Help please! I was happily on Naturethroid from USA for 8 yrs. As you all know it's been discontinued. The UK GP gave me Levothyroxine which made me feel good physically yet suicidal so after 2 weeks I had to stop it. I then ordered Armour from USA as it is closest equivalent to Naturethroid BUT it gave me a migraine and raised my temperature, I then ordered Metavive 1 and it gave me a migraine and raised my temperature. I then started using some old T3 prescribed to me in USA 8 years ago and I felt ok on it but after a week started to feel weird and figure its expired and best to stop it. I am now on nothing and suffering again.
The NHS consultant cancelled today's appointment and I have to wait another 2 weeks. He has also written to my GP without ever having met me to tell her I will be disappointed by him (WTF!)
I don't know what to do anymore! What to try? I can order NP throid online for $180 but I am worried it will merely give me a migraine like the Armour. Does anyone know how similar they are? Does anyone know what the migraines are? I start on low doses.
I am thinking about going private because its a battle on the NHS.
Do NHS GP's prescribe T3 or is it difficult to get?
What have I not tried that may help?
Has anyone who was allergic to Levothyroxine found an alternate solution in uk?
Thank you in advance any advice welcome.
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I don't currently take natural desiccated because the ratios weren't right for me but I did better on NP Thyroid than on Naturethroid. Looks like Naturethroid is working with the FDA to get their product back on the market.
Did you try different brands of levo? Do you know what brand you took? A certain brand made my friend suicidal. The same brand makes me very very depressed.
What does it say on the blister pack? It was Teva that we both had issues with. I know Teva can be packaged Northstar but I can't remember which mcg it is. There is a list on here somewhere.
NorthStar 25mcg. Yes it says Teva on the blister pack !!! Does that mean It’s not the Levo and I might actually tolerate another brand well? Which brands do you recommend?
You could possibly tolerate another brand, alot of people struggle with Teva. Im on mercury pharma and do ok on it other than bloating but I think its the lactose. Accord caused me painful bloating but again I think it was the lactose, I'm currently trying to get Aristo lactose free.When you go to get your prescription just check what brand it is before you leave, if its Teva ask for an alternative and give them a go. It is trial and error, it does take a while im afraid.
I felt the best on Naturethyroid . I’ve tried a few combinations of NDT and thyroxine without success, I now use liquid thyroxine and t3 and feel good ..
I’m sorry to hear you are struggling with medication at the moment .
Have you tried Thyrogold I have tried that and I did very well I just started on the 150mg dose for two weeks then increase accordingly. I was aware that I slept much better and my palpitations went too! During the pandemic I was unable to get it so reverted back to Levothyroxine and I always take Mercury Pharma which suits me the best 25mg x 4 each day ! I also tried Teva once and felt very unwell !
Good luck and I hope you find something that suits you soon
I can't take Levo or Armour either. With no Nature-throid available, I am now getting Thyro Active 2 (Porcine variant - very close to Nature-throid... they also have a Bovine variant) from Regenerativenutrition.com. It is a capsule, so it would be awkward, but not impossible, to split and they only offer the one formulation. The exact T4/T3 breakdown is listed at the bottom of the packing slip enclosed with each order. (Obviously, each order comes from a different animal and may vary slightly, so having the packing slip is important.)
For example: Nature-throid was 65 mg (1 grain), 38 mcg T4, 9 mcg T3.
My current Thyro Active 2 Porcine is 75 mg (1.15 grains), 41.8 mcg T4, 11.16 mcg T3. (This equates to 36.3 T4 and 9.7 T3 per grain (65 mg), so a little less T4 and a little more T3 than Nature-throid which you might like.)
They are very helpful and responsive to email. They ship from the UK. I'm in the US. Great price too !
Thank you so much for this. I have just ordered some and hoping it reaches me asap. I was on Half grain Naturethroid so hopefully I can work out how to get the right dose Did you get headaches and or temperature elevation with Armour?
(Obviously, each order comes from a different animal and may vary slightly, so having the packing slip is important.)
I understand what you are getting at, but I think that is actually unlikely. The process probably collects many thyroid glands, processes them, and eventually produces a batch of powder.
That batch should be thoroughly mixed to ensure evenness. Then tested to determine potency.
It doesn't, to me, seem feasible that this could be done at the individual animal level.
The companies like Armour (Allergan) or their suppliers, I think, combine batches of different potency and blend them to standardise that potency.
(I have seen plenty of places where qualified medics have scoffed at desiccated thyroid because individual animals vary. They have never considered the realities of operating a desiccated thyroid production line!)
Hi Goatheard, sorry for coming across a bit dumb but this Thyro active 2 is this supposed to be just like the other NDT? Been looking for affordable NDT as I need lactose free other than Teva and pharmacies make it so hard to get!!
It does what I need it to do. I take liothyronine separately, but this gives me some T4 that I can tolerate. Everyone is different. At least this is affordable enough to try.
I'm really sorry you are symptomatic again. Unfortunately in the UK GPs will only prescribe levothyroxine (T4 alone) for someone who's hypothyroid.
All options have been withdrawn for sometime except T3 but an Endocrinologist is the only person who can prescribe but the majority will not as the cost has risen too high. Some might even believe that levo alone is the perfect replacement.
We used to have quite a number of options but now all removed and some without any warning leaving hypo patients distraught and upset.
NDTs (natural dessicated thyroid hormones) were the original thyroid hormone replacement since 1892 onwards and that was the very first replacement that saved lives. Before 1892 we just died a horrible death.
NDTs have now been withdrawn from the UK, again without notice and these decisions are made by people who only have a theory about a dysfunctional thyroid glands. Ignore the fact that many patients remain very unwell on levothyroxine but refuse to prescribe NDTs or T3 - even on a 'trial' to see if patient's symptoms can be relieved somehow. NDTs were prescribed from 1892 onwards, without blood tests and doctors going by clinical symptoms alone.
Thousands of people seem to do fine on levothyroxine, although many do complain of unexplained weight gain.
We need doctors like the following if we wish to recover and have a 'normal' life.
Thank you! all the above is so true. I checked the doctor in the link but he is not taking on new patients. "Unfortunately, Dr. Lindner's practice is full. He cannot accept new patients."I will read the site for valuable information however.
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Armour Thyroid back to Levo
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