ndt or t3 or t4

[elvera111]

getting a little confused about difference between ndt, t3 and t4, i thought ndt was taken to raise t3 and 4.yet on some posts its saying dont take t3 by itself you need t4..

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Elveras

Levothyroxine is a synthetic thyroid hormone replacement - also called T4.

NDT - A healthy thyroid gland produces T4, T3, etc and you can replace levothyroxine with Natural Dessicated Thyroid Hormones (containing T4, T3, T2, T1 and calciton (calcitonin can help bones) also called NDT for short.

NDT has been safely used since 1892 and is made from pigs or cows thyroid glands so is conducive to the human body. Before 1892 hypothyroid people died a horrible death.

Unfortunately, the guidelines of the British Thyroid Association has made false statements about it and discourages the prescribing of it in preference for the synthetic levothyroxine.

I think it has to do with the promotion of the pharmaceutical companies persuasive tactics, plus with the introduction of blood tests at the same time has been very profitable for them. Plus the prescribing of 'other' meds for the remaining clinical symptoms which are believed by doctors to be due to other reasons because our 'blood tests' tell them so, particularly the TSH, thus they have never learned the basic clinical symptoms we complain of.

T3 - also called liothyronine is the only active hormone needed in all our receptor cells and we have to have sufficient. Some cannot convert T4 sufficiently to T3 or they're given too low a dose.

I will say, however, that thousands seem to be able to convert levothyroxine into sufficient T3. It is T3 which is the active hormone needed in all of our receptor cells of which there are billions.

There is no danger in taking T3 only - we don't need T4 as it is inactive. I take T3 only myself and am well. Sometimes rumours abound about T3 but it removed all my palpitations I had when on levo plus all of the clinical symptoms which remained on T4

[shaws Administrator]

P.S. I wasn't able to edit so - T3 (liothyronine) is also synthetic but doesn't need to be converted.