New labs

[Sunshine_67]

I just got my lab results, and the numbers look pretty good, but since I've been tapering off of cytomel from 25mcg to 6.25mcg over the last 6 weeks, I'm not sure how accurate they are.

TSH .01 (.4-4.5)
FT4 1.4 (.8-1.8)
FT3 378 (230-420)

I'm still feeling a bit tired though and can't seem to tolerate even the small dose of Cytomel (acid reflux and too much inflammation), so my doc is stumped. He doesn't know enough about cortisol or female hormones to test these, so I'm going back to my old endo next week.

If I stop taking the cytomel now, will it be out of my system by Tuesday? I don't want it skewing the labs if what I really need is an increase in synthroid.

[Sunshine_67]

I was taking 100mcg synthroid. The doc I was seeing doesn't know that much about thyroid issues. I probably only needed my synthroid increased, but he gave me the cytomel instead. I've tried Nexium before and it gave me bad side effects. I'd rather solve the problem than take more drugs to cover up the symptoms if that makes sense. I'm thinking the cytomel caused my sinuses to be so inflammed, nothing was able to drain out of my nose, which caused the acid reflux since it was probably draining down my throat. I'm seeing a new doctor next week.

[gimel]

How much Synthroid are you taking?  What was the reason that Cytomel was prescribed in addition to the Synthroid?  For short term relief have you ever tried over the counter Prilosec?

[Sunshine_67]

Yes, I did wait until after my labs to take my Cytomel and Synthroid. A month ago I started out on 25mcg of cytomel, which I found out was too much, so I went to 12.5, then 6.25. So I've been taking it for a while now and the acid reflux has gone on for over a week. I didn't have this problem before I started taking cytomel.

I do think I'm still slightly hypo because of all the inflammation and fatigue.

[gimel]

Did you take your meds just before the last lab tests?  T3 meds are so active that it is a good idea to wait until after blood is drawn, for more accurate result.

If you stop taking Cytomel today, since it has a half life of one day, then yes it will be essentially gone by next Tuesday.  

Don't know if it is useful info for you or not, but I also had a bout with acid reflux when I was changing my meds and got into slight hypo for a while.  Didn't know the reason at first, so had to double up on my Prilosec.  Two days after I started on T4/T3 combo med, and started increasing my T3 levels, could not detect any acid reflux problems any more.  Just wondering what the cause was, I reduced my Prilosec dose back to one a day, and no further problem.  From this I concluded that for me, at least, it was a matter of being slightly hypo.   FWIW