Hi,
Who else is taking thyroid as part of their HRT, which kind, dose, how has the effects been for you, and if you had low cortisol in addition to thyroid are you on cortisol too?
Im curious…seems strange…Im up to 6 grains of Armor Thyroid, and dont feel hardly a thing. My doctor is surprised because my blood levels didnt go up much on 4 grains for a few months, and i didnt feel it…when most patients usually know when they go over the sweet spot because its kinda nasty/uncomfortable side effects…
I’m on 50 mcg of Synthroid. Symptoms were fatigue, uncontrollable weight gain, mental fog, etc… Of course, it is worth noting that, while in range, my Tetosterone was obviously low, for me.
Inital tests were - TSH = 3.98 and T4 = .78…they didn’t do T3. I went on the name brand and stopped gaining weight shortly after. Switched to the generic and started gaining again. Went back to the name brand and stopped gaining again. I got re-tested, before TRT, and the numbers were - TSH = 2.44, T4 - 1.06, T3 = 4.37 (high).
Since I have been on Androgel, I had TSH tested again. 1st time (a few weeks after starting Androgel) TSH = 1.96. Last time (6 1/2 weeks after starting Androgel) I was at TSH = 1.56. I have another set of labs, at my new Androgel level, on 5/4.
The most obvious effect on me was the cessation of weight gain. Prior to, I had not been able to stop, even with dieting and a lot of cardio. Mental fog lifted just slightly, as did the fatigue. Both of those got better when I got on the Androgel.
BUT, since being on both, for over a month, I have found that I sweat more, my resting pulse is faster and I have more heart palpitations. My gut feeling is that I have moved from hypothyroid into the edge of hyperthyroid. Hopefully the tests will sort it out.
I never really “felt” a sweet spot. Things got moderately better. Of course, I had/have more than one thing going on.
i’m not on HRT, but i am hypothyroid. I take 225 mcg of synthroid. didn’t perk me up much, but my doc doesn’t let my TSH get low enough to make a big impact.
I started supplementing iodine a few weeks ago, which is supposed to help the thyroid, and my tsh is down in the 1s again. next time I see the doc, he’ll drop my synthroid perscription, so I’ll prolly just up the iodine.
it never affected my weight, which surprised my doc. he expected that i would lose weight when i started, but it never made an impact. sux2bme
Im stsarting 7 grains tomorrow or Armor Thyroid, thats high as heck dose but my labs show me in lower normal range still and I havent felt a thing…doc says most patients feel tons of energy, mental perk, and when they pass the sweet spot gets to negative side effects…I can take 6 grains and go back to bed! Plus not dropping weight as much as Id like.
Cortisol has something to do with thyroid being utilized I think, and my cortisol is low so Im taking 10mg morning and 5mg afternoon when I remember.
Low ferritin [iron] can inhibit T4-T3 conversion. But low iron with men seems to be very rare, more of a problem with women have periods [cycling]. But some men can have low iron from an intestinal disease, and some other internal bleeding diseases.
Some to very poorly on T4 alone as they are poor T4–>T3 converters. T4 alone can be like a death sentence for some.
KSman anything on my recent labs I could give you for input on why it doesnt seem Thyroid, even at high doses, seems to make me “feel” anything, and doesnt make my blood levels jump drastically either
Ok I looked up the 5/3/1 ebook thing…as far as the working out stuff I have special considerations due to numerous injuries, surgeries, and adrenal fatigue…so I really gotta pay attention day to day what I do to avoid injuries, or pushing myself back into a position my immune system and adrenal glands dont crap out…
From skimming the summary of 5/3/1 I like the looks of it and probably do a lot of similar things Im a traditional former college football guy, ex competive powerlifter college strength and conditioning coach where we stuck to O lifs, structural strength moves (what we traditionally call powerlifting), along with all the other “typical” things you would see at a DI university.
I wish there was a blueprint program for adrenal fatigue, in addition to my XYZ other medical problems, and long list of injuries.
I was on Pregnenolone and DHEA, recently stopped. My DHEA levels were sky high even when my Test and cortisol were rock bottom, which doc explained way as well I read on some thyroid website something about DHEA going high to compensate for something or other when your T and cortisol are crashing…Im on cortisol now, so thought that would enable the thyroid to be effective…
So any suggestions on the thyroid issue, keep upping the dose? Im at 7 grains as of yesterday which is sky high compared to “normal” dosages…doc said we can run it up to 8 grains just to see what happens over the next month, and if it does nothing to possibly wean off it totally and see if I feel like ass, right now cant tell if its doing anything
I can’t think of anything else to add other than the need to point out that those that have hyperthyroidism are typically not able to absorb transdermal steroids.
You might consider the use of fish oils, anti-oxidants, acetyl-l-carnitine, lipoic acid, CoQ10 and b-vitamins as support for mitochondrial function. And when discussing this one must point out that statin drugs can drive CoQ10 levels low, leading to muscle dysfunction and congestive heart failure as a end-point cause of death.
Im on lots of B vitamins including bi weekly B complex injections, 3x week B12 injections, lots of CoQ10 daily, ALA, Acetly l Carnitine, lipoic acid, and NAC.
I think I slack on the fish oil, I am consistent and taking it with every meal sometimes, and other times forget…I gotta work on that consistency.
KSman thanks as always for the input…been a long road for me, but Im in such a better place than I was and you have been a HUGE help since the start many months ago when I felt like my life was sucking ass…
I am currently taking Simvastatin (prescribed by my cardiologist) and although I’ve read that it will help the heart muscle from breaking down I have been told that I really don’t need to take CoQ10.
Excess T4 converts to Reverse T3.
Reverse T3 blocks T3 receptors.
Too much Reverse T3 = Completely Blocked Receptors = feeling like @#$!@# even though your TSH/T4/T3 numbers look great.
How to fix high Reverse T3: lower your T4 dosage and add or increase your T3 intake.