Should I increase T3?

[JoJoloveschocolate]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my last post about starting T3. I did 4 days on just 2.5mcg (taken in the morning with 87.5mcg levo). Then I increased to 2.5mcg twice a day for 7 days. At the start I had a little bit of a strange sensations in my forearms, but that could just be because I’ve had pain in my arms and elbows for a while. The first night, I woke with a start and sat bolt upright in bed like Frankenstein’s monster being jolted by a lightening strike. “It’s Alive!!!” 🤣Apart from this - nothing’s changed. No ill effects. Not had any “good” effect to report really. I still feel very fatigued and emotional and pretty much the same as before I started. Early days I know.

My question is: Should I increase to 2.5mcg three times a day now? (That’s what the gp prescribed, but I wanted introduce it slowly as advised here). Or should I stick at twice a day for a bit longer?

[FallingInReverse]

This is certainly a personal preference question : )

You will get all kinds of approaches to increasing. I always like to take a few weeks though. If you are taking T3 and as you say don’t feel anything, in the early days I count that as a success!

Feeling better happens to subtly and slowly. I know my low and slow is working when I hardly know it’s working. Then a month or two later my bloods are better and I look back and realize the symptoms are better.

But feeling worse from high and fast change is immediate.

So me personally I’d probably wait, and being my cautious self I might even wait a whole 6 weeks for everything to settle around it.

Then again - others might say a few days or a week is enough.

No one right or wrong!

[JoJoloveschocolate in reply to FallingInReverse]

Thanks, FiR. I think I might add in another 2.5mcg and then hold and see how that goes. If all ok I’ll stay with that dose for 6 weeks+, if it goes sideways I’ll bail out and go back to 2.5mcg twice a day. Hard to know what to do for the best sometimes.

[humanbean]

Just my personal experience...

I struggled with tolerating T3 when I first went on it, and then switched to tiny doses.

At one time (ten years ago?), I was taking five doses a day of tiny little crumbs of T3 then gradually I amalgamated doses. These days I take 18.75 mcg T3 per day (i.e. three quarters of a 25mcg tablet), all in one dose first thing in the morning.

Some people do well with lots of small doses, others don't. When I first started taking T3 I struggled with tolerance, like I did with Levo and NDT when I tried those. But I found my tolerance problems were caused by very high (over the range) cortisol. When I started taking T3 I eventually stopped trying to take my first dose first thing in the morning, and instead took it when my cortisol was lowest (but it was still high), which was late morning. My tolerance improved a lot.

[JoJoloveschocolate in reply to humanbean]

Thanks for sharing your experience, hb. Interesting to know how other people get on with things. I think the doctor said my cortisol test was ok. Do you take levo as well as t3?

[humanbean in reply to JoJoloveschocolate]

Do you take levo as well as t3?

I do now. But I didn't tolerate it until 2020. I must admit, now I can take both Levo and T3 I feel better than I used to on T3 alone.

[jgelliss in reply to humanbean]

HB I appreciate your wonderful posts very much. I don't want to highjack the post .I would love to know if you don't mind how much T4 and T3 you dose with? I'm on 150mcg T4 with 15mcg T3. I had TT and struggled for many years with being on highT4 dosage sole.I dose before going to sleep because that works for me. However preparing for my Cholonoscopy fasting I experienced lower back pain. And I did take the night prior my thyroid dose.

Foursome reason when fasting I experience lower back pain.

Thank you in advance.

[humanbean in reply to jgelliss]

how much T4 and T3 you dose with?

Levo :

50mcg on Monday and Thursday, 100mcg the rest of the week. This averages out to 85.7mcg per day.

T3 : 18.75mcg per day, every day.

Edit : I tried evening/bedtime dosing for my thyroid hormones but it kept me awake. So I take mine in the morning. I would prefer evening dosing but I think my high cortisol is preventing that.

[jgelliss in reply to humanbean]

Thank You so much HB. It's very interesting that everyone has another Set Points to how much T4 and T3 works for them. And in addition what part of the day or night works the Best . Thank you so much.