+ 29 Thyroid Medications
Recently I'm noticing more and more cycles including T3 / T4 as a routine part of a cutting cycle. It's not my intention to lecture or tell anyone not to make their own decisions, but what I would like to do is share with you all some personal experience I have in that area. Some of you may have heard my story before, but I'd like to give you a little more information.
In my teens and twenties, my life revolved around martial arts. I started at the age of 5, and at the age of 20 I represented my country and was honoured to do so. At the time when I was at university, it was a delicate balancing act between study and a heavy training regime. I never complained about the work, I loved the sport. What I didn't enjoy was making weight categories through extensive diet and cardio.
I was coached by what I can only refer to as a fitness fanatic. The sort of guy that doesn't stand still, walks around at 6-7% BF who never ate any crap whatsoever. I, however, always liked my food and probably averaged 12-14%BF at this point in time. I competed at a number of different weights in my career, but my main level was the 95KG class (210lbs approx.). I typically weighed in at 220-230lbs outside of competition, and I'll be honest, I HATED dropping weight. Cardio was never my love, and dropping 10-20lbs before a competition used to have a huge negative impact on me. It was, however, the weight I was best suited to compete at, results proved that fact.
So, I looked into "chemical assistance". At the time I was doing my final year of a biochemistry degree and had spent a year out in industry on placement year and had learnt a lot about endocrine medications as a result of the environment I worked in. I made the decision to cut a few corners and run levothyroxine (T4). It was cheap, effective and didn't seem too risky at the time. This was just before my 22nd birthday.
Worked beautifully! I didn't need 8 weeks of suffering before a competition, I now needed 4 just by running low doses of T4, (around 50mcg typically), and I could pretty much eat as I always did, clean but not obsessively clean. This continued to be the way I handled the situation until I was 28. No big doses, no long runs, nothing stupid. I continued my career into research science, so I knew what I was doing with drug application, or so I thought.
At 28, I won a prestigious competition, the highlight of my martial arts career. Unfortunately it was also my last competition of any significance. As I'd got older, I'd gained more muscle, I was naturally bigger and still battling for 95kg's, which was by now probably a weight category I had no right to hit. In order to get there, I was having to come in really lean, I'm talking 6% ish. Not ideal for the sport, and not ideal for your health. After the tournament, several weeks after stopping T4, I was continuing to lose weight. I increased what I ate, I dropped my cardio back significantly, weight continued to drop. 3 months after this tournament, I was 8KG's under my competitive weight and had lost a lot of muscle. My hands were shakey, I had a constant mild headache, shortness of breath and for the first time in my life my mood was very unpredictable. I went to the doc for the first time in about 7 years.
He took blood and noticed my resting heart rate was 105BPM. 3 months ago I was a fit international standard athlete, how could that be? It was because my thyroid was overactive. The typical range of "nomal" T4 is viewed as 11-22 here in the UK. Mine sat at 143. I was put onto a drug called carbimazole and referred to an Endo. We discussed the situation, and I openly and honestly explained my thyroxine use. I was lucky enough to be treated by a well known endo, who informed me I was not the only athlete he had seen in this situation. Things went downhill quite rapidly now, my weight continued to drop, I looked like a heroin addict to be quite honest. I struggled at work,. I'm sure people thought I was taking drugs. Eventually the carbimazole got me back to a eurythroid state, but I still felt like utter crap. I had developed a heart murmur, which wouldn't go back to normal which eventually resulted in having my heart stopped and restarted (not something I recommend, especially when you've got a 3 month old child). Eventually I had a total thyroidectomy at the age of 30 and I now take T4 for the rest of my life.
I'm ok now, but there's a few things that don't go away and I never feel particularly great. I still overheat really easily, (I walk around in a T shirt in winter), and I have the inconvenience of blood tests and daily medication. Whenever anything goes wrong with my health, the doctors response is immediately endocrinology related as a result. It still has a big impact on my life.
A long read, for which I apologise, but if it makes one person avoid what I had, it was worthwhile. Cardio and diet might seem like too much hard work, but I promise you do not want thyrotoxicosis.
- Bookmark
- 29
- 0
Bump for all the people talking about t3/4 lately.
Great read Cat. Hate you had to go through all of that but appreciate you sharing your story. Hopefully someone will read this and it open up their eye's for the good. I struggle with tiredness, weakness, crazy mood swings and my weight is up and down like you mentioned above its crazy the similarities. I've never touched any thyroid meds and it make me think I should go and get checked out just to be on the safe side. I can only imagine your struggle and feel for you bro. Best wishes with all of this bro.
RustyhookerBump.... spring goofies
For real. Having seen first hand how difficult the thyroid can be with the wife, it’s somewhat amusing how the groundhog kids play with theirs all willy-nilly
RustyhookerAnother source freebie special. Folks all excited for it. The source knows they hooked a sucker for life. Smh....lol
That shit is no joke. The wife struggles with hashimotos every day, and having a shot thyroid affects everything else in her system. Even when on paper she’s in line value wise, she still feels like something is wrong.
