I am just feeling so lost and wondering if t3 might be my answer?
Levo only seems to calm some of my symptoms but also brings side effects I cannot tolerate. Levo just pushes my t4 over range and my t3 doesn’t budge and is actually lower on levo than it was before starting it.
So just feeling in a complete catch 22 situation.
I was diagnosed with subclinical hypo in feb this year but my Tsh has been bouncing up and down a lot prior to then. I have been stabilising on levo since then but 75mcg pushes my t4 over range and makes me feel unwell and 50mcg doesn’t seem enough to raise my t4 anymore than what it was pre meds.
I’ve been working hard on improving vitamins too but I’m just starting to doubt if
Levo is even the answer for me?
I have just resigned myself to the fact that I’m always going to feel unwell one way of another which is a pretty bleak outlook really.
You'll get there... why not compromise and go with 62.5mcg? Hopefully as your ferritin, B12 and folate improves so will your conversion 🤗 your FT3 isn't terrible
It is a tedious job getting vits and mins optimised but makes a huge difference
Yes you’re right it does feel tedious downing all these supplements everyday but they’re definitely doing something! My mood is definitely much better now vit d isn’t tanking!
I think my plan is to try 62.5mcg but figured I’d start slow and work it up a bit more cautiously. I wonder if maybe my gp didn’t give 50mcg enough time as they did blood test after 4 weeks which is a tad early!
Good idea, some people find splitting the dose first thing and bedtime gives a smoother ride and some find alternate day increases to start with better... I'm afraid you need to experiment 🤗
Supplementing does make all the difference and as you climb back up that slippery slope you do start to slowly shed symptoms along the way... other ones tend to take their place but a change is as good as a rest 😅
I really hope to be symptom free, I’m only 31 and really don’t want to continue feeling like this forever I want to live my life and get back to work properly.
I have re read and continue with my vitamins. The reason why I’m wanting to drop to 50 is that my joint pain and limb weakness is so bad at the moment so wanting to be a bit more cautious with increases. It’s defintrly levo that’s causing it. Also my gp tested a bit early when I was on 50mcg before so thought it would be sensible to give it the full 6 weeks, maybe a little longer to see what the next step is.
I have a pill cutter I’m using already to lower dose. I often eat late at night so I’m not sure taking half at night would be useful.
I haven’t had an ultrasound because gp doesn’t think it’s neccesary and I cannot afford one having been out of work now for months.
I have been gluten free for over a decade already.
I will try but to be honest I don’t think they will do it as they haven’t accepted any of my private bloods so far and I only got this done by a private
levothyroxine alone can actually limit or even reduce free T3, particularly if a single dose is too much for your thyroid metabolism (which is all too common). As people have suggested, splitting T4 doses may help and yes T3 supplement may be the answer, particularly if you do not convert T4 - T3 well, as evidenced by blood test results and symptoms. If free T3 does not normalise (around 4.5-5.0) with levothyroxine doses that yield no more than 16 -18 free T4 then that should make a good case for a GP to prescribe T3, and it shouldn’t take much T3 (eg c. 5 mcg) to normalise free T3 levels on a relatively moderate (split) dose regimen of levothyroxine. Pushing free T3 with bigger doses of levothyroxine is NOT the answer and can have long term issues eg for cardiac health as well as difficulties in adjusting dose in all circumstances (because of its long half life and it’s role from slow release stores) not to mention from the adverse side affects of too much levothyroxine day to day!
GP's aren't able to prescribe T3 on the NHS unfortunately. It has to be initiated by an NHS Endo in the first instance. Many forum members wish it wasn't the case.
they can and they do. mine did. despite the endo wanting me off it. give them the evidence it is needed and they will have no grounds to refuse and if they do you can appeal it on grounds of our right to patient centred care.
yup. rate of conversion is moderated by level of T4 among other things. so unphysiological excess t4 potentially reduces amount of free t3 in a way which doesn't match what we are trying to get from levothyroxine
that looks promising. it takes me +22 to get 4.6 Free T3. and that amount of t4 gives me palpitations and other difficulties. so i need t3 to have less t4. but your t4 may climb if you test after 12 wks on that dose
Just assume the test result will be high in range once supplementing. This could result in your GP saying you do not need it ! The test identifies the amount in your blood stream - of which only around 20% reaches the cells, where it is needed.
No worries it’s all getting a bit complicated I feel! Yes I’m taking magnesium at bed time and the spray contain the vit k2. Yes I may try and find a lower dose vit d but like the spray just because it’s so easy!
Without atrophy I think? But tbh I don’t know, I did see a doctor last month but she didn’t even examine me or notice my right arm randomly jerking out to the side for the whole appointment 🙄
Yeah so I notice my limbs tire super easily whilst taking any dose of levo and my muscles ache from use. Even from tiny things like doing the washing up or holding a drink. Everything feels much heavier than it used to and the aching can disturb my sleep.
I believe it’s the levo because i don’t recall it being an issue before and when I stopped levo for a week by the end of the week it had totally cleared up. But then without levo my digestion is so bad and slow I’m really uncomfortable and in pain.
I just feel like I have to choose between having severe constipation or constant limb weakness :/
That is common when you stop levo. Symptoms resolve and you feel better. A few of us on here have done that. I felt fantastic for many months by reducing my levo to 25mcg daily. Unfortunately it doesn't last ...
I’m just not sure what that means for me though as 75mcg pushes me over the t4 range and give horrible side effects and 50mcg isn’t enough to do anything. Plus the whole time I’ve been on any dose of levo I feel like a zombie and so unlike myself. It’s just miserable and I feel so stuck
No levo and lio. On levo only my TSH was low and under range while my ft4 was only at 60%. Tsh helps stimulate conversion so the low TSH was another factor resulting in poor conversion. My ft3 was 17%. With those results I was given an NHS prescription for lio. I only need 7.5 mcg daily to bring my ft3 up to 72%.
I was asking if with your leg weakness you felt like you had lost muscle at all (atrophy)?
Or was the leg weakness coming with no change in muscle mass? No atrophy would mean that there is something going on at the cellular level or there is a nerve issue affecting the ability of your legs. Something beyond atrophy.
I noticed that you had a drop in t3. Did that correspond with your leg weakness or no?
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I want to live my life and get back to work properly. 
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