T4/T3 struggle

[Sofie007]

I’m writing this because I can’t seem to lose weight since I was diagnosed/put on medication 2 years ago. I was at least 15kg less before medication. I keep gaining despite eating clean. I am on 75mcg levo and about 3mcg of Cytomel. (I weigh 88kg) I gained most of the weight since I started Cytomel. I tried increasing Cytomel to 5mcg and I lost weight but I was more anxious, sleepy and my heart felt tense. I tried increasing Levo, but also caused more anxiety and weight gain. I will have new blood results next week.

I just wanted to come here and see if there are other people who struggled as well and maybe give advice.

[SovietSong]

Hi,you will have to stay on a set dose for about 8 weeks then test and post your results.GPs, mine included only test T4 and TSH(some only test TSH)so you may have to do a private finger prick test as this gives full panel of T4,T3 and TSH.I am also on T3/T4 combo meds(125mcg levo/6.25mcg tiromel daily).There are lots of small tweaks to be made when taking both and a lot of patience is required.I have just read your message again and see you are due bloods next week.The picture will be clearer once you have those results.

[WaystarRoyco]

I also gained weight (about 10kg) when I started taking Levothyroxine. My understanding is that this is not unusual. From what I’ve learned, we need enough thyroid hormones, especially FT3, in our body to fuel our metabolism. Finding what “enough” looks like can be a tricky process and frankly doctors are not much help.

Part of the challenge is that medication does not top up what we once had; it replaces it. So you could end up with lower levels of FT3 after replacement than your failing thyroid was latterly able to produce itself. Looking back at the results of my blood tests, this is certainly what happened to me.

I’m glad you’ve a blood test planned. I hope it’s a thorough one. Do bring the results back to the forum here to take a look. For me, getting into the realm of healthy dosages has helped me lose 7 of my 10kg over the course of about a year.

[Sofie007 in reply to WaystarRoyco]

7 of 10, that is great ! Can I ask if you lowered your levo dose when you increased t3 medication? I think my adrenals are going a bit crazy.

[WaystarRoyco]

No I didn’t. When I started taking T3 it was just 5mcg in one dose in the morning I felt a bit all over the place with this. But then I split it 2.5 morning and 2.5 mid afternoon. That was better but it did take time (several weeks) for my body to get used to it. I’m now on double that dose. (I’m also on 125mcg T4, though suspect this is slightly too much and am reducing by 50mcg per week after a blood test next week.)

I also see here people splitting T3 into 3 equal parts taken about 8 hours apart. That’s another idea. T3 has a very short half life meaning its effects are short lived and that definitely can have an impact on the adrenals, and the spacing can help.

[shaws Administrator]

I've taken T3 once daily for some years now and feel well with no clinical symptoms.

I follow Dr John Lowe who was also a scientist and Adviser to Thyroiduk.

He himself took T3.

As a young man he researched thyroid hormones and found how important T3 was for our whole body to function as normal.