I'm about to trial T3. For 13 years I've been on levothyroxine . I'm on 150/175mcgs alternate days.

[chocolat]

My Dr is starting me on 10mg for 2 weeks and increasing to 20mg for 4 weeks, when he will review me. Is this a low dose? Can I expect to feel worse before I feel better?

[nobodysdriving]

you don't know, everyone reacts differently to T3.

Are you still going to take the T4? if so at what dosage?

if you keep taking the T4 then you may not get worse at all (some don't), if you stop the T4 then huge possibility you'll get worse/hypo before you get better

[chocolat in reply to nobodysdriving]

HI. I'm continuing with T4. My doctor didn't talk me through how/when/with what I should take T3. No advice at all. In fact I had to return the script to him because he hadn't signed it! I'm not feeling too confident with his care. I'm realy glad that I've been able to get so much help on here. Thanks

[nobodysdriving in reply to chocolat]

oh well then it's more likely you'll only 'get better', I hope you do x

[Moggie]

No 10mcg's is a fairly normal starting dose and you should feel the benefits almost straight away. I am on a T3/T4 combo of 100mcg's T4 and 20mcg's T3 and have been for almost a year now. The difference is symptoms when starting the T3 was almost instant for me (I went straight on to 20mcg's) - brain fog went, tiredness almost gone, nails a lot stronger and no constipation , in fact I felt better all round after about a week so you shouldn't feel any worse. The only thing I would say is that some people report headaches when they first take T3 (this didn't happen to me) but say that within a week they go.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

Moggie x

[Moggie]

Sorry I just assumed that you would still be taking T4 as well.

Moggie x

[Jackie]

Hi good doc ,this is how you should go on new meds. Remember to split the dose and try and take about 12 hours apart if possible. A lot of people do feel worse, I did not ,like this. Also T3 takes about a month to reach maximum level in blood.

I hope it helps.

Jackie

[edwardsk72]

T3 is much more potent as it is the active form, it might seem a small amount but if it is what your body needs you will feel the effect. I have one t4 and felt no different. T3/t4 combo felt amazing but went hyper. T3 only didn't feel as great and started some of my hypo symptoms again. Really want the combo but my eno is worried about the oesteperosis so now I am on same t3 but instead of 50 t4 I am on 25 t4, I can't imagine my life without t3. But I know lots of people it was too much for gave them palpitations etc

[Maddie]

When my Endocrinologist put me on 10mcg of T3 he told me to reduce the Thyroxine meds by 50mcg.

The 10mcg of T3 is approximately equivalent to a 40mcg dose of Thyroxine (T4).

I split this 10mcg into two doses of 5mcg.

T3 takes about two hours to peak in the body and then declines over a six hour period.

This method worked much better for me, I had used Armour in the past and aso was aware that I would have a strong reaction to T3. By introducing it slowly my body adjusted without causing my heart to race.

You may want to just try 5mcg for a few days to see how you get on.

We are all so different in the way we respond to the T3, it's useful to know about other people's experiences so that you are aware of different dosing methods.

[chocolat in reply to Maddie]

I've been prescribed T3. 10 mcg twice a day for 2 weeks and 20mch twice a day thereafter. I'm taking 175/150 mcg levothyroxine alternate days and vitamin D 1000iu daily. I'm menopausal and have hot flushes. I've got a review in February when I'll ask about my vitamin and iron levels. I hope to feel really well soon

I'll let you know how I get on. Best wishes for 2013.

[Maddie in reply to chocolat]

Getting your iron levels checked is a good idea, I did not do very well on Armour when my serum ferritin was very low in the range.

You may already know this but it's best to keep a check on your temperature and pulse when you start on T3. Check these before you start the T3 meds so that you can see if there is an increase.

When I had been suffering with hot flushes I had a course of acupuncture and a chinese herbal remedy called Kun Bao Wan. This eventually worked but when I stopped the flushes started to return I next tried Evening Primrose Oil and found that this stopped them also.

The dose needs to be high for it to work. The Gamma Linoleic Acid (GLA) content is important. It's usual for 1,000mg of EPO to contain 100mg GLA. I increased my dose gradually from 1,000mg to 4,000mg EPO (400mg GLA). I reduced to 2,000 mg EPO once the hot flashes stopped.

[chocolat in reply to Maddie]

Thanks maddie

I'll give the evening primrose a try. How long did you take it before the flushes stopped?

[Maddie]

When I had the acupuncture and chinese herbs it took about 4-6 months for the flushes to stop. The chinese doctor told me my endocrine system was out of balance.

When I stopped the chinese therapies, the flushes gradually came back but nowhere near as bad. At this time I had done some more research and found out about EPO. I did get immediate results, but I went to the max dose of 4,000mg EPO (400 GLA) fairly soon.

The best price I could find for EPO was at Simply Supplements, click on this link;

tinyurl.com/dynq3bm

If you use cashback sites then there is a cashback offer with Simply Supplements at Quidco.

Starflower/Borage oil is also a good source of GLA and is sold by Simply Supplements.

This link gives some info about using EPO and hot flushes;

tinyurl.com/cfqk4f7

There is advice about storage, interactions etc.

I had tried other stuff i.e. black cohosh etc without any result. At lot of the info I found did not give a positive result for EPO but I discovered that the GLA content and correct dosing is important.

I have never been on HRT and had been suffering with hot flushes for five years and was feeling desperate.