Thyroid medication question

[Gman86]

I have extreme brain fog. Have had it before TRT, and all throughout. My basal oral temp is always 97 or below. Usually low 96’s. Tested it almost everyday for the past 7 months.

My question is, will a low dose of dessicated thyroid shut down my natural production, and I’ll be left with whatever dose of thyroid hormone I’m taking, like how testosterone works? Or will it just add to my natural thyroid production, like DHEA does? Basically is there a negative feedback loop when taking thyroid medication?

 

[Sean Mosher]

Good question.
I"m going to look into that more as well.

Feedback Loop - Stop The Thyroid Madness

 

[Vince]

I have extreme brain fog. Have had it before TRT, and all throughout. My basal oral temp is always 97 or below. Usually low 96’s. Tested it almost everyday for the past 7 months.

My question is, will a low dose of dessicated thyroid shut down my natural production, and I’ll be left with whatever dose of thyroid hormone I’m taking, like how testosterone works? Or will it just add to my natural thyroid production, like DHEA does? Basically is there a negative feedback loop when taking thyroid medication?

Side Effects of Stopping Thyroid Medication Abruptly (& Why it isn't Safe)

 

[Ardoc2]

I have always heard that ANY amount of exogenous Thyroid hormone would shut down your endo production however I have been able to take 10 mcg of Cytomel daily for several months while maintaining a TSH of 1.05, and T4 in a good range so it at least appears I have supplemented without shutting down my own production? The details of my values etc are in a recent post i did called "Low Dose T3 (Cytomel) for Fatigue" in case you want to see it. In my case it was started to reverse the rT3 pooling I had been dealing with. FYI I do not take any other Thyroid med and have not taken any prior to the current 10 mcg protocol.

 

[Gman86]

I have always heard that ANY amount of exogenous Thyroid hormone would shut down your endo production however I have been able to take 10 mcg of Cytomel daily for several months while maintaining a TSH of 1.05, and T4 in a good range so it at least appears I have supplemented without shutting down my own production? The details of my values etc are in a recent post i did called "Low Dose T3 (Cytomel) for Fatigue" in case you want to see it. In my case it was started to reverse the rT3 pooling I had been dealing with. FYI I do not take any other Thyroid med and have not taken any prior to the current 10 mcg protocol.

Just checked the thread out. Very interesting. So low dose T3 didn’t suppress your own production at all it looks like. It didn’t raise your free T3 much, but I think I remember Dr. Rouzier saying that sometimes thyroid medication doesn’t always raise free T3 on blood work, even when it’s actuslly working. Plus, like you said you might change the timing of when you get your labs done to see if it better reflects you me levels.

All that matters is that you feel better though. So do you still feel an improvement while on low dose cytomel? Have you ever thought about trying dessicated thyroid? And do you check your basal temp in the morning? Just wondering if it’s gone up since using the cytomel.

 

[jhperez81]

I have some results from my start on Armour Thyroid. Below are my before and after results taking 2 grains (120mg) daily.

TSH: 3.7 -> .02
FT3: 3.2 -> 3.8
FT4: 1.1 -> 1.1

So in my experience I would say that 2 grains pretty much shut down my thyroid. I do feel better and lost that 20lbs that I gained last year due to poor functioning thyroid. I did test positive for TPO antibodies at 167 IU/ml with a range of <9. That combined with my yearly increase of TSH number led me to start thyroid meds.

I do think a low dose of Cytomel probably won't shut down your thyroid completely but you have to supplement enough to overcome the decrease in thyroid hormone output due to exogenous thyroid hormone. Hope this helps.

 

[Ardoc2]

All good points! I have not checked basal temperature but should have.
The fatigue has abated since I started on T3 and I still feel good and I am sleeping much better. My goal is to taper off (5 mcg then 0) to see if i remain in a good place without rT3 pooling. If rT3 rises again and/or the fatigue returns, I will measure my basal temp while off and then again when i resume taking it. With the FT3 still appearing low I may have to do something more aggressive but will exhaust other options first. I will be testing next time 4 hrs after taking it to see what the values are.

 

[Gman86]

Thanks for the replies guys. I’ve just had crazy brain fog for so long, and tried everything else to get rid of it, with no luck. With my extremely low basal temps, I’m just trying to figure out if doing a trial run with dessicated thyroid would be smart, or would be risky. Sounds like it might be worth a shot. Just took my basal temp, on 3 different thermometers, and they all came back at 96.6. The only reason I’ve been ignoring thyroid is because on paper, my labs look perfect, from what I can see. Here are all the thyroid labs I’ve ever had done. The only 2 ways to raise basal temp, from my understanding, is to treat with thyroid, or corticosteroids to raise cortisol. My cortisol always comes back on the low end, but within range. Problem is, I don’t think I’m comfortable with taking corticosteroids. Too many side effects. I’d be much more comfortable trialing dessicated thyroid. I don’t think I feel comfortable taking a synthetic thyroid supplement. I’m currently trying out pregnenolone cream from Empower to see if it helps my situation.

