Question to those who have stopped taking Thyro... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

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Question to those who have stopped taking Thyroid-S

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I´d like to hear from members who no longer take Thyroid-S.

I realise there is something in Thyroid-S that does not agree with me. When I take it, I get terrible itching all over my body. If I go off it for a few days, the itching stops. When I go back on TS, the itching comes back. I think I am reacting to one of the fillers. So I now need to find an alternative.

There are no more Thai brands available. There is Real Thyroid from Vietnam, but I have not seen any good reviews + it contains seaweed and potassium iodide.

I am not too crazy about Metavive as it now contains nucleotides which people with autoimmune disease should avoid.

There is ThyroGold, but it has to be shipped from the US so I´d never know if it gets past customs. It has very good online reviews.

There is also Thyroid by Allergy Research Group (bovine) which is shipped from the EU. It has great online reviews and, like ThyroGold, was formulated by a knowledgeable doctor.

Then there is Thyrovanz which I know some members have taken, but it seems it has been reformulated somehow? Also, it has to be shipped from the US.

A problem with all bovine versions is availability and regularly depleted stocks which is a huge stress factor.

There seems to be no other porcine alternatives except ThyroActive but the reviews are not good. NutriMeds no longer seems available.

Those of you who have switched from porcine to bovine thyroid, did you notice a difference?

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38 Replies

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waveylines3 years ago

I had to switch after Acella NP went applecart.i moved across to Armour. It took several months for my body to adjust to Armour but am fine on it now. Ive found it very stable. Sorry Ive never taken Thyroid S but been on ndt for 15 years. Hope this helps.

• in reply towaveylines3 years ago

Thanks! There are doctors where I live who prescribe NDT but they all seem to have moved to Erfa after Armour was reformulated. It seems Armour has been working better in the past few years. Back in 2009, when they increased cellulose, there were complaints all over the internet, but now many seem to be doing fine on it. It´s a shame it´s so much more expensive than all other NDTs.

waveylines• in reply to3 years ago

Yes indeed. I moved off Armour when they reformulated it. Ive been on Erfa and was fine on that until they moved factories and country!! Acella NP was great but them it had problems with regulating its level of thyroid hormomes amd having been stable for years I was all over the shop. Then the NHS withdrew many of the ndts off their prescribing list which is now reduced to two ndts: Armour or Erfa. You are not allowed anything else -this from a well known online Pharmacy. So I chose Armour again somewhat relunctantly. I had about three months of mild symptoms, particularly dry skin but it seems to be settling down now and I feel a lot better. In reality the demise of ndts means there isnt much choice.....

Noelnoel3 years ago

Hi PurpleCat71

I was taking Metavive until nucleotides were added and had to stop, which is a pity because it worked really well for me

I find I feel better on a combination of bovine and porcine and take Nxgen which is bovine and has nothing at all added except bovine liver. The porcine one I use is T Life l by the same manufacturers of Metavive but without nucleotides. Will include photo of composition further down as can only add one at a time

T- Life contains kelp which we need to be cautious of because of its iodine content (or at least those with Hashimoto’s do) but I decided to risk it and so far after many months of taking it, I haven’t noticed any ill-effects. That doesn’t necessarily mean there are no ill-effects, just that I haven’t noticed them

There is also another bovine product called Nutriest but I haven’t tried it. It too I believe, contains only the thyroid gland and beef liver. Wherever possible I try to avoid products containing any kind of additives/excipients

It took me a while after stopping Metavive to get everything balanced again and it’s still not perfect but I feel well and although I’ve struggled to lose weight I’m now no longer gaining it and have actually lost some. Only ounces here and there but for me that’s a great change because it was rising ever upwards

Photo

• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

Thank you, it´s interesting to know that there is a nucleotides-free version of Metavive! There are several brands of bovine thyroid with added beef liver, but that must mean that they contain iron, known to inhibit absorption of thyroid hormone???

