after a 6 year intimate relationship with my thyroid, in medical libraries and in doctors offices I think I feel prepared to share a little bit of theory.
I have read many BBers explain theories of dosage protocols. There are obvious thruths and common sense, but there are other speculations
that are considered as protocol.

In prescribing practices and self medicating practices, users should ramp up their dosage of T3 gradually. Some theorize every three days,
while pharmacological studies suggest anywhere from 1-2 weeks, but is always at the discression of tolerance of the user.
Most would agree that ramping up dosages is the prudent methodology
starting at the lowest dosage and moving upward.

Lowest dosages are of controversy, because I am not quite sure where the "lowest dosage" criteria comes from. Pharmacologically the minimum dosage is 5mcg with a maximum of 100 mcg daily. The standard beginning dosage being 25mcg. Additionally, blood levels for T-3 must remain stable in order to take proper effect.

Ramping up and down will cause a hormonal imbalance, not a prevention of downregulation of your thyroid gland. Conversely, tapering off is again a prudent practice, it wont prevent thyroid shutdown.
Many studies have proven that thyroid shutdown does not occur. Most
bodybuilders fear thyroid shutdown because T3 has also been used to treat hyperactive thyroid conditions. What is often overlooked, is that
the main component of hyperthyroid therpay is radioactive iodine, which its purpose is to reduce function of the thyroid gland.
the T3 is used as a messanger to the thyroid, that it does not need to produce more thyroid hormone because sufficient levels are present. In euthyroid people, this negative feedback is not the case.

Thyroid hormone protocols have been based on models of experience, and research, and existing models of AAS use. In early days of AAS a proper
end to a cycle was "tapering off" so that your HPTA could slowly recover. Over time, the PCT theory began to be practiced where we would use
anti-estrogens to combat estrogenic rebounds and help recover HPTAs.
I have noticed both these theories applied to T3 protocols. the tapering
off is active in the "pyramid theory" and the PCT is active in TJ's theory of using ECA post T3 cycle to help keep your metabolism running
and so it doesnt crash.
Both those theories work in theory, but in practice are debatable. An ECA
stack would not ammeliorate the effects of metabolic shift- although it would keep your metabolism running, the minute you stop taking
an ECA your metabolism will crash. Our metabolisms will become dependent on ECA's.

Ephedrine works in similar ways to amphetamines, and posses similar qualities, and have similar potential for abuse. I would suggest if you use
ephedra/clenbuterol with a T3 cycle, stop the clen/ephedra first and then the T3. A clen/ephedrine cycle although works synegistically with T3, should be run as a seperate protocol during the same time period [ie: run a clen protocol as if you would run it alone, modify the dosage if needed, while simultaneously running a T3 protocol].

As for T3 we cannot assume that it works in similar ways to testosterone, estrogen, thyroid, hgh/IGF response axii relationships to the body all work differently. For example test has a negative feedback cycle. Estrogen does not, yet estrogen is a derivative of test. Thyroid has a mediated hormone feedback cycle; Only if there is a bodily deficiency will the body make more T4, which the liver converts to T3. A proof of overstimulation of
thyroid/mediated feedback cycles is the presence of hyperactive thyroid patients.

As with any cycle, care should be given when comming off a cycle, because your body will need time to adjust. Furthermore, there is no
thyroid-shutodown, but there is a slightly downregulated thyroid output, which will quickly change once T3 supplementation is stopped.

Cycles have been theorized in variousl lengths from a clinical 2 weeks [for those suffereing of myxedemic coma] to 24 weeks [clinical trials].

On a peripheral note, T3 usage is not dependent on bodyweight or gender, but rather on blood levels, therefore women can receive the same dosages as men. I as a female have been prescribed a standing dose of 25mcgs and have had a couple of male friends who were prescribed the same amount. In terms of deficiency, blood labs do not have gender, therefore blood level values are the same for men and women.
Tolerance is an individual variable, not necessarily determined by gender. The only gender differentiation observed in clinical studies is that women are more prone to developing a hypothyroid condition than men.
This factor is not influenced by T3 usage, but rather environmental actors.
Most bodybuilding protocols suggest a period of six weeks. with anywhere between 2-12 weeks for time off. Time off should not be utilized the
same way "time off" is for steroids, because althought it is used to maximize the results and minimize the side-effects, there is no valid
correspondence in T3 protocol.
A T3 Protocol should stay with consistent blood levels, such that if a user takes T3 they should do so for as long period of a time as needed, and then break for a substantial period of time, because there are other hormones that are regulated by the thyroid hormone, and those must stabilize and run stable blood levels for a consistent period of time. Consistency is more important than stable when using thyroid hormones.

I didnt list a protocol, because I am not trying to pitch one, on the contrary I am just critiquing/trying to provide input to existing theories and practices. I think a protocol is on an individual basis, but these are points that I am suggesting people to consider......


One thing I forgot to mention about coupling Clen and T3 [and maybe why some people get the Clen breathlessness...]
when coupling a thyroid hormone [t4 or t3] with a stimulant [clen, ephedra, dexedrine] it causes an increase of possibility to have tachycardia, because both are taxing on the heart. clen is a smooth muscle relaxer/dilator, allowing more air into the lungs. sometimes when coupled with an increased heart rate or, it can cause these "spasms of breathlessness", because essentially what causes them is the body is not getting enough oxygen [things are moving too fast- think when you do cardio and you run out of breath- your heart is pumping blood faster than the lungs can replenish the oxygen which is a compound effect of the clen which is a stimulant and t3 which also is a stimulant]. Smooth muscle relaxers do not necessarily increase the volume or efficiency of the aveoli [where the oxygen exchange happens]. <-- that is also how my dr. explained to me why i was having chest spasms on stimulants and thyroid meds when i was out jogging.
I think a wise thing would be to stablize or plateau your t3 levels in the duration for the time you are on clen, so your body isnt adjusting to the t3 as well as the clen. and i think it could make your body synergize clen with t3 more efficiently.

one more thing: i have been finding a growing body of evidence, that shows supplementing with iodine helps with maintaining a healthy thyroid, therefore it would be a good idea to supplement iodine while on T3, as well as increasing your iodine intake as you begin to ween yourself off of T3. I would suggest not to use iodized salt..