Nature throid to armour

[london81]

Having just bought 15 months worth of nature throid i can see it’s being recalled, which is concerning. I have wondered about trialling armour but it’s very expensive. To take the same as I take currently (5.5 grains) i would be paying £200 a month plus import and taxes etc. However I did wonder if it’s a better NDT I may need less therefore saving money.

I have had my thyroid and associated vitamins tested, and do this regularly, the results were posted here and discussed so I won’t post again unless asked. I have just done a female hormone test and i’m doing a saliva cortisol test this week. if all is well on that front i’m wondering whether to try another NDT either armour if i can or similar. the thai ndt made me hypo.

does anyone have experience of switching to armour please?

[Jazzw]

You could just take slightly more of the Nature-Throid rather than switch? RLC are saying the issue is that the potency is somewhere between 87.5 and 90%. I take 3 grains a day and that works out to needing to take an additional quarter grain or so. Luckily it’s not been long since I purchased a bottle of half grains...

[london81 in reply to Jazzw]

thank you. my issue is i’m already taking a very high dose 5.5 a day, the cost is ridiculous! i’ll get some bloods done first then decide thanks and good luck

[SilverAvocado]

In general with these questions, I think all you can do is trial and error. Everyone's experience will be a little different.

A few years ago when Nature throid was unavailable for a while I swapped over to Acella NP. This is another American brand and was something like double the price for me. Armour was even more where I could buy it, maybe 5x or more the cost.

Many people said that Acella is stronger than Nature throid and that they had felt undermedicated when swapping over to Nature throid. But I also felt unmedicated when doing the swap the other way. I felt so bad experimenting with a straight swap ( Nature throid one day then Acella the next), I ended up doing it super slow and phased. I swapped just one of my daily tablets and stuck with that for some time, then swapped a second tablet.

From seeing quite a few anecdotes on the forum I think people tend to feel undermedicated when swapping to anything. I suspect it gives the body a shock and it takes a while to settle down and get full use of the hormone in a new formula of tablet.

[london81 in reply to SilverAvocado]

thank you this is useful thinking of trying metavive alongside Nature throid, maybe replacing one grain or so a day and seeing how I am. i don’t really have money to get blood tests more than once a year, especially as recently i’ve done a private hormone test, about to do a cortisol one and then i’ll be due a thyroid & vitamin test in december! I may also consider getting armour as a trial but i suppose if i can’t afford it long term what’s the point?! chasing tail comes to mind!!?

my sister is in australia and facing similar frustrations and worries.

hope you are doing well and thanks for your input xxx

[SilverAvocado in reply to london81]

Thanks

I used to get blood tests every dose judgement and every six weeks. But I've slowly started to do them less and less, as they don't really give much information. I already run with my freeT3 extremely out of range. At the moment I seem to be using mainly heart symptoms and pulse generally to close in on my dose. Not that that was the plan, it just turned out to be the thing I am measuring that seems to reveal the most.

[london81 in reply to SilverAvocado]

this is a very good approach. i took a tiny bit of t3 alongside my NDT once ( I reduced NDT too on the day) and my heart was not happy, I had chest pains and couldn’t run because of them. i knew immediately I needed to stop taking it. this is why I get SO frustrated with doctors who try to patronise me about my health, I know my body and am my best physician in a sense! currently battling with similar on behalf of my dad who looks and feels better on NDT but they are fixated on TSH. just finished writing a letter with lots of photos of him and relevant science, to try and allay their fears. again, probably a waste of time.......

have you ever tried metavive?

[SilverAvocado in reply to london81]

No, I havent tried Metavive, but one of the regulars in the Liverpool group have used it to great success, completely replacing a small dose of NDT they usually take during the Winter. I would definitely try it if I was in a position to do it.

Its awful having to fight against doctors for your dad's care One of the nice things about self medicating is not having to cope with all the nonsense!

[london81 in reply to SilverAvocado]

that’s brilliant isn’t it. i’ll let you know how I get on! Thinking of trying to have 50/50 metavive and NDT which would save me loads and last longer.

yes if only we had some security self medicating re: our sources. but at least we all have each other and this amazing group. learnt more here than ever from a doctor.

the good thing is the endo actually suggested my dad could try T3, and he acknowledged my dad has autoimmune, which is more than any medic has ever said/done for me previously, although i had success after a long fight by way of a very supportive letter.

hope to see you soon! 👍🏻💜