Hi - I am making moves to try and switch from thyroxine to NDT after 2 years on thyroxine with lingering symptoms. In a month's time I'm due to start a very busy, active job that has me travelling up and down the country. I'm a bit worried about transitioning during this time as even if I start moving to NDT in the next couple of weeks I will still be in the early weeks of ramping up my dose on NDT.
Does anyone have experience of switching when their lives are busy and stressful? Is it a bad idea to try and do it at this time and should I wait until life is calmer again? The reason I want to do it now is because I've been getting a load of blood tests done so I can see someone privately and the tests have to be current.
Thanks very much in advance.
BM
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Would imagine that being on thyroxine isnt suiting you which is why you want to change. So you are planning to swap feeling rubbish for ndt which might make you feel better. Err.... So why hesitate? The stressful time at work is going to be there whatever you do.
Hi G - yes I know I'm just so scared about feeling rubbish and my brain not working properly when I need it the most. I remember upping my dose on thyroxine and I would plateau, feel horrendous and then need a higher dose. my work is complicated by the fact I'll be away from home for 6 months so I won't have access to my GP etc and regular blood tests. Also my ferritin is on the floor and I've seen from other comments that this can make assimilating NDT hard.
So it's Catch 22 - I want to feel better but the process of feeling better can make you feel worse.
What are you doing about the ferritin? You need to up it. My mum just got hers up from very low to over 80 by taking two spa tone sachets a day. ( apple flavoured ones). For about 10 months.
I'm on Sodium feredetate and I try and take it twice a day. I've struggled for years to get the ferritin up - I think I get slack and forget to take it and that's probably why it never rises that much. In fact I've never got it above 28 and then it drops like a stone the moment I stop supplementing. How long did your mum supplement with spatone? x
i have a busy life as well, and was hesitant to start NDT so i waited for the weekend to start, i just went off my levo completely 2 days ago, i take 1 tablet (60mg) NDT by Greater Pharma as soon as i wake up. until these last two days, i had been taking both my levo and the NDT, so, ive been on NDT for two weeks now, and thought i would just take the plunge and stop the levo completely, because i already had some NDT in my system i now take 2 tablets per day, one in the early morning, and one at night, but it can cause you to stay awake, (although i noticed early on i need WAY less sleep than i did on the levo. i take over the counter or melatonin at bedtime to help with sleep and it works for me. i feel amazing, i thought coming off the levo would cause all sorts of symptoms, but that is not the case for me. im feeling at the top of my game right now and am glad i finally realized removing the levo from my life was the best thing i could have done thus far.
Hi Arugala - that sounds like a really positive experience. Be great to hear how you get on over the coming weeks as your body assimilates to the change in medication. Doesn't it take a while for the thyroxine to leave the body and the NDT to take full effect? What does of thyroxine were you on? And did you have adrenal issues and low ferritin at all?
i was on 75mcg levothyroxine and was told i was undermedicated on that dose, which i fullybelieve, and yes, it does take between 6-8 days for the levo to leave your system, so, i actually bought a thyroid calendar journal, i write down what time of day and dosage and whatever else i think of thats related. i am a little concerned as to how ill feel when the levo is completely out of my system, but since its a chemical, it seems to me, i should feel better without it, i could be wrong. but you wont know unless you try right?
Yes - you're right. My issue is that I'm going to be living and working away and not able to see my GP etc and monitor how I'm doing. Keep me posted on how you feel, I'd be really interested to know. I'm on 175mcg and have been for some time. I feel ok but things have started to go off-kilter which is why I'm looking to change.
Interested to read your post as I too have been trying to get up confidence to change from Levo. However, I have been back to the Marion Gluck clinic for results which I thought you would like to hear about.
My female hormones are completely out of kilter (age I guess) so they have compounded me some DHEA/Prog/Estrog/Testosterone in a cream format, but I know that wont be affecting you for years yet!
Re thyroid, Dr Roeke was intending to try me on Armour or NT , but when my blood results came back she noticed my TGO antibodies were slightly raised. So she is trying me on Novothyral instead, which is a time released version of T4 and T3 combination. I think 75mcg T4 and 9mg of T3. It arrived today and all the bumph was in German but never mind! Tomorrow I will start the new regime and hope things improve.
The cost of meds (3 months Novothyral) and 2 months hormone cream was £134 plus follow up consultation which I think was £130.
Im dreading trying something else, as you must be, in case it makes you feel worse. I remember seeing Dr Peatfield a few years back, and he said that Armor probably wouldn't sort me out as it was too much T4 and not enough T3.
I do hope you get sorted out pre-job and travelling, and |I will let you know how I get on with the new stuff. Trouble is, how will I tell which thing is working?!
Andrea, thanks for this info. I never heard of the Marion Gluck clinic and I live in London. Although there is a money investment, seems not too bad, will gather my pennies and check it out. Thank you! Good luck with your new protocol!
BM, you can reduce your Levothyroxine by 50mcg and introduce half a grain NDT and then titrate Levothyroxine down by 50mcg and NDT up by half a grain every 2 weeks until you are off Levothyroxine. Shouldn't feel hypo when building NDT that way.
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