help! high free t3 5.5 hrs after meds- cause weight gain & pain?

[Waterbegone]

any ideas-
I just did my labs this time 5.5 -6 hrs after my thyroid meds. i have never done it this way and since i keep gaining weight, have muscle pain/swelling, myxedema and tachycardia i thought i should try it since lots of people here do it that way.

this is on 100 mcg t4 (levoxyl)
15 mcg cytomel in am and again in pm (30 mcg total) brand name

free t4 1.1 (.82-1.77)
free t3 4.6 (2-4.4) HIGH

potassium 3.7 (3.5-5.2)

think too much cytomel could be causing weight gain, sweating, high pulse, edema etc?

[Leo41]

Someone posted here a while back that T3 that's too high can cause weight gain exactly like T3 that's much too low.

There are other dangers with high T3, so you really need to see your doctor about your dosage.

[watcher513]

Originally Posted by Waterbegone

any ideas-
I just did my labs this time 5.5 -6 hrs after my thyroid meds.this is on 100 mcg t4 (levoxyl) 15 mcg cytomel in am and again in pm (30 mcg total) brand name

free t4 1.1 (.82-1.77)
free t3 4.6 (2-4.4) HIGH

potassium 3.7 (3.5-5.2)

think too much cytomel could be causing weight gain, sweating, high pulse, edema etc?

Your FT4 isn't even at the mid-range mark for those lab ranges (129.5). When I was taking Brand Cytomel (12.5 mcg., just like when I was on generics), I had to back it down to 10 mcg. since the brand works better than the generic. I was surprised at the difference in that little 2.5 mcg. I can't even think what being over range would be like and how I'd feel. I'd ask your doctor about backing it down to 12.5 or 10 mcg. 2x/day and see what he/she thinks.

[ravenrose]

I know the pulse can be related to that. my dr keeps refusing to raise my dose because some of her patients have ended in the ER because of racing heart, etc.

[Leo41]

Ravenrose-
Many doctors are afraid of T3 because of the potential for cardiac problems, but without my Cytomel, I'd be unable to function.

My endo raises my T3 (Cytomel) in 5 mcg increments, knowing that I will monitor myself for any hint that it's too much. The T3 is so powerful that just one pill would alert me to a problem before it became serious enough for the ER.

Since I began at 5 mcg, I've gone to 25 mcg in 5 mcg increments with no problems at all, since he only increases the dosage when my T3 is at the bottom of the lab range.

[Waterbegone]

Originally Posted by Leo41

Ravenrose-
Many doctors are afraid of T3 because of the potential for cardiac problems, but without my Cytomel, I'd be unable to function.

My endo raises my T3 (Cytomel) in 5 mcg increments, knowing that I will monitor myself for any hint that it's too much. The T3 is so powerful that just one pill would alert me to a problem before it became serious enough for the ER.

Since I began at 5 mcg, I've gone to 25 mcg in 5 mcg increments with no problems at all, since he only increases the dosage when my T3 is at the bottom of the lab range.

Leo- are you on t4 also? Have you tried natural like armour or NP? Just curious bc I changed to NP 3 days ago and I have fatigue, cold, edema, hot flashes -
Do you take 25 mcg of cytomel at once or throughout the day? When you do your labs do you take your meds 5 hrs before or dolabs first thing in am without meds?

[Leo41]

Waterbegone- Yes, I'm on T4 also--50mcg. I was on T4 only for about 5 years at 75 mcg, but when I began experiencing 'conversion' problems (which my endo says are characteristic of Hashi's), I had to add T3.

I began with 5 mcg, but when my T3 dose got to 20mcg, my endo reduced my T4. I plan to discuss that with him at my next scheduled appointment at the end of this month because my T4 has been steadily dropping since we lowered the dosage.

My endo instructed me to split my T3, and with the latest dosage, he specified 10-5-10. He's told me that it doesn't matter when I take my meds in relation to the blood draw (contrary to what's often posted here), but that may be because I'm post-menopausal. However, for consistency, I always take it at the same time, and it happens to be about 6 hours before my blood draw.

I have always taken synthetics (Levoxyl and Cytomel) because that's what my first endo started me on, and I've never had any problems. I tried to take a generic T3 for cost purposes (my insurance company really pushes the generics), but it didn't work for me, and my endo advised me to stick to the brand--and I'm eager to do that because the T3 controls how we feel, and I hate it when my T3 drops too low.

[Lokarbiebarbie]

Yep, precisely why most of us do 10mcg T3, then another 5 to ten five hours later. Yours isn't HUGELY over the mark...but enough so that it's a clue to lower the dosage and split it up. You might see a big difference just doing that.

And with natural, one grain (60mg.) has approx. 37mcg. T4 and 9mg. T3. Nine to ten mg. T3 is about the 'human' dosage that is achieved, not 15mg. all at once.