Efficacy of NDT as time goes by?: I wonder if NDT... - Thyroid UK

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Efficacy of NDT as time goes by?

Hypopotamus profile image
15 Replies

I wonder if NDT loses some of its efficacy as it gets older. For a long time I did very well on T-Man from Thailand, and last year when it looked like it was going to be unavailable, I ordered a years supply. This last couple of months, I have not felt quite so well, and measuring my temperature and pulse rate this last few weeks indicates that I am hypo again.

Has anybody noticed something similar?

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Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus
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15 Replies
LivingWithHT profile image
LivingWithHT

You either need to increase your dosage or the quality of T Man NDT has drastically deteriorated like the other NDTs.

I have tried the latest Tru Thyroid NDT (an improved version of Thiroyd) and it did nothing good for me. I used to take Thiroyd several years back and while it wasn’t great, it was better than nothing for me but then the quality of its later batches started going bad and a lot of people, including myself, found their hypo symptoms were returning while on them.

Personally, I never found Thai NDTs to be that potent or effective but they were easier to obtain than the better and more popular NDT brands. Unfortunately, even brands like Armour, Nature-throid, WP Thyroid and NP Thyroid have lost their efficacy, too, due to their reformulation.

I honestly don’t think there are any effective NDTs in the market now and you’ll be lucky if you find any synthetic thyroid medications that still do a passable job, if not a genuinely decent one.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus in reply toLivingWithHT

The same batch was working fine from some time last year, to a few months back.

I found that Thiroid worked reasonably well for me (there are so many other variables in our health that it is difficult to be certain about this sort of thing). But I did feel better on T-Man so I switched to that.

I started with Armour until it was changed, then ERFA until it was altered, and have read all the stories of the other well-known brands becoming less effective. It is looking very gloomy, particularly for me as I didn't do well in the seven years that I was on synthetic T3.

If Tru Thyroid is still available, could you PM me please with where I can get some?

LivingWithHT profile image
LivingWithHT in reply toHypopotamus

PM sent.

I tried TR T-Man, too, but still preferred Thiroyd. I do know I have certain vitamin/mineral issues that decrease the efficacy of thyroid medication but even when I did/do supplement with the needed vitamins and minerals, I felt/feel no noticeable difference on the Thai NDTs.

Nature-throid worked better for me before its reformulation.

**Forgot to add that it is highly possible there was inconsistency of potency in some of the bottles from the TR T-Man batch you were using.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus in reply toLivingWithHT

It's interesting that what suits one doesn't work for another. My endo calls me an enigma (but obviously not one that he is keen to solve).

LivingWithHT profile image
LivingWithHT in reply toHypopotamus

😄

You could be an open book and he likely still wouldn’t be keen to solve your issues, lol.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

Thanks. I empty one of the foil sachets (from the original plastic tub) into a brown glass medicine bottle, and keep that in the fridge.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

I can't see how a glass bottle with a seal and screw lid could be worse than keeping them in a non-sealed foil sachet. |Likewise, I don't see that keeping them in the fridge will be worse than somewhere else in the house. It isn't that cool in my house in summer time.

I tried Thyroid-S but it didn't work for me, and it made my skin and hair very greasy.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toHypopotamus

If you take the bottle (or any other container) out of the refrigerator, take a tablet or two out, and put the container back, there is every likelihood of increasing the humidity in the container.

I would split large supplies into several smaller lots - each one packaged as air-tight as possible. Humidity, oxygen and light are enemies of thyroid hormones.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus in reply tohelvella

Would you really let in more humidity in those few seconds of taking out a dose from a sealed container, than leaving the tablets in an unsealed sachet 24/7?

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toHypopotamus

If you have a pack of 500 tablets, you might take it out (and thus expose to condensation) five hundred times.

Just think how quickly a cold glass steams up (or, as a spectacle wearer, cold glasses :-) )

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus in reply tohelvella

I can see that condensation could be an issue, but thee bottle is only open for a second or two. I've never noticed the tablets becoming soft over time.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toHypopotamus

Blister packaging has become usual for many medicines because, among other things, it provides protection against humidity.

You might well not notice individual tablets getting soft.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

I only mentioned Thyroid-S as you had. Yes, the question is about efficacy, but ultimately nearly every thread here is about us getting well.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

I have not had a test since last September/October. Although I am supposed to have a consultation every 3-4 months, they forgot to book me an appointment, and I wasn't seen until February after I phoned to find out why I hadn't been seen. The appointment was too soon to get a blood test done. (the consultations usually consist of nothing more than asking me how I am, and telling me to continue on my present dose). Although I was given another appointment, it came after the lock-down started, so it was a telephone consultation with no blood test. That is why I have been doing the temperature/pulse rate tests myself.

I am reluctant to increase the dose and shorten the time before I run out. It doesn't sound like it is easy to get even Liothyronine at present, and we don't know how long the present situation will go on for.

I have recently been put on Naproxen (with Omeprazole) for arthritis, but that is only in the last couple of weeks.

I wouldn't say that I am feeling rubbish, at least not compared to how I felt pre-NDT. But I am not as good as I was the last couple of years.

The T-Man 1000 pack comes in a plastic tub with two foil sachets of 500. You have to open the foil sachet or you can't get the pills out, so the only options are: leave the pills in the unsealable sachet, pour them into the plastic tub, or put them in a bottle like I do.

Hypopotamus profile image
Hypopotamus

No - loose.

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