Thyroid Log

GreekDemiGod

Getting to the correct and effective doses of T4 and T3 is quite tricky. I have yet to reach a ratio that works great.
I've been trying to gradually lower my T4 intake, as I didn't felt quite as energetic for a while and was suspecting that I have low conversion into active thyroid hormone from my gut issues.
Once I do that, and start increasing T3, I feel great for a day or two, then I crash again. Temps go lower too.
At that point, taking a large dose of T4 (75 mcg) quickly raises my baseline energy levels.
This is what happened this weekend.

If I take thyroid, I am functioning ok on a T4 amount that is at least 100mcg. I don't really understand why do I need such high doses.

zaaku

@GreekDemiGod I'm in a similar boat and chalk it up to a sluggish liver. I've tried 100mcg T4, reduced that to 50mcg, and now to 25mcg. I've increased T3 to 25mcg to reach a 1:1 T3:T4 ratio. My temps and pulse are lower but my blood sugar is stabler and I feel warmer, paradoxically. My insatiable appetite for sugar is also reducing. I think the constant bouts of hypoglycemia that are caused by a diseased liver convert T4 to rT3, which make me more hypothyroid (despite good temps and pulse), so correcting liver function is my priority right now.

RP: "The liver, to the extent that it's injured, will ruin the whole organism. It's the chemist for the whole organism."

RP on a diseased liver: “Eliminating all PUFA would be the most important thing, and having lots of orange juice, other sugars including honey, and milk and gelatin. Cytomel, aspirin, acetazolamide, and progesterone all protect the liver and help to slow cancer growth. Some people use extremely large amounts of aspirin, which require supplements of vitamin K, to prevent bleeding. Fibrous foods such as bamboo shoots and laxatives such as cascara help to reduce the absorption of bowel toxins that promote cancer and burden the liver.”

I think it's important he says Cytomel instead of Cynoplus, as it is T3 which directly leads to fat-shedding and synthesis of glycogen in the liver. I might stop T4 altogether and just do T3 for a while depending on how I feel in a few weeks.

I've also added daily Vitamin E and Aspirin, increased my glycine intake, and reduced coffee to just 1 cup a day because it makes me hypoglycemic.

Relevant studies

GreekDemiGod

Having consistently good temps and pulse in the winter on Novothyral. Brand/ product matters a lot.
I was getting inconsistent results when taking Levotiron from Turkish brand (abdi ibrahim).

Current doses: 2 daily doses of 50 mcg T4 and 15 mcg T3, totalling 100 mcg T4 and 30 mcg T3.

Note: NovothyraL has 100 mcg T4 and 20 mcg T3 in a pill. I split the pill by half and add 5 mcg T3.

Korven

@GreekDemiGod said in Thyroid Log:

Having consistently good temps and pulse in the winter on Novothyral. Brand/ product matters a lot.
I was getting inconsistent results when taking Levotiron from Turkish brand (abdi ibrahim).

Current doses: 2 daily doses of 50 mcg T4 and 15 mcg T3, totalling 100 mcg T4 and 30 mcg T3.

Note: NovothyraL has 100 mcg T4 and 20 mcg T3 in a pill. I split the pill by half and add 5 mcg T3.

Hi @GreekDemiGod , do you get your Novothyral prescribed by a doctor, or do you have a source in EU? Thanks

albion

@GreekDemiGod Why not try 2:1 or 1:1 ratio T4/T3?

GreekDemiGod

@albion said in Thyroid Log:

@GreekDemiGod Why not try 2:1 or 1:1 ratio T4/T3?

Too much of T3 even when combined with T4 gives me palpitations and chest discomfort.

Mossy

@GreekDemiGod said in Thyroid Log:

@albion said in Thyroid Log:

@GreekDemiGod Why not try 2:1 or 1:1 ratio T4/T3?

Too much of T3 even when combined with T4 gives me palpitations and chest discomfort.

It's these kind of experiences that keep me away from thyroid. I realize it's just a matter of refining the dose and getting it right. Even so, not fun.

GreekDemiGod

@Korven Not prescribed. I get it from a source in my country.

albion

@GreekDemiGod I think @T-3 pushed through this and found success.

Jonk

@GreekDemiGod have you ever tried NDT? Just curious, after reading Broda Barnes and some other book which references Barnes a lot, his patients seem to favor NDT over synthetic. I'm myself in the process of upping my synthetic T3/T4 to 30mcg/100mcg Wondering if NDT is something to potentially consider.

GreekDemiGod

A very nice benefit that I get from thyroid is improved blood sugar regulation. I do much better when in-between meals, I don’t get hungry that often, and if I do get it, I am still able to function great, and not see a crash in energy levels.

@Jonk I tried NDT once from Idealabs, I did ok on it, but the benefits were not that significant. Perhaps I should have increased the dose.
I’m now happy with Novotyral and see no reason to switch.

GreekDemiGod

Increasing protein intake over 150g/ day seems to cause lower temps, cold feet, even on over 400g of carbs / day, so a 2:1, or close to 3:1 ratio.

I tried eating a 50:30:20 macro split of carbs/ fats/ protein, at 3000 calories, and I felt worse increasing protein.
I will try 60:25:15 next.

