T3 and women

[stargirl]

Hi all,

I've just bought some T3 to start and i was looking for some advice. i've done some reading and there's tonnes of warnings about not wrecking my thyroid ... i just wanted some input from someone who has successfully taken T3.

My goal is to reduce body fat from its current 22% to 18%.
I already eat 100% clean and train 6 days a week with a personal trainer who specialises in bodybuilding. (training is heavy lifting & cardio)

ultimately i want to compete but i'm taking it one step at a time.

what i had planned for the T3 was to taper up to 20mg a day, for 4 to 6 weeks, then taper down. i won't be using an AAS because i want to start another anavar course in march 2013.

does anyone have any input or advice? i would ideally like positive advice as opposed to 'just don't do it', i've read about the dangers already

 

[Mrs P]

Hi all,

I've just bought some T3 to start and i was looking for some advice. i've done some reading and there's tonnes of warnings about not wrecking my thyroid ... i just wanted some input from someone who has successfully taken T3.

My goal is to reduce body fat from its current 22% to 18%.
I already eat 100% clean and train 6 days a week with a personal trainer who specialises in bodybuilding. (training is heavy lifting & cardio)

ultimately i want to compete but i'm taking it one step at a time.

what i had planned for the T3 was to taper up to 20mg a day, for 4 to 6 weeks, then taper down. i won't be using an AAS because i want to start another anavar course in march 2013.

does anyone have any input or advice? i would ideally like positive advice as opposed to 'just don't do it', i've read about the dangers already

Hi Stargirl,

I know your not asking for the "don't do it advise", but that's exactly my advise..
I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism (even without experiencing any symptoms) just by doing my yearly routine blood work.. I'm taking T4 to treat this & I have to be on this medication for the rest of my life..

I've never taken t3 for fat loss, but I've done plenty of research on hypo & hyperthyroidism & I can tell u that if u self medicate with T3 to lose weight, you'll most likely end up with drug induced hyperthyroidism.

Will u lose weight ? yes, by speeding up you rmetabolism, but if your thyroid function is normal the only way to lose weight is to overdose on it..& u need to keep in mind, if your thyroid is normal overdosing on this medication will cause u to lose muscle... and since muscle tissue burns a significant amount of calories eventually this will slow down your metabolism.

I wouldn't use T3 for weight loss, continue with a good diet & training that's whats going to get u to where u want to be.

You don't want to mess with your thyroid, because u could end up with a hyper thyroid & experience very unplesant symtptoms & could end up with this condition for life.

Just my 2 cents

 

[riprockwell]

Well, I will agree with Mrs P on some items but I will also have to disagree on some. Personally, if dieting works great for you, then I would just stick with diet and exercise. That is one less thing you are putting in your body and one less thing to worry about. However, tons of people have run T3 and it does not mess up your thyroid. In fact, there was a study (I will try to find it) where they had patients take T3 for 30 years. Once they got off the T3, 100% of the patients recovered and it took 4-8 weeks to do so. Another thing, T3 would not cause hyperthyroidism. You can feel hyperthyroid while taking it. Remember, once you start taking T3, you are going to slowly shut down your thyroid. Your thyroid stops producing as much hormone because you are taking thyroid hormone. So once you get off, your thyroid will try to bounce back and normalize. It will be slower, hence why you really have to watch what you eat when you get off a cycle of T3. I have worked with several people with hypothyroidism and some who just wanted to cycle T3 and all of their thyroids have bounced back. Some bounce back in 4 weeks, some take 8, but I have never seen anyone take longer than 8 weeks for the thyroid to normalize. The thyroid is a lot like the liver. It is very resilient.

I do agree with Mrs P that T3 will definitely make you lose muscle unless of course you are taking testosterone with it. I haven't been a fan of Clen and I don't see Clen being strong enough to prevent the muscle loss. Furthermore, 20mcg a day of T3 is not nearly enough to notice much. Most would need to do 60-80mcg per day. Personally, me being hypothyroid, if my thyroid was perfectly fine and diets were working, then I wouldn't touch T3. Mrs P, how long have you been on T4?? How do you feel on it??

