cytomel

[kristinm13]

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (my T3 levels are very low, but my T4 is normal low and so is my TSH I think). I am also anemic. I have two different doctors and one wants to start me off on 5mcg of cytomel and another wants to hold off. I've read some threads on here about cytomel and weight loss (sounds like it might help b/c I eat 1,000 cals/day which I know sux but if I eat more than that I gain like crazy and I have no appetite). Is this a safe supplement? What are the side effects? Could it screw up my metabolism in the long run?

[Quimby]

Cytomel is no supplement but a drug!
If you are really deficiant you in fact absolutely NEED to take it, but somehow I have my doubts in that regard. Maybe because your question reads like it does...
Should you actually consider abusing T3 I only can encourage you not to do it.

[aer_vlad]

First (and as stated by the previous poster), Cytomel is not a supplement, but a prescription drug (synthetic form of T3).

You say you've been "diagnosed" with hypothyroidism. Do you experience any side effects from such a condition? Did you actually ask your doctor about it or was this discovered from random blood tests?

Also, do you train excessively (cardio and/or weights)? Are you dieting? How much do you sleep per night?

[kristinm13]

I in no way intend on abusing this drug. I do exhibit all the symptoms of hypothyroidism and the doctors have been running labs on me to test for this for quite some time we have been holding off on treatment because I was extremely anemic (and apparently anemia can exacerbate hypothyroidism and vice versa) so we decided to try to treat the anemia first. It is getting much better but the thyroid hormones are still low. I am fairly certain that I do have this condition because I have seen the lab values and my free T3 and T3 total are very low (the big L on the lab slip is there and the values are well below the normal range). However, my TSH and T4 are at the very low end of normal.
I guess that I did not phrase my question correctly... I have two doctors and one wants to treat this now with a low dose of cytomel and the other wants to keep holding off until the anemia gets better. I was doing research on the side effects of cytomel and was came across some posts on this site of people using it for fat loss. I was more or less asking what the side effects/consequences of using cytomel were, and what people's experience was with this drug. (I do know that there are many individual differences involved, especially since I am not intending on using this for fat loss... although that would be a perk).
Right now my calories are too low and I do full body resistance training for everything but abs three days a week and plyos and abs two days a week. I also jog on average 5 days/wk. I am not seeing the gains in muscle or a drop in weight (I am guessing it is due a combination of inadequate calories and my thyroid issues, which is where the cytomel may be helpful b/c if it would increase my appetite I could eat more and then hopefully it will stimulate the metabolism enough so that I won't gain weight on 1,200 cal.).

[hide5000]

I know it's late on this post but go with the doctor who says take Cytomel. It is a mirror copy of the active metabolic hormone. T4 or Synthroid is a pro-hormone and is hard to convert to T3. I take T3 and love it. You can take it for a while and stop and still have lingering benefitial effects because you have increased you T3 receptors and that is a good thing. Listen to bodybuilders, they are off and on it for years.

=kristinm13;581015761]I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (my T3 levels are very low, but my T4 is normal low and so is my TSH I think). I am also anemic. I have two different doctors and one wants to start me off on 5mcg of cytomel and another wants to hold off. I've read some threads on here about cytomel and weight loss (sounds like it might help b/c I eat 1,000 cals/day which I know sux but if I eat more than that I gain like crazy and I have no appetite). Is this a safe supplement? What are the side effects? Could it screw up my metabolism in the long run?[/QUOTE]

[hide5000]

This is the only way I know how to post.

Anyway, How much have bodybuilders taken of T3?

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (my T3 levels are very low, but my T4 is normal low and so is my TSH I think). I am also anemic. I have two different doctors and one wants to start me off on 5mcg of cytomel and another wants to hold off. I've read some threads on here about cytomel and weight loss (sounds like it might help b/c I eat 1,000 cals/day which I know sux but if I eat more than that I gain like crazy and I have no appetite). Is this a safe supplement? What are the side effects? Could it screw up my metabolism in the long run?