I finally talked to my doctor about my test results, and to my amazement, I didn't have to argue with her at all. My results came back with my TSH and T4 showing hyper, but my T3 (which I had to ask for) came back below midrange. I did my homework and was all prepared to tell her all about the importance of my T3 numbers but she beat me to the punch. She actually said, "What's most important is how you feel." !!!!!!!! She reupped my Levathroid, pretty much disregarding the low TSH (.004 r=.2-5). She said too many factors may be messing with TSH numbers - like stress and other meds that I'm taking.

Anyway, she started me on Cytomel, 5mcg, a day. She wants to start me out slow and see what happens. I've been taking it for a few days and I notice that in the morning I feel better, I cleaned house the other morning and I didn't get that "I'm exhausted, out of shape" feeling after ten minutes that I have become used to since RAI. But I notice that by the afternoon around 3 or 4 I start getting symptoms again, my eyes get gritty, I start to feel sluggish. What I was wondering is when I get my test I'm also being tested for cholesterol and sugar so I have to fast for 12 hours, so I'm going to do the test in the AM, but won't the test come out skewed if I take the Cytomel just before being tested?

Wow! Rare to get a doctor that enlightened! You might want to recommend her for the Top -Docs thyroid list.

Yes, don't take the cytomel the morning you're getting tested. Wait until after. Also, you might want to split your dose in two so you take half on rising and half 6 hours later. That might help with the afternoon grogginess.

Thanks Nancy, that's what I was thinking. My doctor did tell me that T4 has a 1/2 life of 2 weeks so I can take 1/2 a dose 1 or 2 days a week and it will all equal out, but T3 has a 1/2 life of one day, whatever that means - lol.

Judy, the half life just means that if you take say 100 mcgs of T4 and it has a half life of 1 week (not 2 weeks, btw) then in one week half of the 100 mcgs (50mcgs) will be left. So it takes a long time to build up T4 and to get rid of it. Which is why you increase slowly with T4 once you're at a high enough dose.

The half life for T3, being 24 hours, means that after 24 hours half of what you take is there. Which is why we take it more often, in split doses throughout the day - to keep it on an even level.

Nat