levothyroxine or ndt

[elvera111]

what is the difference between the two

[bobsmydog]

Levothyroxine is synthetic T4.

NDT is natural thyroid extract from pigs which contains both T4 (the storage hormone) and T3 (the active hormone).

Levothyroxine has to be converted in the body into T3 to be used by the cells.

[elvera111 in reply to bobsmydog]

which one gives best resuts

[bobsmydog in reply to elvera111]

Levothyroxine is generally prescribed to everyone with hypothyroidism and works well for about 80-85% (I think?) of people.

For those who don't get well on T4, many swear by NDT or the addition of T3 to the T4, but these are both difficult to get on prescription which adds to the problem.

[elvera111 in reply to bobsmydog]

so its looking like i should go down the route of levothyroxine to begin with.

another question i wanted to put forth is because of my adrenal issues and having to watch my stress levels, does anyone have similar problems as mine....i.e....just had long phone chat with my sister and the actual act of talking leaves me shaking inwardly.

[Hidden in reply to elvera111]

What are your adrenal issues? Do you have adrenal Insufficiency? Shaking like you describe can be a side effect of low cortisol.

[elvera111]

i have adrenal failure and been on a maintenance dose of 6mg of prednisolone for years for my breathing...discovering lots of things on this site. i am low in b12 which affects breathing so looking into that at the min....but anything emotional seems to drain me and the talking is so bad i often find i am having a glass of wine afterwards to stop the adrenalin . otherwise it takes about 3 hours to wear off

i cant do the cortisol test as i cant be without the steriod for even a day. .