Re: thyroid tests and allergy to cytomel

[Guest guest]

Hi Lois,

It appears to me that your dr is overdosing you on T4. When were these labs done

and at doseage amount were you at when the blood was drawn for these labs?

Any dr that will NOT change meds because of hives is reckless. I would find

another dr. This guy is overdosing you on T4 and possibly leaving you to major

meidical illness problems in the future with the T3 drug allergy.

Best,

~Bj

>

>

> my last thyroid labs show my TSH to be 0.066 (.270-4.200)

>

> FT3 3.65 (2.57-4.43)

>

> FT4 1.76 (0.64-1.77)

>

>

>

> my doc has been increasing my synthroid. whenever i go to his office c/o

being washed out and depleted, he raises my synthroid.

>

> last visit, after he looked at the above lab report and showed it to me. he

raised my synthroid again, from 125 mcgs to 150 mcgs. he said after one week

to raise it from 150mcgs to 200mcgs every a.m.

>

> he said the low TSH indicates that i need more synthroid.

>

> i have raised it to 200mcgs yesterday. he also told me to continue the

cytomel 2.5mcg once a day in the p.m.

>

> after the visit, i read somewhere that the more synthroid you take the lower

the TSH goes.

>

> also, i told him that cytomel (generic) gives me hives. he told me to take

a benadryl before i take it.

>

> i still am not feeling very well and i would appreciate your comments please.

thank you, lois

>

[Guest guest]

bj,

Glad you answered this. My TSH is almost the same and I was taking .1

Syntrhroid. She is having me reduce the dose by skipping it one day a week.

With doctors doing such screwy things I'm glad this looks like mine is

doing this right. I have fired my Endo so this doctor is an internal

med doctor that treats thyroid

auntlo 59 you are thinking correctly too. It's too bad we have to

figure these things out for ourselves.

Betty

> It appears to me that your dr is overdosing you on T4. When were these

> labs done and at doseage amount were you at when the blood was drawn

> for these labs?

[Guest guest]

bj,

Glad you answered this. My TSH is almost the same and I was taking .1

Syntrhroid. She is having me reduce the dose by skipping it one day a week.

With doctors doing such screwy things I'm glad this looks like mine is

doing this right. I have fired my Endo so this doctor is an internal

med doctor that treats thyroid

auntlo 59 you are thinking correctly too. It's too bad we have to

figure these things out for ourselves.

Betty

> It appears to me that your dr is overdosing you on T4. When were these

> labs done and at doseage amount were you at when the blood was drawn

> for these labs?

[Guest guest]

thank you for your response BJ,

these tests were taken on july 3. at that time i was on 125mcg of synthroid.

(TSH .066 [ .270-4.200], FT3 3.65 [2.57-4.43],

FT4 1.76 [0.64-1.77]

i went in 3 weeks later c/o severe fatigue again. that's when he raised me

to 150mcg for 1 wk to be increased to 200mcg the second week.

i am to repeat my labs after the second week and then go back for my next

appointment the 3rd week.

did i mention that i had been taking the generic cytomel. when i told him about

the hives, he gave me a prescription for brand name cytomel. i took the

first one tonight. i will know soon if i get hives from it also.

if i do, i will insist on the ndt.

i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach. since i take

it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i believe it takes 6-8

hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking that perhaps i should just take

it in the morning with the synthroid. thank you again for your help. lois

> >

> >

> > my last thyroid labs show my TSH to be 0.066 (.270-4.200)

> >

> > FT3 3.65 (2.57-4.43)

> >

> > FT4 1.76 (0.64-1.77)

> >

> >

> >

> > my doc has been increasing my synthroid. whenever i go to his office c/o

being washed out and depleted, he raises my synthroid.

> >

> > last visit, after he looked at the above lab report and showed it to me.

he raised my synthroid again, from 125 mcgs to 150 mcgs. he said after one

week to raise it from 150mcgs to 200mcgs every a.m.

> >

> > he said the low TSH indicates that i need more synthroid.