THYROID LABS

11/2/15
T3 total - 75 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 10 (8-25)
TSH - 0.98 (0.4-4.5)

12/30/15
T3 total - 75 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 10 (8-25)
TSH - 0.98 (0.4-4.5)

2/23/16
T3 total - 108 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.4 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
TSH - 1.06 (0.4-4.5)

8/31/16
T3 total - (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
TSH - 1.22 (0.4-4.5)

11/18/16
T3 total - 108 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.8 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.0 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 11 (8-25)
TSH - 0.69 (0.4-4.5)

1/10/17
T3 total - 93 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.8 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.4 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 13 (8-25)
TSH - 0.76 (0.4-4.5)

6/16/17
T3 total - 101 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.6 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 12 (8-25)
TSH - 0.49 (0.4-4.5)
Thyroglobulin antibodies - <1
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies - 1 (<9)

8/15/17
T3 total - (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.7 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.3 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - (8-25)
TSH - 0.58 (0.4-4.5)

12/13/17
T3 total - 87 (76-181)
T4 total - 6.4 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.2 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 12 (8-25)
TSH - 0.66 (0.4-4.5)
Thyroglobulin antibodies - <1
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies - 1 (<9)

2/15/18
T3 total - 99 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 7 (8-25)
TSH - 0.63 (0.4-4.5)

 

[Gianluca]

I heard Neal Rouzier saying that if you take desiccated T4/T3 combination the endogenous production does not stop immediately, when if you take either T3 or T4 only, it does rather quickly. 60mg of NP brought my FT from 3.2 to 4.5

 

[wsj357]

Thanks for the replies guys. I’ve just had crazy brain fog for so long, and tried everything else to get rid of it, with no luck. With my extremely low basal temps, I’m just trying to figure out if doing a trial run with dessicated thyroid would be smart, or would be risky. Sounds like it might be worth a shot. Just took my basal temp, on 3 different thermometers, and they all came back at 96.6. The only reason I’ve been ignoring thyroid is because on paper, my labs look perfect, from what I can see. Here are all the thyroid labs I’ve ever had done. The only 2 ways to raise basal temp, from my understanding, is to treat with thyroid, or corticosteroids to raise cortisol. My cortisol always comes back on the low end, but within range. Problem is, I don’t think I’m comfortable with taking corticosteroids. Too many side effects. I’d be much more comfortable trialing dessicated thyroid. I don’t think I feel comfortable taking a synthetic thyroid supplement. I’m currently trying out pregnenolone cream from Empower to see if it helps my situation.

THYROID LABS

11/2/15
T3 total - 75 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 10 (8-25)
TSH - 0.98 (0.4-4.5)

12/30/15
T3 total - 75 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 10 (8-25)
TSH - 0.98 (0.4-4.5)

2/23/16
T3 total - 108 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.4 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
TSH - 1.06 (0.4-4.5)

8/31/16
T3 total - (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.2 (0.8-1.8)
TSH - 1.22 (0.4-4.5)

11/18/16
T3 total - 108 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.8 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.0 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 11 (8-25)
TSH - 0.69 (0.4-4.5)

1/10/17
T3 total - 93 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.8 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.4 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 13 (8-25)
TSH - 0.76 (0.4-4.5)

6/16/17
T3 total - 101 (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.6 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 12 (8-25)
TSH - 0.49 (0.4-4.5)
Thyroglobulin antibodies - <1
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies - 1 (<9)

8/15/17
T3 total - (76-181)
Free T3 - 3.7 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.3 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - (8-25)
TSH - 0.58 (0.4-4.5)

12/13/17
T3 total - 87 (76-181)
T4 total - 6.4 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.2 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 12 (8-25)
TSH - 0.66 (0.4-4.5)
Thyroglobulin antibodies - <1
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies - 1 (<9)

2/15/18
T3 total - 99 (76-181)
T4 total - 5.9 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.5 (2.3-4.2)
Free t4 - 1.1 (0.8-1.8)
Rt3 - 7 (8-25)
TSH - 0.63 (0.4-4.5)

A little bit of thyroid might help it worked fast for me. I literally felt it work in 1 - 2 hours. My brain fog and fatigue dissipated.

 

[Sean Mosher]

I'd imagine you feel better with your FT3 at 4.5, no?

 

[wsj357]

Probably. I bet that’s where I’m at now. I tried doing 1.5 or upping my dose by50% and my thyroid started throbbing .. my neck was hemorrhaging almost.. so I’m probably right there at the max.

 

[Gianluca]

I'd imagine you feel better with your FT3 at 4.5, no?

It did help, but I still had cold hands feet, and outer eyebrow missing, but my Free test was at 13, so I discussed with Doc that probably my low FT could effect thyroid uptake. Switched from SubQ back to IM, and feel the difference already, although I thought I started to experiencing Hyperthyroidism with some mixed Hypothyroidism symptoms, not even sure if it is possible. I decided to split my 60mg NP Thyroid yesterday and try it for a few days, see if symptoms goes away