The kids messing with this shit to shortcut straight to the beach bod are in for a rude awakening down the road. It’s almost as if salads and low carb meals don’t exist anymore the way they act.
RustyhookerSeriously! Because treadmill 2x a day is just boring. Or playing outdoor sport where running is involved.
Friends got stuck on thyroid because their party drug of choice shut them down. He yawned and complained of being tired non stop. No energy. And he was like 30 years old.
Yup. Nothing like trading in your thyroid to be beach ready in your 20s and then all the dieting and cardio in the world will barely move the needle a few years later.
Baldur2630My mother had hypothyroid many years ago. They were then experimenting with radioactive iodine. They gave her a dose and her eyes bulged out and she had to go for surgery to relieve the pressure on her eyes. The end result was that she was blind for almost a year and after that she only had partial vision.
Her thyroid was DEAD, doctors then called it a wooden thyroid and she had to take her thyroid extract pills every day. She refused to take them, because she imagined that she would go hypo again. We had to grind them up and put them in her food.
I had to go away for a couple of weeks and when I got back she was in hospital, comatose, but they had no medical records back then. When I told her doctor that she was on thyroid pills and didn't take them when she was on her own, they pumped her full of thyroid extract and in a few days she was fine.
Not long after, she started with Alzheimer's and we had to put her into a care home. She bragged to my sister that she would take the pills and keep them in her mouth until the nurse had gon and then spit them out and hide them until she could flush them down the toilet.
We told the head nurses and they then forced her to swallow them, but sometime later, I got a call that she had gone into a coma and died. I always suspected that once again she was refusing the thyroid medication, but impossible to prove and in any case in was her own responsibility.
Thank you for sharing!
That was by far the best write up I have read in a good many months, thank you very much fit opening up and sharing your personal experience Catalyst.
This hit home for me as well because my mother is prescribed T4 but she just can't get it through her head to take it every day which drives me crazy. Every time I go to her house I find a few half used bottles of the stuff which let's me know that she isn't taking it every day and I get on to her but she doesn't seem to understand the fire she is playing with.
I am going to copy and paste the content into a Microsoft Word document and give it to her and tell her that I found it on an endo website. She would be waaaaaay too distracted wanting to know wtf I was doing on a steroid review site to pay attention to the article if she knew it's true origin.
Thanks again man, this really might be what it takes to get a naive old lady to open her eyes and take this seriously
Sadly one of the side effects of hypothyroidism can be the mind partially shutting down. The phrase " the lights are on but nobody's home " would apply.
Nah, the lady is just forgetful and has been ever since I was a little kid. She still works full time and has her mental dexterity, she just couldn't remember to grab her ass before she left in the morning if it wasn't stuck to her. Thanks for the knowledge though, I was unaware
I'm sure you've already tried, but it's important she realises it needs to be taken every day, without exception or she'll be on a roller coaster ride up and down which can cause medical and psychological issues.
I have banged they drum until it broke brother. I even bought her one of those daily pill organizers and told her to put one in there fit each day and leave it next to her toothbrush to remind her to take it every day. But that was all to no avail
I remember when you first told me this story.
While I have always felt that any drug has huge risk, I see that t4 can be especially harmful as I have studied about it.
I have used t3 a few times.
I always keep doses under control, and using along side test I still gained muscle and lost fat.
I always had my thyroid Checked and bloods done.
While. I feel that my usage has been on the safer side, I totally agree with you sir! And I hope that Anyone doing any drug understand the risks and potentially life changing results.
Thanks for you input in this community, and thanks again for this story
My favorite are some of the women around here who run clen , t3, eca stacks and yadda yadda. When if they really put together a decent training routine instead of thinking weights make them look like iris kyle , and had a real diet instead of eating like a fucking bird or cheating soo much, they do all the wrong cardio also . Fucking sad to watch people depend soo much on drugs instead of putting the work in.
I wish i read this a few months ago i just broke my hand need surgery friday j was getting my vitals in preop room pulse blood pressure way high been since off t3 neither one has dropped surgeon refused to do the operation went to see my doc today for blood work he thinks its my thyroid that shit may have just turned me to a natty lifter for the rest of my life not to mention all the medical issues it looks like im facing great post catalyst to all the fellas everything you pay for in one way or another but nothing beats hard work discipline and determination
What were you running and for how long were you running it?
I sent friend request accept it then ill give you the run down nothing too crazy
I sent you a fr
But. Why not. Just post it here?
Great post just seeig this for the first time now. I'm coming off some t3 usage. Thanks cat
Great post Catalyst! This should be a sticky!
Obviously not for me to decide that, will be down to our mod team if they see fit.
Thanks for bumping this, Catalyst, it was buried too deeply. Great read! I was considering giving T3 or T4 a try and maybe recommending it to my wife to help as we are past the age where everything is easy...was. Ive always said there are no magic pills...
