NDT raise and temperature averages?

[julie11]

hi again, everyone. it's been 15 days since my last raise (to 2.75 grains NDT) and I am really looking forward to another raise (mostly to deal with continuing hair loss, exercise intolerance, and sleep issues). however, i was just told by someone that i need to monitor my temperature in order to see if i can/should raise. the person said: take your temp 3 hours after waking and then twice more; do this for 3 days; compare the days' average temps; if temps are stable but low, increase the dose by 1/4 grain; if temps aren't stable, wait longer to do the raise. i don't know the rationale behind this, though, and i'm wondering if anyone out there does, and if anyone has experience using this method to determine when to do an NDT raise. does anyone out there look at temps in this way and/or do people think this is a valid method? anyone know the thinking behind it?

thanks!

[Clutter]

Julie, the premise is that temperature rises when optimally dosed and may be used as a guide to dosing ie low temperature means you are undermedicated and high temperature may mean you are overmedicated. Some people find it helpful but if temperature has been low for years it doesn't always recover and may remain low.

If you feel you need to increase your dose go ahead but stick at 3 grains for 4-6 weeks and have a thyroid blood test to check levels before increasing further.

[julie11 in reply to Clutter]

thanks so much for the response, clutter. i'm aware of the temp raising issue (i suffered from a very low body temp my whole life, until i went on thyroid meds a few years ago; 37 degrees used to happen only when i had a fever!), but what i don't understand is the temp stability issue that was mentioned. i think it might have something to do with adrenals, with wide variations of temp on different days indicating that the adrenals might not be able to tolerate the next raise? do you happen to know anything about temp stability as opposed (or in addition) to temp highs/lows? my temps are basically all over the place at the moment, although they rarely get to (or above) normal since i dropped my t3 meds.

[Clutter in reply to julie11]

Julie, it's not something I've gone into deeply but I hope others will be able to explain.

If you feel you need to raise dose why not do it? If you feel overmedicated you can skip a dose and go back to the previous dose.

[julie11 in reply to Clutter]

thanks again. i'm with you--i am really hankering for this raise and if it goes badly, i can always back down again. the person who suggested the temping knows that i have a long history of adrenal/cortisol issues and difficulty with raises, so she is probably being cautious, but i also don't want to do anything stupid!

[Clutter in reply to julie11]

Julie, if you have difficulty raising try 1/8 grain rather than 1/4 grain and raise by 1/8 grain again a week or two later.