How do you feel with low FT4 even when FT3 seems optimal?

[Incoguto]

Hey everyone,

About 8 weeks ago I have split my dose of Armour and T3, which I believe made me more hypo. My pulse has dropped, I'm can't get out of bed in the morning until 11 am or later, I'm bloated, dizzy at times, my body is in pain, I now get headaches and my neck is swollen.

I did bloods at 8 weeks:

Ft4 20%, Ft3 65%

Dose: 1.75 Armour + 7.5 T3 at 8:30 am

0.75 Armour + 5 T3 at 2:30 am

Cortisol is over range since the drop: 20.2 (3-19.4). At first it lowered to midrange when splitting and now it is back up.

I wonder if anyone is feeling bad with low FF4? Thinking of my next step.

Thanks!

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

I feel utterly dreadful if my fT4 drops below 50% even with fT3 around 70%

You do wonder what it does when you are a bad converter and feel awful on T4 only but it certainly does something for me 🤷‍♀️

[Incoguto in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you 🤗 may I ask what symptoms you expedience when ft4 is low and if you split the daily dose?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to Incoguto]

Just wanted to stay in bed, zero energy, lack of appetite, cold and foggy (whilst on the same dose of T3 I'm on today)... I 've never split my T4 dose and initially split T3 but find I need less and it is more effective taken as a single dose

[Beads]

I only have my experience when I was first diagnosed, under range T4, mid range T3, TSH at the top of the range doing its best to convert what little T4 I had to T3.

I felt dreadful. I need T4 at a decent level as well as T3.

[Incoguto in reply to Beads]

Thank you 🤗

[FallingInReverse]

I am currently in the middle of titrating with the sole purpose of increasing my ft4 aiming for upper quartile.

I was low in range T4 and high in range T3 last time and decided it’s time to increase Levo.

It’s been up and down but I’m I am holding out hope that getting my t4 up will be a missing piece to smooth out and raise my hormone level so I will be less sensitive to stresses and have more solid baseline health.

I am about 2 years from diagnosis and 1 year from finding this forum. I’ve been titrating slowly and can’t wait to come out the other side. Still hopeful.

[Incoguto in reply to FallingInReverse]

Thank you 🤗 what symptoms did you have when low in ft4? You don't split Levo throughout the day?

[FallingInReverse in reply to Incoguto]

I don’t split Levo, I used to split my T3.

I mentioned how long I’ve been diagnosed for because I’m beginning to think based on my experience and from reading the forum over time, that 12-18 months should be the expectation doctors set for “feeling better”.

Now, I know it’s way more individual and complicated than that. And some people are fine without thinking, and others are dealing with tons of co-related issues.

I will let you know in a couple months, but after a year or so of getting my T3 up to target, and working on my iron and vitamins, and now my T4… it just makes sense that sufficient T4 would help buffer the ups and downs. And I’m now 3-4 weeks from 75 to 100 Levo, and I’ve had a good couple weeks.

I’m not counting my chickens. And it’s all relative. But this week is a good week (there, now I’ve certainly jinxed it!)