[adenure]

#1059701

So, I started 1/4 of a 5 mcg. pill of Cytomel 2 weeks ago. The first week I felt REALLY good! I was super excited. I’m not too good at salvaging the whole pill (even with a pill cutter), so one day when it sort of obliterated across the counter, I figured I’d take the powdered 1/4 along with my intact 1/4. Not a bright idea… During all that I got a cold, was sleep deprived (there were 6 of us in a hotel room for my children’s gymnastics competition- my husband, myself, and the 4 boys) – so not a great weekend. I took a day off from the Cytomel and then started back on a 1/4 pill Tues, Wed. & Thurs. of this week. Yesterday around noon, the hyper “ish” symptoms came back of feeling weak in the legs, a little edgy, super sensitive sense of smell (I hate that), woke up at 3 AM and took 1/2 hour to get back to bed. My heart never had palpitations, but I just didn’t feel as great as I did last week.

My doctor said adverse reaction take about a week to set in, so that could be the case. My husband thinks I should try 1/8 of a pill- not sure how I’ll get that- maybe just a little powder each morning! I didn’t take any Cytomel this morning to give my body a break. I’m just frustrated as the 1st week, I really did feel better.

Has this happened to anyone else? Did you continue on it or take it every other day or make it even smaller dose- wise? Any input appreciated. Thanks!

[Kimberly]

#1176885

Hello – Hopefully, you will get some feedback here, but you also might PM mykena, as I recall that she started on Cytomel fairly recently.

That has to be frustrating to feel the hypER symptoms coming on again…hope that you can get some relief soon!

[mykena]

#1176886

Hello there. Have you had your labs checked? I started with 5 mcg of Cytomel and experienced itching and eventually became hyper. Though I was just a little hyper, I didn’t like it and didn’t feel very good. So, we adjusted my Levothyroxine. I am now taking 75 mcg of Levothyroxine instead of 88 and 5 mcg of Cytomel. I made the adjustment about 2 weeks ago and have felt pretty darn good this week. It’s the first time in a long time. That said, I am cautiously optimistic. The itching went away so maybe it wasn’t the Cytomel.

If you feel hyper, I would get labs. If you are hyper, then maybe they can adjust your Synthroid/levothyroxine dosage.

[snelsen]

#1176887

About a year ago, I tried, with the reluctant agreement of my endo. He said if I used it, I should take it at least twice a day. optimally 3x/day, but there was little compliance with that. That it tended to be a big “dump” with a once a day regimen, which is what most people wanted to do.

I found it did not help me, if anything, my experience was similar to that of Alexis. I stuck with it a while longer, and did not feel better, if anything, more up and down hyper-ish, and just did not like the way I felt. Decided that messing around with Synthroid was enough for me. I guess there is that rare person who does well with it.
Shirley

[adenure]

#1176888

Thanks for the responses. My labs were “normal” about a month ago:

TSH 1.41 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL
Free T3 2.2 2.0-4.4 pg/mL
T4,Free 1.44 0.82-1.77 ng/dL

So, I don’t think my Synthroid needs anything as my free T4 is up there and my TSH is good. With the lower free T3, my doctor was willing to try the Cytomel. I figured it would do the trick and not mess with my free T4 level since that is good. Just frustrated that the good feeling didn’t last more than a week. I didn’t take Cytomel today and probably won’t tomorrow. Maybe I’ll try the 1/8. I thought (because the half life is short) that Cytomel doesn’t build up in the system like Synthroid. So, I figured if I had hyper symptoms it would be within a day of using it. But my doctor said it takes a week to feel adverse effects- for me 2 weeks I guess. I don’t like the hyper symptoms even though they’re not terrible- not as bad as when I was sick. But, still who wants to feel like that?

[catstuart7]

#1176889

Hi Alexis, I’ve read that because of Cytomel’s very short half-life it must be taken frequently throughout the day. This is hard for many and so long-acting T3 does exist and can be gotten through compounding pharmacies. You can also use compounding pharmacies to get those smaller doses like that eighth of a pill dose. I keep track of all this stuff because one day I might need it! I hope you come up with an option that works for you.

[mykena]

#1176890

So, are you saying that the doc added Cytomel and did not change your Synthroid at all? Hmm..not sure I understand that. When I started Cytomel, the doc reduced the Synthroid at the same time because my labs were normal already. I was trying the Cytomel to see if I would “feel” better not because my labs were off. Even with the first reduction, I became hyper and had to reduce again. As of today, about 3 weeks post second reduction, I am feeling a little more energetic and not hyper anymore. I do not remember the exact conversion but it was something like 5 mcg of Cytomel is the equivalent of 20 or 25 mcg of Synthroid. So, if you didn’t reduce your synthroid and added Cytomel, you would have effectively added 20-25 mcg of Synthroid which would make you feel hyper. I would bring this up with your doc. Of course, I’m not a medical professional but it doesn’t add up for me.

