Use of Cytemol

[Guest guest]

The drug is called Cytomel and the reason it is used instead of your normal

thyroid replacement medicine before scanning is the half life is shorter.

Instead of making you go completely off of your meds for 6 weeks before

scanning, your doctor can put you on cytomel until around 2 weeks before your

scan, thereby reducing complete hypo by a month. Synthroid or levoxyl (sp?)

are T4 also where cytomel is T3. If I'm not mistaken your liver converts T4

into T3. Some endo's, such as mine, prescribe both Synthroid and Cytomel for

daily usage. Hope this was helpful.

Mark in FL

In a message dated 6/15/2002 6:27:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

helhanford@... writes:

> Also cytemol, I am from Australia and I know cytemol is an American

> brand name (I've looked in our drug book and there is no such name)

> Can someone please tell me what it is and how it can be used before a

> scan? I've seen constant references to it in letters on this website

[Guest guest]

Hi, everybody

I haven't been on this site before although I have posted to the long

term survivors group. I am indeed a long term survivor, having had my

original thyroid cancer operation for papillary thyroid cancer in

1968.

Unfortunately I did not have any RAI as it was considered unnecessary

and the surgeon told me that the tumour was encapsulated and they had

got it all. However, this did not prove to be the case and in the

year 2000 almost thirty two years later it resurfaced in the lymph

nodes in my neck and I lost the lymph nodes on the left side of the

neck. This time however, they did do RAI, 150 Mci in December 2000.

I am wondering if someone could help with a couple of questions I

have.

My endocrinologist tells me that I have antibodies which prevent a

true reading of the thyroglobulin levels. Can somebody tell me what

this means?

Also cytemol, I am from Australia and I know cytemol is an American

brand name (I've looked in our drug book and there is no such name)

Can someone please tell me what it is and how it can be used before a

scan? I've seen constant references to it in letters on this website.

Can I just add how much I've appreciated reading the information

supplied here and how much it has helped me to understand what has

been going on with my problems. Even though I have been a thyca

survivor since 1998, the only contact I had with an endpcrinologist

was after the diagnosis in 2000. Noone wanted to know before.

Hoping you can help

Thyroidectomy 1965 (was never told whether it was total or partial)

Recurrence to lymph nodes in neck (diagnosed May 2000)

Lymph nodes removed September 2000

RAI December 2000

[Guest guest]

HI ;

> My endocrinologist tells me that I have antibodies which prevent a

> true reading of the thyroglobulin levels. Can somebody tell me

what

> this means?

some people's systems develop an antibody to their thyroid

thyroglobulin (often folks with thyroiditis or hashimoto's - which is

an autoimmune thyroid condition) - if you have the antibodies, it

makes the TG (thyroglobulin) test inaccurate because the antibodies

are used in the test.

> Also cytemol, I am from Australia and I know cytemol is an American

> brand name (I've looked in our drug book and there is no such name)

> Can someone please tell me what it is and how it can be used before

a

> scan?

Cytoemel is.synthetically manufactured liothyronine sodium which

resembles the natural thyroid hormone tricodide-thyronine (L-T3).

There are 2 thyroid hormones T3 (cytomel) and T4 (thyroxine, aka

levoxyl or synthroid here in the US) T4 has a longer 1/2 life and

typically its all we take as the body creates T3 out of T4. T3 has a

shorter half life (its out of your system in hours and days instead

of weeks) so before scanning it can you feel more normal while off

your T4.

barb

TT 8/99 RAI 4/00 Clean Scans 12/00, 5/02