Armour to T3?

[sporty333]

Hi All...

Just wondered if anyone has gone from NDT to T3 or Levo to T3 and made the transition smoothly? Whats the best way to go about this task?

Si

[nobodysdriving]

OK,

the way dr skinner got me to do it was this (I was on 3.5 grains of NDT and 20mcg T3 at that time):

stop all NDT and take 'only' the amount of T3 equivalent to what I had in the NDT, the NDT I took was Nature-Throid which has 9mcg T3 per grain, so I was already taking 31.5mcg of T3 daily from my NDT (plus the 20mcg T3 but if you are not taking any T3 at all then you would not count this).

So I stopped all NDT one day and took 50mcg T3

After 2 weeks he told me to increase by 20mcg but I 'cheated' and I upped 10mcg after one week and 10mcg the week after.

After 5 days of stopping the NDT I started feeling hypo so I figured I could up by 10mcg at week one and another 10 at week 2.

somewhere around week 8 of being on T3 I started getting EXTREMELY severe dry skin on the palm of my hands which no amount of moisturising cream helped, that lasted a couple of weeks, I think it was the rT3 leaving my body

the T3 gave me headaches in the first couple of weeks but these subsided eventually.

have fun!

PS I carried on increasing after 70mcg roughly by 10mcg every week up to 125mcg, I am now on 160mcg as you may remember.

[sporty333 in reply to nobodysdriving]

It seems I am going to attemp this procedure the same way as you :0)

I had a horrible afternoon yesterday with headache and fatigue etc. I never know if that's too much or too little meds! That's the confusing bit for me.

S

[nobodysdriving in reply to sporty333]

well, usually if I had any problems like that I would 'stick it out' for at least a week then increase again, if it got worse I was over-treated, if it got better I was under treated. Sticking to it for a week won't do harm unless you have 'serious' side effects (ie heart rate of 180 which constantly stays that fast LOOOOL)

[sporty333 in reply to nobodysdriving]

No my pulse is still around 60. Temp still low.

One more question.... I'm going on holiday in just over three weeks time. I want to give myself the best chance of feeling half ok for that! Three weeks in was you at a more stable level?

[nobodysdriving in reply to sporty333]

yes, my first 2 weeks were the worst, however the 'old saying goes'.....of 'we are all different'

[sporty333 in reply to nobodysdriving]

Yeah ok, fair enough we are but I'm sure there's some sort of pattern to things. I felt ok again this morning then got more tired from late morning. Headache started to come on but never really did. 30mg was taken today. Temps around 36.2. I don't think I'm on enough but stick with this dose at least 5 days hey?

[sporty333]

....yes Dr Myhill did mention someone who is on this high dose you're on! lol

Dr Myhill has suggested i go striaght onto 60mg a day....like for like for my 3 1/2 grains of Armour. She's said half of that dose in the mornings, then 1/4 midday and 1/4 at night. No mention of your proceedure.

what do you think....a safe idea or more slowly like you was suggested?

i think when i tried T3 last time it was the only time i experienced irregular heart and pounding....mind you that could be cause i was starting off on these meds...

Si

[nobodysdriving in reply to sporty333]

well, if she's told you how to take it then follow 'her' advice, she's your doctor

[Jackie]

Hi If you can take it, then I would go onto T4 ( levo) and T3, this is a near replacement for NDT and of course, doctors prescribe it without difficulty.T3 may effect the heart if the wrong dose.Same can be said for T3 content of NDT so important to get the dose right slowly ,with tests before each increase.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[sporty333 in reply to Jackie]

Well I'm been told to take 60mg a day to start off with so..... I hope this isn't too much!

[Jackie in reply to sporty333]

Hi Sporty, At least make sure you have a Free T3 test, before hand and after 6 weeks, to check the levels are OK.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[sporty333 in reply to Jackie]

Too late I started this morning! Lol dr Myhill never suggested any tests , just to try it and see. What's the worst that can happen?

