Giving ndt a go when undiagnosed

[75458854]

Medichecks thyroid check plus February 13th 2018

TSH

0.27 - 4.2 R

3.31

mIU/L

FREE T3

3.1 - 6.8 R

5.2

pmol/L

FREE THYROXINE

12 - 22 R

14.8

pmol/L

TOTAL THYROXINE

66 - 181 R

81.9

nmol/L

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES

< 115 R

<10

kU/L

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES

< 34 R

10.7

kIU/L

The worst my tsh has been is 4.9 miu/L and my t4 has been under range once when it was 11 on a scale of 12-22 pmol/l medichecks where as my t3 has always been okay not sure if there is other issues going on there

B12 was very low so I've been supplementing that

Always took supplements like vitamin d, b, c, magnesium, zinc, selenium and iodine

I dont want to wait for more blood tests and supplementing as I've been waiting too long

Well man ultravit 6th March 2018

FOLATE - SERUM

3.89 - 26.8 R

19.98

ug/L

VITAMIN B12 - ACTIVE

37.5 - 188 R

155

pmol/L

VITAMIN D

50 - 175 R

137

nmol/L

Been suffering with symptoms for 5 years or so

Dry lips

Extreme fatigue

Severe memory loss (had to see a neurologist for, thought it might have been epilepsy or brain tumour)

Clumsiness

Anxiety and depression

No motivation to do anything

Anger problems

No libido

Bad Brain fog

And other less annoying ones that I can't think of

I'm supplementing with zinc 30mg daily which makes me feel a lot better mentally eg can cope with my anger

I use nicotine and coffee to self medicate fatigue, depression, etc

Memory loss is mainly short term like forgetting what someone told me to do a minute ago although I was walking to my friends house and forgot how to get there a few years ago and that's one that sticks with me.

Was on antidepressants for 3 to 4 years which did make me feel better but I knew it was chemical and not real so I came off them because I didn't like the feeling of being on something synthetic

Tried iodoral (iodine and iodide) 50mg for 3 months and it made me feel great cured my fatigue and I wanted to go out and do stuff like see friends and family and just do stuff like hobby wise like fishing college meet people etc but I came off it because I was scared of it sending me hyper as I was feeling too hot at times on it and knew I was taking too much. Now I'm back to the start (also I was taking that while I was on antidepressants worth noting)

Wouldn't risk going back on it again as I was desperate and don't know the risks

So I ordered some ndt to try as all I do all day is sit in the House all day but I'm scared of taking it now in case it damages my thyroid but I'm desperate

The ndt I've got is nature throid 1/2 Train 32mg I know it's only a low dose but I want to see how I react to it before upping it

Any opinions on whether I should take ndt or not, will it damage me if i come off it, is it worth taking it with my symptoms and levels as my levels dont seem too bad and I can't even get a diagnosis

Thanks

[greygoose]

NDT will not damage your thyroid. It will not do anything to your thyroid. It certainly won't make your thyroid better. It is thyroid hormone replacement, replacing the hormone your thyroid can no-longer make itself. It contains 19 mcg T4 and 4.5 mcg T3 for 1/2 grain. Which is a recommended starter dose. From there on, you would increase by 1/4 grain every two weeks, holding at 1 grain for six weeks and retesting. And, no, it wouldn't do any harm if you stopped taking it. Your thyroid would eventually go back to just doing what it had been doing before you started it.

Whether or not you should take it is another matter entirely. The majority of doctors would say no, you don't need it. But, the majority of doctors know nothing about thyroid. They go by the unfit-for-purpose ranges. But, technically, you are hypo when the TSH reaches 3. But, if you have symptoms, then personally, I would say it's worth a go.

But, two provisos:

a) you have found a reliable source from whence you will be able to continue supplying yourself with NDT

b) your nutrients - vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin - have been tested and found to be optimal. Have you had them all tested? Are you supplementing those that are sub-optimal with all the co-factors?

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for filling me in, all of my nutrients are optimal apart from b12 which I am supplementing currently

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Optimal? Or just in-range?

What are you taking at the moment?

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

Vitamin d was too high so backed off on that

Folate was good so backed off on that because I heard it can make b12 deficiency worse

Ferritins just above halfway through the range and now just eating high iron foods with vit c

Just supplementing 10000 mcg b12 sublingual a day but haven't took it for a couple of weeks as I'm getting a serum b12 test done soon

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Were you taking magnesium and vit K2 - MK7 with your vit d?

When taking B12 you should also take a B complex because all the Bs work together and need to be kept balanced. I'm not sure it's worth testing B12 when supplementing. You need to be off it for about 5 months to get a true reading, I've heard.

What was the range for the ferritin?

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

Yes was taking magnesium and k2 although I werent taking them for an entire year as I didn't know you had to take them as well lol that was stupid.

I didn't know you had to take a b complex with b12 either, I'll have to start taking that and I'm not waiting 5 months for a true reading I've already ordered the test so I may ad well do it just to make sure the b12 is working

Ferritin is 30 - 400 R

235

ug/L

So just above halfway

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Wow! That's a very wide range. lol I wasn't expecting that.

