Posted by Pfinstegg on October 25, 2002, at 21:52:01
In reply to Re: Should I add SYNTHROID if T3/4 are normal??? » Pfinstegg, posted by Chloe on October 25, 2002, at 18:26:03
ugs and mcgs are the same! I was trying to approximate a u with a long tail, which stands for "micro"! I am different from you in that I am really hypothyroid- just a little. I used to take 100mcg. of synthroid and it brought the TSH down to the range of 0.80. Because I had been struggling with depression for such a long time, and because I had seen hints on Psychobabble that T3 might help,I did a medline search and found that article I cited- at my request, my doc switched me to 50 mcg synthroid and 12.5 mcg cytomel. This keeps the TSH in the same range as it was before. I feel so much better now, but have made other changes as well (tianeptine), so I can't say for sure what role adding the T3 played. Since everyone needs both forms, and there is evidence that some people have difficulty converting T4 to T3, I plan to keep on with it indefinitely. For me, there are no side effects with a TSH in the 0.8 range, but lots of pluses-more energy, moister skin, easier weight control
For you, not being hypothyroid to begin with, and having to be concerned about getting too "up", it sounds very smart and safe to start with 5 mcg. It's really a low dose, and you may have to go a little higher to see if it helps to put a floor under the lows. Having developed this great e-mail feed-back system with your pdoc, you can let her know quickly if you've got any concerns and not have to wait and wonder until some future appointment. I think that was very smart of you to figure out a way that she could communicate quickly and comfortably!
Keep letting us know how things go.
Pfinstegg
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:124779
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021025/msgs/125249.html