Great article about the benefits of T3 supplementation

Why are not all doctors like this one...?!

restartmed.com/t3-medication/

[lilac_daze]

Excellent article! Thanks for link ☺

[Katepots]

We should all print out and take it along to our own Drs. Although I'm sure they wouldn't believe it...

Great article, thanks.

[fibrolinda]

Thanks for the link Proof that some doctors do know what they're talking about

[mrsm49]

Its good info except when you look at his biog hes a weight loss doctor. Unfortunately I feel my gp would use that as excuse to not take him seriously. Great info though and ljke that hes attached medical studies.

[Hidden in reply to mrsm49]

Yes, but my own experience is that endocrinologists are the worst kind of doctor when it comes to understanding thyroid problems and thyroid disease treatment...also, Dr. Hertoghe, who is so revered in some circles, is simply a GP. He calls himself a hormone specialist, but that is not a recognised specialty in Belgium (nor in any other country that I know of...).

[Shelley1954 in reply to Hidden]

Not all endos are like this. There are some very good ones scattered around who believe in the use of T3. especially where it is clear there are conversion issues. We need more of these and should be careful not to alienate the ones we have.

[Hidden in reply to Shelley1954]

I believe that Dr. Hertoghe is right in his book "The hormone solution"; he writes that, after medical school, he considered endocrinology as his chosen field of specialty, then thought the better of it after realising that most endos seemed to specialise in diabetes, only occasionally venturing into other areas...I think what we need are more endos not just interested in the standard T4 treatment for thyroid disease. The doctor who first diagnosed me with Hashimoto's, 17 years ago, told me, only half-jokingly, that hypothyroidism is "not an exciting disease as it's so easy to diagnose and treat"...he even went so far as to say that Hashimoto's disease should not even be called a disease, but rather an "inconvenience"...yes, this was an endocrinologist! He handed me a prescription for Euthyrox and said: "Give it two weeks, and it will be like you were never ill in the first place!". Afterwards, knowing what I know now, I have often wondered if he said that to his diabetes patients as well, when handing them their first prescription for insulin...

[Shelley1954 in reply to Hidden]

Sounds awful, why do those that are not interested in it bother to go into that field? Perhaps they should split endo, diabetes and thyroid. I am fortunate, my endo does cover diabetes but seems, so far to be interested in the thyroid and I know he has a specialism in metabolism.

[Shelley1954 in reply to Shelley1954]

Having said that he is exasperated at the difficulty in me obtaining a prescription for T3 from the surgery despite 2 requests from him.

[JOLLYDOLLY]

Thank you so much anna69!

At last we have an article that we can throw back at the so called professionals that "poo poo" the T3 medication.

Yippee! Thankfully my GP has left me alone until at least my next review in January.

Thank you xx

[Hidden]

Quite an impressive article which has a great deal more truth in it than what you normally see.

Disappointed that the doctor fails to initially emphasise that T3 medication is for patients with dicky thyroids ONLY and should NEVER be used as a weight reduction drug for "normal" people.

Very pleased that he appears to understand that NDT does NOT contain levothyroxine or liothyronine, as so many medical professionals seem to believe. It is 100% impossible for the identical product to be both synthetic AND natural. Also that he understands that the T3 in the 2 products is presented to the body in a totally different manner, the synthetic T3 being immediate, the natural T3 being slow (or, more likely, only as and when the body actually requires it, so keeping hormones at a constant level rather than up and down like a yo-yo).

[xanderusa]

Natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) has a T3 content that is much higher than that found in humans. NDT’s T4:T3 ratio is about 4:1, whereas the human ratio is about 10:1. The higher T3 content in NDT raises rT3 and often gives those on NDT a lower rT3 ratio, or a Free T3/rT3 value less than 20. Lowering the NDT dose (which lowers T3, and consequently rT3) and raising T4 has often lowered rT3 and normalized the ratio for some people. However, many are doing exactly the opposite because they believe they are “pooling.” They are discontinuing their T4, raising T3, and suffering from symptoms of too much T3 (hyperthyroid dementia, muscle wasting, high heart rate, insomnia, shortness of breath, insulin resistance, etc.)

[Hidden in reply to xanderusa]

Well, isn't the idea that many hypothyroid patients are having problems converting T4 to T3, which is the very reason they may benefit from the higher ratio of T3 to T4 in NDT? Also, I've read in several articles lately that the thyroid hormones in NDT are bound to proteins, which means that if you take let's say 3 grains of Armour, your body won't be absorbing 108 mcg of T4 and 27 mcg of T3, but the thyroid hormone has to be released from the proteins before it can be used by the body, and this won't happen immediately.

All I know is that I can take NDT once a day, in the morning, and feel fine until the next morning whereas, on synthetic combo drugs, I needed to take it several times daily to avoid the ups and downs. With NDT, however, it seems to be smooth delivery all around. This tells me that the body reacts differently to NDT compared to synthetic T3.

