# Synthroid vs natural?



## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

Im baaaaaaackkkkk.......For those that remember, I had a borderline high Rt3 in Oct. and my doc tried me on Cytomel with my Synthroid. The first day was fine, but I had to stop taking it after a few days. It was like speed. I even tried cutting it into quarters. No can do. It was HORRIBLE! I felt like I was on speed. My heart palps were insane and I got extremely panicked. So, she just told me to stop taking it and just retest in a few months. I felt a tad hypo in the interim, so we increased my dose from .112mcg 4 days and .100mcg 3 days to .112 5 days and .100 2 days. I just retested after doing that for the last 8 weeks and I feel hyper now, throat pressure, panicky, and anxious as I usually do when I am on too much synthroid. My nurse didn't give me all of my results. I am waiting for her to email me this morning, but my TSH was 0.5 and my Ft4 was 1.79 (the lab value top of the range is 1.75). She didn't give me my fT3 (I will get it today) and my Rt3 was 25.6 (top of the range is 24.1). She did tell me since I felt a little hyper that I could go back to the .112 x4 days and .100 3 days.

Here is my question.......Can one live just fine with high RT3? I have felt pretty good. Not 100%, but better than I did the year I was seeing the quack. I have an appt with my doc next month just for a check up. Should I ask for Naturethroid or Armour? I know those have t3 and I had terrible effects from Cytomel. Is it likely those would cause the same? Im so confused. I want to be armed with questions.

Should I just leave everything as is since I feel better than I have in a year? Should I get my other hormones tested? I do have endometriosis and I know that is estrogen fed, so its very possible I have estrogen dominance. I have never had ferritin, selenium checked either and recently read they can be players. My b12 is normal. I also do not have a gluten allergy, both IeG and IgG tests were completely normal.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Regardless of what medication you try, a free t4 result that high will make you feel atrocious.

I would cut back your meds for the time being, wait for that free t3 result, and then reassess. (I'm not helpful with rt3, sorry!)


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I agree with joplin. When my free T4 is close to the top of the range or over it, my heart palpitations go crazy and I'm easily agitated. It's not a good feeling.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

A high Reverse T3 basically means that T3 is building up in your system and is not able to be used by your body's cells. I'll be interested to see what your FT3 results are. Usually, high rT3 is caused by your adrenals not working properly or other inflammation in your body.


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

I will have my FT3 later today. I feel great, just jittery. I have had probably the most stressful year of my life as my husband is in politics and it was election year. I am just starting to come down from that stress. Its been a crazy one. I am wondering if my high RT3 could be caused from that stress. My doc says its only mildly elevated and not something is is really concerned with. She will retest in 3 months. I had never had it checked until this doc, so it may have always been that high. Thanks for the response. I will post my FT3 when I get that back.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

I would firstly like to know what your dose of Cytomel was.


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

Andros said:


> I would firstly like to know what your dose of Cytomel was.


It was 5 either mcg or mg. I threw the bottle away....AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL!


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## buttonwood (May 4, 2014)

Did you lower your Synthroid when you started Cytomel? I am sensitive to meds and when I started Cytomel, I was told to lower my Synthroid because my Free T's were in the higher range of normal then add slowly 1/4 of the 5 mcg of Cytomel for a week then increase to 1/4 Twice a day. Once my Free T4 lowered my heart palps and jitteriness subsided. It is easier to adjust the T3 in Cytomel than in the naturals.---- That's what I have been told.

Hope this helps,

Pat


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

buttonwood said:


> Did you lower your Synthroid when you started Cytomel? I am sensitive to meds and when I started Cytomel, I was told to lower my Synthroid because my Free T's were in the higher range of normal then add slowly 1/4 of the 5 mcg of Cytomel for a week then increase to 1/4 Twice a day. Once my Free T4 lowered my heart palps and jitteriness subsided. It is easier to adjust the T3 in Cytomel than in the naturals.---- That's what I have been told.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Pat


Thanks....Yes, it was lowered a bit. I am extremely sensitive to medication. Within an hour of taking the quarter dose my heart rate shot up into the 130s. I already have PVCs, so this was sooooo scary. Luckily by the next day I was feeling better. I am just thinking ahead and wondering if my Ft4 will lower by just decreasing my Synthroid. I am absolutely terrified to have to take Cytomel again. Yikes.....Just thinking about it makes my heart race. Just to give an example of how sensitive I am to meds, when my allergies flare up, I have to take a toddler dose of Benadryl, otherwise, I will sleep for 24 hours straight.


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

Ok here are all of my results......

