How long does T3 and T4 take to change?

[nawchem]

My thyroid test showed that I was high in both. I did take my medication the day of the test which I usually don't do. I got new thyroid medication, its a different manufacturer and I noticed the pills were fatter. I also got a new bottle of levoxyl on the same day 8/21.

started at 2 3/4 grains armour + 37mcg levoxyl
4 days ago I went to 2.5 grains armour + 25mcg levoxyl

Is it too soon for there to be a change? I was on 2.5g of the same bottle of armour for almost a year and always felt a little hypo. My free T4 tested normal the whole time, drs here don't test T3.

The only symptom I have of hyperness is that my heartrate is too fast.

physical in april bp 125/75 hr was 80
hr 9/13 88
today bp 129/81 hr 102

I'm not sure if the levels in my body should have come down after 4 days and I should cut back more or wait a little longer? I seem to be getting worse?

I just read the half life of T4 is one week
half life of T3 is one day

So if I just took the levoxyl for 2 days and my heartrate came down that would mean its the T3 in the armour that's probably causing the problem? I could increase the levoxyl to hold my T4 level steady at the same time.

Or should I just go down to 2 grains of armour and see what happens? I'm so confused!

Sorry thinking here.......

[Nancy LC]

Cutting back on T3 will show up in how you feel relatively quickly. T4 will take a few weeks to show up. That's why they only retest you every 6 weeks. So if your hyperness is from T4, it'll take quite awhile to go away.

[nawchem]

Thanks Nancy!

I cut back from 2.75 grains armour to 1.5 grains the last 2 days my heartrate dropped. I split the dose so all the T3 wouldn't be hitting me at once.
tues 102
wed 83
today 78

I guess it was the excessive T3 making me feel lousy.
Not sure where to go from here, I think I'll get hypo soon. My drs appointment isn't until October 11th.

[DrH]

These are supposed to be high and the TSH low... :-)



My thyroid test showed that I was high in both. I did take my medication the day of the test which I usually don't do. I got new thyroid medication, its a different manufacturer and I noticed the pills were fatter. I also got a new bottle of levoxyl on the same day 8/21.

started at 2 3/4 grains armour + 37mcg levoxyl
4 days ago I went to 2.5 grains armour + 25mcg levoxyl

Is it too soon for there to be a change? I was on 2.5g of the same bottle of armour for almost a year and always felt a little hypo. My free T4 tested normal the whole time, drs here don't test T3.

The only symptom I have of hyperness is that my heartrate is too fast.

physical in april bp 125/75 hr was 80
hr 9/13 88
today bp 129/81 hr 102

I'm not sure if the levels in my body should have come down after 4 days and I should cut back more or wait a little longer? I seem to be getting worse?

I just read the half life of T4 is one week
half life of T3 is one day

So if I just took the levoxyl for 2 days and my heartrate came down that would mean its the T3 in the armour that's probably causing the problem? I could increase the levoxyl to hold my T4 level steady at the same time.

Or should I just go down to 2 grains of armour and see what happens? I'm so confused!

Sorry thinking here.......

[nawchem]

DrH I'm sorry I listed my numbers in another post should have put it here too, they were a bit out of range. I don't have a tsh due to pituitary problems.

free T4 2.05 (0.61-1.76)
free T3 7.6 (2.3-4.2)

I felt okay at first but then I got insomnia, anxiety, my heartrate was over 100 all day. I always gain wt when I'm hyper and my wt did a big sudden jump upwards. So I needed to lower a little.

[nawchem]

Called the dr because my blood pressure went up to 145/85 heartrate was 97. He said this is common when you get crappy generic thyroid medication, different brands and even different lots don't have to be equivalent. What you do when this happens:

You cut your medication by half for a week, like taking it every other day and skipping the day after you realize your bad. Then the next week, if feeling less hyper you increase it by 50%.