8 weeks ago I changed from Levothyroxine (75/100 alternate days) to 1 grain of Armour a day (0.5 grain twice a day).
I've got updated blood test results and wondering for any opinions on them. I've submitted them to the Functional Practitioner, but I'm very grateful for wider knowledgeable opinions from this forum too
I'm currently taking the following supplements too: Lamberts Multi-ADR complex, BetterYou Vitamin D 3000iu plus K2, Vitamin C 1000mg a day, omega fish oils, probiotics, 5-HTP, L-Glutamine and I also have been having vitamin B12 injections 6-weekly.
Has anyone got any opinions on the below results? I'm not feeling much better yet after switching the Armour, so I'm wondering whether a little increase will be needed?
Thanks in advance!
For context, my previous results on Levothyroxine were:
TSH- 1.26 mIU/L (0.27-4.2)
FT3- 4 pmol/L (3.1-6.8)
FT4- 19.1 pmol/L (12-22)
TgAB- 17 Ku/L (0-115)
TPOAb- 8.6 kIU/L (0-34)
T4- 100 nmol/L (66-181)
Written by
Louise1610
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I don't feel much different to when I was on Levo and the tiredness seems to be slightly worse!
Yes, the blood test was done first thing before any food, drink or medication and I took my last dose of Armour about 10-11 hours before the test was done.
I don't eat or drink for an hour before and after my Armour doses either and I take supplements like iron 4 hours away from it too. Vitamin C, vitamin D oral spray etc. I take 2 hours away from my morning dose.
When dosing with NDT you dose to the relief of symptoms and not a blood test.
NDT was successfully used to treat symptom of hypothyroidism for over 100 years prior to the days of medical science, and the blood tests, ranges and the guidelines introduced to be used along side Levothyroxine - Big Pharma's answer to supersede treatment with NDT.
A little bit of pig thyroid would have been given to a patient to chew on by the doctor, after checking clinical symptoms and suspecting a case of hypothyroidism.
If the patient came back the following week better - miracle worker :
If the patient came back improved but not 100% better a slightly larger nugget of pig thyroid would have been given to try and see if that helped.
So today we have pig thyroid dried and ground down into tablets referred to as grains, with each grain containing a measure of T3 and T4 at around a 1 / 4 ratio.
You dose slow and low with weekly increases by 1/4 grain until you feel better and there will be one week that you realise you have gone too far, as you'll feel edgy, uncomfortable and not just as good as the previous week.
You simply drop back down to the dose you were happy on the previous week, wait 6-8 weeks to allow this dose to bed in and then have a blood test.
Your TSH will probably be low suppressed : your T4 lower and your T3 higher than the bench mark numbers you started with especially if previously on T4 only.
Your temperature and blood pressure should be taken daily during this trial period and you should see your temperature increase : my blood pressure remained constant throughout.
If you reach 2 grains you should stay there for the 6-8 weeks anyway and take a blood test to compare with your bench mark numbers.
If your T3 hasn't moved that much NDT may not be the best option for you to take.
No thyroid hormone works well if vitamins and minerals are not maintained at optimal levels so you need to keep an eye on ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D.
So your T3 has risen and you have plenty of room to go up in 1/4 grain increments.
Sorry I didn't pick up on your ferritin level - this needs to up at around 70/80 for optimal conversion of the T4 into T3. and I know from experience that I feel at my best when my ferritin is at around 100 :
I read you are supplementing and trust your doctor is monitoring this for you ?
It takes time to build up ferritin but so worth it when you get there.
I now realise I need to keep supplementing these vitamins and minerals even though I'm more well now than I've been in ages and take a blood test just once a year for these supplements rather than my NDT numbers, as I'm now in in the driving seat.
My mention that your feel you have some adrenal issues ? The thyroid and adrenals do work in tandem and if you've been suffering for any length of time there can be knock on issues.
I supplement mine with adrenal glandular as I had RAI ablation for Graves so now do not have a thyroid and I read the RAI is taken up by other glands and organs in the body, to a lesser extent, and know my adrenals have taken a bashing, despite a short synacthen test showing " no action " ????
So, I aim for ferritin and vitamin D at around 100, folate at around 20 and active B12 at around 70 + / serum B12 at around 500 + :
Hope that helps and apologies for not looking further than my nose !!!!
I am supplementing, but I agree- I think I need a separate iron supplement- any recommendations on the best one to take?
Adrenal issues- yes, good spot, I had previously done saliva tests which showed low cortisol levels, but I haven't done much about it so far. I've considered an adrenal glandular before but worried about which one would be best to take! My doctor wants me to do another cortisol saliva test, but just haven't gotten around to it yet! Which adrenal glandular do you take? Do you take it continuously or for set periods of time? I heard that you only take them for so long, so wasn't sure how to approach it!
If your issue is " simply low ferritin " and your other iron markers in range and of no concern I 'm now supplementing as naturally as possible.
Eating liver and black pudding being the obvious and most effective choices, though not necessarily well liked by many people.
I now keep myself " topped up " with 1 tub a week of around 220 grams Asda frozen chicken livers.
They are very clean and mild and once defrosted flash fry down in a little olive oil and whiz down into a pate and if too dry add a little mayo and keep in a jam jar in the fridge.
I take about spoonful a day throughout the week and that's that supplement sorted.
After reading Barry Peatfield-Durrant's book - Your Thyroid and How To Keep It Healthy - found on the Thyroid uk website - I learnt further of the adrenal / thyroid connection and I do know that I benefited from taking these as I was really very unwell at the time.
The improvement these gave me in my ability to just " cope better " was measurable, and I understand you can't overdose as you " pee out " surplus ?
There are several brands on the market and due to supply issues I have taken various brands with no ill effect, and simply follow the dose recommendation.
Dr P - in his book mentions NAX by Nutri Advanced and that is where I started and still am on today about 4 years later.
I do not have a doctor and am self medicating and haven't involved myself in the cortisol/ saliva tests as I wouldn't know how to interpret them for myself.
My doctor has recommended to supplement with a 14mg tablet (1 or 2 a day) but I'm going to try the BetterYou 10mg oral spray and see how that affects me and retest in a few months time to check what it's done.
I've heard people mention about Berserker beef liver capsules can help instead of eating liver too, so that might be something to look into in future! I can't stand black pudding!! Liver sounds easier to manage though. I bet my dog would feel very jealous!!
Ok- I'll have a look into that as that's something I think could help. Interesting that you just pee out the excess- that's the same I believe with B12 too. Where do you buy NAX by Nutri-Advanced? I can't see it on Amazon...
The company is called nutri advanced and have a website with several glandular products - last time I looked NAX was out of stock but there were other options of glandular just not with the vitamins and minerals found in NAX.
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