Combined T4 / T3 therapy Tests

[Stace268]

I'm on 75mg Levothyroxine and 10mg liothyrine, is it best I still take it in morning with water and vitamin C wait an hr before eating and can I split T3 and take 5mg later in evening or day, does anyone else do this? Will I still need test in 6-8weeks to optimise?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Firstly why are you taking vit C with Levo and T3? Levo should be taken on its own on an empty stomach an hour before food/caffeine drinks.

T3 is better for some taken as a split dose. Take second dose late afternoon or bedtime to help sleep.

Yes testing should be every 6-8 weeks for dose adjustment. You will likely need private blood tests as NHS rarely tests FT3.

[tattybogle in reply to Jaydee1507]

Vit C actually improves absorption of levo ~i think ?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to tattybogle]

Not seen anyone here recommend it, never heard of it.

[tattybogle in reply to Jaydee1507]

there's lots of reliable research showing the effect eg pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/246... it's probably not mentioned often on here to avoid muddying the waters re. not taking vitamin supplements etc with Levo . Vit C seems to be one of the few things that are known to actually improve absorption.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to tattybogle]

So long as you do the same thing every day then blood results will reflect absorption and you would just adjust accordingly and take slightly more if required as per blood results.

[greygoose in reply to Jaydee1507]

Actually, it has been talked about on here a couple of times. But I don't know how many people have tried it. Be interesting to know.

[Stace268 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Many people have said vitamin C helps with absorption of Levothyroxine and if NHS are prescribing Liothyrine they should be testing it

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Stace268]

I just did a google about the vit C thing. Turns out it can be a thing although I don't think it's commonly done.

Completely agree about NHS prescribing then testing FT3. They are so overwhelmingly obsessed with TSH though that they frequently still consider FT3 irrelevant. If you are receiving T3 on the NHS you might find that your Endo insists on your TSH remaining within the normal range which doesn't work for many.

[Stace268 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Just seen it says on end of letter to retest FT3 FT4 and TSH at end of 3 month trial and dose should be optimized if required

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Many members split T3 into 2 or 3 smaller doses spread across the day

Many people find small 5mcg dose T3 at bedtime improves sleep

If on just 2 x 5mcg ….taking waking and bedtime

Or perhaps waking mid- late afternoon if it keeps you awake

If eventually on 3 x 5mcg ….waking, mid afternoon and bedtime

Day before blood test always split T3

(even if don’t do so normally)

Last 5mcg dose Approx 8-12 hours before test

Last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

[Stace268 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you