I am finally going to throw the towel in with Naturethroid, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I take 2 grains first thing on an empty stomach. I am now wondering how to switch over. Do I just do it, or should I go gradually?
What do you think the equivalent of 2 grains of Naturethroid would be to Levo' + T3. I remember when I was first given Levo' after my thyroidectomy I did not fare very well as I did not convert.
Is there anybody out there in the same predicament, and how did you switch over?
Thank you
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Margo
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After my thyroidectomy I went straight on to Levo', I did a spell on Armour, and then I was reasonably well on T3 only until somebody spoke to me (on here) about "T3 madness", which gave me cause for thought. I then went on to Naturethroid which I thought was probably the best I have ever been, and then of course the formula was changed, and it has been downhill ever since.
I am going to go through the replies on here and make a decision this morning, I am loathe to go on Levo/T3 but just feel so lost at the moment and don't know where to turn. But would certainly consider WP.
How much WP do you take, and how often? Would you mind to pm me the contact details please?
I ended up feeling exactly the same as you. Too many changes and too much experimentation I didn't know where I was. March last year whilst on a trip to Poland I became very ill. Turns out I was under medicated on NT thyroid. I made the decision to go back on Levothyroxin, I would use it as a safety net until I decided at some time in the future to try NDT again. I changed brands within the first month and have been on Levothyroxin ever since. I went through issues of headaches, elbow joint pain and tiredness. Those have all disappeared. I was suffering fro. Anxiety and some panic attacks. I increased the dose from 150 and 125 alternative days to 150 every day, against my Dr's advice. The anxiety and panic attacks dissapered within a week and have not returned. At the moment I have no plans to return to apart from maybe adding a small amount to Levothyroxin which I inteneded to see if it would help with some joint ache's and pains but as I'm writing this I notice I don't have any.
Some would disagree with this but if you want to get back to level ground maybe returning to Levothyroxin for the time being may help. It's not such an experiment.
Can I ask how you are doing now, if if you're still on T4 only? I recently switched back after ending up over medicated on NDT so would be interested in hearing from others who have been on levo only for a longer period of time, after taking T3.
Two grains is 76 mcg T4 and 18 mcg T3. So, you could do a straight swop for 75 mcg T4 and 20 mcg or 18.75 mcg T3, depending on the size of your T3 pills - is it 20 mcg or is it 25 mcg.
But, are you sure you were on enough NatureThroid?
Thank you greygoose , I believe I was taking the right dose, as when ever I upped I seemed to go hypo' with all the symptoms of over medication.
My latest bloods:-
TSH 0.01 0.3 - 5.0
Free T4 8.8 pmol/L 7.9 - 16.0
Free T3 5.5 pmol/L 3.8 - 6.0
But these are confusing because every other day I take Metavive I, in the hope it might improve my symptoms.
The yellow patches around my eyes have become more profound (xanthalasma), I had the same in 2011 but it eventually went away, which says to me it is to do with the medication. As I re-call back in the day low thyroid was diagnosed by high cholesterol. My cholesterol levels are high.
I don't think it's a good idea to take metavive every other day, because it contains T3. With T3 you should take a regular, steady dose, not alternating doses. So, if you took it every day, it would bring your FT3 up just that little bit which might be enough to make you well. If your cholesterol levels are high, then your FT3 is too low.
But xanthelasma can be associated with several different diseases, and not necessarily with high cholesterol.
I agree with you greygoose , I was clutching at straws with the Metavive. I took Metavive II everyday and couldn't cope with it, which was why I dropped down to Metavive I every other day, which I thought made a difference.
I thought Xanthelasma was only associated with cholesterol? I will do a bit more research on this, thank you . I had it in 2011 and it finally went, but can't remember what I was taking, I think it might have been T3 only.
I might consider carrying on with the Naturethroid (as I have stocked up till October, due to the lack of supply and fear of not being able to get any more, and having spent a fortune) x 3 a day as Bearly56 is doing, at least I have the Naturethroid here, and if that doesn't work, you and others have given me some good advice to play around with other meds'.
