Would be very grateful for thoughts on my daughters blood test ,,,NDT not feeling well at all .

[Val-55]

I posted last week about my daughter who due to cost swapped to erfa , she had been taking 1.5 grains of armour for well over a year and feeling well . We stupidly swapped to erfa as was a bit cheaper . Private armour prescripwas £150 per month ! She had been taking the equivalent erfa on direction of endocrinologist and has been taking for 6 weeks now . The last 2 weeks she has gone right down and has been too exhausted to get to work . Her hair has been falling badly and she feels like her chest gets tight when she exerts herself . The endo says thyroid ranges good ... I’m not sure about the iron , b12 ranges , they look a bit down to me . She has ordered a cortisol test ... and changed back to armour . I would be grateful for advice/ thoughts , she was doing so well after changing from t4 only !

[shaws Administrator]

I, too, switched to NDT but I had to try several before I found one that suited me. Sometimes it can be the fillers/binders used that don't suit us.

There are another two thyroid hormones which, I believe, (I haven't taken those) are cheaper but seem to suit quite a few on this forum. I believe they are from Thailand.

Others who source their own Thiroid or ThyroidS will respond by Private Message of where to source.

Unfortunately, sometimes we have to try several before finding one that relieves or symptoms. Both FT4 and FT3 could be a bit higher. This is an extract from Dr Toft who was President of the BTA.

NB: Dr. Toft, Consultant Physician, states in the British Thyroid Foundation newsletter Issue No. 23 that normal ranges are: T4 (10 – 25) and TSH (0.15 – 3.5). He also states that "the correct dose is that which restores good health; in most patients this will be associated with a level of T4 in the blood towards the upper part of the normal range or even slightly high and a TSH level in the blood which is in the lower part of the normal range.

[Val-55 in reply to shaws]

Thanks for your reply , she was fine on Armour ,,just changed for cost ...perhaps things will settle down if she swaps back .. .Is her ferritin and b12 a bit on the low side ?

[Clutter]

Val-55,

Her thyroid levels are good. TSH is suppressed, FT4 mid-range and FT3 in the upper third of range. There is scope to increase dose to raise FT3 but it may be the fillers in Erfa which don't suit her. How do her TSH, FT4 and FT3 compare to when she was on Armour?

Folate and B12 look good but if your daughter has symptoms in b12deficiency.info/signs-an... ask her to pop over and talk to healthunlocked.com/pasoc who are the experts on B12 and folate.

Ferritin looks good.

Potassium is mildly elevated. It's so mild that it is unlikely to be significant but Google "serum potassium high" if you want an explanation.

Haemoglobin and Haematocrit are mildly elevated and RDW mildly suppressed. Again, it's unlikely to be significant but explanations can be found in labtestsonline.org/understa...

[Val-55]

Thankyou for your reply , I will get her last blood on armour and see if there is any significant difference .. it’s the hair loss and fatigue that looks so like hypo !

[shaws Administrator in reply to Val-55]

Many complain of hair loss and it dents many people's self-esteem and sometimes may have a bigger effect than being hypothyroid as does unexplained weight gain.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Val-55]

Have you tested vitamin D ? Does she supplement

What about zinc. Can be linked to hair loss

[Val-55 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ordered a vIt d , would that cause exhaustion . Yes she will supplement zinc now coukd be that , my hair loss improved with zinc and selenium .

[Val-55 in reply to Val-55]

These are results from August when she was taking 1.5 grains Armour ,she seemed well then .

TSH 0.19 (0.27-4.2

T3 4.0 (3.1 to 6.8

T4 14.2 (12-22

It looks a bit lower especially the T3 ——don’t know what to suggest , could she be experiencing symptoms from too much NDT , the exhaustion is the same I suppose. She has ordered the cortisol test . She doesn’t take any supplements though she doesn’t eat gluten .