> >

> > i have raised it to 200mcgs yesterday. he also told me to continue the

cytomel 2.5mcg once a day in the p.m.

> >

> > after the visit, i read somewhere that the more synthroid you take the

lower the TSH goes.

> >

> > also, i told him that cytomel (generic) gives me hives. he told me to

take a benadryl before i take it.

> >

> > i still am not feeling very well and i would appreciate your comments

please. thank you, lois

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Lois,

I don't usually respond to these posts because I don't know that much I

just want to say you cannot take anything with Synthroid. There are

several things that need to have a 2-4 hour time frame after taking

Synthroid. For this reason I take all my vitamins and supplements at

noon. I used to take Cytomel but cannot remember how I did it. I don't

remember having to take it alone or on an empty stomach. Maybe there

will be other answers and I don't know who told you it needed to be like

that. Check it out.

Betty

> i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach.

> since i take it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i

> believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking

> that perhaps i should just take it in the morning with the synthroid.

> thank you again for your help. lois

[Guest guest]

Lois,

I don't usually respond to these posts because I don't know that much I

just want to say you cannot take anything with Synthroid. There are

several things that need to have a 2-4 hour time frame after taking

Synthroid. For this reason I take all my vitamins and supplements at

noon. I used to take Cytomel but cannot remember how I did it. I don't

remember having to take it alone or on an empty stomach. Maybe there

will be other answers and I don't know who told you it needed to be like

that. Check it out.

Betty

> i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach.

> since i take it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i

> believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking

> that perhaps i should just take it in the morning with the synthroid.

> thank you again for your help. lois

[Guest guest]

thank you for answering betty. i appreciate all comments and ideas.

i know that you have to wait at least an hour after synthroid to eat, and i

also waited before taking my pain meds and my zantac, and supplements. i hear

though, that some folks take a combination pill.

i was assuming that the combination pill contained synthroid and cytomel and

that if that were true, it might be ok to take them together.

perhaps someone else here is on the combo pill and can explain. thank you so

much. lois

> > i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach.

> > since i take it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i

> > believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking

> > that perhaps i should just take it in the morning with the synthroid.

> > thank you again for your help. lois

>

[Guest guest]

Lois,

According to this RX site

http://www.rxlist.com/cytomel-drug/consumer-uses.htm "HOW TO USE: Take this medication

by mouth with or without food, usually once daily in the morning

or as directed by your doctor.

" However further down in the article it speaks of interaction

with some other drugs "Take this medication 4 hours before or

after taking any products containing aluminum or iron, such as

antacids, sucralfate, and vitamins/minerals. Take liothyronine 4

hours before or after taking cholestyramine or colestipol. These

products react with liothyronine, preventing its full absorption."

Maybe someone with experience will confirm or deny this as it is

in real life. Thinking back I'm sure I didn't take it on an empty

stomach.

Betty

thank you for answering betty. i appreciate all comments

and ideas.

i know that you have to wait at least an hour after

synthroid to eat, and i also waited before taking my pain

meds and my zantac, and supplements. i hear though, that

some folks take a combination pill.

i was assuming that the combination pill contained

synthroid and cytomel and that if that were true, it might

be ok to take them together.

perhaps someone else here is on the combo pill and can

explain. thank you so much. lois

> > i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on

an empty stomach.

> > since i take it in the evening, that is going to

be difficult. i

> > believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to

empty. i am thinking

> > that perhaps i should just take it in the

morning with the synthroid.

> > thank you again for your help. lois

>

[Guest guest]

Betty,

Some time ago I did some extensive on-line searching on absorption of

Liothyronine (e.g. Cytomel)and found very, very little by way of research.

Almost everywhere that gave interaction information (and identified their own

references) actually ended up taking known information about levothyroxine and

applying that to liothyronine. And many places did that without making it at all

clear. In the absence of any other information that does seem a reasonable first

guess but it certainly did not seem to have been researched properly.

