What do we think of this and how will we ever get a steady dose with this claim?

[Meanbeannyc]

Any of this ring true?

[Anthea55]

I totally agree with the extract you posted. Your needs for replacement hormone vary, so your dose may need to be adjusted. Dr Peatfield said this in his excellent book 'Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy'. Some people reduce in summer and increase in winter. You'll have to do this yourself - don't expect your doctor to do it for you.

[radd in reply to Anthea55]

Anthea55,

Yes, I am one of those people who always take 1/4 grain more in the winter months to keep warm.

We use a lot of energy trying to keep warm where as in the summer months I find the sun not only gives me warmth but energy too so I reduce dose by 1/4.

[Meanbeannyc in reply to radd]

I think there’s something with needing less or more hormone based on the weather

[radd in reply to Meanbeannyc]

Yes, totally agree Mb but we need to be on a dose that has already alleviated symptoms to be able to feel the difference.

Otherwise blaming symptoms only on weather/temps risks overlooking other reasons that could be making hypothyroidism worse.

[Meanbeannyc in reply to radd]

I mean when you’re stuck on a fixed dose of T4/T3, your body can’t up regulate or down regulate hormone when needed. Like when you’re active or cold. Etc

[pennyannie]

Yes, I believe so as we are not static but evolving human beings.

It's called " fine tuning " one's dose - but first we need to get the basics right :

A bit like making a cake - you need a sound, solid base to which you may, according to circumstances add some icing, if this base cake leaves you incomplete or lacking.

As you haven't a thyroid it's more challenging as you do need to become your own best advocate and empowered to adjust and experiment your T3 and T4 levels as it's not just about being in a range somewhere and trusting the system.

Personally switching to NDT made my life so much easier to manage :

I still need to supplement vitamins and minerals, and take adrenal glandular but I'm much improved " outside " mainstream medical restrictive guidelines, ranges and understanding.

Mainstream medical do not understand Graves and you'll likely need more T3 and less T4 than the levels currently suggest as " what the thyroid " produces - should you still even have one :

[DippyDame]

That's telling it like it is...

It also underlines the importance of testing when in good health in order to obtain a base line to work around... if/when thyroid problems arise

Pigs might fly!!

[greygoose]

First, you have to learn to listen to your own body, understand what it needs. And then you listen to that, not your doctors, and learn to self-treat. Just consider that your doctors are there to write prescriptions, not to make you well, because they don't know how to do that.

[Meanbeannyc in reply to greygoose]

Well I need more …

[greygoose in reply to Meanbeannyc]

So you have been saying for the past two years, at least. So, why haven't you taken more yet?

[Meanbeannyc in reply to greygoose]

Idk. Scared to at this point I guess.

[greygoose in reply to Meanbeannyc]

Why? What are you scared of?

[Meanbeannyc in reply to greygoose]

Overmedicated on cytomel was awful.

[greygoose in reply to Meanbeannyc]

I very much doubt you were over-medicated, but as you didn't have any labs done before stopping the T3 cold-turkey, we'll never know. I just think that the problem was that your other ducks were not in that famous row. Your nutrients, for example wer dire, and I've always suspected low cortisol.

[greygoose in reply to greygoose]

And, even if you were over-medicated on 15mcg, you were ok on 10 mcg. And, that's all anyone is suggesting, that you increase to 10 mcg. No-one has ever suggested, to my knowledge, that you go back to 15.

[Meanbeannyc in reply to greygoose]

Cortisol was high at the time. Now it is low. How do nutrients look now?

[greygoose in reply to Meanbeannyc]

Not fantastic. But better.

[Meanbeannyc in reply to greygoose]

Better is good

[greygoose in reply to Meanbeannyc]

Right. So, time to try increasing your T3!

[tattybogle]

Of course it's all true . If the body could just run optimally on an unchanging amount of thyroid hormone regardless of climate . exertion . stress. pregnancy . illness etc. etc. etc .

..... then it wouldn't have needed to develop such a fiendishly complex system of feedback / feedforward loops (HPT axis /deiodinase' ) to continuously adjust the levels of T4 and T3 produced by the thyroid , or to speed up /slow down the conversion of T4 to either T3 or rT3. or get rid of excess quickly by turning it into T2/T1/ recycle the iodine.

Taking a fixed dose of anything every day / all year is always going to be somewhat of a compromise compared to the natural way of having thyroid hormones delivered and adjusted...that's just how it is .

the object is to get as close as possible to an amount that works well enough for you most of the time, without bad symptoms of too much or too little ... and then learn to observe and listen to your body well enough to know when a small adjustment might be needed .. and to learn enough of the theory on how it works so you know what you're doing when you do .

Sometimes we are OK on a fixed dose for years, sometimes something comes along that means we're not and have to adjust it .

Some people find a benefit from a little more in winter . Some don't . Some even use less in the winter . (possibly because they are much less active , or have a warm house ?.. dunno )

The single biggest thing to learn is everyone is different .

You have to learn how you work best with replacement hormones .. but it will never be as good as how the body did it .... that's just impossible to replicate.