Erfa 30mg starting questions (NDT)

[ratqueenxo]

Hello, I just started taking erfa 30mg for very low T3: -2.8

I tried previously T3 on its own, but I'm not sure if I was doing it correctly. I was only taking 10mg a day but each time I tried I was feeling very sick and highly strung (like too much coffee),

therefore we decided to try a NDT. I'm just wondering how long it may take to feel effect?

I am only my third day so of course it's very early, but I'm also aware this is a low dose?

I'm not feeling worse, and 2 days ago i actually felt better than normal.

Will I need to increase every 2 weeks by something like 15mg?

I only see a functional doctor at the moment as my endo didn't test my T3 and won't acknowledge my symptoms.

Thank you.

[pennyannie]

Hello Ratqueenxo and welcome to the forum :

What is your diagnosis please ?

Yes, slow and low increments in NDT are the way to go :

I went up in 1/4 grain increments weekly - and just take one dose a day - some people dose am and pm.

Always take the medication on an empty stomach with a full glass of water for maximum absorption - 1 hour before food and 2 hours after food.

No thyroid hormone works well until your core strength vitamins and minerals are up and maintained at optimal levels - do you have any recent results for ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D ?

You could monitor yourself daily with blood pressure, pulse and temperature - I found this helped me understand how the NDT was working within my body.

Whilst my blood pressure and pulse remained stable I plotted my temperature rising from 35.40 to 36.60 where it tends to hover most days.

Natural Desiccated Thyroid is the original treatment for hypothyroidism and was used successfully for over 100 years and Big Pharma launched their T3 and T4 options on the back of NDT in around the middle of the last century.

The grains of NDT are attached to thyroglobulin molecules and much more slowly broken down in the liver before being released into the blood stream and why it feels softer on your body than T3 - Liothyronine.

The T3 should be fully out of your system within a week and as one treatment options declines in power the idea is to build up the new treatment option accordingly so you don't suffer unnecessary additional symptoms.

There comes a week, when you feel a little nervous and uncomfortable in your skin - so then you drop back down to the previous week that you felt well on and then stay on that dose for 6-8 weeks letting it bed in and that is your dose on NDT at that point in time.

Should you wish to run a blood test your TSH will likely be low. suppressed and your T4 maybe lower than previously but your T3 is the hormone to track on and this should be proportionately higher than when on T4 - Levothyroxine monotherapy- if you ever were.