Well greygoose I struggle with keeping a good level of ferritin. I supplement myself as my G.P. doesn't think I am low, I generally take Spatone everyday. During the summer I lapsed and became quite ill, in fact feeling like I do now. I have started taking just 1 sachet daily, and wondering if this could have a bearing. In August my Ferritin was 50 (15 - 300), it has been as low as 34 I don't really know where I should be to feel better. My total 25 Vitamin D is 90 (76 - 150ml) do you think this too is too low, although I have increased the supplements I am taking to bring it up a bit.?
Thank you greygoose , I was suspicious of the ferritin. The thing is I should know all of this by now, but when you are not well all common sense flies out of the window. I have stepped up the Vit D as I thought it should be higher, although you reckon it is ok. I have to make sure I have good levels because I am minus parathyroids x 1 maybe 2, but equally I know that too much would not b a good thing either.
I've been on NDT for over 2 years,taking 2 grains at around 5am.I started on Naturethroid(before it got hard to source & then started giving people issues.Now on Thai NDT.This followed 16 years on thyroxine & 2 years on T3-only,after a brief time on T4+T3.
My blood panel from the NHS & a comprehensive one from Medichecks show results that I am happy with(my GP is freaking out due to a suppressed TSH & a higher FT3 than he can cope with)
But I have gone up a dress size & am now overweight.My energy levels have decreased & my muscles are weak.
My GP refuses to consider having me in his practise unless I go back to thyroxine(I have recently re-located from an enlightened GP practise in Cumbria to East Sussex)
Given these two factors,I am thinking about going back to thyroxine,but with T3.
I have finally done a thyroid genetics test which has confirmed:-
a)I have the D102 varient from both parents that affect conversion of T4 to T3
b)I don't clear stress(cortisol)effectively.Now I know why I have had to nervous breakdowns after prolonged stress.I am keen to avoid a third!
After seeing the GP yesterday,I am unable to sleep,hence this early reply!
Oh dear Naomi8 , sounds like you are in a bad place like me.
Are you saying that the NDT made you put on weight? I have found on Naturethroid I am always hungry and am eating more, which has resulted in weight gain.
I have had a gene test like you, but don't understand it, and haven't the energy to find somebody to do it for me. I suspect I don't convert either.
Not sleeping will put on the weight, I had a spell of that, a terrible time I was so ill, which upsets me so much now, as I was on a reasonable level of health and managing my life until the Naturethroid was reformulated, but now just so tired, and having accidents all the time, I nearly sliced my finger off last Saturday and ended up at A&E......
Can you get Armour thyroid where you are? ... I was on Armour for years and did just fine. ... Because I am thyroid resistant, my Doc suggested we try going to Cytomel so I could take "fewer pills". ... I was on Cytomel for four years and doing fine, when it went off the market. Doc put me on Mayne T3 and I just didn't feel as well as when I was on Cytomel. So, last week he added 2 grains of Armour a day to my regimen and I feel better already!
I’m on Nature-Throid, I’m taking 3 grains. My prescription from my Endo states that I should take one grain at 6:30am, one at 12:30pm and one at 16:30pm. Have you tried spacing out the dosage rather than taking all in one go?
Thank you Bearly56 I haven't considered spacing the Naturethroid. I could give it a go today. Is your Endo' in the UK? Do you have a thyroid, I am sure it makes a difference.
Yes my Endo is in the UK. I do have a Thyroid but it doesn’t work anymore. My Endo explained that the dosage needs to be spaced out as the T3 part is faster acting than the T4 part.
Thank you Gingersnap202 . I tried Armour about 10 years ago and didn't get on with it, although my life is so much better (no stress to speak of), and am wondering if I would be ok on it now. I have considered adding T3 to my 2 grains of Naturethroid but my T3 blood results are already at the top of the range, have also considered taking just 1 grain of Naturethroid and T3. How much T3 do you take, and do you take it together with the Armour?
