partytime - how to dose T3 when going to raves and techno dancing

[gd33]

Hi everybody, especially the hardcore dancers, if there are any here

Male, 65, I´m on T3 only, taking three doses 15/10/10 over the day, which suits me well.

Although my blood tests never showed any T3/T4 problems, I had brain fog and similar problems for a long time. Nothing helped, I tried T4, DLPA etc.

After much reading and searching I tried T3 and found most of the former problems have gone now.

I don´t do any drugs and I´m not into drinking. But I like to go to raves and techno parties at the weekend and I´m dancing for hours straight.

So far I have not taken additional T3 for these nights.

But since taking T3 my smartwatch has always shown lower heart rate peaks throughout the dancing. Maximum before had been about 160-170, now it´s about 140 to 150.

Can this relate to taking T3?

Could it be that my body needs another dose of T3 for these nights?

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Do you have any recent thyroid blood tests to share gd33?I wouldn’t recommend any increase in medication until you have shared these.

Raving and hard core dancing at 65…I’m in awe! 👍

[gd33 in reply to Buddy195]

Yeah, I´m used to it. I´m self-employed and do most of the customer visits with the bike or I walk. No elevators, all the stairs. It seems to help.

But my problem was not the body, but, as I said, an very unpleasant brain fog, combined with a really bad lethargy, letting me sit for hours unable to get my planning for the day together.

I really tried everything and any combinations, but the only thing that helped was T3.

[gd33 in reply to gd33]

Data shortly before starting taking T3. It is so frustrating when the doc tells you everything is fine (I understand his thinking) but you don´t know how to handle it any longer.

I will do tests in the future. The T3 I have is from another doctor who was willing to try but he is no longer available.

fT3 3.04

fT4 11.6

TSH 0.88

MAK etc ok

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to gd33]

When was this test taken? Please also add ranges as these can vary between labs

[gd33 in reply to Buddy195]

Test was half a year ago.

Range:

TSH 0.30 - 4.00

fT3 3.10 - 6.80

fT4 12.0 - 22.00

I should add that my cortisol values have long been way too small.

I did a saliva test (a very known, certified lab here in town) and it showed 3 of 4 values below the minimum reference ( e.g. 0.24 in a range of 0.32 - 3.22).

But even with such values, one can not get any help. The endo will say that this is not uncommon, and will only tell you to reduce stress. We all know that´s not that simple to do.

On the other hand, I would not like to take cortison forever, even if it would be only the maintenance dose. So I don´t take any cortisol and hope to get by with an otherwise healthy approach.

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to gd33]

Personally I would retest TSH, FT3 and FT4 before making any decision on adjusting your dose gd33, as readings can change in 6 months.

[gd33 in reply to Buddy195]

I will do that. In addition I have to tell the new doc that I want to continue with T3. That´ll be fun!

[Noelnoel in reply to Buddy195]

Am I seeing that right. Aren’t both frees under range Buddy

gd33

[tattybogle]

Hi gd33,

Well dancing is certainly 'good medicine ' there's no question about that

i would have thought that a lower 'peak' heart rate was better than higher . so if it's not actually causing you a problem, (other than your watch telling you about it ) why take more to try and fix it ?

similarly , if you have the energy to dance for hours , and no other symptoms there doesn't seem to be much of a problem , so i'm not clear why you are thinking about increasing the dose ?

it's already a sizeable dose of an active hormone that you are taking , and in someone with no clear indication to be taking thyroid hormones anyway , increasing the dose further without a clear need for it seems a bit unwise.

you might struggle to find any current hardcore dancers on here. many of the thyroid patients on here have significant problems just managing everyday functioning / work .

Social life/ night time fun was an early casualty of thyroid dysfunction for very many of us.

[gd33 in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks for the reply! You´re right, there possibly won´t be any dancers here...

Anyway, I was wondering because the T3 dosage of the day will be completely gone when I start in the night, and I certainly would need way more power then as when I´m sleeping.

As of the peak heart rate, I guess it says the more the better when (positive) stress occurs (sorry for this kind of writing, I´m German). You have a much higher peak when you are young and it declines with age.

