new to cytomel

[lorimae38]

Hello,
i am brand new to the forum and seeing all the people suffering the same thyroid symptoms is a huge relief. The doctors had me thinking i was crazy. I have been on levoxyl for 10+ yrs but honestly never felt any different. I have suffered with fatigue, depression, weight gain, brain fog, memory problems, fibromyalgia,etc, the newest problem is my hair thinning especially in the front. I never need to pluck my eyebrows because i only have the top eyebrow, no hair seems to grow underneath my brows. Anyway, turned 50 last year and felt enough is enough, tired of being tired, my new PCP referred me to an endo, who was absolutely awful, literally told me my thyroid was working beautifully, according to my labs, i said what about all my symptoms, no answer. I was so upset i asked for another endo, and was referred to a very good endo who actually listened, took all kinds of bloodwork, etc. She said i don't have Hashi's, i dont have hyperparathyroid which she suspected, etc...i asked her about my T3 level and adding cytomel and she agreed, i started it 2 days ago i am praying this is the answer, i just want to feel normal! So my main question is how long should it take before i see an improvement in my symptoms? I am posting my labs in case anyone has helpful info, sorry for the long post, i appreciate any input!

TPO AB 0.3 - range <9.0
TSH 0.75 - range  0.34-5.00
T3 90 - range 87-178
PTH 34.4 -  range 12-88
FT4 1.2 - range 0.6-1.6

[lorimae38]

thanks Ericamegan, I will definitely ask for the Free T3, it's only been 2 weeks on cytomel so I am hoping to feel better soon!

[Ericamegan]

Yes, make sure you insist that they test Free T3. Many drs won't unless you ask.  Also, many people split their cytomel into 2 doses.  One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Cytomel is fast acting and can wear off after 5-7hours.   It will probably take you some time for your body to balance out.  Good Luck!

[goolarra]

The rules of thumb we use are midrange for FT4 and upper half to upper third for FT3.  So, that leaves a lot of "normal" range that's not.  Good luck.  

[lorimae38]

thanks for your fast response, she did lower my levothyroxine from .75 to .50 and added .5 cytomel i take both in the am. I guess my confusion stems from them always telling me my levels were great and now reading these boards i can see everyone saying the same thing, they were still symptomatic with levels in the normal range. I am getting educated so i can get well...thanks again!

[goolarra]

T3 is much more fast acting than T4, so it affects blood FT3 levels sooner that T4 meds do.  However, if you have been hypo (undermedicated) for ten years, which your lack of symptom relief indicates you have, your body will take time to heal once your levels get to where they should be.

How much Cytomel did you add?  Was your T4 meds dose adjusted to compensate for the added T3?

Your doctor really should be ordering FREE T3 instead of the total T3 that she ordered.  Total T3 tells the total amount of T3 in your blood, but much of that is chemically bound by protein and thus unavailable for use by your cells.  FREE T3 tells the usable amount.