GreekDemiGod

My health is getting better, Novothyral has allowed time to (partially or more) tolerate and enjoy a wider variety of foods. I handle dairy better (hard cheese, kefir, overnight oats. Some veggies, like raw cucumber and tomatoes.
Been craving cucumbers a lot last couple of day, feels like a need for hydration/ electrolytes.

I also feel like I’m at a point where I can build my microbiome diversity due to improved food tolerances.

I now have relatively stable energy levels from day to day, I can function normally, stay focused on mental tasks at my job for a couple of hours per day. 2-4 bowel movements per day.

What I still struggle with is the permanent bloating, stuffed nose and low libido. I reckon that fixing that will be the last step towards healing. No matter how regular I am with my bowel movements. The bloating issue doesn’t budge. I think that it’s an issue of microbiome, fermentation in the intestine. Hopefully it will improve with time.

Androsclerozat

@GreekDemiGod
Maybe you are fructose intolerant to some degree
Too much sugar or any fiber does bloat me
Only coke seems magical without side effects
I saw a video of a 90 year old woman with a sharp mind and a bit obese that said the most important thing to follow for a healthy life is to wear more clothes to prevent being cold
In my experience this is true, when I am bloated or have constipation, staying below the blanket doing retaining CO2 and warming up solves it
The heat from the summer is different, it doesn't help, it causes the opposite effect for me in terms of digestion if I overheat

GreekDemiGod

@Androsclerozat I reduced the agave syrup and stopped eating dried dates, and I no longer have cramps. That doesn’t solve all my problems of course, but my gut feels calmer.
So it looks like fruits with high fructose: glucose ratio can be problematic for me, in large quantities.

LucH

@TexugoDoMel said in Thyroid Log:

@GreekDemiGod

Iodine is very important but remember that iodine displaces bromide and fluoride and can cause unpleasant symptoms precisely because of this. It's a good idea to adjust the amount of selenium too, as there's a good chance you'll feel unwell when supplementing with iodine if you're deficient in selenium.

What about this very valuable statement!?
You won't recover if you listen to mainstream fear for iodine phoby.

GreekDemiGod

I've been continually taking thyroid since April 2024, so more than 1 year without a break.
In the last 6 months or so, I've settled on using Novothyral, containing both T3 and T4: 100 - 125 mcg daily (more in the winter), and 20-25 mcg T4.

I've felt ok for a while, had decent energy in my day-to-day life and in the gym. But lately, I started feeling really flat emotionally, lacking joy, so I figured it must be the high amounts of T4 building up and turning into rT3.

Here are my blood tests, worse than expected. TSH is suppressed, which I expected, but Free T4 is also quite low.

ChatGpt reasoning:

*Thyroid Blood Test Interpretation:
TSH: 0.0535 (Low)
This is suppressed, suggesting your brain is sensing enough (or too much) thyroid hormone. This is expected when you're on T3, as it suppresses TSH more aggressively than T4.

Free T4: 0.72 (Low-normal)
This is at the bottom of the reference range. For someone on 100 mcg of T4, this is a bit unexpectedly low, unless you're under-converting or clearing it rapidly.

Free T3: 2.73 (Mid-range)
This is adequate, and likely a direct result of your 20 mcg T3 dose, which is a moderately high replacement dose. It's keeping your FT3 in a solid range despite the low FT4.

Yes — taking T4 (levothyroxine) with food can significantly impair its absorption, and that could absolutely explain your low-normal free T4, even on a 100 mcg dose.

Here's the no-BS breakdown:
Levothyroxine Absorption Facts:
Bioavailability drops by ~40–80% when taken with food.

Coffee, calcium, iron, magnesium, fiber, and even some fruits (like papaya) interfere.

It’s best absorbed on an empty stomach, ideally 30–60 minutes before food.

So yes, if you're taking T4 with or shortly before/after food, you’re likely underdosing yourself unintentionally — even if you're swallowing a full 100 mcg.

Your Case:
Free T4 at 0.72 ng/dL (barely in range) = classic sign of poor absorption or competition for uptake.

Your T3 is fine (you’re taking it directly), so the T3 value isn’t affected.

LucH

@GreekDemiGod said in Thyroid Log:

I've felt ok for a while, had decent energy in my day-to-day life and in the gym. But lately, I started feeling really flat emotionally, lacking joy, so I figured it must be ...

When taking a supplement T3 and T4 you don't bring the required nutrients for deiodinase enzymes: Mg I Zn Se.
80% people are lacking Mg and vit D3.
Please, don't tell me you're ok because you take a supplement (Mg) and live under sunshine ... It won't solve the unbalance ...

@LucH yo, MG you mean magnesium? How Can a person have not enough VD if she live under the sun?

LucH

@random said in Thyroid Log:

How Can a person have not enough VD if she live under the sun?

You didn't put the right question but exactly did what I warned you not to do:
No matter if you catch the right amount of vitamin D or already take one of the supplement. You didn't match where the main problem was: The thyroid doesn't receive what it needs.
I repeat: your deiodinase enzymes are not well supplied with useful nutrients. If so, the thyroid gland can't function well.
Now, try to find by yourself what you need because you're not going to listen to what I would suggest. Why? Not mainstream opinion.