what is the difference between cytomel and synthroid

My doctor prescribed cytomel 25mcg and lowered my synthroid to 125mcg...the cytomel is the generic brand,not sure if this will make a difference.How do you take the cytomel?morning,afternoon,evening and do you take it with food?

I can take the Cytomel with breakfast and other meds later in the day, but wondered if taking the Cytomel at the exact same time as the Synthroid was somehow lowering the effectiveness/absorbtion of the Synthroid.

I have taken Cytomel but as KelDC did (4 weeks). My understanding is it is t-3 so the body does not have to convert it. Whereas synthroid (and others) is t-4 which your body converts to t-3. Difference being cytomel works faster but wears off faster. T-4 is "steadier" and longer lasting. But if it works for you it works for you....

I am strictly taking the cyomtel and was told to stop the Synthroid. Iam so cold and tired, I just want to feel normal, it is affecting my life!! 37 years old with two children and also was diagnosed with endometrosis (not sure If that makes any difference). Please help!!

I feel this will do the trick. Taking the cytomel will bump up my T3 and T4 levels and hopefully allow me to feel better with more energy? Thanks for all your advice. FTB4, if I were you, I would try Levoxyl. I didnt have all the horrible side effects I had on Synthroid. Thanks!

Now taking Synthroid plus Cytomel. At dose of 125 mcg Synthroid, 12.5 Cytomel my TSH was 1.6 I felt O.K. but kind of sluggish and I get muscle pain and some constipation. When I increased to 137.5 mcg Synthroid, 12.5 Cytomel, I feel much better,no muscle pain. Is that too much medication? My endocrinologist is surprised I feel different with such a small change. Says it's O.K. but we have to monitor because of heart risks. Am I taking chances? Please explain.

hello everyone. what exactly is cytomel? my background: on synthroid 125 with a tsh of 0.82. hair loss since first diagnosis in April of 07. I still don't feel like I am where I should be. NO WEIGHT LOSS whatsoever etc. Would cytomel help me feel better? Also, what is the thyroid Pub? Can I join? Thanks.

In the last year I went to the endo, who given how I was feeling gave me 1.12 of synthroid and the smallest dose of cytomel, and I am on seasonique. I had only been through one pack of the seasonique at this time with no bleeding/spotting. Once I started the cytomel, the spotting started again. The endo told me I should try a half dose of the cytomel. That made no difference. Now she told me to quit the cytomel and see if that helps. Now I am getting a light period.....

and RAI in Nov. During the time between the TT and RAI, I took only Cytomel and did fine on it. Currently I take 137 of Levothyroxine and 25 mcg of Cytomel. I was taking a half tablet in the morning and once in the early afternoon, but I couldn't manage to remember to take the afternoon dose in a timely fashion, and sometimes was kept up at night. I asked my doctor about just upping the Levo and dropping the cytomel, but he seems to think that it's best I'm on both.

ve never noticed a difference between the generic and cytomel; nor have I been able to tell a difference between manufacturers. blsdnsvd -- why was your dosage dropped from 100 mcg to 88 mcg, when your FT3 and FT4 were still so low in their ranges? Also, please check the range for the Dec FT4 - it doesn't look right. Total T3 is pretty much obsolete and doesn't tell diddly squat; that's why we ask for Free T3. T3 uptake is also pretty useless.

I would wean off the cytomel and start off slowly with the Naturals and your new dose of synthroid. JUST START slowly. And what seems to help me is breaking the dose in 2 morning and early afternoon You may feel you dont need the synthroid anymore once you are stable and your labs look good. keep me posted goodluck.

m on 150 mcg and my TSH is still at 13.8 and my T4 is at 1.8 and my T3 is at 2.1. They kept me on 150 mcg of the Synthroid and added Cytomel 5mcg (2x daily). I still feel extremely tired, dry skin and I have had a lot of hip pain/ restless legs but my endo keeps telling me it doesn't pertain to my thyroid. They haven't done any more tests on my multinodular goiter either since last October.

Is there a difference between the T4 in Synthroid and in Nature Throid/Armour? I was just switched to Synthroid and I'm feeling the difference. All the hypo symptoms are back with a vengence with in 4 days. Took Nature Throid dose to get thru the day. How long does it take for Synthroid T4 to start converting to T3? Is going from 130mg nature Throid to 137mcg of Synthroid normal? It is less T4 that I was getting on NT. Can anyone help me with this? I feel like I'm going crazy.

I left it at 75mcg Synthroid and had her add the Cytomel. My question is would it be advantagous to increase the synthroid first and stay at 5mcg Cytomel, than if that doesn't help move to increase the Cytomel? I sure appreciate everyones feedback, this forum has been a great source of information!

I have written on here previously this week and was wondering... For those of you who were on Synthroid or generic Synthroid, like myself, and it didn't do the trick for your symptoms, and your Free T3 was still bad - 2.4 on a scale of 2.6-4.4 is how mine was - and CYTOMEL or generic CYTOMEL was added TO you taking you STILL taking Synthroid or generic Synthroid, HOW LONG was it till you were "SYMPTOM FREE" or virtually "SYMPTOM FREE" ?

I took all 5 mcg in the morning with my Synthroid and within 5 days I was a mess. Heart pounding like crazy and shaky. Called the doc and he told me to take 1/2 of the Cytomel to see if it made a difference. I decided to take 1/4. Did that for a week and felt fine. Started 1/2 and two days later I'm a mess again. Not sure what I'm gonna do now. Hopefully you will have better luck than I have.

I have been on thie Synthroid for over 15years. I have been on the Cytomel for about 10 years. I feel like the Cytomel is a waste of money. I was thinking about gradually dropping it to see if I notice any changes. I feel that 5 mg is hardly enough to notice a difference. Does anyone have any idea how long it takes to stabilize or to notice the change. I have forgotten to take it on occasion and I don't notice a difference in energy.

The norm on optimal thyroid - cancer or not - is the FT3 is high on the reference the FT4 is mid/high. When the FT3 is at a proper level the TSH is always suppressed to have clear nonexsistant number unless there is a pitutiary issue involved.

What is the difference between cytomel and synthroid

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