So, sounds as if you're set to go. But, keep an eye on those levels from time to time. They could drop again.

Have you decided if you're going to give it a go or not? If you do, remember, we're always here if you're unsure of anything.

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

I think I'll give it a go tomorrow just slightly terrified 😂

I'll make sure to ask for help if I need it thankyou 🙂

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Nothing to be terrified of. Nothing terrible is going to happen. Just treat hormones with respect and everything will be ok. They're not drugs, like aspirin. They take time to work. But you still need to start low and increase slowly, observe your reactions, and get to know your body. And everything should be alright.

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

Too scared to take it lol

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Explain what you're scared of. What do you think will happen?

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

It's just taking something new like what if it makes me worse or panic attack and it makes it worse on an empty stomach because it will kick in straight away or it makes me hyper, stuff like that

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

If it makes you worse - which is always a possibility, we have to face that - you just stop it. It won't have done any harm, not the dose you're starting on. Or, you ride it out in the hope that it will get better. As you wish.

But, it's rather doubtful that there will be any instantaneous effects. Hormones don't work like that. They take their time. It certainly won't make you hyper! You cannot become hyper because you are hypo. You can become over-medicated, but if you start out on 1/2 a grain, that's hardly going to happen. But, should you feel that it has, just stop it, no harm done.

The worst that is likely to happen in the short term is that one of the fillers in the tablet disagrees with you. But, that could happen with any tablet, vitamins included.

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

Hopefully I'll have the guts to try it tomorrow

[75458854 in reply to greygoose]

I think I'll just force it down and then try focus on something else like a game or film

[greygoose in reply to 75458854]

Oh, dear. You do make it sound like an ordeal. It's really not that terrible. You'll be fine.

[NWA6]

Ok so I know nothing about NDT or vitamin levels but here’s my 2cents.

Your TSH is high, your working hard to maintain your current levels. Your FT3 is Fairly good esp considering your FT4 is at the low end of the range. So you’re a good convertor #bonus 🤗

A little boost would do you good. You’ve got wiggle room with your ranges, for sure. As a good convertor I’d probably go for Levothyroxine rather than adding T3. But maybe my thinking is because I don’t know much about NDT. So 🤷‍♀️

[75458854 in reply to NWA6]

Yeah it looks like I might be better on t4 but I've heard that a lot of people react better to ndt than Levothyroixine, that might be due to them being poor converters though. I wouldn't know where to buy Levothyroixine or t4 supplements from either so hopefully the ndt works 🙂

[NWA6 in reply to 75458854]

Hey 👋 Sorry not true that people react better to NDT. A REALLY high percentage of people do so well on Levo, like 70-80 % of underactive patients. It’s the go to hormone and I think it’s the best place to start. It’s just that most people on this forum have been given dud advice and they’re either not offered enough Levo or their not good convertors or they don’t do well on synthetics. You’re already converting really well, adding T3 might be hard to balance. Feeling hyper and sick with it is way worse than feeling Hypo.

But if you’re set on NDT then start slow and take the advice from NDT users on here ( not me, I can only offer virtual hugs and back pats 😂)

[75458854 in reply to NWA6]

Oh well that'll be the next thing to try if ndt doesn't work out thanks for the advice 🙂

[Catseyes235]

I’m actually quite confused as to what makes you believe you have a thyroid condition? Am I missing something as your tests seem to be in the normal range.

[75458854 in reply to Catseyes235]

They are in range but some people have symptoms while in range and some people feel completely fine while their levels may be very low, I'm the former.

If the ndt relieves the symptoms then it probably is a thyroid condition and there is something else going on that the levels being in range are hiding.

The UK has a very wide range of tsh compared to say germany and America where I think it is a tsh of 3 and youre diagnosed hypo, (I may be wrong there)

So I think it's worth a try to see if it helps me 🙂

[Catseyes235]

What exactly are your symptoms? From what you’ve said, giving up nicotine and coffee might help. I’ve taken anti-depressants a couple of times (for about a year each time) years ago which got me through whatever was going on at the time and certainly healthier than nicotine which I gave up. Anti- depressants may be chemical but we are all made of chemical elements. Are you having any medical input?

[75458854 in reply to Catseyes235]

Constantly tired, dry skin and lips, bad memory loss, brain fog, depersonilisation, they're listed in the description

Giving up nicotine and caffeine is probably the worst thing I could do and I vape so I guess that's healthier

I see a neurologist for the memory loss but they think it's a mental issue

[Catseyes235]

Don’t know how old you are but what you describe doesn’t sound necessarily thyroid related. The main things would be feeling cold when it’s warm to others (I was putting on cardigans in the heatwave of ‘76.) hair loss and weight gain. Menopause? Mine started super early at 42 when doing a degree ..not good but HRT made me a new woman.

[75458854 in reply to Catseyes235]

Oh yeah I always have that my temp is usually 36 I'm only 19, I forgot to mention it because it's just a normal thing to me it doesn't stick out lol