Do You Need To Taper Cytomel?

Beasly33 asked

Do I have to scale up and down my Cytomel dosage for therapeutic reasons? Or do I just take my prescribed 25mcg a day? If no scaling up and down is necessary and I only take the 25mcg a day, do I have to break up the 25mcg dose a day?

Answer

There is no need to scale/taper up on your dose of Cytomel. You can begin taking the prescribed dose immediately at the full dosage. The good thing about Cytomel and all thyroid medications, in general, is that you are really just replacing a deficiency (being your thyroid hormone).

Ideally, you would not have many side effects, if any at all if you are taking the correct dose.

Side Effects

Speaking of side effects, the most common ones aren't usually caused by the medicine itself per se, but by the level of thyroid hormone in your body.^[1]

You probably know what the side effects of low thyroid are due to the fact you are taking medication for it. We always like to remind what people should look for symptom-wise that would indicate if they are experiencing either hypothyroidism (too low) or hyperthyroidism (too high). These symptoms may indicate that the dose if their medication is either too high or too low.

Hypothyroidism generally has people feeling "blah" so to say. They feel cold and tired and tend to lack energy. They also may exhibit a decreased heart rate, have brittle nails, hair loss and also may experience constipation among other things.^[2]

Hyperthyroidism generally has the opposite effects. Sweating, increased heart rate, anxiety and losing weight are common.^[3]

Final Words

Typically, you do not need to split up your dose of Cytomel, and it is only indicated to be taking one daily by the FDA.^[4] It certainly has been done before, but it is not common.

The most common way to take it is first thing in the morning by itself, with a full glass of water. You want to separate it from other medicines and food for at least 30 minutes to ensure consistent absorption.