Aa
T3 meds trial
I've been trialling T3 meds for 2 months, Am currently taking 125mcg thyroxine and 10mcg liothyronine (T3), after starting thyroxine last august at a lower dose (50mcg) that was slowly increased over time, up to the current dose that I've been on since end Feb this year. My latest blood tests (last week) showed:
TSH 0.1
FT3 5.5
FT4 21.2
Before the T3 trial my tests were:
TSH 1.1
FT3 3.5
FT4 20.4
I felt I was starting to be more active and have more energy with the new meds but now seem to be terribly tired again and have felt very emotional this morning as well as on a few other occassions recently. My endocrinologist says it's early days and he wants to see what the bloods say and how I feel in a few more weeks before he'll think about changing anything.
I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience of trialling T3 and energy and moods seeming to fluctuate. Could reverse T3 be a factor? I'm seeing my GP tomorrow, it would be great if anyone had any insights or questions you could share that might be worth me raising with her. thanks so much in advance if any of you can post a response to this. I feel I'm at my wits end again.
(I'm in the UK, being treated on the NHS, I have TPab thyroid antibodies, originally around 2500, now around 1500)
TSH 0.1
FT3 5.5
FT4 21.2
Before the T3 trial my tests were:
TSH 1.1
FT3 3.5
FT4 20.4
I felt I was starting to be more active and have more energy with the new meds but now seem to be terribly tired again and have felt very emotional this morning as well as on a few other occassions recently. My endocrinologist says it's early days and he wants to see what the bloods say and how I feel in a few more weeks before he'll think about changing anything.
I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience of trialling T3 and energy and moods seeming to fluctuate. Could reverse T3 be a factor? I'm seeing my GP tomorrow, it would be great if anyone had any insights or questions you could share that might be worth me raising with her. thanks so much in advance if any of you can post a response to this. I feel I'm at my wits end again.
(I'm in the UK, being treated on the NHS, I have TPab thyroid antibodies, originally around 2500, now around 1500)
hi again, just wanted to update on all of that, thanks so much for all your great advice so far. My doctor has now told me to reduce my hours at work from full time to 3 days a week for a couple of months, hoping that by the end of that time I will be properly well again. I feel like a weight has been lifted not having to do full time hours at work and my boss has been fairly understanding, reducing some of my responsibilities so hopefully I can deliver on agreed priorities during that time but other people will pick up on a few things I was doing and now won't be able to. I get the distinct feeling she'd rather I just left but I'm hanging on.
I talked to my GP about the adrenals thing again and she said she thought it was highly unlikely as if my adrenals weren't working there would be other signs - eg: sodium and blood sugar levels. She said I should talk to the specialist about it when I see him again in Jan as it would be a specialist matter to pursue and as he hasn't picked up on it she wouldn't pursue that angle herself.
sending you a smile. yl
I talked to my GP about the adrenals thing again and she said she thought it was highly unlikely as if my adrenals weren't working there would be other signs - eg: sodium and blood sugar levels. She said I should talk to the specialist about it when I see him again in Jan as it would be a specialist matter to pursue and as he hasn't picked up on it she wouldn't pursue that angle herself.
sending you a smile. yl
argh! I did indeed take my meds as usual in the morning, will take them AFTER next time.
thank you
thank you
Did you take your meds right before the blood draw for the tests? If so, the T3 would show as higher, which can encourage your doctor to not want to increase your T3 meds. I wait until after the tests.
oh thank you Gimel, I have never had my adrenals tested, I will ask my doctor about it today, when I've raised it as a potential issue in the past they haven't been very receptive though, I'm not sure why, will ask and read up on it a bit beforehand.
have you any experience of adrenal function issues? When I read about it last it sounded like if there was a problem I should have a "moon face" (which I don't think I do) and that the treatment was pretty unpleasant, so I kind of put the idea to one side but it's a question that keeps coming up. And while I don't have a moon face my face has been rounder withthis illness, it seems to have slimmed a bit since I started taking T3 though my weight remains the same (normal but on the high side for my build)
My iron a, Vit D and B12 levels are all good.
I think because my endo has said he will not change the dose at the moment my GP, today, will not be very likely to contradict that. My boss has now told me she thinks I should get signed off again for a while. I'm so worried I'm going to lose my career over all this. :(
have you any experience of adrenal function issues? When I read about it last it sounded like if there was a problem I should have a "moon face" (which I don't think I do) and that the treatment was pretty unpleasant, so I kind of put the idea to one side but it's a question that keeps coming up. And while I don't have a moon face my face has been rounder withthis illness, it seems to have slimmed a bit since I started taking T3 though my weight remains the same (normal but on the high side for my build)
My iron a, Vit D and B12 levels are all good.
I think because my endo has said he will not change the dose at the moment my GP, today, will not be very likely to contradict that. My boss has now told me she thinks I should get signed off again for a while. I'm so worried I'm going to lose my career over all this. :(
Hi Gimel, thanks, I've been busy with work so not around on here as much for a while. today my boss said she wondered if I need to be signed off again for a while as she's noticed me not seeming that well. I'm so cheesed off I can't tell you. Sorry for not posting the reference ranges, here they are:
TSH (.27 - 4.2)
FT3 (4 - 6.8)
FT4 (12 - 22)
TSH (.27 - 4.2)
FT3 (4 - 6.8)
FT4 (12 - 22)
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I don't recall what testing you have had, but rather than assuming that thyroid is the only problem you might consider testing your adrenal function. Don't know how it is done there, but testing several times during the day is more revealing than a single test. Also, you should test our Vitamin D, B12 and iron/ferritin. These frequently show up along with the hypothyroidism, and add to the problems.
Since your FT3 level needed to be supplemented, that means that you were not converting T4 to T3 adequately, as I recall. That seems to be very common when on T4 thyroid meds. Another thing you might ask about testing is selenium. We have anecdotal and other evidence that seems to show selenium benefits T4 to T3 conversion. Before considering selenium supplements, you should have it tested to see if it might be needed.
You should be aware that with your TSH result, many doctors automatically decide that you are now hyper, not hypo, and decide to reduce meds. This is incorrect, because you are really hyper only when having hyper symptoms due to excessive thyroid hormone levels. Frequently members report that their TSH was suppressed when taking significant amounts of thyroid meds. For example, my TSH has been around .05 or less for over 25 years, with nary a hyper symptom. You might find this article very interesting and a copy of it for your doctor might aid you in fending off any attempt to reduce your meds.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html