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Question about T3 and thirst/appetite
I have had the hashimoto's antibodies since 2006, but my levels have all been fine. The three times I've gotten tested, my TSH was 1, 1.4, and most recently 2.5. I've (of course) been feeling crappy this entire time, thus why I've gotten tested a lot. (I don't have my labs with me, so can't post the rest of the numbers but nothing was out of range iirc). I finally had my free T3 tested a few months ago and it turns out it's a little low. So, I was put on cytomel - 5mg 2x a day, about 2 months ago. I was NOT put on the regular hashimoto's treatment though (T4, I guess?).
Thing is, I don't feel all that much better. I have a tad more energy and seem to be a little cheerier, but I'm so dehydrated that I can hardly function. It's to the point where I am drinking 4-6 liters of water a day and STILL have white slime all over my mouth. It is so gross. I started drinking coconut water which helps a lot, but 2L of coconut water to counteract a little pill that doesn't seem to do all that much doesn't seem like a very good tradeoff. I've also developed a ravenous appetite, and i've gained 7 pounds - about one a week since I went on it. I am eating a little bit more because I'm starving all the time, but I don't think it's 6000 calories a week more. So it seems to me that my metabolism has tanked. It's always been pretty good in the past - can eat mostly whatever I want as long as I don't go too crazy with junk/bread etc...
The pharmacy insert says that thirst and appetite can mean the T3 is screwing with your blood sugar. The doctor doesn't seem to think there is a connection. However, I am worried. I don't feel that much better, and to be honest the feeling that I'm hungover from a 4 day bender 24/7 is worse than how I felt before. I've always been thirsty, even prior to this (and blood sugar has always been fine) but this is outrageous. I can barely get out of bed in the morning and I always feel like someone sucked all the water out of me.
I feel like it's working backwards or something. Is that possible? Could taking T3 make the hypo problems WORSE? Or are these new symptoms jsut a blood sugar thing? I should probably go buy a glucose meter. Ugh. Anyway, anyone with some thoughts would help. I was hoping that with the increase in TSH that I'd just get put on regular hashimoto's treatment, but instead I got this. Help!
Thing is, I don't feel all that much better. I have a tad more energy and seem to be a little cheerier, but I'm so dehydrated that I can hardly function. It's to the point where I am drinking 4-6 liters of water a day and STILL have white slime all over my mouth. It is so gross. I started drinking coconut water which helps a lot, but 2L of coconut water to counteract a little pill that doesn't seem to do all that much doesn't seem like a very good tradeoff. I've also developed a ravenous appetite, and i've gained 7 pounds - about one a week since I went on it. I am eating a little bit more because I'm starving all the time, but I don't think it's 6000 calories a week more. So it seems to me that my metabolism has tanked. It's always been pretty good in the past - can eat mostly whatever I want as long as I don't go too crazy with junk/bread etc...
The pharmacy insert says that thirst and appetite can mean the T3 is screwing with your blood sugar. The doctor doesn't seem to think there is a connection. However, I am worried. I don't feel that much better, and to be honest the feeling that I'm hungover from a 4 day bender 24/7 is worse than how I felt before. I've always been thirsty, even prior to this (and blood sugar has always been fine) but this is outrageous. I can barely get out of bed in the morning and I always feel like someone sucked all the water out of me.
I feel like it's working backwards or something. Is that possible? Could taking T3 make the hypo problems WORSE? Or are these new symptoms jsut a blood sugar thing? I should probably go buy a glucose meter. Ugh. Anyway, anyone with some thoughts would help. I was hoping that with the increase in TSH that I'd just get put on regular hashimoto's treatment, but instead I got this. Help!
Many people report feeling worse before they start to feel better.
The body is not used to getting thyroid hormone. And the body has tried as best it can to make up for that loss of hormone. And now you just gave the body hormone. So the body is trying to figure out how to respond to that new input. Often time this can take a few weeks to settle down. In the mean time the person feels worse.
Also it is not terribly common to to a T3 only medication protocol. A very few people need this. Most common is to start with T4 medication and see if the body converts well and gets teh FT3 response that is expected. At some point, the FT4 when it gets to 50% or so of the range and the FT3 is still lagging, that is when additional T3 supplementation comes in. A VERY few people need T3 only. Some may do this only for a short period of time to alleviate or eliminate a RT3 dominance situation. But this is a controversial method many Dr's don't buy into. But a few people here and other places have reported good results with it. But again that is really only used once a RT3 dominance situation is known.
Like I said with a Dr who already is open to T3 medication (many if not most are not), it is likely that he would also be open to Armour. So maybe that may be a good route to go. Just a suggestion to talk with your Dr about.
The body is not used to getting thyroid hormone. And the body has tried as best it can to make up for that loss of hormone. And now you just gave the body hormone. So the body is trying to figure out how to respond to that new input. Often time this can take a few weeks to settle down. In the mean time the person feels worse.
Also it is not terribly common to to a T3 only medication protocol. A very few people need this. Most common is to start with T4 medication and see if the body converts well and gets teh FT3 response that is expected. At some point, the FT4 when it gets to 50% or so of the range and the FT3 is still lagging, that is when additional T3 supplementation comes in. A VERY few people need T3 only. Some may do this only for a short period of time to alleviate or eliminate a RT3 dominance situation. But this is a controversial method many Dr's don't buy into. But a few people here and other places have reported good results with it. But again that is really only used once a RT3 dominance situation is known.
Like I said with a Dr who already is open to T3 medication (many if not most are not), it is likely that he would also be open to Armour. So maybe that may be a good route to go. Just a suggestion to talk with your Dr about.
