Hi, I started taking NDT last July and I haven’t been able to take a blood test yet as I keep having to change my dose and brand of NDT. So far I have only been able to increase up to 1 1/4 grains. I do take my basal temp and pulse regularly so I sort of know whether I am under-medicated or not.
So far I have taken Naturethroid, Thiroyd and Metavive II. Thiroyd worked quite well for me except it caused me to have digestive issues, such as bloating, stomach cramps and loose stools.
I’ve been taking Metavive II for the past month but I started to feel very hypo with chest pains, freezing cold, and pain in my thyroid area. I increased to 1 ½ grains last week but I could only stay on this amount for a few days as I had extreme anxiety and on the third night I couldn’t sleep as my heart was pounding. My temperature also remained very low on this dose at around 36 C. I didn’t take any Metavive for a couple of days after and started to feel a bit better. This week I continued to feel very hypo and I’ve had a lot of trouble sleeping. Due to having lots of important things to do at work at the moment I started taking Thiroyd again yesterday. I’ve been feeling a lot better and my face looked brighter and less puffy. Unfortunately, last night I felt very bloated and had bad stomach cramps. Today I am taking the Thiroyd with food and if that doesn’t help I will probably have to go back to taking Metavive tomorrow.
I don’t know what to do now as I would like to change to another NDT but I can’t afford the ones which are available in the US. I really don’t want to change to Thiroyd S due to the toxic ingredients. I was wondering if I should try taking T3 with Metavive II and if that didn’t help going back to T4 but taking T3 along with it? I’m also not sure if I should try Metavive III.
Please can anyone offer any advice and also if it would be worth me doing a blood test now or do I have to wait due to increasing my dose last week and changing brands?
Thank you.
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Rachel357
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I doubt if all the chopping and changing is helping, you're not giving yourself long enough on anything to see if it suits. Is there a reason you haven't stuck to one brand?
I stopped taking Naturethroid as I wasn't getting any better after each increase and there are so many reports that it's very weak now. I took Thiroyd for three months and would have carried on taking it if it didn't give me digestive issues. It got to the point where I was have diarrhoea every morning. I've been going downhill since taking Metavive. So not sure if I should add T3 to it? I don't think I can take it for another six weeks to wait for a blood test.
Ah, I see. I know Metavive doesn't state amounts of T4 and T3 in it, but from what I understand there is supposed to be less T3 in Metavive 3 than Metavive 2, and Metavive 3 is bovine whereas Metavive 2 is porcine.
That's interesting. I won't try Metavive 3 then. I think I will have to go back to Metavive 2. It's just scary getting more ill with all these hypo symptoms. I started taking Metavive 2 a month ago. Do you think if I go back on it tomorrow that I could do a blood test in two weeks, or would it not be accurate, with raising the dose for a few days last week and then changing to Thiroyd for two days? Thanks.
Metavive is capsules isn't it? Not easy to be very accurate when splitting a capsule, or were you using Metavive 1 and 2 to get 45mg?
The fixed amounts in NDT don't work for everyone. I did try it many years ago but it wasn't right for me. I use Levo plus T3 and the ratio of T4:T3 that seems to be right for me is around 6:1, most NDT is around 38mcg T4: 9mcg T3 so that's fairly close to 4:1
You really need to leave 6 weeks after deciding whatever you want to use before retesting.
Hello, I'm not sure if Metavive is working for me. I've only been taking it for a month and the whole time my temperature has remained at 36 C. When I was on Thiroyd my temperature was often 36.6 C and I felt quite well then. For the last couple of weeks I have been feeling worse so I'm not sure if it's strong enough. I'm also not sure if it's causing me to have sleeping problems. I do like it that's it's natural though, it feels just like taking a normal food supplement and it's good how accessible it is. How long have you been taking Metavive for?
It sounds like you need an increase. It's normally advised to increase 1/4 grain every two weeks until you get to 2 grains, then hold for 6 weeks then take a blood test.
I'm going to see a nutritionist this week and I'm going to do the Dutch test to check adrenals. I don't usually have stomach issues, only if I eat a lot of high fodmap foods.
A 'grain' is a unit of weight. Just under 65 milligrams.
(Medicines which were converted from grain measurement to milligrams were sometimes changed at 60 milligrams to the grain, sometimes at 65 milligrams. Hence we see some aspirin at 300 milligrams and some at 325 milligrams - both converted from five grains.)
Because the amounts of T4 and T3 in Metavive are undisclosed (they are glandulars, from the whole gland rather than made from thyroid powder USP, so not the same as the usual NDT) then it's not really possible to work out how they compare.
...and I don't know if I need metavive 11, I take it this is stronger than 1 ? So many don't knows!
Are you equating so much meative is equivalent to ndt or levo please
...is Dutch test better than saliva ? Is it just for when you still have periods? I'm getting sex hormones done, unsure if I should get DHEA too? May get saliva too? And a thyroid panel, see how it's all going
I'm stuck, Is WP still up there, or is the nature one? I have got t3 here and levo but pulled to ndt, I can tell I'm set up for it now, been a long run up admittedly,
I'm slipping badly today got shoulder pain back, cold, can't think etc, need to act fast,
Also regarding embarrassing external itching is there a cause for this do you know, (a friend wants to knowlol!!
I don't take NDT but it's like Levo brands, one brand will suit one person but not another. Some members find the Thai NDT as good as, if not better, than the big names, and they're cheaper. Some members recently have mentioned problems with Nature Throid.
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