So although I have the energy I was wondering if taking another dose before night could aid in helping the body to handle the strain better.

[tattybogle in reply to gd33]

.... except that the T3 dosage of the day is not completely gone by night time .... the 'half life' of T3 in the blood is about 24hrs (compared to Levo which has a half life of about 7 days) ... it does vary a bit , ie . lasts a bit longer in very hypothyroid state (?36hrs) and shorter in very hyperthyroid state (?16hrs cant remember exactly off top of my head ) .

and i''ve read stuff on here suggesting that once in the cells , the action of T3 last about 2/3 days , but can't remember if /where there are any references proving that .

altering timing of doses to suit timing of activity might be worth thinking about, rather than an increase in total dose ?

some of this post might interest you i think : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... after-high-intensity-interval-exercise....

[gd33 in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks, that´s interesting!

[gd33 in reply to tattybogle]

A different timing of doses could be an option. What I can´t do is splitting the doses in smaller ones. In the beginning I tried 5mcg, but, as Robinson wrote, it seems that there has to be a substantial amount of T3 to get into the cells, if I remember correctly.

[AKatieD]

Defo in awe 😀. There may not be any serioys dancers but there will be other serious exercisers on here who maybe able to help. Hopefully someone along soon.

I used to run ( slowly) and not for as long as you, on T3 only, and found that it was not the running that showed any particular energy problems but the recovery was slow over the next day or two and felt a bit brain dead. So perhaps slightly more T3 when going to rave may help with recovery.

[gd33 in reply to AKatieD]

Hi! So far I didn´t think about recovery, just focused on the action. You might have a point here, thanks 🙂

[FancyPants54]

You sound like you are doing just fine. I would not be adding more T3, but would look at shunting the day's doses forward a bit on the day of a rave to take the final dose closer to the start of the dancing.

I used to be a hula hoop dancer. Could hoop for hours and loved it. Some of those events went on late into the early hours. Sadly those days are long gone for me now and just walking is exhausting and painful. I still have all my hoops though, in the hope one day I will find the way out of all this mess.

[gd33 in reply to FancyPants54]

Yeah, it seems that moving the day´s doses on these days on weekends will be a better option, since there are no problems with the dose as it is. I hope for you that you will be hula hooping again 😀

[TSH110 in reply to FancyPants54]

Could you do hula hooping like the fat boy slim vid lady? Magic!

That old pair of jeans youtube.com/watch?v=vWyfxWD...(Not working as expected?)

[tattybogle in reply to TSH110]

thanks for the vid TSH110.. you've just fixed my head

[Framboise]

In 1975 I won a dance 'til you drop competition, danced all night and part of the next day, although my partner and I were holding each other by that stage 😂 does that count? Couldn't do it now unfortunately.

Have you done any blood tests at all since starting T3? The one you mentions seems to be prior to taking anything. I found it best to test 6 weeks after any alteration in dose, to check what was going on.

If the higher heart rate you mention was prior to starting T3, and the lower one after starting it, and you feel ok otherwise, I'd say that your heart function needed the T3 and is now lowering and normalising - but that's just an idle thought and I may be way off. Is there a similar difference when you are doing everyday activities?

You do sound like several of us here who had apparently normal blood test results but some symptoms, and really need T3 or NDT (which includes T3), to function properly. Most doctors struggle to understand this.

[gd33 in reply to Framboise]

Hi, I guess that counts 😃 obvioulsy you did great!

I will do tests in the near future.

That´s an interesting idea about the needed T3 when exercising. I´m gonna look into that.

It is a strange thing because I mostly need the T3 because of typical symptoms I shouldn´t have when looking at the blood test results. But as you said, doctors don´t want to address this. Especially here in Germany it is extremely difficult to get T3, unless you got some money and go to a private antiaging clinic.

Without the T3 I am often cold, I´ve got brain fog, lethargy etc. I tried several times to counteract this with DLPA, Tyrosine, also T4, but it didn´t help. T4 felt even worse.

[gd33]

Last weekend I took an additional 5 mcg before the action and it worked well. I will post again if there is anything interesting.

Thanks @all for your replies and have a good time 🙂