Does Cytomel Help with Weight Loss? Dosing guide + How to use it. Cytomel can help boost your metabolism and lead to weight loss, ESPECIALLY in certain hypothyroid patients. Does that mean every hypothyroid patient should take it? Not by a long shot. I love this medication and use it frequently, but there are some things you should be aware of if you are considering using Cytomel or Liothyronine. Recall these basics from thyroid physiology: T4 = INACTIVE hormone and must be converted to T3 to become active < -- - this is what most Doctors prescribe (Think Synthroid, Levothyroxine, Tirosint) T3 = . T4 can turn into T3 or Reverse T3 depending on the conditions of the body. This is why so many patients on T4 only medications do so poorly - their body doesn't convert well.
3 Reasons Why Many Thyroid Sufferers Can’t Lose Weight. Many people with thyroid conditions have difficulty losing weight. This mainly pertains to those people who. Wellness Resources thyroid supplements naturally improve metabolism, thyroid, energy, and weight. These thyroid nutrients help improve low thyroid symptoms such as. But if you give someone T3 only medication, you don't have to rely on the body for converting T4 to T3. Instead you bypass this conversion process and allow for more thyroid hormone to enter into target cells and tissues without reverse T3 competition. This provides an instant burst of thyroid hormone to the body and makes it a MUCH more powerful medication. This also helps explain why Cytomel and Liothyronine can cause symptoms if used in high doses. How Cytomel Causes Weight Loss. It has to do with the conversion process I mentioned above. If you give the body T4 hormone and it does NOT turn it into T3 then your cells will NOT get the thyroid hormone they need and your metabolism will STAY low. You can read this blog post for much more info on this conversion process and how it leads to weight gain. You can also read this post for more info on why levothyroxine. Cytomel (or other T3 medications) on the other hand DO increase thyroid hormone in the body and thus can help boost metabolism and lead to weight loss. If that's the case then you are probably asking.. If you've been reading this so far you are probably wondering why you AREN'T taking T3 medication already. Or you're getting ready to go ask your Doctor to prescribe it to you.. Well, hold your horses. How do you know if you tolerate them? Most patients who need T3 have one or more of the following: High levels of Reverse T3 (> 1. History of Leptin resistance (or leptin level > 1. History of Diabetes, Pre diabetes or Insulin Resistance. History of Bipolar disorder or a strong family history of Depression, suicide or other mental health disorders. History of Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue syndrome or Chronic pain syndrome. Someone who does NOT feel well on T4 only medications (Synthroid, Levothyroxine, Tirosint, etc.). I've also attached a guide below to help you find which thyroid hormone is the best for YOUR body based on a number of factors: Please feel free to share or pin this to your wall for later viewing. Try to keep your pulse and resting heart rate within these ranges: . I have some patients who do great on 5mcg of Cytomel or T3 and some who do well on 1. Cytomel or T3 daily. A typical starting dose may be as low as 5- 1. More sensitive patients should obviously start out lower and patients who have been on T3 previously can generally tolerate titrating to higher doses more quickly. Cytomel vs Synthroid. Some people do benefit from Cytomel only (in higher doses), but many people do well on a combination of T4 and T3. ![]() ![]() Thyroid Helper is the best natural thyroid supplement to improve thyroid hormone formation, increase energy, increase metabolism and support healthy weight loss. I get tons of emails from thyroid cancer (and other thyroid patients) wondering how to best handle starting new thyroid medication or changing doses of thyroid. ![]() That means adding Cytomel to your current dose of Levothyroxine or Synthroid. For this I recommend shooting for a ratio of 8. T4: T3. For instance: If you were taking 1. T4 you would want to be on around 2. T3. Simply adding T3 to your existing dose of T4 may improve your overall symptoms by helping to drive down Reverse T3 levels and by directly activating cellular transcription. Cytomel & T3 vs NDTI referenced Levothyroxine and Synthroid above because the great majority of patients are on these medications. But what about natural desiccated thyroid medications? Is Cytomel better than NDT? Instead of thinking about which thyroid medication is best you should consider the specific needs of your body. NDT contains a static combination of both T4 and T3. NDT equals about 3. T4 and 9mcg of T3. If you calculate out the ratio you will see that NDT still contains the majority of T4 thyroid hormone. This means that even on higher doses of NDT patients are still susceptible to reverse T3 pooling. In a general sense the sicker the patient (more medical problems, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, insulin resistance, etc.), the more likely they are to need higher doses of T3 compared to T4. So again T3 can compliment patients already using NDT quite well. The addition of Cytomel and liothyronine to existing doses of NDT provides an additional boost of T3 and skews the ratio of T4 to T3 more in favor of T3. This allows for less competition at the cellular level between T3 and Reverse T3 which can result in more weight loss and less symptoms. It turns out that immediate forms of T3 are rapidly absorbed and spike serum T3 levels in the body within 1- 2 hours after ingestion. The fact that serum levels are high isn't really the problem, the problem is that some tissues (mostly cardiac tissues) are very sensitive to T3 hormone. Most thyroid hormone activates cellular response through a nuclear receptor and through changes in genetic transcription (changes in enzymes, DNA, etc.). But in cardiac tissue T3 has a direct ionotropic and chronotropic effect. That means in higher doses it can directly cause an increased heart rate and increased force of contraction. This is often felt as palpitations or an increased sensation of the heart beat. This is where SR T3 comes into play.. Patients who are sensitive to T3 or who have a tendency to lean towards heart palpitations tend to do better on sustained release version of T3. The delayed release allows for more stable serum levels of T3 which means your cardiac tissue doesn't get hit with high doses all at once. A few things should be noted