ndt dose advice

[ramsfs10]

on 2.5 grains of ndt. got my labs back after 12 hours of my last naturthroid dose. free t3 was 4.2 with a range of 2.0-4.2. all my hypo stmptoms are gone but i do feel slightly hyper/jittery during mid day.. would this mean i am to high during my peak hours? since i am very top of range after 12 hours... should i decrease a 4th grain or just accept the jittery mid day. i split my dosing 4 times through day to help lower peaks. i just dread the hypo symptoms!!!

[Heloise]

If you're at the top of range at hour twelve you might have been over range at hour four. If you haven't been taking 2 1/4 grains for too long, you might consider dropping the 1/4 grain.

[ramsfs10 in reply to Heloise]

you might be right cause i only stayed on 2.25 grains for 3 weeks then went up... im prob gonna drop back down after past few days feeling super jittery

[radd in reply to ramsfs10]

ramsfs10,

You are over medicated if your T3 levels are still top of range after twelve hours.

The biological half-life of T3 is about twenty-four hours but a single dose (taken on an empty stomach) is rapidly absorbed reaching peak circulating concentration in about two to four hours.

Many go by a 20% difference between the levels but I know from test results mine were previously much wider apart.

Also, I have been reading your previous post re discussing your doctor testing four hours after taking meds.

If you are testing to ensure optimum dose increase, testing at twelve hours after last med dose is probably preferable.

However, for myself it is important I don’t go over-range. I self medicate & chose to be overseen by an endo who asks that I test 2-4 hours after taking last dose of NDT, which tells of my highest peaks.

I usually dose twice daily but if I felt under-medicated & my peak was already optimal (which for me is around half way through range), this gives the option to increase meds by introducing a third daily dose, so keeping peaks and troughs to an absolute minimal.

Remember the range is only a guide and optimal isn’t always at the top. You are already dosing four times a day, so should reduce by a quarter grain as you have suggested. However, you don’t know if you are having troubles due to an insufficient amount of meds or your body is finding it hard to adjust to the meds you are taking. (ie intolerance due to varying factors).

Also, and probably against most forum opinion, I would suggest you go back to testing between 2 - 4 hours after taking your meds in order to establish your peak levels, as for some people it is these results, together with how we feel, that helps us determine our exact sweet spot.

Are your iron levels good ? ?

[ramsfs10 in reply to radd]

thanks for the reply. i need to split doses also if i take to much in one hit i get super anxious

[Heloise in reply to ramsfs10]

radd made some good points but I have never split dosing. I have taken 50 mcgs. of T3 each night as some people feel T3 it's more useful then. I've also taken one Naturethroid and one 25 mcg T3 at bed time. I've also taken them in the morning. When I can't obtain T3 I take two grains of NDT. I have never felt a bump or a slump either way so I don't know if I'm different or what but remember when your thyroid is working the hormone is going to the bloodstream. Oral and exogenous hormone routes through the digestive system to the liver and kidneys but that's all I know.

[LAHs]

I agree with the posts above and I would like to add one of my experiences. Once when I was very busy (working in one of our crazy elections), I was so stressed I could only concentrate on the work at hand. I streaked out of the house, remembered that I had to do a blood test before work so as not to be late. And that is what I did, I was first in line. When I got to the polling station just one hour later I had an emergency call from my Endo telling me to stop my medication immediately that my T3 was reading dangerously high and well over range. It was then that I realized that I had taken my meds that morning on autopilot then had the blood test. (I am on Armour NDT 1.5 grains).

So yes, as others have pointed out, if you are still over-range after 12 hours then yes, cut back a bit. My "hyper" lasts about 1 hour (mostly in bed or feeding the cats), then I am normal (as the pill wears down). I think I can be hyper for about 1 hour without doing any damage, but 12 hours is pushing your luck. You might also want to monitor your blood pressure, is it affecting your heart? That is the bottom line.

[ramsfs10 in reply to LAHs]

thanks. do you split dose? and how many hours do you normally leave before ur blood test?

[LAHs in reply to ramsfs10]

I do not split my dose, I take it all at about 6:00am in the morning then I go back to sleep or watch CNN for about an hour or I stay awake for 1/2 hour, do my exercises, then feed the animals (that takes up the second 1/2 hour). When I have a blood test I simply do not take my meds that morning - that is not what you are supposed to do if your meds contain T3 but it's the best I can do because of where I live and where the blood draw clinic is. I make allowances that my T3 will show up very low on my results - but it's always "in range" and I feel fine. BTW, you are supposed to leave only half an hour if you are on T3 because of it's short half life (~8 hours), if you leave it longer then your externally taken T3 will be next to nothing.