TSH 0.510 0.45-4.5

T3 117 71-180

FT4 1.79 0.82-1.77

T4 12.2 4.5-12.0

FT3 3.1 2.0-4.4

RT3 25.4 9.2 - 24.1

Do you think that by decreasing from .112 5x week and .100 2x a week to .112 4x wee and .100 3x week will help the jitters?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

pcsg560 said:


> Do you think that by decreasing from .112 5x week and .100 2x a week to .112 4x wee and .100 3x week will help the jitters?


No. That's not much of a decrease at all. It's 12 mcg per week of a decrease.


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

Octavia said:


> No. That's not much of a decrease at all. It's 12 mcg per week of a decrease.


 Right, but I am EXTREMELY sensitive to changes. when I did 112 3x and 100 2x it was too low of a dose. 112 5x and 100 2x is too high of a dose....lol......I am hopeful that this small tweak will fix it because I can't take the Cytomel ever again! HA~


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## buttonwood (May 4, 2014)

If I were you I would decrease to 100 everyday until the jitteriness leaves. Maybe some of the pros on this board can give you a better answer.

I have been hypothyroid since 1997 and have never had problems with my 112 dose until 2010 .

My Free t's were not as high as yours. My FreeT3 and Reverse WhenT3 were both very low. Last month I was alternating 88 and 100 . When I added the 1/4 dose of Cytomel I didn't take my Synthroid for a day and then I took it alternating between 44 and 50 for 2 weeks then added a1/4 Cytomel in the early afternoon.and now I am alternating between 50 and 75. I tried 75 everyday and I felt jittery and my blood pressure went up.

I go for blood tests next week so I am hoping that I will be able to up my Cytomel to 1/2 in the a.m. It's been over a month on Cytomel and I am feeling so much better , more energy, sleeping the best that I have in years.

You are better than I am I cannot even take the Benedryl junior


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## buttonwood (May 4, 2014)

BTW My TSH at one time was 23 so my dr. wanted me to increase my Synthroid to 100. I was on that dose for about 6 weeks and then the jitteriness started again. My TsH then dropped to 12 and last labs it was 9. I finally got her to test my Frees and that's when we discovered that my FreeT4 was in the high range of normal. All this time I thought that my symptoms were hypo and I was actually starting to go hyper that's why I felt so bad !!!!! The others on these boards were a great help to me.

Good Luck !


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

My doc seems to think that this is the right road since I am feeling so much better than I have in over a year. I am functioning now. My anxiety is almost non-existent. I am sleeping GREAT! I am able to do 30 minutes of cardio a day. My resting heart rate is between 65-70 depending on my stress level that day. I have zero brain fog or fatigue. Other than mild jitters the last few days and random palps, I actually have enough energy to cook dinner for my husband and kids every night.

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether you think this is the right course or if I should pursue another med like natural? I fear that if I switch over to something that has a t3 med, I will have similar symptoms that I did on the Cytomel.

Anyone know if my doc is right that there are no effects of living with a mildly elevated RT3?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Have you ever had your TSI tested?


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

joplin1975 said:


> Have you ever had your TSI tested?


I don't think so. What is that? I have had Hashi's since 1999. I always think that I was hyperthyroid growing up because I was so tiny. I had major anxiety depression. I didn't hit 100lbs until I was in my 20s. Never had periods. I would have one maybe once or twice a year and they would last for a month. My ob/gyn tested me then and put me on Synthroid. I have done well since then. It wasn't until last year that I really had a breakdown and found out my doc was treating me based on TSH alone and doing those on his little machine in his office. I knew something wasn't right. He had me sooooo overmedicated....In Oct. I started seeing my current ENT. I feel better than I have in a long time.


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## buttonwood (May 4, 2014)

WoW!!! You are really lucky ! My Free t4 's weren't even as high as yours and I had insomnia, extreme fatigue, anxiety, heart palps, jitters, blood pressure was higher than normal and my heart rate rose to 80 .


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

It's a stimulating immunoglobulin. It's most commonly associated with Grave's, but people with Hashi's/hypo can and do have it. I had it and it made taking Synthroid a nightmare. If you have it, you will most likely do worse on Armour (adding t3 into the mix when you have a stimulating antibody is tough). So I'd be tempted to get that tested, just to be sure, before I started fiddling much more with your dosage.

That all said, you ft3 is a bit low...I don't use any t3 as I'm a rapid converter, so I'll have to defer to people with more experience...


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

I just edited my last post.


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## pcsg560 (Oct 13, 2014)

By the way my TPO was 50 and my Tg was <1. Don't know if that has any bearing on anything. I have never heard of TSI. Can you just suddenly develop that after being fine for so long on Synthroid?


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