Just wanted to ask a question about my high FT3 (Quest Lab range 230-420)--my FT3 was 559. I've been taking 112 Levoxyl now for quite awhile, but my Cytomel was upped to 75 mcg's (3 25's/day). Of course I'm now concerned about the high FT3 but have to say that I feel great--no more draggy, tired feeling--that 'barely alive' feeling.

Has anyone here had a similar situation?

When I asked my Endo about the high FT3, he just told me that 'he treats patients, not numbers'. I guess I finally found someone who listens to how I'm feeling, and I haven't had any of the 'overdose' symptoms from the Cytomel--but I'm sure this doesn't mean I'm on the right dose.

Thank you for any information you can share!
Carol

Well, it could mean that you aren't absorbing it into your tissues that fast, so there's excess in your blood. Might as well have lots of it available, and hopefully it'll find its way into every cell.

If you aren't having hyperthyroid symptoms - trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, etc. - don't worry about it.

Hi Carol:

Sounds like you have a great doctor. I'm the same way..... won't even get my blood work tested b/c it's meaningless to me with high levels of FT3 and FT4. Having been hyper, I know what it feels like and I'm nowhere near that state.

Like ysabella says, thyroid resistance can mean taking higher amounts of thyroid hormone to get into the cells. Many doctors don't treat that way and they leave you grossly undermedicated.

Good luck!

I'm the same way, I have high T3 now and I feel mostly normal, maybe a bit under-energized. At least the dang brain fog is gone!

Carol, you have a gem of a doctor. There are many, MANY, people here who would die for a doctor like this - who treats patients and not numbers!!

Bottom line, if you feel fine, you are fine.

Blood tests are a very poor method of measuring thyroid health. How you feel matters far more. Finding a doctor who'll see things this way is next to impossible. You're a very lucky woman.

Nat

P.S. Please be sure to share this doctors name on the about.com list and the thyroid-info.com list. More people need to know who this doctor is!

Wow - this board is great! Carol, it sounds to me like you have a great doctor, too. I think I need more T3, or rather, need to know what my FT3levels are.

From reading this board, it seems like there are at least some people who take very high doses of T3 and do very well. So, as long as you're not hyper, I wouldn't worry too much.

Good luck,
Huxster

I take Cytomel and have since the end of last year. I was up to 75 mcgs at one point but got lowered on it because I was feeling hyper symptoms.

I am now on Cytomel (50 mcgs) and Armour (30 mgs), which is 12.5 more of T3 and I am not feeling any hyper symptoms as of yet. Next week I will be adding another 15 mgs of Armour, which should put me at 45 mgs of Armour and a total 75 mcgs of T3. We'll see if my body reacts to this one.

My Dr. only treats symptoms----he has me write my pulse down every night and judges by that. So if you're not feeling any faster pulse, shakiness, etc. don't worry about it. But as soon as you feel those symptoms, back down to your last dose. This will mean you've hit your optimal dosage for your body.

I've been tinkering with this for almost a year, wish I could just find the right dosage and get on with life.

Hi TR,

I read somewhere that the body needs T4, too. For instance, T3 doesn't get into the brain - it gets converted from T4.

I'm not really sure about all this, as I often remember bits and pieces of what I've read and then can't remember the cite. Maybe someone here can fill in regarding the need for T4, but I do recall reading that people on T3 only can SOMETIMES feel like crap.

I hope you get your magic mix figured out soon, though!

Take Care,
Anne - GOING TO BED

Huxster, you are correct - T3 only supplementation for someone who's clearly hypothyroid (and Trw is clearly primary hypothyroid if she has Hashi's) will only make them sicker. The body needs T4 - I mean, why would it make something it didn't need? And make more of it than any other thyroid hormone??

People on T3 only will always feel like crap if they are hypothyroid.

I actually feel very well just on the T3 and have a friend that's on only T3 and she feels even better (because she's lucky enough to have had it help her lose 60 pounds).

A year ago I was non-functional in the afternoons, up all night and even more tired by morning. Since being on the T3 only, I no longer have the afternoon drag, and I sleep like a baby at night. In fact I now look forward to going to bed like a normal person instead of dreading it like I used to.

I am only starting the Armour just to see if that's what I need to lose some weight. As of 2 weeks on it, I feel nothing from it--either good or bad.
Only time will tell I guess, but I definitely am better than I used to be just on the T3. It has suppressed the TSH, lowered the FT4 and increased the T3 (which is the fuel your body needs). T4 gets converted into T3, so yes it's important, but it ends up being T3 anyway. That's why my Dr. originally skipped the T4, he said your body is gonna make it T3 anyway, so he supplements with Cytomel. It was at my request he add the Armour--just so that I can see for myself what happens with it.

I recall your friend, Trw - she didn't have antibodies, though, so she wasnt' definitely, positively hypothyroid, she might have been euthyroid sick - low T3 from something else (stress, trauma, you name it) that never reset itself. Treating her with Wilson's wasn't going to absolutely positively make her feel worse, like it did for you. I remember your posts from months ago, you felt awful, and you weren't getting any better.

The fact that T4 itself serves a purpose and is necessary for our health and functioning seems to escape notice. As Huxster pointed out, it's the T4 that gets into your brain and is locally converted to T3. Yes, you need T3, but you need T4 - otherwise you'd have felt just wonderful on 75mcgs of T3.