I am not sure about iodine...I´ve always been told to avoid it with Hashimoto´s. When I was looking into Real Thyroid, I saw that it contains 65 mg of sargassum pallidum (seaweed) and 10 mg of potassium iodide per 60 mg pill. So, if I take 4 grains, I will be taking 260 mg of seaweed and 40 mg of potassium iodide daily. Not sure how that will affect me long-term...some, like you, can take iodine and not notice any ill effects, whereas others feel worse. Real Thyroid is manufactured in Vietnam where hypothyroidism caused by iodine deficiency may be common (it´s sold as a thyroid support supplement), but not sure if I should risk it...

Noelnoel• in reply to3 years ago

Hi PurpleCat71

I think you’re right to be cautious but the level of iron in the beef liver is tiny and all I can say is that I feel well and my levels of T4 and T3 the last time I tested were at the very top of the range. I’ve since reduced my dose and haven’t had any lab work done for a while but because I feel well I haven’t bothered

As for iodine, large doses like you mention should surely be avoided, whether they occur in food or come from a supplement but I’m no authority on that and as far as I can tell there are conflicting opinions on it. I prefer to avoid it but because I was doing so well on Metavive I was reluctant to abandon glandulars and decided to risk the kelp in T-Life. So far there are no regrets but as I’m sure you’re aware, thyroid disease requires monitoring and inevitably Hashimoto’s progresses and medication needs adjusting. So, while it works for me at the moment, I realise that it’s only a matter of time before I’ll have to tweak dosages or even change the source of my hormone replacement

Just a point on iron absorption and for that matter the absorption of any nutrients (and at the risk of being controversial), when we eat a meal we don’t separate/compartmentalise our food according to what nutrients it contains and our thyroid gland doesn’t seem to mind. We’ll happily eat a liver dish with mashed potato (containing milk and butter) and some lovely leafy veg, all of which contain magnesium, calcium and iron. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t separate when we take our supplements - I do because that’s what I’ve been advised to do as I don’t want to take the chance that all the supplements I take, and there are many, are all competing for absorption - but it does beg the question and is food for thought. No pun intended

For all I know, the way a body assimilates a supplement is different to the way a body assimilates the nutrients in food and it probably is different and it would be informative if someone provided some easily digested info on this

• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

I saw in one of your earlier posts that you lost fluid on bovine thyroid as opposed to porcine. I saw a user of ThyroGold make the same comment on their website. She looked puffy on porcine thyroid but lost fluid on bovine. I have no idea why that is...I have not been able to find any info about possibly diuretic effects of bovine thyroid? But, since you did well on old porcine Metavive, and continue to feel well on a porcine glandular combined with bovine, I take it you are not oversensitive to pork? There is another great and expensive brand of thyorid glandular - Ancestral - which also contains beef liver, so maybe there are some benefits to adding liver extract to thyroid extract....

Noelnoel• in reply to3 years ago

I’ve never noticed any sensitivity or intolerance of pork and I can’t remember the post about fluid loss (if you could direct me to it please) or its connection to taking Metavive. However, it’s true, I lost a lot of fluid from feet and ankles, hands and breasts

I’ve looked into ancestral but it’s price is high and combined with shipping I decided Nxgen is more cost-effective. Also, ancestral always seem to have problems with stock availability. Brian the owner is very helpful when answering questions so I would urge you to contact him as he’s informative

I’m not sure beef liver adds synergy to the product but it’s definitely better than the usual rubbishy fillers they put in products and it most definitely has nutritional benefits. Perhaps you could ask Brian why particularly the beef liver is added

• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu..., Ancestral is a very expensive brand. They have a supplier in the EU which cuts shipping costs and red tape, but the products are very expensive in themselves. Also, almost all of them have been out of stock for over a year now, with no info about when they will be available again.

Noelnoel• in reply to3 years ago

Have you considered:

nutriest.eu/

It’s manufactured in the same way as Nxgen, Ancestral and other quality glandulars, cost less and is better value as each capsule contains 35mgs of bovine glandular as opposed to 30. It’s also 270 capsules per/tub whereas Nxgen and Ancestral are 180/tub

Also, it’s an EU company so shipping costs ought to be less for you

• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

Thanks a lot!

Maya_83• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

This sounds great ! Have you tried it at all?