Some people seem to take liothyronine and desiccated thyroid products with food

intentionally. It might slow down the release and absorption of the liothyronine

and make it a smoother experience. But doing so runs the risks of causing

reduced or variable absorption of actual thyroid hormones.

The advice about other medicines seems all too likely to be true even if it did

come from levothyroxine research. But I am only guessing.

Trust no-one on this issue without some proper references. Asking for real-life

experiences (as you did) is possibly the only real thing that matters - but take

huge pinches of salt with any replies you get,

Rod

>

> Lois,

> According to this RX site

> http://www.rxlist.com/cytomel-drug/consumer-uses.htm " HOW TO USE: Take

> this medication by mouth with or without food, usually once daily in the

> morning or as directed by your doctor. " However further down in the

> article it speaks of interaction with some other drugs " Take this

> medication 4 hours before or after taking any products containing

> aluminum or iron, such as antacids, sucralfate, and vitamins/minerals.

> Take liothyronine 4 hours before or after taking cholestyramine or

> colestipol. These products react with liothyronine, preventing its full

> absorption. "

>

> Maybe someone with experience will confirm or deny this as it is in real

> life. Thinking back I'm sure I didn't take it on an empty stomach.

> Betty

[Guest guest]

Rod,

When I did a brief search on line to answer this posters question I

found no mention of a combination pill she spoke of. I found very

little information on Cytomel but if I summarized what I did find I

would conclude that it is no more effective than T4 meds alone. I think

this shows the ignorance on the part of most people writing the

articles. Worse still it reflects the ignorance in general of the whole

subject.

In general my confidence in the medical society that I have been exposed

to in regard to thyroid, is pretty low. There are too many unknowns.

Betty

> Some time ago I did some extensive on-line searching on absorption of

> Liothyronine (e.g. Cytomel)and found very, very little by way of research.

[Guest guest]

Betty,

There is a listed combination tablet - Thyrolar. But for reasons that are

entirely obscure, this seems not to have actually been available for several

years.

http://www.thyrolar.com/

I completely disagree with you about T3 - for some people! :-)

There are a few who seem to need pure T3. There are others for whom some

proportion of T3 seems to help - whether synthetic or prescription desiccated

thyroid. My partner for one. (I seem fine on plain T4.)

Rod

>

> Rod,

> When I did a brief search on line to answer this posters question I

> found no mention of a combination pill she spoke of. I found very

> little information on Cytomel but if I summarized what I did find I

> would conclude that it is no more effective than T4 meds alone. I think

> this shows the ignorance on the part of most people writing the

> articles. Worse still it reflects the ignorance in general of the whole

> subject.

>

> In general my confidence in the medical society that I have been exposed

> to in regard to thyroid, is pretty low. There are too many unknowns.

> Betty

[Guest guest]

thank you very much again betty and also for the link. i read the whole

article and i'm glad to know that i can take it with or without food.

i still don't know if i can take it with the synthroid. i googled it and

couldn't find the answer. i came across a blog where 2 people said they took

it together as advised by their docs, so this morning i woke up at 5am and i

took them together.

about 9am i got a few hives that went away quickly, so i'm happy about that.

i'll try it again tomorrow and see what happens.

appreciate you taking the time to help me. lois

> > > > i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach.

> > > > since i take it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i

> > > > believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking

> > > > that perhaps i should just take it in the morning with the synthroid.

> > > > thank you again for your help. lois

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

hi rod,

thank you too for your info on cytomel. i agree that it's difficult to find

information about it. i've begun taking it with my synthroid in the a.m.

without knowing if that is optimum practice. i'm taking the chance since i

read some blogs where others are doing so on the advice of their physicians.

lois

> >

> > Lois,

> > According to this RX site

> > http://www.rxlist.com/cytomel-drug/consumer-uses.htm " HOW TO USE: Take

> > this medication by mouth with or without food, usually once daily in the

> > morning or as directed by your doctor. " However further down in the

> > article it speaks of interaction with some other drugs " Take this

> > medication 4 hours before or after taking any products containing

> > aluminum or iron, such as antacids, sucralfate, and vitamins/minerals.

