Newbie from US on NDT

[JessicaOK]

I’ve been stalking the posts for a couple months but couldn’t seem to get up the nerve to post but here it goes...48 yo female in US. Struggled with weight, depression, anxiety, low energy, and inability to concentrate for years. On anti-depressants for years with the only benefit being that I was able to get out of the bed and work... Lost a significant amount of weight a couple years ago using HCG and then promptly put it back on. Doctor checked my thyroid levels and even though I’m within range he put me on NDT last November. He explained that although I’m in range I’m not optimal. From what I understand I’m quite lucky that I have a doc like this. He IS really great! He started me out slow though. Only a half a grain a day. Then up to a grain. Now I’m at 1 1/2 grains split between two doses. Each time I go up I feel better for a few days but then the good feeling starts to wane.

Latest test 7/30/19

TSH. 1.23. (.40 - 4.5 mIU/L)

FT3. 2.7. (2.3-4.2 pg /mL)

FT4. 1.2. (.8-1.8 ng/ dL)

Vit D. 26. (30-100 ng /mL)

Doc prescribed 5000 iU Vit D a day but I’m not always good about remembering to take it so I just ordered the spray so I can take it in a.m. with other meds. Think low Vit D is why I’m still not feeling great? I don’t have numbers for Ferratin. Thanks for any help.

[greygoose]

I think low FT3 is why you're not feeling great. How do you take your NDT? Do you take it on an empty stomach, at least an hour before eating or drinking coffee? Do you take any other medication or supplements at the same time as your NDT? If you take vit D by mouth, there should be a gap of four hours.

Did he test anything other than vit D? B12? Folate? Ferritin? These could also be low, and causing problems.

Also, your doctor is increasing by too much at a time. We usually advise 1/4 grain every two weeks. The body needs time to adjust, and the larger the increase, the more difficult it is for it to adjust.

Each time I go up I feel better for a few days but then the good feeling starts to wane.

That is perfectly normal, it just means you need an increase in dose. But, even so, you shouldn't increase by more than 1/4 grain every two weeks.

What is HCG?

[MaisieGray in reply to greygoose]

It's human chorionic gonadotropin I believe - given in drops or by injection in association with a low calorie diet.

[greygoose in reply to MaisieGray]

Thank you. So, I googled it and am not impressed! Don't think I'd take it. Such a low-calorie diet could, in itself, affect the thyroid.

[MaisieGray in reply to greygoose]

No, I'm not tempted either, much as I'd love to shed my excess weight. 😝 I agree with you, the low calorie diet isn't a very good idea either.

[JessicaOK in reply to MaisieGray]

It was no fun and I won’t do it again!

[MaisieGray in reply to JessicaOK]

When the menopause sent everything into a tail spin, including my weight, I did the Cambridge diet at 420 calories per day, for 6 months; and found it quite liberating, eating-wise, and definitely successful at that time - but an intelligent choice? Definitely not ......

[greygoose in reply to MaisieGray]

In what way 'liberating'?

[MaisieGray in reply to greygoose]

Not having to think about what to eat and what not to eat, & not having to cook, because it was provided for by the Cambridge products - the only thinking I had to do was deciding what flavour milkshake .... So I could just get on with my working day knowing that 'meals' were covered. The 'high' that being in ketosis gives you, along with the increased focus and energy was no doubt part of it too. But as I say, sensible in the long term, no.

[greygoose in reply to MaisieGray]

OK, I understand. I didn't realise it was that sort of diet.

My doctor - before diagnosis - once insisted that I do one of these diets that are meals in a shake - not the same one, because I live in France. I think it was 800 calories a day, and you were supposed to do 11 days at a stretch.

All the flavours were horrible and tasted synthetic. And I so missed chewing! My teeth were always furred up, no matter how many times a day I cleaned them. The last couple of days I resorted to eating cucumber in vinegar to give me something to chew without calories, and to refresh my mouth. I put on 3 kilos in those 11 days, and my doctor wouldn't believe I hadn't cheated.

[JessicaOK in reply to greygoose]

I believe that may have been what happened.

[JessicaOK in reply to greygoose]

I take 3/4 grain in morning before food or coffee (not always an hour, maybe 30-45 min) and then take 3/4 grain around 2 or 3 p.m. This just in the last few days. Had been doing 1/2 & 1/2. Doc didn’t check my Ferratin. My B-12 was low last year and he put me on monthly shots for a year. MaisieGray is right. It’s a hormone used with a very low calorie diet.

What other tests do you suggest?

[greygoose in reply to JessicaOK]

Best to leave an hour each time, for maximum absorption. Have you tried taking it all at once?

I would definitely suggest you get your folate tested. And, if you were on B12 shots, you should have also been taking a good B complex, because the Bs all work together and need to be kept balanced. And then there's vit D, that should be tested. But, ferritin is an absolute must.

[JessicaOK in reply to greygoose]

Yes. My Vit D is very low. I just ordered the oral spray since I often forget to take the pills with a meal.

[greygoose in reply to JessicaOK]

If you get gels with the vit D in some kind of oil (not soy oil) then it doesn't matter too much if you don't take it with food. It's the fat it needs to be absorbed.

[JessicaOK in reply to greygoose]

Ohhhhh. Thank you for the info!!!!

[greygoose in reply to JessicaOK]

You're welcome.

[JessicaOK in reply to greygoose]

When I first started out on 1/2 grain I took it all in morning. But was still feeling fatigued by afternoon. When he upped my dosage a couple months later he suggested splitting the dose. It does seem to help with the afternoon fatigue.

[greygoose in reply to JessicaOK]

OK