A year on, what are your thoughts?

[ju01749]

I was expecting to start a trial of T3 at my Endo appt on Thurs ( taken a year to get here) but the plug was pulled as CCG will not fund. I have 3 options 1, my Levo has been increased from 100 to 150mg taken daily in x2 75mg doses do continue although in the past although not felt this bad have never been good.

2, he will prescribe a drug which people who have problems on Levo and Lio take or

3, he will support me if I move onto NDT (self funded)

Any opinions??

If I go down the NDT route now with his support and it does not suit me I suppose I still have the other 2 to fall back on??

I would prefer the more natural product without all the fillers so guidance on sourcing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Jazzw]

There's another option which might well be cheaper - to self-source your own T3. Go to the right places and it only costs a few Euros a packet.

[Naomi8 in reply to Jazzw]

that's what I do!I am not held to ransom by the NHS.Still getting T3 prescribed but expecting cuts any day.Been topping up nearly a year,too.Pity Brexit has lowered the £,but its still economical

[chrisknott in reply to Jazzw]

Hi Jazzw

Could you please tell me your reliable source of T3? I am on part T3 part levothyroxin but feel I may benefit from T3 medication only

Thank you

[Jazzw in reply to chrisknott]

Hi Chris - I don't take T3. But if you post a new question and ask people to private message you, you should get some suggestions of reliable sources.

[chrisknott in reply to Jazzw]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply Jazz. I will do that. Love Chris

[humanbean]

I'm curious what he would prescribe in the case of option 2.

[Jazzw in reply to humanbean]

I was too.

[ju01749 in reply to humanbean]

I cannot remember what it was called sorry. Brain of mush the past year.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to humanbean]

I bet option 2 is antidepressants.

[humanbean in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

That was my guess too. But we will never know now.

[puncturedbicycle]

Can I ask, are you taking 75 levo at intervals, like 75 in the morning and 75 at night? If so do you know why? It sounds like an awful palaver unless maybe all at once gives you palps or similar.

And I too would like to know what is the drug ('he will prescribe a drug which people who have problems on Levo and Lio take')??

Prob best option is to get in some t3 and ask endo to oversee treatment if poss. Will endo do a private script for t3? I know it's too pricey in the UK, but if they think you're taking it on script they may find it easier to oversee than what they might see as dodgy interwebs drugs. Just a thought.

[ju01749 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Yes he said 75 morning 75 at night. The only reason I can think is I said I couldn't get up in the mornings and slump in the afternoons ??? He is not allowed to prescribe.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to ju01749]

Levo doesn't really work that way. Theoretically you could take your whole dose of levo once a week. So twice a day you have to make sure your stomach is empty before and after your levo?

I could see if you were sensitive to it and were feeling odd after a dose (palps, high bp or similar). But I've never heard of a doctor endorsing 2x daily levo. If you're taking it correctly it could cause a lot of inconvenience.

If the CCG won't cover the cost you can't get an nhs script but in this case some doctors will do a private (self-funded) script. But that's beside the point, what I really meant was if endo doesn't disapprove of t3 maybe they will oversee t3 treatment.

[greygoose]

NDT still has fillers. You can't make a pill without fillers.

I, too, want to know what he meant by number 2!!!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

ju01749 You might want to check the ingredients of the 'more natural products' before you make a decision. Thyroid-S and Thiroyd seem to be the most popular (and the cheapest) and people seem to do well on them, but they certainly are not 'without all the fillers'

stopthethyroidmadness.com/a...

Option 1 with 2 x 75mcg doses doesn't make a lot of sense considering the half life of Levo is 7 days, there's no advantage of dividing the dose over taking 150mcg once a day.

I'm also curious what Option 2 is.

If he was willing to give you a trial of T3, if it was me I would be asking him to support a trial of self funded T3 first. There is more flexibility in adding synthetic T3 to Levo and to tweak the doses than the fixed amount of hormones in NDT.

[1tuppence]

Hello elijii. Could you PM me where you source the Italian liquid Liotir T3 please?

Thank you

[1tuppence]

Thank you.

[Eddie83]

I don't see a point in taking levo in 2 doses per day, since T4 half-life is about a week. 150mcg is a pretty hefty dose; did this doctor take your FT4 and recommend an increase based on that test, or is he just guessing? I suspect your least expensive T3 option would be to get T3 mail-order. You can get T3 mail-order that is free of wheat starch, but meds have to use some form of starch; cornstarch is the usual alternative to wheatstarch.

[ju01749]

Where would I go about sourcing a good brand of T3 that isn't going to cost me £5k a year ??

Thanks

[LAHs]

Just speaking from my own experience I would go with #3, self funded NDT. Remember that once you have the prescription you can shop around for the cheapest (but reliable ) source. If NDT doesn't work for you T3 only is a close second. With the latter you will be completely independent, you can buy your T3 without a prescription (e.g. Greece - that's where I get mine).

I am glad to know that you have an endo who appears to understand this stuff - and more, allows you to make choices about your own health. Too bad we have to applaud those facts.