> > Take liothyronine 4 hours before or after taking cholestyramine or

> > colestipol. These products react with liothyronine, preventing its full

> > absorption. "

> >

> > Maybe someone with experience will confirm or deny this as it is in real

> > life. Thinking back I'm sure I didn't take it on an empty stomach.

> > Betty

>

[Guest guest]

Rod.

I didn't mean I thought it was useless but that reading one could

draw that conclusion and that shows ignorance rather implying that

I thought it could be useful. I have not taken it alone, but on 2

separate occasions have taken it. The article I sited said it was

useless, but that wasn't the posters question so I did not include

that.

I find myself right now in a quandary, I fired my Endo because

based on my TSH I was OK and wants to do another TSH and T4 in a

year....a year and my levels were still changing. I did labs a

month later and I was very hyper. So I went to another doctor,

not an Endo as I can't find one. So I am rather put out with

doctors lack of knowledge.

Betty

I completely disagree with you about T3 - for some people!

:-)

There are a few who seem to need pure T3. There are others for

whom some proportion of T3 seems to help - whether synthetic

or prescription desiccated thyroid. My partner for one. (I

seem fine on plain T4.)

Rod

>

> Rod,

> When I did a brief search on line to answer this posters

question I

> found no mention of a combination pill she spoke of. I

found very

> little information on Cytomel but if I summarized what I

did find I

> would conclude that it is no more effective than T4 meds

alone. I think

> this shows the ignorance on the part of most people

writing the

> articles. Worse still it reflects the ignorance in

general of the whole

> subject.

>

> In general my confidence in the medical society that I

have been exposed

> to in regard to thyroid, is pretty low. There are too

many unknowns.

> Betty

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[Guest guest]

Hi Lois,

As Rod mentioned there is limited info on this subject. I do know that some drug

RX sites say to take T3 with food, but I know better from experience.

I need a massive amount of T3 compared to most thyroid patients. My biochemist

MD specifically tells me to take both my NDT and compounded SLT3 together and

without food for best absorption. And to always do this consistently.

Some of his patients, myself included, thyroid levels have jumped up and down

going from no food to taking with food. I follow his guidelines as I want my

thyroid function to be stable and as optimized as possible. He also has be take

three supplements with my thyroid pills made by Biotics Research - Thyrostim,

Cytozyme-PT/HPT and GTA for my pituitary hypofunction and adrenal dysfunction

along with low thyroid function.

Good luck,

~Bj

> > > > > i didn't know i was supposed to take cytomel on an empty stomach.

> > > > > since i take it in the evening, that is going to be difficult. i

> > > > > believe it takes 6-8 hours for the stomach to empty. i am thinking

> > > > > that perhaps i should just take it in the morning with the synthroid.

> > > > > thank you again for your help. lois

> > > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

BJ,

I think you have hit a very important issue.

It is quite straightforward to take the T3 well away from food and therefore

achieve fairly consistent absorption.

It is next to impossible to do achieve consistency when taking it with or near

food. Few of us eat such a boring diet that the impact of out food will be the

same each day. One meal might have a very much greater impact than another - and

with thyroid hormones we don't even have very good research on the interactions

with food.

Rod

>

> Hi Lois,

>

> As Rod mentioned there is limited info on this subject. I do know that some

drug RX sites say to take T3 with food, but I know better from experience.

>

> I need a massive amount of T3 compared to most thyroid patients. My biochemist

MD specifically tells me to take both my NDT and compounded SLT3 together and

without food for best absorption. And to always do this consistently.

>

> Some of his patients, myself included, thyroid levels have jumped up and down

going from no food to taking with food. I follow his guidelines as I want my

thyroid function to be stable and as optimized as possible. He also has be take

three supplements with my thyroid pills made by Biotics Research - Thyrostim,

Cytozyme-PT/HPT and GTA for my pituitary hypofunction and adrenal dysfunction

along with low thyroid function.

>

> Good luck,

> ~Bj