Thyroid-s

[Christielle]

Hello everyone. I am currently on 100 mcg Levo and 20 mcg T3. My question is, what dosage did everyone start with when they received their Thyroid-S. I realise it will be different for each person. But I'm just wanting to be safe that's all. They come in 60 mg tabs. Should I start with 1 a day. 1/2 in morning and the other 6 hrs later? Thank you

[Hidden]

I think that is a good start.

When i started, i sort of phased out levo and phased in ndt, so i reduced the levo and added ndt. In retrospect, it would have been better to just make a clean break.

It took me about 4 months to settle on a dose and there were times i felt worse- but when your health has been mismanaged by the nhs, it can take years to recover and in some cases i don't believe we can undo all the damage inflicted by negligent NHS gps

[Christielle in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so very much for your reply. I was thinking that a clean break from the Levo would be best but wasn't sure? Still not. But I should break from the T3 though. Is that correct? Seeing as how there is T3 in the Thyroid-S? Thank you x

[Hidden in reply to Christielle]

Yes i would, you can always add it again later if needed. I do recommend getting your own private blood test as you need something to refer back to

BTW, congratulations on taking control of your health - you will not look back, it is very empowering

[Christielle]

Thank you so much. This hasn't been a smooth journey at all, as you most certainly know. I know I have much work to do still but I am determined to succeed. Congrats on your own triumph. May we both continue in our healthy success

[Clutter]

Christielle, as you are already taking T4+T3 you can switch straight over to 1.75 grains of Thyroid-S.

[Clutter]

Christielle, as you are already taking T4+T3 you can switch straight over to 1.75 grains of Thyroid-S.

[Christielle in reply to Clutter]

Thank you Clutter! Sorry for my ignorance but is 1 grain 60 mg? On the bag I ordered from "the River" with an A, it states each pill is 60 mg, not mcg. thank you!

[Clutter in reply to Christielle]

Christielle, 1 grain is 60mg and contains 38mcg T4 and 9mcg T3.

Please don't event hint at the source on the forum, thank you.

[Christielle in reply to Clutter]

Oh I'm so sorry. I saw it on another forum answer here and thought that was the way to do it? I seem to always get it wrong. :/ Thank you for the very informative info.

[Clutter in reply to Christielle]

Christielle, It shouldn't have been left on the post you saw I haven't seen you do anything else wrong

[Christielle in reply to Clutter]

Again, sorry. It was a post littered with it. Honestly. I just read through about a week ago but the post was two years old I believe. It won't happen again. could you remove from comment?

[Clutter in reply to Christielle]

Christielle, the guideline may have been introduced more recently. I've deleted the reference from your post. Stop worrying about it now

[Christielle in reply to Clutter]

LOL. Thank you

[shaws Administrator]

60mcg of Thyroid-S is equivalent approx to about 100mcg of levothyroxine. At present you are taking (combined) about 130mcg. So you can switch straight over to the equivalent by taking ThyroidS once daily. Take your pulse/temp about 3 times a day as well. After a few weeks you might find you may want to increase slightly (or decrease if you get too hot/fast pulse etc).

getrealthyroid.com/the-real...

If you go to the date January 30, 2002 on this link it may be helpful.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Christielle in reply to shaws]

I cannot open the second link because sky is blocking it :/

[shaws Administrator in reply to Christielle]

Probably because this site is now archived: This is the question/answer:

January 30, 2002

Question: I’m hypothyroid and take Armour Thyroid twice a day. My question is about the right time to take it in relation to when I eat. Should I take it two, three, or four hours after I eat? I've read all those times in different places. Thank you very much for your time—and your great website!

Dr. Lowe: As a rule, our patients take thyroid hormone only once per day. An advantage of this one-per-day schedule is that it’s easier to find a window for good intestinal absorption—when the stomach or small intestine doesn’t contain food.

Most of our patients wait at least one hour after taking thyroid hormone before they eat. Or they wait at least two hours after eating before they take thyroid hormone. The two hour wait is a rough estimate of the time it takes for food to pass through the stomach and small intestine. It’s worth noting, however, that several factors can increase the time a patient should wait before taking thyroid hormone.

One factor is being female. Researchers report that on average, the woman’s stomach empties more slowly than the man’s. In a 1998 study, for example, researchers tested how long it took for half of a solid meal to empty from the stomachs of healthy women and men. The average time for women was 86 minutes and for men was 52 minutes.[1] This result is consistent with those of other studies; it suggests that women may benefit by waiting a while longer than men after eating to take thyroid hormone.

Another factor is the slower movement of food and stool through the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract of many patients who have hypothyroidism or thyroid hormone resistance. Doctors often diagnose the sluggish GI function as "constipation-type irritable bowel syndrome."[2,pp.681-687] Until the patient finds a thyroid hormone dose that relieves her constipation, it may be prudent for her to allow more than two hours—maybe three—for food to clear from her stomach and small intestine before taking the hormone.

Still another factor is food-induced slow emptying of the stomach. If a meal contains much fat, oil, or protein, food will pass more slowly from the stomach to the small intestine. This may be helpful when a person has ingested refined sugar as part of the meal. Slower emptying of the stomach will slow sugar absorption from the small intestine into the blood. This may reduce the amount of insulin that’s secreted and avert an episode of low blood sugar. But at the same time, slowed emptying of the stomach may allow food to remain in the stomach or small intestine too long—so long that thyroid hormone taken two hours afterward may bind to food constituents. Binding of the hormone to food constituents, of course, will reduce the amount of the hormone that passes into the blood. In one study, when patients took T4 on an empty stomach, 79% was absorbed; when they took the hormone with food, 64% was absorbed.[3] It’s hard to say, however, how much of the hormone, when taken with food, will be bound in the intestine and how much will be absorbed into the blood. The determining factor will be the chemical composition of the food. Few of us ever know for sure the total composition of the food in a meal we eat. Because of this, we can better calculate how much thyroid hormone we’ll absorb from a given dose by taking it on an empty stomach.

Some patients avoid problems absorbing thyroid hormone by taking it in the middle of the night. They keep a bottle of thyroid hormone in the bathroom. With the bottle close at hand, they take their single 24-hour dose when they get up at night to urinate. That time of night, of course, should be long enough after they’ve eaten before going to bed—at least two hours later. It should also be long enough before they get up and eat breakfast—at least an hour before.

Unfortunately, this middle-of-the-night strategy doesn’t work for an occasional patient with a severe low blood sugar problem. To avert episodes of low blood sugar during the night, she must keep food near her bed and eat small amounts at intervals. Because of this, she may not have a time during the night when she can take the hormone on an empty stomach.

A variety of drugs can interfere with thyroid hormone absorption. If you’re taking other drugs, I suggest you discuss with your doctor whether any of them can impede absorption of the hormone. With his or her guidance, and consideration of the factors I mentioned above, you should be able to find a good window of absorption that works for you.

[Christielle in reply to shaws]

Thank you for your help Shaws x

[Christielle]

Thank you Shaws! As I asked Clutter there is some confusion on my end of things. I know that mg and mcg are two different things. On the Thyroid-S I purchased on the photo it say 60 mg not mcg. I will check out the links you sent. Thank you!