Hi Margo, so sorry you are still having problems...I changed over to Levo and t3 in November last year, I used to take 2 3/4 Nature Throid, my endo suggested 125 thyroxine and 25 T3..but too much T3, after trying several combinations, I can say I’m fine on 100 levo 3 days a week with 12 1/2 t3 split twice daily, then 4 days on 125 levo with 12 1/2 split twice daily....fingers crossed, I feel fine at the moment...I hope you find something that helps you...it’s so frustrating , and not fair .
So I made this change too. I could not tolerate more than 1 1/2 grains. I would have chest pain but 11/2 grains was really under medicated for me so I added Tirosint (T4) to my Naturethroid in 12.5 mg increments every 6 weeks and I felt my strength come back. I eventually quit That mix because the Tirisint gave me headaches. Now I’m on 112 name brand Levoxyl and T3. I feel better but it took months to get get me strength up. Taking stomach acid with enzymes helped a lot. I want to increase my dose but my Endo here in the US won’t because my TSH is at the bottom of the range. Hope this helps.
I'm in the U.S. also and you're TSH is always depressed, and is supposed to be, whenever you are on any T3. You're endo is out of touch with the realities of Hypo. Get a new endo or dose yourself and tell your endo after the next blood test. When taking T3 your TSH should be low.
Yes I’ve already brought that up to her that my TSH will be more depressed one on T3 but she said there’s no wiggle room to adjust my meds . At least feel lucky she lets me be at the very bottom of the range. The Endo I saw before her said he wouldn’t give me any medication until my thyroid was dead. This is after I told him I had no energy to shower even take care of my kids.
She said she wouldn't give you any meds until your thyroid was dead? She sounds like her brain is dead; her heart is malfunctioning. These "people" don't even deserve to be called human beings much less doctors. Where in the U.S. are you. I'm in Florida and have called my endo on his prescription(s) to get more T3, which I did and told him afterwords. He had to either prescribe the higher T3, which my blood-tests were taken on or dismiss me as a patient of his. He prescribed the extra T3, which I felt much better on & still do. Maybe a female doctor would suit you better, anybody sounds better than this guy. Is his name Dr. Strangelove?
I am sorry you are not doing so well. I switched, but it was the opposite of what you want to do, I went from Levothyroxine (generic) to NDT and never looked back. I felt absolutely dreadful on levothyroxine even when I added a little bit of t3 into the mix. I now take a brand called TR Man it's a brand that comes from Thailand and it has very little fillers which I hear can hinder absorption of thyroid hormone. Some people are sensitive to fillers that are used in many thyroid replacement medications, but TR Man has very little and I actually feel much better now. But anyway what I came here to say is that I hope you find what helps you most, navigating through what works can be challenging and tedious but hang in there!
could you please let me know the ingredients of TR Man, as when I have try to find out I cannot find anything about them, even the manufacturers website does not state them
What? It's been discontinued? Hmm well I was already planning on switching anyway to Thyroid-S the Thai NDT, I've heard good things about it and will definitely try it out. I think I have about 2 months left on TR.
I have never tried TR Mann Hidden ?!!! I am on Nature-throid and hate it. However, I have just ordered TR Mann in the hope it might sort me out. Can't wait to get my hands on the pills, and hoping they are on their way as I type.
I was pretty happy with T R Man, I actually felt normal and felt like I absorbed it very well! However one thing I didn't like much was the fact that they do not disclose all the ingredients, they seemed to be the only ones not do disclose all their ingredients too. Therefore I was considering changing, still a bit sad about it though I would definitely recommend it for those who don't really care knowing all the ingredients it worked well for me. I am switching to thyroid S
It was mentioned somewhere so I contacted my regular supplier and that person confirmed that it has indeed been discontinued (but will continue to be supplied as long as stocks last).
MrWellness94 , the more I think about how I felt when I took Levo' straight after my thyroidectomy in 2003, the more I feel I don't want to go back there even with the addition of T3. I didn't get on with the NHS T3 either. I like the sound of your NDT. TR Man, somebody else on here mentioned it too on a pm. How much do you take and when, as I think that also makes a difference? Would you mind to pm me with the details of your supplier, with this brain fog, I am struggling to think straight. Thanks again.
