types of thyroid meds

[Sandalsforever]

I have been looking at types of thyroid medications, and wonder if anybody has used desiccated thyroid instead of levothyroxine? I will be seeing my endocrinologist tomorrow and suspect they will put me on medication. When I had my biopsy, the nurse told me she has good news and bad news, the good news is my nodules are benign but she could not tell me the bad news since she’s not the doctor, so I have been waiting three weeks to see the doctor and he’s either going to tell me to go on medication or remove the thyroid. My thyroid numbers are low in the normal range. I do have symptoms like weight gain, hair loss, brittle nails, brain fog, tiredness, and constipation.

[FallingInReverse]

Good luck with your appointment. There are people on this forum taking every possible combination of thyroid hormone replacement you can imagine - NDT included.

I will also say that there are many people here with experience and guidance on options and decisions when it comes to thyroidectomies. Just keep in mind that for some people it’s not always as necessary as the NHS makes it seem. Also keep in mind that the vast majority go well. It’s just very individual, so come back here after your appointment and let us know how it goes.

Can you share your recent blood test results? TSH, Free T3, FreeT4 if you have them?

Also, hopefully some UK folks will weigh in if there’s anything important to do while at the appointment itself tomorrow.

[Sandalsforever in reply to FallingInReverse]

my thyroid test was 1/8/2024 -8:00 am

T3 total 1.15 (76-181) Ng/dl

T4 free1 (.8-1.8) Ng/dl

TSH 1.4 (.4- 4.5) Ng/dl

[FallingInReverse in reply to Sandalsforever]

I just realized you are in the US, not the UK. What kind of insurance do you have? Employer-subsidized? Or Medicaid/medicare? Or?

So, you got great advice from previous posts. Have you read through and followed up on those?

When you ask about NDT… are you exploring alternatives to Levothyroxine? Or are you just beginning to consider thyroid hormone replacement in any form, and NDT is the first one you thought of?

At some point you said you had Hashis. Can you share the antibody tests that confirmed that? I’m guessing you had either TPOab or TGab?

Your Free T4 is very low, and we can assume your free T3 is… but you’ve only provided your Total T3 which is not helpful to you. It’s likely these are causing your symptoms. But we need a full view of your thyroid health.

If you would like to do one thing that will be very useful for you during your appointment tomorrow, can you request a prescription for these blood tests;

1) TSH

2) Free T3

3) Free T4

Plus these vitamins

4) ferritin

5) folate

6) B12

7)Vit D3

You would need them all tested at the same time, around 9 am is best if you can. Fasting before.

Please come back here and update the forum on your appointment. With more info we can help guide you.

[Farrugia]

Hello Sandalsforever - I was originally on Levothyroxine for a few years but didn't feel well. A small percentage of people don't because they don't convert T4 to T3 well. I have since swapped to NDT and feel much better but it is really expensive. I think for most people it's worth trying Levothyroxine to begin with because the majority of people are fine on that and it's much cheaper. It's also important to optimise your vitamin and ferritin etc levels whichever thyroid medication you take - you can find lots of information on other posts on here.

Good luck.