good morning it’s Lrv from Florida. I’m so new here and appreciate your kind words and support. My thyroid tests all were positive but I still have insomnia thin hair and fatigue. I would appreciate any advice on raw desiccated thyroid. I e been reading about it and it sounds really good :)
thank goodness for all of your advice and tips
Lrv
Whats a positive thyroid result?
Free T4 (fT4) 1 pmol/L (.8 - 1.8) 20.0%
Free T3 (fT3) 3.5 pmol/L (2.3 - 4.2) 63.2%
You dont seem to have any problems with conversion but your FT4 is only 20% of the range. On Levo only I would expect it to be much higher in the 70% area.
What time of day was your last blood test? Highest TSH is at 9am or earlier. Allow 24hrs between last dose of Levo & test.
What supplements are you taking?
Ty for your time and effort. I take b complex d and c also a mix of iodine and thyroxine
As a board. Certified nutritionist I am at my wits end because i can’t figure out what to do
🤔 thanks in advance for any advice
Lrv
Sorry I didnt realise that you're not yet diagnosed. Its always harder to work out what to do for yourself than someone else!
What time of day was your last blood test? Highest TSH is at 9am or earlier.
Have you had thyroid antibodies checked yet - TPO & Tg?
Its simpler to begin on Levothyroxine & a lot cheaper. NDT works out very expensive and harder to source.
How much Thyroxine do you take?
Iodine isnt recommended for hypo people. See this thread: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Ty for the advice. I have not been diagnosed yet because i can’t get in to the dr until October
Yes it’s awful here in USA medically. T started taking “thyroid care” by the company called terry naturally. A company that’s responsible it has 30 mg of iodine and 400 mg of L- tyrosine
I just think maybe it would help from everything i have read. But do you think 🤔 i should stop taking it
I just don’t know what to do. I react to drugs and chemicals so the only drug i can take is for my hi blood pressure
Thanks so very much for any advice
Iodine is one of those things that you should test before supplementing and I believe the test isnt cheap.
Have you had thyroid antibodies checked yet - TPO & Tg?
Ty i have decided to try and find a physician preferably an endocrinologist sooner than the one i was referred to in October
As you probably think, like myself, im not going to settle for feeling poorly. My busbywith stage 4 cancer that has spread throughout his body seems to feel better than I. So the difference being he has two great oncology doctors it is an endocrinologist i should see correct?
Lrv
Correct, an Endocrinologist but they may think Your TSH looks OK. Be sure to always test early morning before 9am.
Ok
Hi Lrv , can you clarify whether you are already taking thyroxine and iodine ,and if so how much ?
Iodine can mess with thyroid levels in unexpected ways . Lots of info here: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
previous posts said you were not taking any thyroid hormone replacement ?
I wasn’t taking anything but am so tired of this so I went to a site on here by Dr David brownstein and he (thyroid dr) said we all need iodine here in the USA because we are deprived of it
So I am Taking 30 mg of iodine and 400 mg of L- tyrosine
Ty for all advice and guidance
do you mean 30mg or 30mcg
Recommended Daily Amount for iodine is about 150mcg ....... 30mg = 30,000mcg
so 30mg would be 200 times RDA.
also just checking~ you are aware that L-tyrosine is a different thing to thyroxine ?
~ thyroxine is thyroid hormone T4
We do see some people taking astronomic amounts of iodine - 30 milligrams and more.
Considering some of the issues associated with very high iodine intake, it is important to make it clear that huge doses are at least potentially dangerous.
For example, have a read through some of the papers linked from this search:
europepmc.org/search?query=...
Ty helvella im going to download all te information you sent me tomorrow on my computer
I cant thank you enough for helping this scared Floridian
At first I thought im fatigued because IM NOT getting more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep each night. Then after researching ( im a huge reader) I realized my thinning hair fatigue and insomnia must all be related
Feel free to tell me anything you need because IM willing and able to listen to your advice ty again
Lrv
For me, sleep was a major issue before I was diagnosed and started to be treated.
This is from the link to my blog below:
Before diagnosis, my sleep was badly disturbed. Typically, I would fall asleep fairly easily. Then wake up after something like half an hour to two hours. Once woken I'd be unable to get back to sleep - often till dawn, or at all.
Once I started on levothyroxine, my sleep slowly improved. By the time I was taking an adequate dose, bad nights were unusual - just an occasional night where I might wake up for a while. Now, after years, I sleep very easily and deeply and rarely wake at all. If I do, I get back to sleep quickly.
helvella - Bed-time dosing of levothyroxine
Discussion about taking levothyroxine at bed-time. Several linked references to relevant papers.
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
And remember - do not trust any information without doing your best to read and discuss. I specifically include myself.
There is a major problem with all the glandulars - whether they are called Raw Desiccated Thyroid, Thyroid Glandular, or some other term.
You do not know what you are buying/taking.
If they say how much thyroid hormone it contains, they cannot supply it without prescription. Therefore, they can say almost whatever they like other than telling you this critical information.
And the amount of thyroid hormone could be anything from zero to much more than the implied equivalent Natural Desiccated Thyroid/Desiccated Thyroid Extract. Products which actually state their thyroid hormone content,
You do not know whether the individual tablets/capsules are consistent within one pot. Nor if they are consistent from pot to pot. Nor whether changing to another make would have the same effect.
Some people seem to strike lucky and do OK, possibly for some considerable time. But then something happens. The product might change. Or become unavailable and force substitution. And they are lost. Even switching to an official desiccated thyroid product is a problem when you don't know what you were taking.
And I am quite convinced that some of the glowing reviews that you can so easily find are fake.
And what does the "raw" part of the name mean? It is not as if Armour Thyroid is cooked!
helvella - Desiccated Thyroid - DTE vs NDT vs Glandulars
A discussion about the history of desiccated thyroid and the terms used for it.
Clarifying what is meany by Desiccated Thyroid Extract (DTE), Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) and Glandulars and how the names came about.
Direct link to full document:
dropbox.com/scl/fi/ypun0yes...
Last updated 02/08/2024
Link to blog:
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
My World Dessicated Thyroid document lists many products - both official and approved as well as glandulars.
helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines
helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.
I highly recommend viewing on a computer screen, or a decent sized tablet, rather than a phone. Even I find it less than satisfactory trying to view them on my phone.
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK
The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes injectables and descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc. PLUS how to write prescriptions in Appendix F.
dropbox.com/s/bo2jzxucgp9hl...
helvella - World Desiccated Thyroid
Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products including information about several products not considered to be Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT/Desiccated Thyroid Extract/DTE).
dropbox.com/scl/fi/gx6dmz5i...
helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - RotW
Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.
dropbox.com/s/dliou4fszbegw...
The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.
Last updated 19/07/2024
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
I’m so glad you are helping me. I’m having trouble finding a dr and wa trying to help myself. I’m going to quit taking the thyroid care (iodine and L tyrosine)
I have a hard time with drs or should i say the nurse practitioner I went to and said my thyroid makes too many hormones duh so i can’t get into a doctor till October. I’m being stupid trying to help my self
So what should I do? Try to find an endocrinologist that will take me before October? I’m not being wise and thanks to many of you I’m going to stop trying to figure this out and rely on some of your help which I really appreciate Lrv
Increased anxiety…
I’m fine. Really?
Thyroidectomy or not? Thyroidmegaly and multi modular goiter. 
