

[Lovecake]

I take my T3 split too. An hour before lunch, an hour before dinner and during the night when I wake, approx 2-4am. Seems to suit me. It does not stop me from sleeping 😴

I know there have been some who say take all T3 in one go in the night. You could try any combination and see what works best for you.

[kiefer]

T3 doesn't seem to have the same restrictions as does T4 when it comes to eating. It's not food per se that's the culprit; it's the chelating minerals, like magnesium, iron, calcium and aluminum (antacids) as well as some medications and caffeine.

"The thyroid hormones are well absorbed after oral administration. Absorption of T4 may be decreased, however, by food, Ca++ preparations, and aluminum-containing antacids. Absorption of T4 is best if it is taken on an empty stomach in the morning. Absorption of T3, which is almost completely absorbed, is not affected by food. "

sciencedirect.com/topics/ne...

Depending on the size of the meal and the amount of fat in it, there will be a slow down of liothyronine absorption. The peak T3 level might be delayed due to increased gastric-emptying time and perhaps lower than when taking it on an empty stomach, much like a timed-release drug.