I'll see if I can get the labs faxed to me and reply - I just don't have a copy of the most recent ones available to me, unfortunately. I have my old ones, but that's probably not too useful to the current situation.
He wants me to keep taking it another month and then go get a new set of labs but I've about had it with being thirsty and getting fat like this. It's really extreme. :/ I feel worse now so what's the point?
He wants me to keep taking it another month and then go get a new set of labs but I've about had it with being thirsty and getting fat like this. It's really extreme. :/ I feel worse now so what's the point?
Really need your blood labs to help out.
But if I were to guess, I'd GUESS that your Free T4 were in range but probably low in the range. So the Dr felt that was fine. But the Free T3 was below range. And the Dr felt that needed to be addressed. so prescribed T3 medication.
If you've spent much time here, people who are symptomatic seem to need to target blood labs to achieve BOTH of the following.
1) Free T4 (FT4) to be in the MIDDLE of the range (50%) or slightly higher
AND - that means in addition to
2) Free T3 (FT3) to be in the UPPER 1/3 of the range (66.7%)
If comparing the percent of each range, the FT3 percentage should always be higher than the FT4 percent of the range. If that is not the case thenit would suggest a person has a conversion problem. That is the body is not converting the T4 into T3 in sufficient amount to make you feel well.
A conversion problem is generally 1 of 2 different things. First it simply could be a poor efficiency rate. That is, the body just isn't converting the T4. Selenium helps in this to some degree. But also understand too much Selenium can be toxic as well. Secondly the body can convert too much of the T4 into revers T3 or RT3. There is a theory which says that the RT3 is the mirror image of the FT3 molecule. And it looks SOOOOO much like FT3 that the body's cells will accept the RT3. However RT3 is inactive. So essentially the RT3 takes up space and then the truly active and needed FT3 has no place to go, or too few places to go. So even if your blood labs show what would appear to be plenty of FT3, if there are no receptors available for it, they do nothing and you stay Hypo.
Not saying you have a conversion problem. Just that it is a possibility.
If the FT4 is pretty far below 50%, then there simply may not be enough FT4 available for your body to make sufficient FT3. So while your FT4 may be in range, you may have to simply raise the FT4 level with a standard T4 medication, and that will result in a rise in the FT3 level through the normal body's conversion process. This is why it is "standard" treatment. At least as a first try.
You if you have not been tested really need to get both your FT3 and FT4 levels tested. Get a copy of the tests and post the results and their reference ranges here.
Since your Dr appears to be OK with prescribing a T3 medication. You may want to suggest instead of a pure T3 medication, that you switch to Natural Dissected Thyroid. This has both T4 and T3 in it.
Finally the dry mouth etc may be an allergic reaction to not so much the T3, but rather the fillers/binders/buffers in the pill itself. So sometime switching manufacturers can solve this. Switching to Armour natural dissected thyroid may also avoid this. IF the foaming dry mouth issue is a sensitivity issue and not some other side effect of the T3 medicine you are currently taking.
Just my 2 cents.
But if I were to guess, I'd GUESS that your Free T4 were in range but probably low in the range. So the Dr felt that was fine. But the Free T3 was below range. And the Dr felt that needed to be addressed. so prescribed T3 medication.
If you've spent much time here, people who are symptomatic seem to need to target blood labs to achieve BOTH of the following.
1) Free T4 (FT4) to be in the MIDDLE of the range (50%) or slightly higher
AND - that means in addition to
2) Free T3 (FT3) to be in the UPPER 1/3 of the range (66.7%)
If comparing the percent of each range, the FT3 percentage should always be higher than the FT4 percent of the range. If that is not the case thenit would suggest a person has a conversion problem. That is the body is not converting the T4 into T3 in sufficient amount to make you feel well.
A conversion problem is generally 1 of 2 different things. First it simply could be a poor efficiency rate. That is, the body just isn't converting the T4. Selenium helps in this to some degree. But also understand too much Selenium can be toxic as well. Secondly the body can convert too much of the T4 into revers T3 or RT3. There is a theory which says that the RT3 is the mirror image of the FT3 molecule. And it looks SOOOOO much like FT3 that the body's cells will accept the RT3. However RT3 is inactive. So essentially the RT3 takes up space and then the truly active and needed FT3 has no place to go, or too few places to go. So even if your blood labs show what would appear to be plenty of FT3, if there are no receptors available for it, they do nothing and you stay Hypo.
Not saying you have a conversion problem. Just that it is a possibility.
If the FT4 is pretty far below 50%, then there simply may not be enough FT4 available for your body to make sufficient FT3. So while your FT4 may be in range, you may have to simply raise the FT4 level with a standard T4 medication, and that will result in a rise in the FT3 level through the normal body's conversion process. This is why it is "standard" treatment. At least as a first try.
You if you have not been tested really need to get both your FT3 and FT4 levels tested. Get a copy of the tests and post the results and their reference ranges here.
Since your Dr appears to be OK with prescribing a T3 medication. You may want to suggest instead of a pure T3 medication, that you switch to Natural Dissected Thyroid. This has both T4 and T3 in it.
Finally the dry mouth etc may be an allergic reaction to not so much the T3, but rather the fillers/binders/buffers in the pill itself. So sometime switching manufacturers can solve this. Switching to Armour natural dissected thyroid may also avoid this. IF the foaming dry mouth issue is a sensitivity issue and not some other side effect of the T3 medicine you are currently taking.
Just my 2 cents.
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