If T4 levels were so unimportant the primary test for hypothyrodism wouldn't be a FT4. Prior to the introduction of exogenous hormones, it is T4 that most strongly influences TSH. Low T4, high TSH. T4 falls long before T3, typically, and replacing it can make a world of difference. I know, I had low T4 and high T3 when I was diagnosed. A doctor who doesnt understand T3 supplementation is often necessary is not a doctor you want to have treat you. The same goes for T4. We need them both.

I hope you're right because I'm expecting a miracle and soon.

I never felt awful, I just felt mad that I am unable to lose weight. As I noted above, I feel much better being on the T3, rather than to be on nothing at all.
To say that I feel like a million bucks like my friend does----no...but I do feel better.

I wish I could be like my friend as in she has no clue as to what her numbers were before or after her treatment---all she knows is her thyroid was screwed up and the Cytomel cured her. She doesn't take T4 and she does feel wonderful on 75 mcgs of T3. So it does work for some people---that I have proof of. She doesn't care what her numbers are or were..all she knows is she feels good, no--better than good, great. And she's been on straight T3 for around 2 years.

We both have the same Dr---one listed on the Top Docs list and even though he hasn't cured me of my weight problem, he has given me back a huge part of my life. I no longer have panic attacks, I sleep at night-not during the day, I'm less hungry and don't have that hunger sensation all day long, the hair on my face is less, palpitations are just about gone, etc. He has given her her life back also---and she's much healthier without those 60 pounds. I still have to stick by his side---he treats my symptoms, not numbers on a paper and if I felt crappy from this treatment, you can bet I'd be perched outside his door first thing in the morning.

I can't argue the point that bodies need T4---the man who created us put it in there for some reason and that's my argument about losing the weight---maybe "my" body needs the T4 in order to function properly. I know it's early with only 2 weeks of treatment on Armour, but so far I can't say that I feel any different. If anything, I feel even more tired at bedtime---but I'm not complaining. I went for 12 years without sleep, so I look forward to that groggy feeling at night.

What would my symptoms be if I had the correct dose of T3 and T4 in my body? I guess that's my question. If I already have the energy, I sleep well, less hunger, etc. What am I supposed to be looking for? Is the scale gonna drop 10 pounds over night? Am I gonna be able to eat a cow and the scale not budge? I'm not even sure what feeling good is supposed to feel like, it's been so long. Or maybe I do feel good, but just get sad of the numbers I see on the scale?

I don't think everyone has a miraculous weight drop when they start getting thyroid meds. Even though I'm doing well on my new meds, I still have to diet like mad to lose weight.

So can you tell me what "doing well" means in your book? Like have you lost a pound a week or 5 pounds in a month? I just need something to go by. Dieting like mad----what is that exactly? I'd just like an idea of what someone eats that is losing weight.

Since I started the Cytomel, I no longer eat pasta, breads, sugars, anything caffeinated, no artificial sweeteners, milk, cheese or cereal. And lucky me, I've kept 10 of the 15 pounds ON that I gained when I started taking the Cytomel. So not only did I have 50 to lose to begin with (or more), but now I've got an added 10 because of the "high metabolism" drug T3. Really works wonders for me.. I read about all of these weight lifters that eat greasy, fried foods and take Cytomel so that they don't get fat. Can't figure that one out.

I've done Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Carb Addicts and now am on Pat's Diet Shake (replacement meal shakes) because gee, I have nothing left to fall back on. I lost 3 pounds in 3 months on WW, 7 pounds in a year on Atkins. So now I've just decided to give myself a pat on the back for changing my eating habits since I've started Cytomel. But it doesn't change the number on the scale or the size of my pants. If anything, my cellulite is worse than it's ever been.

Exercise? Oh yeah---I run 5K's on my treadmill, I walk outside till the sweat drips off of me. I do yoga, power walking and hmmmmm, I'm still fat. It really works out well when you're in a family of skinny minnies that just think you sit around and stuff your face all day. I believe I try my hardest and that's all I can do. I just wish I could find the balance between food intake, exercise done and where my thyroid needs to be...it is the metabolism regulator, right? I am in real thyroid denial right now...

I'm following a plan called PSMF, it's a very low calorie, high protein diet with planned breaks. There's a long thread in the Tips and Stalls section about it. I range from about 650-850 calories on a normal PSMF day. I estimate my maintenance calories are 1500-1600.

Doing well is feeling pretty good energy wise, no brain fog, no massive lethargy. I don't exercise much.

I was doing Atkins for 2 years and finally just couldn't lose any more and even started to gain a bit. So while my thyroid was getting tweaked, I didn't even try to diet, just stuck to low carb. Because I couldn't lose on 1200 calories at one point.

I got a lot of hormones tweaked a couple months back though. I'm now taking DHEA (20mg), Testosterone and progesterone in addition to natural thyroid. I think they're helping my metabolism too. I saw a longevity specialist who prescribes natural and bio-identical hormones. Glad I did. Although the armour thyroid was helping, I don't think it was my whole problem as far as the weight loss resistance was concerned.

If you're doing all that, and lowering your calories and still not losing weight, I think maybe your thyroid isn't 100% right yet or you might just need to give it more time. From what I have been told, undoing all the stuff that happened while you were hypoT can take awhile.

My only other thought is you might want to do more lifting instead of cardio as excessive cardio can further worsen your metabolism, according to my diet plan's author.