[bonnyaus in reply to Hidden]

I take a NDT in the morning and a smaller dose at night and feel much better, now fall asleep easily, sleep soundly through the night unless disturbed then a toilet call is required. My energy levels are much better.

I think it is horse for courses. ... so many variations because we are all individuals.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to xanderusa]

Surely it's T4 that raises rT3 as it's T4 that is converted to either to T3 or rT3. Lowering your dose would lower your T4 as well as your T3. Having no T4 means no rT3.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

True, as patients with excessive rT3 levels can go off T4 meds for a number of weeks, take T3 only, and clear themselves of excessive rT3 in the process...!

[Hidden in reply to xanderusa]

Well, isn't a low rT3 ratio a good thing, as rT3 is an inactive hormone blocking the action of the active hormone T3...?! rT3 levels are said to raise in inflammation, and that is usually not a good thing...

This question is for Xanderusa, but I seem unable to paste it right under your original post...

[Parbrook in reply to xanderusa]

The T4:T3 ratio is about 10:1 when you only consider the output of the Thyroid gland.

However, you need to take account of the T3 that comes from T4 to T3 conversion, so the actual radio is (or should be) much closer to that of NDT.

[humanbean]

Great article, I agree, but with one thing in it that drives me nuts.

So many articles on the web that mention specific numbers for medical test results assume that the only people who read the articles are Americans. So...

How to know if you need T3 thyroid medication :

1. Your reverse T3 level is higher than 15.

2. You have a history of leptin resistance with a fasting leptin > 10.

3. You have a history of insulin resistance with a fasting insulin > 5.

...

My comments :

1) No units of measurement. The USA in many cases uses units of measurement quite different to the rest of the world. So the numbers are often meaningless. For people who don't know about the problem with units of measurement they may come to conclusions about their own results that are unjustified.

2) No reference ranges. For example, fasting leptin > 10. If the reference range is (1 - 4) then it puts the result > 10 into perspective and makes it clear it has to go quite a bit above range to be relevant. But if the reference range is (1 - 10) then a result of 10.2 is only a tiny smidgen over the range. It's still relevant, but possibly slightly less urgent?

! Numbers need context !

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

True, but I don't think we'll ever find a 100% perfect doctor who gets it all right...for the simple reason that doctors are only human, and they tend to support what they like and dismiss what they don't like, just like the rest of us...

However, this article, which I stumbled upon by pure coincidence, is one of the best I've read in a long time when it comes to understanding how the T4 to T3 (and rT3) conversion process works...I know for a fact his theories apply to me, given me own experiences with T4 only drugs, synthetic combos, and NDT supplementation.

I agree that reference ranges are always useful, though...however, there seem to be huge differences not only between the US and Europe, but also between various European countries...which does not make our task easier in any way. However, I still think this article is excellent, and not even difficult to understand for a layperson...which should make it even easier to understand for a doctor

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I'm not criticizing the rest of the article, which I actually like and think is excellent. Just those numbers...

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

I know what you mean

[bonnyaus in reply to Hidden]

This is the best article all round for ease of understanding and for me has turned the light on, so now have a much better understanding of the detail my GP explained to me. Most of the diagrams are the same that I was given.

I think there should be a category of 'specialist GPs' who treat patients with problems other doctors - GP or specialist has not been able to resolve. 😃😀😄

[Enfrance]

I am going to print this out for my next fight with an Endocrinologist. Thank you so much!!!

[lucylocks]

Great article, thank you for posting.

[Kitten1978]

@anna69 Have you posted this link on T3 Action group facebook page??? They might find this article helpful...

THANK YOU for posting

[Hidden in reply to Kitten1978]

Believe it or not, but I'm about the only person in the world who does not have a Facebook account (yet). Would you or anyone else mind posting it there? The more people this article can be useful to, the better!

[Kitten1978 in reply to Hidden]

No worries, I've posted it there

[Hidden in reply to Kitten1978]

Thanks so much

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

Promise you - you are not. I do not have a facebook account.

I work in a room with a web developer and (until recently) an IT recruitment consultant - none of us use facebook for our personal lives (me not at all, the other two occasionally when they have to for work).

There are many of us who resist!

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Good to know I always feel awkward when people say things like: "Please like me on Facebook", and I have to explain I don't even have an FB account...

[bonnyaus in reply to Hidden]

The only reason I am on FB was because an American friend decided that was her only form of communication. I do not post only reply as I can access the page that way.

[Hillwoman in reply to Kitten1978]

You're not the only one - I'm not on FB either.

[bonnyaus]

Great article with so much information. I will print it out and read it very carefully. Not sure about the diet process as there was no real reference as how it takes into account coeliacs requirements.