I took a blood test via Thriva (which I would recommend, great customer service, and very quick - took sample yesterday 19/06, posted yesterday afternoon, and just received the results):
TSH 0.005 (0.27-4.3)
FT4 27.1 (12-23)
FT3 7.8 (3.1-6.8)
T4 124.8 (64.5-142)
Anti-thyroidperoxidase antibodies 10.71 (0-34)
Anti-thyroglobulin antibodies 10 (0-115)
I had a similar reading (minus FT3) from my NHS tests that were run at my gastroenterology appointment.
Good old British Metavive NDT, certainly works!
My private doctor had told me to increase every two weeks and I was taking 120mg (divided by two doses per day) for the above tests.
I have seen a change in my skin. It is nowhere near as dry. I think I feel slightly happier. I have, on occasion, been very hot and had a few palpitations, although it could be due to the weather, it is baking on the Sussex coast. My legs are still swollen. Still constipated.
I have decided to reduce back down to 75mg a day (30mg am and 45mg pm) and stay on this for six weeks. This was suggested to me previously on here but when I mentioned it to my PD he said to continue increasing until symptoms resolve.
However, I am finding it increasingly difficult to pay for private consultations, so not sure what to do.
I now think, for me, I may need suppressed TSH, in range T4 but high T3. I am thinking of reducing NDT as above, seeing how that goes, and then add in extra T3 (which I have had for a few months now without using!).
Any thoughts?
Thank you 😊
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ajs100uk
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I'm not the most experienced on here but the palpitations and overheating sound like hyper symptoms to me so maybe you are right to reduce.
It has also been explained to me that metavive is a product that uses whole thyroid gland, and while it is natural with few added ingredients it does mean that they cannot control the levels of T3 & T4 in the tablets so your levels may be going up and down.
Whereas the NDT that is more often prescription - Armour, Erfa, WPThyroid, Thai Thiroyd etc. - is regulated and state how much of each hormone is in each tablet.
Another thing to think about to resolve other symptoms is your vitamin levels - there are lots of posts on here relating to vitamin levels and the important ones in relation to thyroid problems.
I have it in good authority from my private doctor (PD) that it is almost identical to pharmaceutical equivalents ie armour etc and it is a third of the price. The doctor would not prescribe it if he did not have the amounts of T3, T4 in the metavive which he has. I told him it iften gets slated on here for not being 'proper' NDT but he assured me it is. By not showing the levels it remains OTC, pretty much like thyrogold which does not seem to get slated.
I started on 30mg a day in 2 divided doses and was to increase every two weeks by 15mg, on PD's instructions,, until symtpoms subsided. I was going to hold off at one stage but doctor said no as there was no change to symtpoms.
When the above test was taken I was taking 120mg a day (2 doses). I have decreased down to 75mg, 30mg in morning and 45mg in afternoon. I am not sure if this is too much of a decrease but I am thinking I need more T3 than T4. So wonder whether to take a lower dose of NDT and add in T3. Trouble is I do not have the money right now to ask the PD
At the beginning of last year I had (and had for years) all symptoms of being severly hypo but on testing I was hyper. They reran the tests and a month later I was hypo but I was given no treatment. I had heart palpitations when hypo. I then moved house and am back to square one, with 'normal' tests acccording to my GP. In July 2016, when I moved, I had to beg for a referral to an endo (as I was under one before miving) and my GP finally reluctantly referred me in Jan 17! I got an appt for Apr 2017, then it was changed to Jun 2017, and now they have cancelled again until Sept 2017. My GP will not do anything for me.
Funnily enough, the day after I posted the original thriva results, the pitting oedema and swollen feet that I have had for years started to go down, I could not believe it! t has now almost disappeared which is amazing especially as it is so hot and that usually makes it worse. I can only put this down to being hyper on metavive.
I believe my vitamin levels will now all be good, for example my vit B was in the four hundreds and is now over 1700!
That is interesting that your doctor says that ...so hard to know what to believe with all this! I was very tempted to try it or one of the other alternatives because of the limited additives and with some (don't know yet about metavive) they say where the animals come from, so you know whether they are well looked after/organic etc. It stands to reason that an unhealthy, badly fed, or over medicated animal may not have such a well functioning thyroid gland.
It is infuriating that most GPs are not more open minded and willing to take in account the range of thyroid symptoms. Mine is the same and I can't afford a private GP so I am left to my own devices & it takes a lot of time & research when you don't have experts to call on.
It's good your swollen feet and legs are going down, hopefully it will continue and you can work out what has helped.
I have had similar blood results with NDT - I use thyroid -s from Thailand. My T4 was only just under the top of the the range when My T3 was around 11.
How long after your last dose before you tested and how long had you been on that dose ?
It can take a while for your levels to settle and what was high can eventually come down.
I would prefer to use something a bit more stable in the hormone content. Thyroid -s is cheap enough and works.
I should add , those labs do suggest you may be a tad hyper , depending on when the blood was drawn , you may well be right to lower a little.
The last dose was 4pm the previous day. I researched on here and people taking split doses (am/pm) of NDT were advised it was ok to take pm dose day before test but not the morning dose until after test. I took the test at 5am which is when I usually take my am dose, around 4 or 5am.
Please see the above reply regrading metavive. It is a good product and can save people money and the hassle of ordering from abroad. A while back I looked into getting thai NDT, just for cost, but when I worked it out metavive still came out cheaper and, as my private doctor tells me it is as good as any other NDT (he had this confirmed by the manufacturers before prescribing to his patients), I will stick with it for now as I have such limited funds.
I have reduced from 120mg to 75mg a day and will stick with this for six weeks and get retested. I think it is the T3 I need more of without pushing T4 through the roof to get it up I am not sure if this is too drastic a decrease but no money to ask PD.
I mentioned in my other reply above that I also had palpitations when hypo but I forgot to mention that my PD took me off HRT and put me on bioidentical progesterone lozenges. I mentioned to him that I had been getting hot flushes and he said to increase the progesterone and not reduce the metavive.
I still have most of my longstanding hypo symptoms and apart from weird 'sticky' hands and lips which I had before when hyper (it is not sweaty, it is like I have touched sugar or something, even after washing them, and even happens when I am freezing), I have no other hyper symptoms. My fingers feel like they are sticking to the keybaord when typing and I have to lather them with cornflour lol!
Yes I just realised that too my Thiroyd is only 5p/p/tablet when I buy 1000 but the metavive is about 28p p/tablet because you can only buy 90. It is though cheaper than other brands like Amour & WP Thyroid.
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