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T3 dosing w/other supplements

AFCFS

Senior Member
Messages
312
Location
NC
I will need to call and ask the pharmacist this question, but also wondering how others may have approached it.

I was prescribed T3 for thyroid (already on T4 - Synthroid).
  • T4 is supposed to be taken once per day.
  • T3 is supposed to be taken twice per day.
  • T4 needs to be taken 30 minutes before a meal or 4 hours after.
  • T3 can be taken with or without food.
  • Both T3 and T4 should not be taken within 4 hours of taking a supplement that contains magnesium/some other things.
I use a supplement twice per day that contains magnesium/some other things. My understanding is that it is best to take the supplement with food, but OK not to take without food.

I typically do not eat past noon, so am in the clear to take the T3 around 4 PM and T4 at around 5-6 PM and then take supplements before going to bed - at least 4 hours later.

I like to be able to eat when I get up in the morning.

So, ideally I would like to:
  1. Get up.
  2. Eat.
  3. Take Supplement.
  4. Take T3.
But now, I feel conflicted as to taking the T3 within 4 hours of the supplement, but it also seems counter intuitive to hold off 4 hours to take the supplement, aside from a morning benefit, it may often be the case that it would then interfere with the 4 PM dose.

Anyone else get into a med/supplement catch-22? Any resolution?

*******************************************************************************************************************

As a related but tangential point. As I searched about the net for an answer to this question, I came across - again and again - as usual - the many blogs/forums where people just post random garbage about their uninformed experiences. And I must say that bodybuilders must take many of the same supplements we do, as they occupy many of my search results.

Tired of the whole affair, I sought to see if anyone had developed a "blacklist" tool to not eradicate useless sites from a Google search (using Firefox). After much searching, I found a solution that has worked pretty well. Google Hit Hider by Domain (Search Filter / Block Sites) is a free script that works with Greasemonkey, a free extension.

Am now free of these sites, which are annoying IMO:

answers.yahoo.com
www.ask.com
www.answers.com
wiki.answers.com
answers.wikia.com
www.seacoast.com
www.medhelp.org
forums.steroid.com
forum.bodybuilding.com
healthquestions.medhelp.org
forums.lylemcdonald.com
www.bodybuilding.com

If for some reason, I wanted to access content on one, it is easy to reverse the block. Hope someone else may find this useful.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Can you take your supplement with food. If so you could take it when you eat before noon. That would give you the requisite four hours by 4 pm to take the T3.
 

AFCFS

Senior Member
Messages
312
Location
NC
Can you take your supplement with food. If so you could take it when you eat before noon. That would give you the requisite four hours by 4 pm to take the T3.
Yes, thanks. I did ask the pharmacist today and his advice was:
Take any thyroid med (T3, T4) on an empty stomach 1/2 hour before eating and 1 hour before supplements. So that makes it much more manageable.
 

UM MAN

Senior Member
Messages
106
Location
Florida
I have been sublingualing T4, T3, and NDT for 12 years. You will get a 10% to 15% boost out of the T4 dose if
sublingualed. You can split up, the T3, into many spaced out doses over the day, that you like (twice a day is the
minimum)
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
My advice is also to do them sublingually. That works well for me.

Many think T4 works best at bedtime as important repair work happens overnight requiring good thyroid levels. I actually take my largest dose right as I turn off my light.

Ema
 

UM MAN

Senior Member
Messages
106
Location
Florida
YES. How many mcg,of T3 ED? First timers, to T3, frequently have heart palpitation symptoms, which will fad with time. But using lots of little sublingual doses will lessen this...
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
I picked up the T3 yesterday. It is a generic because there is a back=order of unknown length, but measuring in months, for the Cytomel. I will be taking 5 mcg twice a day. I am waiting for a "good day" (when I don't have to be anywhere or do anything) for the first dose. I am hoping that will be very shortly after Jan. 1.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I picked up the T3 yesterday. It is a generic because there is a back=order of unknown length, but measuring in months, for the Cytomel. I will be taking 5 mcg twice a day. I am waiting for a "good day" (when I don't have to be anywhere or do anything) for the first dose. I am hoping that will be very shortly after Jan. 1.
The other thing u want to have sorted before doing thyroid treatments is to make sure u have good adrenal hormone levels ie dhea and cortisol levels. If adrenal fatigue is present then T3 can make things worse??
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Yes, my physician and I have been going round about this for a while. She keep prescribing thyroid hormone and I keep pointing out that my adrenals are suffering. Attempts to help them have not been entirely successful.

At my last visit she did not test my adrenals, saying that she no longer thought that the 24-hour saliva test was dependable. Give the high-stress past six months I have had, I cannot believe my adrenals are in good shape.

I have known about the T3 prescription for about a couple of weeks. I have been reading about my particular problem and T3 and have found some interesting things. I will write more when I finish the reading and have time to write something. The short version is that a very low dose of T3 may be able to help the thyroid and adrenals (and low iron saturation, which I also have).
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
even just a dhea blood test can give u an indication if adrenals are suffering and then supplement with dhea. If u have had previous tests showing cortisol low u can try pregnenolone cream which can help increase cortisol as well as other hormones. dont really need a cortisol test to take pregnenolone but start low.

I have been reading abit on this stuff of late and some get an initial bad reaction from cortisone or pregenolone and i think this might be called a thyroid dump?? body needs adequate cortisol to use thyroid, so thyroid levels can be ok but body not able to use it until cortisol levels rise and when it does and if thyroid has built up u can get a hyped up anxiety type reaction as all of the sudden it has alot of t3 available. Maybe high rt3 is a sign of this built up thyroid that can increase t3 when cortisol is raised?? This is all hypothetical and makes me think u need to increase cortisol levels somehow first be it pregnenolone or hydrocort/methyl pred??

Its interesting subject thats just not black and white, just need to go low and slow.

cheers!!!
 

AFCFS

Senior Member
Messages
312
Location
NC
Its interesting subject thats just not black and white, just need to go low and slow.
No doubt, I just had some blood work show cortisol and DHEA-Sulfate to be in range, but with a high Reverse T-3, Serum and then a low ACTH, plasma. Am waiting to see if an initial recommendation of perhaps seeking an endocrinologist for cortisol supplementation is viable choice.
 
Messages
445
Location
Georgia
I had similar test scores when I visited my GP, when I used to live in Hawaii. I was in the midst of a hideous crash. The doc was really confounded when he saw my thyroid scores were off. He just told me to come back in a month for a re-check. I never went back. I just figured my HPA axis was doing weird things again.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
My DHEA Sulfate is good. I don’t see anything about cortisol or ACTH.

Isn’t pregnenolone a prescription product? I think my doctor may be onto something here, so I think I will do what she says (for a change).

This does seem to be a case of my HPA axis doing weird things again. 9 months ago, my T4 level was low, but a higher than average amount of it was being converted to T3. Now my T4 is high average, but my free T3 is low average while my reverse T3 is high.