My doctor has now prescribed me with T3 (Liothyronine Sodium) and I have collected this from the chemist this morning.
Please can someone help me with this? I have to divide each 20mcg tablet into quarters and take 1 quarter at 7.00am, 1 at 1pm and 1 at 6.00pm all before food. My questions are these please:
Do these timings have to be the same every day or can I vary them each day ie 7.00am one day and 6.00am the next?
Can I alter these timings to see what suits me best?
How far apart do the tablets need to be to work best?
Would taking a dose near bedtime stop me sleeping or help me sleep?
How long before food do I need to take them?
Should I take a dose today or leave it until tomorrow and start at 7.00am?
How long does it take the tablets to work after taking them each time and from first starting them today?
How many tablets can I cut up in advance (ie do they lose their potency once cut?
Thank you so much in advance for all your help.
Best wishes
Kathy
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Katkin1
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So your GP has given you 15mcg's daily - is that right?
No your timings can vary - you wouldn't be wanting to get out of bed at 7.00am if it is a bank holiday or you go abroad and that leads me on to the next question - yes you can change your timings to suit you but stick to roughly 5 to 6 hrs apart (which answers your next question - I'm doing well so far aren't I.lol)
Some people report that taking T3 before bed stops them sleeping whereas some report that it helps them sleep - me, it helped me sleep so I think its a personal thing.
I did get advised to keep my T3 away from food but again there is some difference of opinions on this site so you may have to try both and see if it effects you. I knew that my T3 didn't work as well when taking it with food (which is what others have also reported on here) but again I thinks it could be a personal thing. If you do decide that you need to keep it away from food then you may well have to change your timings to suit and it can be hard work to keep the T3 at least an hour away from food when you are multi dosing (which is what I did).
There is no reason why you cant start taking them today - take a quarter now and a quarter at 7ish The tablets can have an almost instant effect on some but will gradually build up in the body.
And for the last one - I used to cut up a months worth at a time.
You are brilliant! Thank you so much for all those answers. Yes, I am to take 15mcg a day of T3 and am to reduce my T4 from 150 to 125 a day. Is it OK to take T3 and T4 at the same time please?
Yes its fine - do you not take your T4 last thing at night then?. You will find that you can adjust your T3 timings to suit your lifestyle or you end up carrying around little bits of silver paper with cut up tablets in.lol.
I use to take 20mcg's T3 and 150mcg's T4 and when I first started taking the T3 I would cut it into four and take it throughout the day and then my T4 last thing at night - which worked well apart from the "keeping it away from food" thing. It was a professor at a top London hosp that told someone on here to keep her T3 (she is T3 only) away from her food.
Glad I could be of help and if you have any more questions just shout.
Best of luck with it and maybe after a month or so you could think about doing a blog on how well you now feel and how you are finding it.
Thanks Moggie. Will do a blog in a few weeks. No, I take my T4 in the morning but will try last thing at night to see how it goes if you think it might help.
A lot of people on here take there T4 of a night and some have noticed a big difference when they change. You may not notice such a difference seeing as you are starting T3 but it still may be worth your while doing. T4 is absorbed better on an empty stomach so its ideal to take it with water only last thing at night and then it has all night to be absorbed without interference from anything else. Some report a head ache for the first week (which I don't want you to blame on your T3) but increased energy.
Have a look at this poll that was done a while back - it may take a bit of reading as there are 150 comments but it is interesting.
Thanks for the link Moggie. It does seem as if those that take their T4 at night do sleep better. Bad sleep is something I struggle with and either can't get to sleep or wake up and feel wide awake between 2.00am and 3.30am, so think I will try taking my levo at bedtime. Does no food mean no milky drink as well as I sometimes have one at bedtime to try and help me to get to sleep (doesn't necessarily work so well though as I have to get up in the night then to go to the loo!)?
Definitely NO milky drink. Milk contains a lot of calcium, which is a big no no as far as thyroid meds are concerned. If ever you take calcium or iron then it needs to be kept 4 hours away from your thyroid meds. There only needs to be a two hour gap between other supplements and thyroid meds.
You'll remember to take your meds don't worry. If something is msking you feel so much better then you tend to remember, plus your body wil tell you if you forget as you will feel the dreaded slump in energy.
p.s. When I say thyroid meds I mean T4 in particular - if you tried to keep all food and other meds away from your T3 (seeing as you are taking it three times a day) you would find it really difficult.
I would add to the other comments that it's a good idea to keep a diary of what you do with the timings, doses etc. and how your symptoms change (hopefully improve). This is because with time and our tendency for brain fog and forgetfulness it's easy to forget things in a few months time. If you have low basal temperature this is a really good indicator of change in your body. IGood luck and keep us posted!
Thank you all for lots of fantastic help. I will certainly be using a lot of ideas and have started a diary and set three alarms on my phone. By the way, after two weeks of taking T3 I do feel a lot better.
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