 

[Mrs P]

Well, I will agree with Mrs P on some items but I will also have to disagree on some. Personally, if dieting works great for you, then I would just stick with diet and exercise. That is one less thing you are putting in your body and one less thing to worry about. However, tons of people have run T3 and it does not mess up your thyroid. In fact, there was a study (I will try to find it) where they had patients take T3 for 30 years. Once they got off the T3, 100% of the patients recovered and it took 4-8 weeks to do so. Another thing, T3 would not cause hyperthyroidism. You can feel hyperthyroid while taking it. Remember, once you start taking T3, you are going to slowly shut down your thyroid. Your thyroid stops producing as much hormone because you are taking thyroid hormone. So once you get off, your thyroid will try to bounce back and normalize. It will be slower, hence why you really have to watch what you eat when you get off a cycle of T3. I have worked with several people with hypothyroidism and some who just wanted to cycle T3 and all of their thyroids have bounced back. Some bounce back in 4 weeks, some take 8, but I have never seen anyone take longer than 8 weeks for the thyroid to normalize. The thyroid is a lot like the liver. It is very resilient.

I do agree with Mrs P that T3 will definitely make you lose muscle unless of course you are taking testosterone with it. I haven't been a fan of Clen and I don't see Clen being strong enough to prevent the muscle loss. Furthermore, 20mcg a day of T3 is not nearly enough to notice much. Most would need to do 60-80mcg per day. Personally, me being hypothyroid, if my thyroid was perfectly fine and diets were working, then I wouldn't touch T3. Mrs P, how long have you been on T4?? How do you feel on it??

I haev read that taking t3 while having normal thyroid levels can lead to hyperthyroidism & I know a few that have taken t3 for weight loss & say they are fine after coming off & some that say thei thyroid is all messed up because of it.

I'm sure some can recover fine, but what if u don't recover ? I don't have any personal experience myself with t3 just for weight loss, but being that I have hypothyroidism my advise to anyone considering using t3 is not to do it, IMO messing with your thyroid levels is something u don't want to do.

I've been taking synthoid for around 3 months now, have had bloods every six weeks & have needed the dose adjusted..eventhough most with hypothyroidism would be excited about the weight loss effect, I have never experienced weight gain, so I'm not looking forward to losing any weight....so far so good.

 

[riprockwell]

I haev read that taking t3 while having normal thyroid levels can lead to hyperthyroidism & I know a few that have taken t3 for weight loss & say they are fine after coming off & some that say thei thyroid is all messed up because of it.

I'm sure some can recover fine, but what if u don't recover ? I don't have any personal experience myself with t3 just for weight loss, but being that I have hypothyroidism my advise to anyone considering using t3 is not to do it, IMO messing with your thyroid levels is something u don't want to do.

I've been taking synthoid for around 3 months now, have had bloods every six weeks & have needed the dose adjusted..eventhough most with hypothyroidism would be excited about the weight loss effect, I have never experienced weight gain, so I'm not looking forward to losing any weight....so far so good.

I see what you are saying. We can agree to disagree on this topic because everyone is different. I just think people hype T3 as something that will screw up their thyroid and make them have the need to get thyroid meds for life and I just don't buy in to that. Mrs P, in my opinion, one of the worst things you can put in to your body is T4 only (Synthroid). I would look up getting on some Armor thyroid (Both T4/T3) or T3 only. T4 just really puts the body in overdrive and stresses out your adrenals, etc. Here is a good page about T4 only treatment. That is a thing of the past but most doctors don't have a clue about thyroids. 90% of the people on just T4 will continually have to increase the dosage over time. To me, that shows me that there is always a conversion issue with T4 only. I'm just saying I haven't seen a person not recover from T3 cycles. Ever. The people who usually wind up with hypothyroid issues have a family history of it in my experience. However, check out this site, it has some good info on it:

Thyroid Mistreatment, Hypothyroidism Scandals, and Thyroid Treatment Problems | Stop The Thyroid Madness

 

[randy841]

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (Male) March 2011, the endocrinologist prescribed T4. Since then i have used T3 numerous times (to cut fat not weight) alone and with the prescribed T4 dosage, with blood work completed every 3-5 weeks or/and every 2 months. The TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) recovery doesn't take long after the cessation of T3. Within 3-4 weeks after stopping T3-- everything is back within normal. Since T4 is prescribed already there is nothing to worry about much anyways.

Furthermore, having used numerous AAS (test, tren, deca, eq, dbol, Anavar (var) ) - the hormones will also lower the TSH. The stronger the androgen - the more it reduces TSH (this means higher #s on blood panels). I have had the latter hypothesis tested 4-5 times while using each of those above mentioned compounds over a ten month period with a base of test. Even with Anavar (var) - expect to see the TSH # on the high side (= hypothyroidism).

BTW, every study i have looked at in the medical journals point to a full recovery of the thyroid gland following cessation with 3-6 months, unless it is already compromised.

Also note - each time the doctor adjusted the dosage i was on or/and coming off AAS. All hormones will raise your TSH #. Started at 50mcg. Now 100mcg ed.