Guest guest Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Hi , Many things affect the conversion of T4 into T3. Weather is one factor. If it's getting warmer in your area, your body can sense that you don't need as much T3. Beta blockers also inhibit T4 to T3 conversion. So do low carbohydrate diets if the amount of carbs is too low. Stress can also impair T4 to T3 conversion. And so can selenium deficiency. You need about 200 mcg selenium daily to produce the enzyme necessary for T4 to T3 conversion. Take care, Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 Alison, You have responded well to the medication, but now you are hypO. The itching and weight gain are most likely from being overmedicated. I am concerned that your dose is being decreased too slowly (and did she say get re-tested in 6 weeks? That will be far too long for your purposes). That is what happened to me, and it is common. I was put on a dose that was too high and maintained on it for too long. But when the results came back hypO, I was decreased rapidly. Perhaps you can ask if you can do 20mg for a few days to a week, then 15 for a week, and re-test. It seems that your doc is dosing you according to an arbitrary schedule (3 weeks on this dose, 3 weeks on that dose) rather than your symptoms. 20mg will still block thyroid production a lot, and you have probably used up most of your excess hormone at 5 weeks on 30mg. If you decrease too rapidly, you can always increase the dose. So I would suggest frequent testing (every 2 weeks, even if you have to get another doc, like a GP to do it, as I do) until you stabilize at a good dose for you, and then you can stretch out the time for getting your blood work to what's normally done (4 weeks). Just my thoughts. I believe you will feel much better when your thyroid levels are at a better point for you, so hang in there! Best wishes, P.S. HypO, from what I understand, makes the antibodies increase; you want to be in the middle to upper-middle of the range for FT3 and FT4, or at a point at which you feel your best. At 03:26 AM 9/23/2003, you wrote: >I've been taking carbimazole 30mg per day >for 5 weeks now. >Labs were: >FT4 72 (9-25) >FT3 23 (3.5-6.5) >TSH <0.01 (?) > >Saw my endo today, she seemed pleased my >labs are now: >FT4 10.9 >FT3 3.9 >TSH <0.01 (same) > >I'm now going on 20mg per day for 3 weeks, >then 15mg a day for 3 weeks, then see her again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2003 Report Share Posted September 23, 2003 Alison, One more thing...it does take probably 2-4 weeks to stabilize on a certain dose, but in the case of going hypO, more frequent testing can help you to gauge where you're at while you're decreasing. At higher doses, you can drop in larger increments (i.e. 5mg at a time), but the lower you go, the smaller changes you want to make. It is always best if you have the luxury of making gradual changes, but I find that at the beginning phase when you need to establish a maintenance dose, changes may need to be made more rapidly. I went from 200mg PTU down to 12.5mg in about a month (I was mildly hyperT, and should probably have been started on a much lower dose), and am now stabilizing at 25mg. I get frequent testing, which has worked well for me (but may not be helpful for others, if things change more slowly). Maintenance doses are typically 2.5-10mg, so that would be the goal. Since your doc may be treating you according to arbitrary guidelines, you will probably need to push to get a TSI test if she tells you to stop the meds at some cut-off date (like a year from now). If you still have antibodies, then you will be at high risk for relapse. Ideally, people should stay on the ATDs until TSI is <2% activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 Hi I just got my labs back and was wondering if I should continue on my ptu dosage of 37.5mg a day. (thats one 50mg tablet divided into 4,but I've been only taking it 3x days)My endo thinks I'm still on 50mg 1x aday. labs drawn on 9/30/03: TSH .55 (.4-5.5mIU/L) T4F 1.2 (.8-1.8ng/dl) T3F 327 (230-420pg/dl) Last labs drawn on7/28/03: TSH 1. T4F 1.2 T3F 315 Back in July I lowered my my dose to as close to 12.5 mg 3x day as humanly possible. I want to cut it back a bit more but I'm a bit nervouse without checking what others more knowlagble recomend. I dont know how hard it would be to cut up the quarters again but I'll try anything. Thanks all Luci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 Hi Elaine, You are sooo good and fast!! Thank you. I do have hypo symptoms,like constipation,my joints are killing me. The only good thing is I'm not hungry,so I'm not hogging out as much. I think I will drop down to 25md a day. I'll take the largest piece at night and split the quarters for my am and afternoon dose. Thank you again Elaine!!!! Luci > Hi Luci, > Your labs look good using 37.5 mg, but it certainly wouldn't hurt if your > thyroid hormone levels were a bit higher. Much depends on how you feel. Like if > you have any hypo symptoms at all lowering your dose to 25 mg might be a good > idea. But if you're feeling good on your current dose, you might want to leave > things alone. Either way, you're doing great maintaining on such a low dose. > Best, Elaine > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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