I unfortunately just saw your comment sorry! As for more information and dosage I can certainly PM you, I will find the right information and send you a message soon.
Good morning danym so sorry for the late reply. I haven't tried anything else as yet. I am concentrating on healing my gut and improving my already clean diet in the hope that this will help the situation. I have had some wonderful replies on here from other members of HU and have noted everything. My supply of Naturethroid runs out in October whether I make it to there is another thing, but I certainly will not buy any more, and maybe that will be the time to try other things. I am hoping that my head will be clearer to make a wise decision if that makes sense. How are you doing?
Thai NDT can easily be ordered online and there are suppliers both in Thailand and the UK. But the brand TR has been discontinued by the manufacturer. Some stocks are still available, but once they run out users will have to switch to another brand. So it might be a good idea not to try TR even if it's still available from some sellers.
I'm sorry, I have no idea but cannot imagine why not. You are supposed to protect the pills from heat, but I never read anything about cold. I even think some put them in the freezer. Hopefully, someone else will know for sure!
It's a shame they discontinued TR as many seemed to be doing great on it. I wonder why...it seems the company has not provided any explanation...
Thanks for your reply Londinium the high cholesterol thing seems to be very common. But mine really is a puzzle, both my T3 and T4 scores are where they should be. I know the connection with high cholesterol and thyroid but I don't fit into that bracket. I think in my case it is the Naturethroid not doing it's job, which leave me under medicated even though my blood results are telling me something different. As I mentioned I have had it before and the blobs went (I think I was on pure T3), but now they are back and worse since being on Naturethroid the past year or so when clearly the formula had been changed. Do you have a thyroid Londinium? What meds' are you on?
Well, Londinium no sooner had I fired off the reply to you, somebody had mentioned again about TR Mann, and I have just googled it, and ordered some, even though I know it is going to be discontinued, it might give me the confidence to try something else once that has finished. That said the pot I bought has enough meds for a year and a half for me.....I am hoping that it might make me feel better and get rid of these ugly yellow deposits around my eyes, stop my ears ringing, and this constant fatigue.
I tried adding T3 and splitting my Nature-throid dose and I was fine for 3 days and then, I had terrible vertigo, so bad I could not walk, I was so frightened I stopped it immediately and went back to my usual dose of 2 grains first thing.
I don't know how long the TR Mann will take to get to me from Thailand, but I will start them immediately, and if you want to check out how I am doing, and maybe you could give it a go too.
Thank you for this Londinium I watched the last 12 minutes as you advised, so interesting. What an irritating woman, I couldn't bear to watch her.
I find it rubbish that nothing has been changed, it can't be true, but we have our answer now, that massive charges for the raw ingredients caused the mayhem, what's all that about. I am wondering if it is a ploy by Big Pharma to stop us taking NDT and have us all on Levo' and ill.
I used to take Nutri Adrenal, but haven't taken it for a long time. If I think about it, I think I took it because I had had a lot of stress in my life, however, life is calm and tranquil. That said wondering if not having it made any difference to how I was feeling I ordered Adrenavive and am taking that. But quite honestly it hasn't made any difference.
What an interesting point, I was horrified that the piggies are not organic. You may have hit the nail right on the head. U.S.A. are known for their high usage of glyphosate. What an awful situation to be in, for me I MUST take something not having a thyroid, but I realise people with sick thyroids are no better off. Very frightening indeed!
Margo how are you labs now? I'm trying armour thyroid now, I don't know how I feel on it, my hair is falling out, very dry, heartp palps, anxiety, slow thinking, sluggis, when i tried to increase to 90 mg, I got very bad heart palps. I will wait a lil longer and then go to test again how do you know TR Mann will be discontinued?
I haven't got the results to hand, but they re fine. I am just waiting my order for TR Mann from Thailand, and hoping that things turn around. It must have been somebody on here that said that TR Mann is being discontinued.
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how do you know TR Mann will be discontinued?
Armour versus Levo
Back on Levo 100 after failed Naturethroid trial
Continue with t4/t3 or Levo only
