These ranges were introduced to used alongside the " new thyroid hormone replacement treatment " launched by Big Pharma in the 1960's as Big Pharma were not able to patent NDT for themselves to benefit from.
On NDT you treat to the relief of symptoms - and slowly increase by 1/4 grains monitoring blood pressure and temperature :
When you start to feel a little " wired or on edge " , from a dose increase, drop back that last quarter grain increase and stay on the lower dose for 6 weeks and let the NDT bed in. and see that slightly lower dose as your current most appropriate dose when on NDT.
I'm confused about how I'm feeling, as I also have fibromyalgia and some of the symptoms are the same as hypothyroidism. Also, I've been very sedentary these past few days (because I hurt my knee). I do feel better than I have felt in a while, but I guess that would be the case since I started with a low dose of NDT and have been building up.
My basal temperature these last 4 days was around 36.6 and my afternoon temperature 37.1. My blood pressure was around 100/60 and pulse around 70. This blood pressure may be a bit high for me, as I used to naturally have low blood pressure (80/60 or 90/70) when I was healthy.
I did try going up to 2 grains and I thought I didn't feel quite right. I was afraid of overdosing so I only took that for 2 days and then went back to 1 3/4.
Well it sounds as though you are feeling better than you have in while so that's a plus:
I find NDT very subtle, and after my almost immediate experience of having my brain turned back on, my other hypo symptoms have lessoned over a much longer period of time.
I can't get my temperature above 36.6 and my pulse constant throughout
My first result on NDT had my T3 a whole number over range, and this was after about 10 hours from my dose, after only water and I had no hyper symptoms.
So the next time I had a blood draw, everything went a bit crazy and I ended up having a nurse draw blood at around 16 hours after my full dose and after I had eaten and my T3 came in - in range - and psychologically I felt better knowing if I needed to I could be in range for a doctor, if I needed to be.
I was advised to wait 24 hours if dosing with NDT to get " numbers " that your doctor would like to see.
I did drop my dose after my first results but returned back up to 1 + 1/2 grains as after a about a month I started feeling aches and pains.
I did try adding back in some T4 but wasn't aware of any improvements in my stamina.
Maybe you can try adjusting down by a 1/4 grain if too concerned about the numbers, but to be honest I've now just got on with things, and am not too fixated with the results, having a yearly blood test more for my levels of vitamins and minerals than anything else.
Thank you pennyannie. I guess I am concerned about the numbers. I remember my prescriber once telling me that we don't want our TSH to drop below 0.01. I will try adjusting down by 1/4 grain and see how I feel.
I think it becomes a confidence thing as we have all been misinformed and unnecessarily frightened by our numbers when medics don't know what to do or how to treat us.
My TSH is stuck at 0.01 - but I'm feeling so much better and if with an AI thyroid disease you don't want the gland stimulated as surely that encourages further activity with the antibodies.
To be honest at 73 I'd prefer my wellness now - rather than stay unwell living half a life because of some unfounded dogma about potential health risks in later life.
True, I'm already at " later life " but I would have made this decision years earlier had I known then, what I know now.
Listen to your body, adjust slowly up or down by 1/4 and wait for the dose to bed in :
I think I remember you being with Hashimoto's so there's always the potential to feel overmedicated when the thyroid comes under attack - irrespective of the dose of NDT you are on, and then the need to adjust your levels during these transient hyper swings and possibly longer term need additional NDT as your thyroid becomes further disabled and less productive.
Thanks pennyannie! I had forgotten about the hyper swings. Perhaps I'm going through one now.
When I'm very overmedicated or very undermedicated I can tell the difference. But when I'm only a little bit off, I can't always distinguish between the symptoms, as many of them are the same in both cases. I get palpitations, fatigue and depression whether I'm a bit undermedicated or a bit overmedicated. The symptoms that are different happen when my thyroid levels are more out of balance.
Hi pennyannie! I somehow missed this reply of yours from a couple of months ago. Of course you helped me make more sense of things, you have been very helpful! Thank you! xxx
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Thank you for your reply!
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