Si

[Jackie in reply to sporty333]

Hi Si, Better late than never.You could have it in about a week ,it may go up a bit after that but will give you some idea. I was overdosed once, very ill, by a private doc, on armour but it was the T3 content that caused the trouble. Endo and I are always careful not to let it go over range.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[sporty333 in reply to Jackie]

Sorry that didn't make sense to me Jackie. What's better late than never?

[Jackie in reply to sporty333]

Hi Si, Blame my Dyslexia. Better to have the FT3 test now, although already started on T3 than not.

Jackie

[sporty333 in reply to Jackie]

I'm not paying for yet another test Jac! Enough already!

[Jackie in reply to sporty333]

Yes, It is a pain, so much for the NHS!I remember you said that your GP was good.Now you are wiser, can he not look after you? Especially if you are going back to T3 and hopefully T4 too.You must know a lot more now, than when you started this lottery!If you had the drugs NHS , then you could pay for the occasional blood test, if the GP will not do FT3. Just a thought.. as safety is so important.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[sporty333 in reply to Jackie]

The NHS doesn't do the T3 test. My GP does what I ask but what more can he do. That's why I go private and pay a fortune! A lot of these doctors say o on how you feel rather than tests.....

[Jackie in reply to sporty333]

Hi Si, Yes I now have the problem here with FT3, why I pay, but annoying as I had it at GP`s for years. If you see an Endo, privately, then they ,if asked , will ask the GP to do all tests NHS,except here not T3, but all the other relevant ones too. They always write to GP to prescribe as that is a question of safety, GP meant to coordinate all drugs.It does work out a lot cheaper,, and I prefer it for safety any way.Not a Prof, they are allowed to charge far more! I pay £90 a consultation, but more the first one, as most Endo`s charge.A normal routine consultation they are allowed to charge up to £150, but not many do.A good Endo goes by how you feel and bloods. The problem is sometimes, symptoms for hypo can be the same as Hyper, so in that case impossible to tell without the bloods, that is what happened to me , when seeing a private doctor, although good.

I hope that gives you some ideas. Not easy I know.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[Heloise]

"Or, if you are exchanging a daytime dose from NDT to T3, drop the NDT one grain in half, wait approx. a week or less for some of the conversion of T4 to T3 to start dropping, then replace the half grain with approx. 10 mcg T3, then add more as needed every few days until you get up to approx. 25 mg T3 as a replacement for the one grain NDT that is dropped. It’s all very individual and you have to monitor yourself by your symptoms. Keep in touch with your doctor."

stopthethyroidmadness.com/t...

This is the reverse but touches on your question.

[sporty333 in reply to Heloise]

Oh the confusion of it all!! Lol

[Heloise in reply to sporty333]

LOL, too much Math I guess.

[sporty333 in reply to Heloise]

There are so many different views on how to change over! Do you think I should carry on with the NDT and slowly switch over bit by bit?

[Heloise in reply to sporty333]

I'm doing the same thing myself. I like the T3 very much and I only seem to react when I take Armour with the T4 in it. I only need 25 mcg of T3 to replicate my 1 grain of Armour and I am up to 15 mcg and 1/2 grain of Armour ONLY because I don't have enough T3 until my order comes in. Forest Pharm. is checking my last batch of Armour because I didn't think it was potent. Then I got my hands on some T3 so decided to see if it might be a better idea. Of course, in the meantime I received fresh Armour from the company and feel forced to take some of it since they did that.

I've had no reaction or headaches or palpitations with T3 and it keeps me going. I can tell when I'm running low however so I'd really like to skip Armour entirely .

I was on Synthroid for six years and Armour for ten years. My reverse T3 was a little high and I couldn't raise my dose of Armour for feeling bad so decided to try T3 on my own.

I think you should go by how you feel. Do you get weird when you take your NDT? If not, perhaps the T4 isn't a problem for you. Some people just need a little T3 on the side. I think MY conversion may be poor at a certain level and T3 is what runs your metabolism so I see no reason to limit myself.

[sporty333 in reply to Heloise]

Well I e always felt weird so it's hard for me to say! I really couldn't tell you what's worked for me! I just try these things. All I can say is after a year and a half I am still not well so docs suggested some T3 to see if that helps....