Starting T3 dosage

[thyroid-warrior]

I’m just starting my T3 journey on top of my current T4 dosage. I’m taking Teva every evening 96.875.

Started on 5mg T3 yesterday and today I took 5mg twice. Once early morning at 6.40pm and another at 1pm+.

So far I haven’t felt vastly different. I still had some brain fog today and body wasn’t generating much heat. I was wondering how long does it take to see effects and if I should increase a little more? Or wait?

[GlowCoach Administrator]

The usual recommendation is 5mcgs T3 for a few weeks and then if all is well add the second 5mcgs T3. Retest in 8 weeks or so.

If one goes too fast it can result in intolerance.

Are you now supplementing key vitamin levels and what were your most recent vitamin results?

[thyroid-warrior in reply to GlowCoach]

Thank you!

These were my last vitamin results beginning of January:

Ferritin µg/L

159 [13 - 150]

Serum Folate nmol/L

41.90 [8.83 - 60.8]

Vitamin B12 pmol/L

458 [145 - 569]

Vitamin D (25 OH) nmol/L

239 [50 - 200]

HbA1c mmol/mol

36* [20 - 42]

Magnesium mmol/L

0.9 [0.7 - 1.0]

CRP mg/L

<0.6 [<5.0]

Iron µmol/L

16.1 [5.8 - 34.5]

UIBC µmol/L

27.7 [24.2 - 70.1]

TIBC µmol/L

44 [45 - 81]

Transferrin Saturation %

36.7* [20 - 50]

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to thyroid-warrior]

What if anything are you taking for B12?

Optimal serum B12 should be 500++ and yours is just below that level. An active B12 test would be more accurate.

Vit D is on the high side and you could afford to reduce your supplement aiming for a level of around 100.

[thyroid-warrior in reply to GlowCoach]

Sorry, I went to relook at my Blue Horizon results.

There was an active B12 result - >150 [37.5 - 150 pmol/L]

I'm taking one multivitamin Boots A-Z everyday for B12.

How much Vit D should one take every day for optimal effect?

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to thyroid-warrior]

One does need to be careful with Vit D as its oil based and too much isn't a good thing. Most people need a minimum of 3,000iu, some a little more.

Theres a calculator here for dose: grassrootshealth.net/projec...

This group doesnt recommend multivitamins for a number of reasons including, containing iodine which hypos shouldnt take, including iron which prevents you absorbing all the other vitamins when taken at same time, being cheap, inactive vitamins.

Suggest you look at a good methyl B complex.

B complex suggestions: Slightly cheaper options with inactive B6:

amazon.co.uk/Liposomal-Soft...

Contains B6 as P5P an active form:

bigvits.co.uk/thorne-resear...

healf.com/products/basic-b-...

Explanation about the different forms of B6:

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

B complex comparison spreadsheet:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[thyroid-warrior in reply to GlowCoach]

Thanks for sharing the resources about the B complex, @Jaydee1507! When I took the Vitamin D test, I was taking the Vitamin D3 Holland & Barrett, not daily but I wasn't actively tracking.

I've started now taking 1-2 times a week : HuxD3 20,000 IU colecalciferol (Vitamin D3 500mcg) with Vitamin K2 200mcg (Linden). Hoping that should suffice for now.

Regarding the iodine intake, I've heard that some people say we should take more iodine while others say no. I remember when my doctor used to tell my mom that I should take more iodine so when I was a kid, my mom was trying to include more seaweed in the diet. I was wondering, how do we know if we have enough iodine or the best way to determine if we have sufficient iodine intake?

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to thyroid-warrior]

It would be easier to adjust your Vit D dose if you bought something in a smaller dose. Possibly just 1 20,000iu tablet per week would be plenty.

There is a pinned post about iodine here: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

The only way to know if you have enough iodine is to test it and its suggested to do just that before supplementing.

[thyroid-warrior in reply to GlowCoach]

Looks very useful, I'm saving the post to read into the details. Thank you!

Which provider would you recommend for iodine test? Does NHS offer? I haven't been offered any iodine tests before.

[SlowDragon Ambassador]

that’s a very large dose of vitamin D

Vitamin D (25 OH) nmol/L

239 [50 - 200]

your result is well over top of the range

Suggest you stop supplementing for a while and then look at getting a much smaller dose

For example

Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You is very effective as it avoids poor gut function.

There’s a version made that also contains vitamin K2 Mk7.

One spray = 1000iu

amazon.co.uk/BetterYou-Dlux...

Too much vitamin D can be toxic

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[thyroid-warrior in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for sharing! I'm going to look into it