[adenure]

#1176891

I read that elsewhere too- that the Synthroid needs to be reduced when adding Cytomel. The doctor who prescribed the Cytomel is a family practitioner, not an endocrinologist- so maybe that’s why he didn’t reduce the Synthroid- I don’t know. I’m trying to see how the Synthroid on its own goes for me again for awhile. I have an apptmt. with a new endo. in a few weeks I think. Then we’re probably moving to a new state in a few months, so life is a little crazy right now. One lady I talked with is taking Naturethroid and Synthroid as the Cytomel didn’t work for her. Her doctor reduced the Synthroid while adding the Cytomel, but it didn’t work for her too well. Eh. Sometimes I want to throw in the towel with the dosing and meds. tweaking- I guess that’s why I’m just sticking to the 112 mcg. Synthroid for now. Maybe the new endo. will have some good ideas.

[donnabgraves]

#1176892

mykena wrote:

Hello there. Have you had your labs checked? I started with 5 mcg of Cytomel and experienced itching and eventually became hyper. Though I was just a little hyper, I didn’t like it and didn’t feel very good. So, we adjusted my Levothyroxine. I am now taking 75 mcg of Levothyroxine instead of 88 and 5 mcg of Cytomel. I made the adjustment about 2 weeks ago and have felt pretty darn good this week. It’s the first time in a long time. That said, I am cautiously optimistic. The itching went away so maybe it wasn’t the Cytomel.

If you feel hyper, I would get labs. If you are hyper, then maybe they can adjust your Synthroid/levothyroxine dosage.

I too experienced some itching for the first week. I started taking Cytomel 2.5 mcg (half tablets of 5 mcg). No more itching. So, I do believe it was the Cytomel.

Additionally, the first thing I experienced was slight palpitations periodically throughout the day, which has now subsided and a couple of nights of not sleeping as well. However, I have healthier skin, healthier nails, and most important healthier ME!

I have to say post RAI in May 2013, Synthroid was no good for me. I wanted to give up and and just lay down, even after upping dosage to 112 mcg for 2 days. I definitely could not handle that dosage. 1 day off Synthroid, next day on Armour (last part of Oct. or first part of Nov.) slowly working my way up to 90 mcg and new me for awhile. Then terrible joint pain for about a week and started feeling tired again until Cytomel. I love Cytomel I have been on it since 12/05/13 and next day joint pain went away completely and I feel fabulous!!! Old me other than 2 years prior to being diagnosed 2013 with Graves Disease, unlike others who lost I was one of the rare ones to put on weight 30 pounds. Actually, today I see my doctor to address the issue of weight. I’ll keep everyone posted.

I highly recommend the combination of Armour and Cytomel. I take 60 mcg of Armour in the a.m. 6:30 – 7:00 with 2.5 mcg of Cytomel nothing to eat for an hour or more. Then around 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. I take an additional 30 mcg of Armour. This really helps in keeping me very very stable throughout an entire day. Also, I sleep like a baby every single night! It is awesome…hope I continue doing well like this.

One major thing that I have found out since having RAI while taking meds is my diet. I have cut out all refined sugars and refined flour. I have been eating paleo. If I cheat, I experience heart palpitations or faster heart rate and I also experience bad gastric issues as hate to say it this way expelling of bad gas. As long as I cook everything at home with raw honey, coconut oil, coconut flour or almond/tapioca/teff…flour, raw cacao, most important grass-fed beef, organic chicken or pork. I also did away with all dairy products and use full canned coconut milk. If I elect to use butter, I only use KerryGold which is an Irish Butter from grass-feed cows.

Good Luck!

[barbra]

#1176893

I just weaned myself off Cytomel, from 5 MCG twice daily to 5 MCG once a day and now nothing since about a week ago. I’m trying to find out if it had something to do with my hair loss. I had used Cytomel once before, although only for two weeks, and it made a big difference in how I felt.
I’m on Levothyroxine 88 MCG. My labs were normal 6 weeks ago, but I felt awful, once again. As before, the Cytomel helped, except the hair loss started.
I had new labs done last week, FT4 and FT3 in range, a tad towards the upper end of normal, with TSH now at 0.02 ref. 0.4-5.5
I also have gained weight and somehow I am always hungry, well not really hungry but very attracted to food.
The PCP seems OK with all my results of the blood and urine tests, but I’m going to see the endo on Monday. I guess there will be some adjustment to the Levothyroxine. I’m just hoping the whole circus will not start over again.
I’m still taking the 5 MG of Ambien, because if I can’t sleep I’m miserable all day.

Hugs.
Barbra.

[Kimberly]

#1176894

@donnabgraves – Thanks for sharing your story! Hopefully, you are under very close supervision from a physician (in terms of both labs and symptoms), as I have never heard of anyone taking a combination of Armour and Cytomel – this would provide a *huge* daily dose of T3.

[Author]

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