Shouldnt this be a sticky in the weight loss section?? +1
what do you say about natural plant products like, Olive leaf extrat, it says it raises thyroid hormones,
i use it for its health benefits
Pretty minimal effect (if any) on thyroid function from what I know. In my case I don't try anything anymore as I'm balanced on T4 dose on prescription.
Wish I read this before I started my short cut about 6 weeks ago...
Coming off in 2 weeks
The other thing that scared me about T3/T4 is that it is not tissue selective. It can eat away your muscle just like the fat. I work too hard to gain every ounce of muscle. I'm not going to take anything that is going burn up that precious muscle.
The stuff is ssooo catabolic. I used it last summer and lost a fucking ton of muscle. And like you said its not muscle sparing or tissue selective. ITs not really a fat burner per say, it doesnt target fat. It raises your metabolic rate so if you keep the same diet and add it all of a sudden your bmr is higher and you burn more calories. Clen scares me, t3 destroys my muscle, dnp i have no interest in. The only fat burner ive found thats muscle sparing is diet. I tried ECA last summer and hated it, I'm really sensitive to stimulants. t3 in low doses is a good way to keep calories higher during a cut while still being in a good deficit tho.
I've been using t3 for about 5 weeks now, low dose 25mcg a day now at 50mcg
I've lost size deffo but I look more quality muscle now as opposed to water/bloated size...
Waist is tighter muscles look bigger cause now u can see the shape developed...
To be honest I'm kind of dreadin coming off not because of the weight loss cause the possible thyroid issues...
But I plan on stayin on 2 more weeks tapering down then stay on cycle a week or two after then pct
Fingers crossed lol
It absolutely does destroy muscle tissue and it can do it at an alarming rate too. I have pictures of when my daughter was born where I'm so slim you'd barely believe it was me. About 6 months ago we were looking through them and she actually asked who that was......
Thanks for sharing this, unfortunately I think I'm finding myself in the same boat. Use to have a terrible time losing weight but after running t3 a few times now I have a hard time maintaining weight even on a mass cycle and eating dirty. Heart rate avg last month was 146, seem like I was always tired, didn't put two and two together till I read your post.
Get it checked mate. Hopefully not the case for you. Fingers crossed.
thanks for the post brotha. I have Hashimotos disease and it just kicked in about 2 years ago. No one can tell me why (id assume from trying things like Tren and DNP while young)... but I know what a fucking pain it is to have to give blood every 4 weeks then taking a pill every morning forever. Not to mention the constant adjustments they make to keep you in line with where you should be. its a nightmare... if I could redo anything to get back out of this... I would. I always tell my friends not to mess wiht it
unless I am mistaken Hashimotos is a genetic thing .. I have had low thyroid for about ten years. I take 180mcg just to feel normal which freaks out my heart doctor .. but it works for me .. I can tell you what a nightmare is when your thyroid is out of whack and you don't have meds or insurance to get it.
Yes Grrrrrrl, I've spent the last few years living that nightmare, now on thyroid meds myself.
FR sent. I'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind.
Bumping this post. Had a few pm's about thyroid manipulation recently so seems appropriate.
Good read I was looking into T4 thinking running some. Not anymore nothing beats good old fashion cardio.
Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing. This will help people stay away from these meds.
Good read brother, I am sorry you had to find all this out for us, but I will take it to heart, literally and figuratively. Thanks
I talked to a ypunger guy on another board ans someone had him set up to run a cycle including test e,npp,anavat and either t3 or t4. This was suppposed to be his first cycle at 24, at first i thought wow what a moron. I thought better of it though cause i may have done the same if it weren't for posts like this. my 3rd cycle included sust,dbol and a blend of all three trens before i found this place and i paid for it. its real good to have these posts cause now thyroid meds are on my no go list forever, i can relay that feeeling to anyone who listens also. you made this post and it says 900 views but it may change a lot more peoples opinions than just the people who viewed it first hand, i warn anyone at my gym against thyroid meds if they are thinking on them, hopefully a lot of others do the same.
I wonder if you were already genetically predisposed to this condition to begin with, and if it would have happened anyway regardless of your moderate use of thyroid meds.
That's an interesting point and one we'll never know the answer to. No prior family history mind you.
AnonAppreiciate the info. I am a huge fan of T3 as I cannot comment on T4 because I have never run it. Thanks for sharing your story. I will never run clen again due to some of the effects its has on your heart and cardiovascular system as a whole. I often see individuals run clen who could get the desired results with fasted cardio, low to zero carbs and high fat content in their diet.
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.Permalinkt4 converts into t3... be a huge fan all you want.. end game results can be the same as above.
AnonI am aware of the possible side effects with everything I ingest. Thanks for the input
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.Permalinkthat's the key budda .. ;-) you are welcome
AnonLike others have said, diet and cardio does wonders. Which negates t3 and clen use.