about SR T3 however: 1. SR T3 can be tougher to digest so isn't necessarily the best choice in patients who have multiple GI issues or difficulty with absorption. Due to digestive issues SR T3 may not be fully absorbed which means that the dose is less efficacious than IR T3 versions. This means that 1. IR T3 will not necessarily equal 1. IR T3 (usually about half or so). Cytomel Symptoms & Side Effects. If you are starting T3, Cytomel or SR T3 then there are some side effects you should be watching out for. Most side effects come from taking too much medication and result in hyperthyroid- like symptoms but the symptoms from cytomel tend to be a little bit different from overt hyperthyroidism. Most common side effects from taking Cytomel: . If you are experiencing negative side effects you are most likely taking too high of a dose or you didn't titrate slow enough. Occasionally when starting . Usually these symptoms will subside, especially when starting out on a low dose, but sometimes nutrient deficiencies and other hormone imbalances can make it difficult to tolerate T3. Improving T4 to T3 Conversion with other Thyroid Medications? What are you supposed to do? If you can get your Doctor to test your free T3 levels and show that they are quite low most physicians are willing to add in T3 hormone, but that isn't true of every doctor. If this just isn't an option for you then you will want to focus on T4 to T3 conversion and do whatever is in your power to increase this conversion process. If you can't get T3 by simply taking thyroid medication then you can help promote T4 to T3 conversion by altering various factors in your body. You can read more about how to do this naturally here. By reducing T4 substrate and . This has a great impact on your body and your symptoms. The higher your free T3 the more active your thyroid hormone is, the lower your reverse T3 the higher your metabolism will be. You can read them here: I've found that up to 6. T3 in some form (either Cytomel, Liothyronine or SR T3). If you are taking some other form of thyroid hormone (levothyroxine, synthroid or even forms of NDT) and you aren't getting improvement in your symptoms or you aren't noticing weight loss then improving your T3 levels might help. Generally adding T3 or Cytomel isn't enough to cause significant weight loss by itself, but it is almost always required in order for the body to get into . As you can see from the case studies above T3 is always PART of the therapy, and in some cases therapy revolves around thyroid dosing, but other therapies are almost always required for 4. Wrapping it up. Cytomel is a powerful thyroid medication that can help boost metabolism and lead to lasting weight loss in certain patients. Having said that, Cytomel is NOT for everyone. Use the information in this post to help determine if Cytomel would be helpful for your case and remember that each person is unique. If you decide to try Cytomel out then I recommend starting with a low dose and titrating SLOW. While using Cytomel make sure to monitor both your resting heart rate and basal body temperature to ensure that you do not over dose yourself. Now I want to hear from you! Have you used Cytomel successfully to lose weight? Did it work for you? Why or why not? Leave a comment below! Losing Weight With an Underactive Thyroid. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland, which produces hormones that regulate a number of body processes, becomes underactive and doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone to allow the body to function properly. One of the key processes these hormones help to regulate is metabolism — that magic word we all know due to its connection to diet and weight- loss. It seems like everyone is trying to speed up their metabolism with the right mix of foods and exercise to help shed pounds. So when your body is working against you and slowing your metabolism down even more, weight loss becomes an even bigger challenge. Hypothyroidism: Why Weight Loss is Tough. And once that weight has piled on, even 5 to 1. Additionally, Wolf notes that people with hypothyroidism tend to feel fatigued and just don't have much energy, making exercise that much harder. With a lowered metabolism and a loss of the energy you need to exercise, the pounds can pile up quickly. Hypothyroidism: Control the Condition, Control the Weight. The best way to manage weight gain from hypothyroidism is to control the condition. If you get your metabolism back up to speed, the weight shouldn't keep adding up. You'll also have more energy, which can help motivate you to exercise. Hypothyroidism can be treated with a thyroid hormone supplement, which provides the body with the thyroid hormone it needs to keep metabolism at a healthy level. A common medication to treat hypothyroidism is levothyroxine (Levoxyl, Synthroid), a synthetic form of thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism: A Frustrating Condition. Even if you are able to get your hypothyroidism under control through treatment, some people still have problems shedding those extra pounds and preventing more weight from creeping on. Angie, a Graves' disease patient in Frankfort, Ky, was diagnosed with a hyperthyroid condition a few years ago. Hyperthyroidism is caused by an overactive thyroid gland. After receiving treatment, she developed hypothyroidism and has struggled with maintaining a healthy weight ever since. This is despite having a dedicated exercise program and watching what I eat. It is frustrating, but weight can be controlled through a consistent exercise program and watching what I eat. What works for me is to be consistent with my exercise. She hits the gym at least four to five days a week for 6. Angie also watches her calorie and carbohydrate intake, eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, and drinks lots of water to help maintain a healthy weight. Wolf stresses that people with hypothyroidism should never use the condition as an excuse to let the pounds add up — it is admittedly more difficult to manage your weight with hypothyroidism, but it can be done. If you need to lose weight, Wolf suggests making small changes in your diet to cut calories. Try having fruit instead of an unhealthy snack, or swap your high- calorie desert for a lower- calorie option. Results take time, but if you stick with it and don't get discouraged, you'll eventually see them. Satisfied with her current health and body weight, Angie admits that though it's still a challenge to stay in control of her weight.
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