Who's on thyroid meds or has experience with hypothyroidism? Need some input

[samz]

Hi folks,
I've been to a few docs and gotten different advice. The issue is basically that my TSH is jumping from 4 to 1.5 and back to 4. Sometimes it's high, sometimes normal. One endo who I have been to did ultrasound and measured the antibodies, which were normal. He simply told me to wait. He said I could be latent hypo but since my t3 and t4 are not low he said it's nothing to worry about.
I wasn't really happy with that. Since I don't feel good I want to try everything possible to feel any better. I don't know how much the thyroid plays a role in this. But I suffer from depression and also have concentration issues which look similar to adhd.
I have now been to a second doc. He told me that my TSH being at 4 definitely means that something's wrong. He did an ultrasound and said that my thyroid gland is small (around 9ml total size) and that it has low density. He assumes that my body has been destroying thyroid cells to get the hormones in them for a long time so that my thyroid has lost density over the time.
I don't really know what to think about that. I mean if this was the case then should my TSH levels not always have been high? But in the years before my TSH has never been higher than 2.

But I thought why not try it and see how I do under treatment? I mean I already feel crappy, so why not simply try it?

Now my real question is about the dosage. My doc said that it will come down to a T3/T4 mix.
My doc wants me to slowly increase my T4 in small steps until I reach 100mcg T4/day. I am currently at 75mcg and don't really feel very much.

THEN once I read 100mcg T4 he wants me to start adding T3 in 5mcg steps every week until I reach 50mcg T3/day.

The final dose will be 100mcg T4 + 50mcg T3 per day.
The 50mcg T3 worry me cause T3 is said to be much stronger than T4 and 50mcg is a high dose + I also take 100mcg T4. What if this is too much?

I also asked my doc if T3 needs to be separated into multiple daily doses and he said no. He said if I was only taking T3 I needed multiple doses but when I also take T4 then I can take the entire T3 dose in the morning. This would mean that I take it all in the morning at once. What if 100mcg T4 + 50mcg T3 at once in the morning is simply too much?

Do you know anyone who takes such a high dose T3 at once?

 

[ajntorinj]

They make T3 in 50mcg tablets, so some people are using that dosage. It is only too much if it is more than you need, and that can be determined with blood tests and how you feel.

Taking all your thyroid meds at once in the morning is fine. I used to split mine up, but I feel better taking it 4-5 hours before I wake up. Do not take them with coffee, which can inhibit the absorption.

You might want to investigate natural desiccated thyroid. They basically grab the pig thyroid glands from the carcasses at the slaughterhouse and use them to make medication. Supposedly this is better than liothyronine/levothyroxine combinations because the pork thyroid contains both as well as T1 and T2. The tablets smell horrible, though (I'd describe it as like a bad hotdog).

I recommend reading the Stop the Thyroid Madness and Tired Thyroid websites and getting frequent blood tests until you are dialed in dosage-wise. Those websites offer advice on what labs to get and how to interpret the results.