which drug(s) do you prefer to treat hypothyroidism?

I would like to know which drug(s) you successfully tried to treat hypothyroidism, and which one(s) you settled on in the end. Thanks

[humanbean]

I've tried levothyroxine, followed by NDT, followed by T3, followed by NDT again, followed by T3 (which I'm currently on).

I really, really want to be able to take NDT because I would feel safer with some T4 in my body. Although my tolerance of T4 is much better now than it was when I first went on levo, I still feel a bit poisoned by it.

[HarryE]

NDT works for me, but i had to DIY as doctors wouldn't treat me. I tried Levo for 3 weeks & felt awful, so staying with NDT.

[RedApple Administrator]

Personally, I really dislike using the word 'drug/s' when it comes to things used to treat hypothyroidism. I much prefer to refer to them as hormone replacements, because that's what they are! We happily use the term 'HRT' for sex hormone medicines, so why not for thyroid hormones? 'Drugs' somehow seems so much more sinister

To answer your question though, like many here I have tried most of the available options. I've settled on desiccated thyroid. Not perfect, but definitely better than the other options for me.

[greygoose in reply to RedApple]

I totally agree with you, RedApple. They are not 'drugs', they are hormones. But I keep getting shouted at when I say that.

A drug is something added to your body that is not normally there, and makes some sort of a change in it.

A hormone is something that should be in your body but we can no-longer make (for whatever reason). It doesn't change anything, it returns the body to it's normal state (hopefully).

[RedApple Administrator in reply to greygoose]

We're on the same page GG

[greygoose in reply to RedApple]

[Hidden]

I'm stuck on Levothyroxine until very low cortisol is more corrected. I also have exceptionally high iron levels so don't know if I'll ever get to fit the criteria to trial NDT or T3.

[Hidden]

OK, thanks to you all! Of all the NDT drugs you've tried, which one do you prefer?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

I don't understand why the preferences of other people are of significance to you. I am pretty sure we have seen preferences for each and every one of the available desiccated thyroid products.

What you will get by asking the question is a list based on a self-selecting sample of people who happen to a) have read your post; and b) want to respond. You are not going to get one product streets ahead of the rest, nor, I suspect, one that is so bad no-one would want to take it.

Do you prefer a Volkswagen, a Seat, a Skoda or an Audi? All made from pretty much the same components in slightly different configurations. Each has its adherents for all sorts of reasons.

The only thing that should matter to you is which of the desiccated thyroid medicines works best for you. And you cannot find that out from anyone else but yourself.

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

You are right, of course

[marram]

I may be splitting hairs, but these are not actually drugs, they are hormones - some bio-identical, some synthetic.

[julie11]

like some have already said, what works seems to be totally individual--sometimes even different brands of the same hormone can work differently for a single person! that said, i found synthetic T4 (taken on its own) to be terrible, synthetic T3 taken on its own to be a total roller coaster ride and a very hard drug to be on, a combination of NDT and T3 also very hard to be on, and NDT the easiest and nicest, though i'm still optimizing.

[5858]

Did levo generic didn't seem to work switched to Sythroid and I seem to be doing fine.