Noelnoel• in reply toMaya_833 years ago

Maya_83

No, I haven’t. By the time I found Nutriest I’d already started and was getting on well with Nxgen but it’s definitely one I’d try should things change

Imaaan• in reply toNoelnoel3 years ago

Hello,

Thanks for sharing the bovine one, I had a look at it and it has 30mg. I was wondering through your experience how much approximately t4 and t3 was it giving your body?

SeasideSusieRemembering• in reply toImaaan3 years ago

Imaaan

Thyroid glandulars don't declare any hormone content, some members do well on them and some don't, but it's not possible to say they have any hormone content at all.

Imaaan• in reply toSeasideSusie3 years ago

Thank you for sharing this.

shaws3 years ago

ThyroGold was invented by an American Researcher/doctor/and expert in the use of T3 Dr John Lowe.

It was invented so that it would not require a prescription. He took T3 himself as he discovered - when a teenager - about how important Thyroid Hormone replacements were especially T3.

His father and his father's brothers committed suicide and that was the reason Dr John Lowe began his research when a teenager.

His name was Dr John Lowe who was also an Adviser to Thyroiduk before his accidental death.

His widow now deals with Thyrogold. I shall give you a link - just in case.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

• in reply toshaws3 years ago

Thanks Shaws!

Noelnoel• in reply toshaws3 years ago

Hello Shaws, is it ok to post an article I found on Roderick Lane’s (ND) MeWe app?

meme3 years ago

What about Tru- Thyroid ? From Thailand.

• in reply tomeme3 years ago

I considered it, but the reviews I´ve found are disastrous...here and elsewhere.

• in reply to3 years ago

Pimpom People are scammers now. Do not buy from them.

Noelnoel3 years ago

I’m not saying I agree or disagree with what’s written in this article and as usual it has something to sell but it’s nevertheless more food for thought

theiodineproject.webs.com/

Jodypody3 years ago

I’m on Thyrogold and I’m happy. More happy than I was on porcine all except pre reformulated Naturethroid and WP.

• in reply toJodypody3 years ago

Thanks, good to know!

Gingernut443 years ago

There is another bovine NDT. It is Life Giving Store, also from US. It’s pure desiccated bovine thyroid but comes in a pouch with a scoop - it isn’t in capsules. Try Googling for further info.

helvella• in reply toGingernut443 years ago

On this forum, we usually reserve the term Desiccated Thyroid (or Natural Desiccated Thyroid/NDT) for those products which are made to pharmaceutical standards and have a declared hormone content.

Other products, such as the one you recommend, we most often call glandulars.

Gingernut44• in reply tohelvella3 years ago

Ok, I stand corrected

helvella• in reply toGingernut443 years ago

It is a nightmare. And not every place makes the same distinctions!

• in reply tohelvella3 years ago

Most definitely not...!

Jenny5833 years ago

I had to stop taking it,like you, the excipiants?

• in reply toJenny5833 years ago

Sorry, who is this question for?

Jenny583• in reply to3 years ago

@PurpleCat71

• in reply toJenny5833 years ago

You mean Thyroid-S? Yes, it is possible that you are reacting to one of the excipients.

Jenny583• in reply to3 years ago

Thank you. Yes, I stopped taking it 2 weeks ago.

3 years ago

If you have any questions about Real Thyroid, I might be able to answer them. Currently, I am on 4-4,5 tablets of RT a day. Before I was on 3 tablets of TR Thyroid (called T.Man). Since 2014 I tried Thyroid-S, Thiroyd and TR.

As a NDT International Logistic specialist I have a bit of experience with all sorts of NDT products from far East.

Wandererdarling2 years ago

Hi Hidden, I'm new to this site and I'm just finding my way! Thank you for your offer of information on Real Thyroid. A bit of background - I was successfully using 1 tablet of Thiroid and I felt fine until my supply finished. I live in Cyprus and the only alternative offered was Uni Pharma T4 and T3. I take 12mg of T3 and 37mg/ 50mg of T4 on alternative days. I don't feel at all good on these. I have a few questions about Real Thyroid: How long is the delivery time after ordering?, How are you feeling on them? I don't know if on this site you can mention other products from the East If you can I'd be interested. (If you can't now worries)Thanks in advance!!!

helvella• in reply toWandererdarling2 years ago

When you see a user name of Hidden, it means that the person is no longer a member of this forum.

I'll close the post now.