so we get worse before we get better on a dose ... - Thyroid UK

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so we get worse before we get better on a dose change

I tried to reduce my dose of t3 as suggested here by one of the admins but gained about 7 pounds in three weeks; felt awful and got quite depressed, then caved in and went back to previous dose. It felt as if my whole body signed with relief.

Should I have persisted. I am thinking to get bloods done again, test properly according to the protocals here and dose accordingly but dont want to make myself ill again if there is no benefit.

Do people feel worse before they get better after a dose change/ reduction.

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Hectorsmum2

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10 Replies

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TiggerMeAmbassador1 month ago

Looking back the suggestion was to lower your T3 and increase your T4 as your fT3 was high and fT4 below range, how much have you changed your doses?

Looks like you were on 50mcg T3 and T4? So T4 was going to need a few increases

Hectorsmum2• in reply toTiggerMe1 month ago

I am on 50mcg T3 and 75 t4. i reduced the t3 by one quater of a 25mcg tablet and increased t4 to a hundred mcg every other day. I felt terrible and gained lots of weight, half a stone. I have worked hard and lost nine stone it is very distressing to see it start to come back. I wish more people had replied to my post and said yes this has happened to me but nobody has and I cant find another post like it. My endo said the low t4 was down to taking T3 but perhpas he has confused it with NDT.

TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toHectorsmum21 month ago

Taking T3 does lower fT4, so a very small increase in T4 was unlikely to bring your fT4 up by much... I'm not really sure of your history and how you have ended up on this combination? Did you every get to a full replacement level of T4 before adding T3... 75mcg is a small dose of T4 suitable for someone quite small

If you could fill in your Bio it would help everyone give better advice

Hectorsmum2• in reply toTiggerMe1 month ago

Hard to remmeber clearly but I was on just T3 for a long while, then was put on nDT which didnt agree with me, then T4, t3 combination. I was on a lower dose of t3 and doing well for a while but took a slow release of an iron tablet for a few weeks and everything went haywire. I get really awful vertigo if my t3 levels drop and had to increase my t3 and stop the iron.I was advise to increase ferritin due to restless legs but gave up on this. I have the DI02 gene. i have tried to decrease t3 maybe by too much half an tablet and the vertigo comes back. I didnt get the vertigo with the qauter tablet decrease but gained weight and become depressed.

TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toHectorsmum21 month ago

Vertigo is usually a low B12/ B vits/ Vit D symptom and restless legs low magnesium, have you any vit and min results? Who is advising you??

Hectorsmum2• in reply toTiggerMe1 month ago

I have an endo.The vertigo definately related to low T3. I inject B12 weekly and some magnesium has helped my restless legs. I take a vit B supplement and vit d with a omega 3 supplement. Last time vitamin d was tested it was over 80. The vertigo started several years agao when an endo persauded me to stop the nature thyroid I was taking. it came on about a month later. I was so ill, falling about all the time, broke my ankle, kept leaving my body. A dose of NDT stopped it in seconds. If it comes back like when i took the iron I nibble a T3 untill it stops.

TiggerMeAmbassador• in reply toHectorsmum21 month ago

So worth raising your Vit D to try and boost it up to 100-150nmol/L, it could be that B12 once a week isn't often enough... it's all a bit confusing

then was put on nDT which didnt agree with me

The vertigo started several years agao when an endo persauded me to stop the nature thyroid I was taking

A dose of NDT stopped it in seconds

We really need a proper history with results, vits/min levels to see the whole picture, your Endo should be able to provide this

SlowDragonAdministrator1 month ago

yes very common to feel worse weeks 3-8 after any dose change, but especially after a reduction

arTistapple1 month ago

Every time I do this I get a shock. I forget! Still, remembering this allows me to plod on.

Probably not everyone suffers this but I see it mentioned a lot on the Forum.

SlowDragonAdministrator1 month ago

Have you tried Three Arrows iron supplements

Essential to improve low ferritin

Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing.

It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron

Test early morning, only water to drink between waking and test. Avoid high iron rich dinner night before test

If taking any iron supplements stop 5-7 days before testing

Medichecks iron panel test

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet

Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption

List of iron rich foods

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

irondisorders.org/too-littl...

davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...

Great in-depth article on low ferritin

oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Posts discussing Three Arrows as very effective supplement

Great replies from @FallingInReverse

re ferritin and Three arrows

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu......

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Great reply by @fallinginreverse

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ferrodyn supplement

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron patches

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...