Advice for blood test timing & last doses (staggered doses + mistimed t3 history)

[FallingInReverse]

Two questions.

1) with staggered Levo dosing … best day to test

Current titration was FROM 100 Levo a day (700 a week) to 112.5 a day (775 a week.)

Since I only have 100s at this time, I split them in quarters and added 25 on Mon, Wed, Fri:

Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

125 100 125 100 125 100 100

As for how I feel, the staggered dose doesn’t seems to bother me.

But now I’m trying to figure out my next blood test. I can’t get a steady dose… can’t cut the 100s into 10ths.

But without a consistent daily dose, obviously I’m going to be guessing as to whether I’ve hit an up or a low in the cycle. No way to know precisely, I know.

Any words of wisdom or anyone who also staggered and has made any decisions on a test timing strategy? Any specific recommendations for what day I should get tested for the most accurate, comparable read?

2) T3 timing day before blood test

Since I found this forum I intended to follow blood test protocol on T3, day before.

Then I realized somewhere along the way that I was doing it wrong. Although I was consistent so results were always directionally comparable.

Should I just switch now… or is there benefit to the consistency and I should just leave it.

Note- I’m in the US and so the change in results won’t impact my Rx dosing. I’m just trying to find the right way and right time to do it so others on this forum can give better advice knowing I’ve followed protocol and I can make the best decisions for me.

Here’s what I’ve been doing.

On a normal day, I take 10 T3 a day - 5 upon waking and 5 at bedtime.

The day before a blood test I have been taking 2.5 upon waking and 2.5 at lunch - about 18 hours before the test the next morning. I would then hold the nighttime 5 until my post-test morning dose.

I now see that I would have a somewhat false low. And even writing this, maybe it’s obvious I just make a clean switch for the next. But I kind of don’t want to lose my very comparable history.

Any thoughts?

[tattybogle]

I would not worry about the T4 , i suspect the difference at 24hrs post dose (trough / lowest point) between a 125 day and a 100 day would be so small as to be insignificant . so i'd test 24hrs after a 125 dose and just make a mental note that levels of fT4 may (or may not) be 'a gnats' lower on the other day.

re the T3 ,i would switch now to 12hrs, ie last 5mcg at 9 pm for 9 am test. ( or 8 hours if you prefer ~last dose midnight / test 9 am ) .

ok , you loose the comparability to previous results ... but since previous results are significantly false lows for fT3 , i think the sooner you start collecting data that is more representative of your 'usual' body state , the better.

in an ideal world, i would want to know:

the lowest fT3 from my usual dosing schedule .( in your case that's about 12 hrs after 5mcg)

and the highest fT3 from my usual dosing schedule ~ probably around 3 or4 hrs after largest usual dose . (It's hard to catch the highest point reliably as the timing is individual depending on how fast you absorb tablet from gut ,and how fast it goes down again, but 3 or 4 hours seems a fairly safe bet )

not at every test obviously, that would be impractical and costly, but at least once for any new dose , just so i knew for myself roughly how high it was going at peak. and how low it usually fell before i took my next dose. (whether to let any medics see how high it was at peak is a different matter , but i would like to know for myself)

as for following rules/ protocols , i prefer to figure out how things work and then get the info i consider most useful, so i'm with Harry Day on this one (one of the organisers of 'The Great Escape' )

" Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools"

[FallingInReverse in reply to tattybogle]

I love this idea: the more representative of your 'usual' body state , the better.

And the Great Escape quote is one of the wisest things I’ve read on this forum so far : )

Glad I don’t have to start the clock ticking again for the ft4. For the ft3 timing…. I’ll have to make the leap! I was top of range last time so curious/worried/interested to see how high it will actually be with that short timing.

Thank you tattybogle !