Got my Thyroid S - help with dosage please

[Justliloldme]

I've had my thyroid s delivered & plan on starting it tomorrow.

I currently take B12, b complex & folate 1st thing just after my breakfast, omega 3 with my lunch and Vit d3 after my tea each evening.

I was going to follow the STTM pig method (pic attached) - is this the best way to take?Am I ok to take with my other vits or do I need to take separately?

Many thanks x

[Clutter]

Jusliloldme,

NDT should be taken 2 hours away from most medication and supplements and 4 hours away from iron, calcium and vitD supplements and oestrogen.

How much Levothyroxine are you currently taking and what is your FT3 level?

[Justliloldme in reply to Clutter]

Hi clutter

I'm not on Levo as the GP wouldn't prescribe & says my thyroid is 'tickety boo'!

My Ft3 was 5.4 (3.1-6.8) last time it was tested in July. GP would only test TSH in September unfortunately.

[Clutter in reply to Justliloldme]

Jusliloldme,

FT4 is very good. What were FT4 and TSH?

[Justliloldme in reply to Clutter]

FT4 was 16.22 (12-22)

TSH 4.66 (0.27-4.20)

[Clutter in reply to Justliloldme]

Jusliloldme,

Your FT4 and FT3 are both very good. Just the TSH which is a bit high. I would start with half a grain which is equivalent to 32.5mcg Levothyroxine.

[Justliloldme in reply to Clutter]

Thank you clutter, I know I'm not miles over the range but I've been feeling shocking. I'm hoping a small dose will do the trick.

Thanks for your help,

[Clutter in reply to Justliloldme]

Jusliloldme,

You can increase dose after a couple of weeks but I'd be inclined to wait 4 weeks and then retest thyroid levels when you've been on 1 grain for 6 weeks. If you follow STTM's protocol you are likely to become very over medicated.

[Hidden]

Hi I have been taking Thyroid S since June this year. I take I grain at around 6.30 am. this leaves plenty of time for it to start working . I then eat my breakfast at around 8.30 am. I take any supplements then. I take my Vit D at lunch time and then wait for 1.5 to 2 hours before taking another 1 grain. This works well for me. Good luck.

[Glynisrose]

Take your thyroid meds away from anything else. Start low and build up over a few weeks. Do NOT do a direct swap. I am sure doctors will tell you to do this its to rule out NDT as its expensive. It does not work in the same way, you obviously need the T3 and do not convert T4 to T3 well.

[jamesal0]

Hi Justliloldme

I use my temp as a guide to dosage. I loose temp if I go off thyroid supplements. So for me I take a daily base dosage 90mg. 60 mg at 11pm and 30mg 4 am. Then at 10am I take my temp if it is going down below 36C I take 30mg more. That is all I will take for the day (120mg) unless I am sailing in the afternoon I will take another 30mg. If I took 120mg for a couple of days in a row I will begin to go Hyper. With NDT you start on 30mg daily and after a two weeks bump up to 60mg. Keep doing this until you go hyper, then take nothing for a few days until the hyper passes and then go back on the last good dose. Example - you are taking 150 in week 10 and you go hyper, have a break for a day, and start back on 120. Remember if you are busy physically or emotionally you will need more.

NDT and Thryroxin a very different drugs and need to be managed very differently. With Thyroxin you just saturate your body with storage hormone (T4) and hope you convert it. Nothing wrong with this except thyroxin has all these horrible side effects for some people. On NDT (I believe) our bodies become lazy about converting T4 and I basically run on the T3 in NDT. Hence having to take NDT multiple times per day, plus boosters depending on work load.

Have fun and dont be scared to experiment, every one is different.

J

[Justliloldme in reply to jamesal0]

Thanks very much for this. I woke at 6.45 this morning so took 1/2 a grain then, took my B12, b complex & folate at 8.45 just after my breakfast. I plan to have lunch at 1ish & I'll take the other 1/2 grain at around 3pm. Tea will like be at 7pm & I'll take my vit d just after that. So I think that will be ok.

It is a little bit scary trying to self medicate, but I'm sure I'll be an old hand at it in no time

Thanks again, your post was very reassuring x

[jamesal0 in reply to Justliloldme]

The main thing is not rush the dose increases - even taking 60 today could be too much for you. The analogy I like is your body is like a laundry tub with no plug and the NDT is like the taps. You can turn the taps on full for a few minutes and most of the water will flow down the drain. But some will begin to accumulate. If you leave the taps running for an hour the tub will probably overflow. So you can get away with taking more than your body can use for a few days and then you will go hyper. You may not really understand why, but you need to think about the last few days dosages, not just today's and you need to anticipate what your body will burn today. The ideal position to get good TSH blood tests on NDT is where the tub is almost full but not overflowing.

I extend my analogy to hot (T3) and cold (T4) water - but one thing at a time

j