Suggest Dosage For Liothyronine

Posted on Sat, 7 Oct 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 7 Oct 2017 Answered on

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I take 5mcg of liothyronine daily. My wake time varies greatly from 8 am to 11 am. Should i still take it at 11 am? How long does med stay in your body?

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
About liothyronine;

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!

Liothyronine is an option for routine thyroid hormone replacement. It has a half-life of 24 hours. (although the stated biological half-life is 2.5 days).

This compares to a half-life of 7 days with levothyroxine. It takes 2 weeks to get off our body.

The starting dose of liothyronine start at 5 mcg daily ( It usually is taken as a single dose before breakfast every day) and increase by 5 mcg every two weeks.

However, it should be noted that liothyronine should be taken with levothyroxine when liothyronine is taken long-term to avoid potential heart rate and rhythm abnormalities (your treating physician will explain in details).

Hope the information will help.
Feel free to ask further.

Best wishes,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee