Hi everyone, I am new here and was recently diagnosed with an Underactive Thyroid by a private Doctor as the GP was no help and said my readings were within the 'NORMAL' range. I had been suffering with terrible fatigue, brain fog and balance problems for three months, although I had also been diagnosed with ME/CFS since 2016.
My private Doctor advised me to start taking Metavive 1 and then 2 and build up the dose slowly. She thinks that I may have an auto-immune hypothyroidism.
I am now taking 6 x Metavive 2 (30g) a day so a total of 180g and have been working up to this for a couple of months. I am tall and weigh around 94kg so need to be on a high dose. I do feel much better than I did in late September but I still don't feel right and feel a bit alone and get down dealing with it all myself.......
Could anyone give me some advice as to how long it took them to get better on Metavive 2 please?
Can you give me some reassurance that I will get back to my old self in the long run?
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Clarice165
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If diagnosed with hypothyroidism - this is a chronic long term health issue which is diagnosed by a thyroid blood test that will have included the auto immune antibodies.
Once diagnosed the medication is T4 thyroid hormone replacement and qualifies you for medical exemption costs on all NHS prescriptions.
To have not been - or to have been - diagnosed as suffering with hypothyroidism - blood tests would have been run by your NHS doctor - likely reading as a TSH, + T3 and T4 + TPO or TgAB antibody blood test results and ranges ?
Do you have a copy of these NHS blood test results ?
Do you have a copy of the blood test results that the Private doctor ran ?
Is the Private doctor running follow up blood tests for you - so you can compare new results to the previous ones and see how well the Metavive is working for you ?
Metavive 1 and 2 are an Over the Counter thyroid hormone supplements- derived from pig thyroid glands - and work very well for very many people.
We need to see some blood tests and ranges to know how well these supplements are working for you -
Can the private doctor write to your NHS doctor saying he has diagnosed hypothyroidism and then you may get retested on the NHS and get an official diagnosis and be treated on the NHS - as we are looking at a long term health issue that you do not really get better from unless you keep taking the medication.
Also very important that you have your core strength vitamins and minerals run as these are frequently low when hypothyroid and can compromise your health further than necessary.
As for getting back to your ' old self ' long term - yes this is possible but we need some blood test results and ranges so we can track how well this OTC product is working for you -
treatment for hypothyroidism is for life - so it will be much cheaper long term to get yourself diagnosed through the NHS and have to not worry about self funding your treatment for the rest of your life.
It would make more sense to first get a copy of the blood tests your NHS doctor ran on which it was said - you didn't have a thyroid problem -
Do you have on line access to your medical records held at your doctor's surgery ?
We are all now legally entitled to access and to be able to read all of our medical records held at our primary care provider:
as what we are asking for is available on line for you to see and read, at your ease -
Otherwise why not register - just ask the receptionist at your surgery for the necessary form to fill in - and then you can keep track of all your NHS blood test results as they happen.
Did the Private doctor run a blood test before suggesting Metavive - ?
if so, just ask for a written copy of what was tested with the results and ranges - and please share this information with forum members -
as now you are on the OTC supplement your results will look very different - and we really need to see how you results were before taking any medication.
There are 3 main NHS treatment options for hypothyroidism:
Initially everyone starts of on synthetic T4 - Levothyroxine only - which works very well for around 70% of all those prescribed it :
If T4 only does not fully restore your health and well being you maybe prescribed T3 - Liothyronine - alongside the T4 - making a T3/ T4 combo of synthetic thyroid hormones - and there are some who can't tolerate T4 and need to take T3 only - Liothyronine.
and lastly there is Natural Desiccated Thyroid - NDT - which is called a full spectrum thyroid hormone replacement as it contains all the same known hormones as that of the human thyroid gland - namely - trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin + a measure of T3 and a measure of T4 in each tablet -
and like Metavive - NDT is also derived from pig thyroids, dried and ground down into a powder which is then made up into tablets referred to as grains -
but NDT is a medically graded thyroid hormone replacement with a declared measure of T3 and T4 in each tablet/grain - for which you need a prescription if in the UK -
unlike Metavive which has no breakdown of content and a non prescription OTC option.
I take NDT - it is the original, treatment option for hypothyroidism and has been used successfully by hundreds of thousands of patients for over 100 years - though due to costs - new patient NHS prescriptions for NDT are now few and far between - so I buy and source my own full spectrum thyroid hormone medication from outside of the UK.
Thanks very much for your help and explaining the treatments to me as I didn't know much about this. My private Doctor thinks that Metavive is the best treatment but I see that this may not be the case. I have a print out of my blood test results. Should I post them in reply to you or start a new post to everyone else??
Yes - I think it best that you start a new post so all forum members can view the blood test results and sequence of events so far in order to offer you help and advice :
We can always look back and remind ourselves of this first post - but it helps to include a little bit of your background just to jog a forum members memory.
All your posts and replies are ' saved ' on your Profile page - and this can be found top right on this screen - alongside MyHub - Chat - Post - Alert and Menu sub-sections.
You can also ead any other forum members Profile by pressing their Profile Icon which sits alongside any message / reply they have written.
Okay thanks. I think I'll go ahead and get some more blood tests done now as I can get money off it as there's a Black Friday offer on. I'll also be able to get an up to date picture of my vitamin levels too.
Ok - you need to stop taking any supplements you maybe taking - so we test what your body is holding rather than just ingested around 7 days before taking the blood test - and also stop anything containing biotin -
You need an early morning by 9.00 am fasting blood draw - just take in water o/night -
if you have blood test results there from before you started taking the Metavive showing a TSH Free T3 and Free T4 - just stop the Metavive for 24 hours before the blood test and take that days dose after the blood draw. If you split your dose of Metavive on the day of the blood test - take your AM dose after the blood draw.
If you haven't any blood tests from before starting Metavive we really do need to see a TSH + Free T3 + Free T4 without having taken any Metavive - and ideally you need to stop the Metavive and then wait a good couple of months and take this blood test in the New Year.
Okay I do have blood test results taken before I started the Metavive. Do you mind me asking what is your view on supplementing with Iodine drops taken by mouth every day as I've seen positive and negative views about this online?
Clarice165, iodine supplementation is complicated. Before venturing down this road, it's a good idea to get your current iodine status tested to see if iodine deficiency could be a contributing factor to your thyroid issues. Without knowing your current status, you can't make an informed decision about it.
We have a pinned post here with links to lots of information about iodine. Please do take a look at it. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Met ll x 6 is quite high a dose but perhaps not for your weight and height. Used correctly and with patience it’s an effective way to raise thyroid hormones. Sometimes switching to the bovine variety works better or even combining the porcine and bovine, to fine-tune
As you’re feeling better than in September that’s a positive but test results with ref ranges need to be seen before useful comments can be made. Raising levels by Met ll x 1 is too much at a time, however, it’s done now but is definitely not advisable as you get closer to your optimal dose because you’ll go tearing past it into feeling over medicated
Your private GP “thinks” you may have AI hypo? Knowing whether or not you have an autoimmune thyroid condition would be helpful but for Hashimoto’s hypo the treatment would be the same
It can take quite a while, months, possibly up to a year to feel better and to get to the right dose. It is a good idea to post all your blood results here for people especially admin to take a look and advise re what to do next. Vitamins are also really important as is iron.
'She thinks that I may have an auto-immune hypothyroidism.'
Thinks? She should have advised you to get a full thyroid blood test and then she would be able to tell that from your thyroid antibody test results.
Could anyone give me some advice as to how long it took them to get better on Metavive 2 please?
Unfortunately, as this is an OTC (over the counter i.e. non prescription) supplement, with no official declared hormone content, we cannot help with your dosing.
Can you give me some reassurance that I will get back to my old self in the long run?
If you were taking prescription strength thyroid hormone replacement, members could offer a lot more practical help and encouragement. As you are taking an OTC supplement with no declared thyroid hormone content, and have not posted blood test details from before and after starting this glandular supplement, anything anyone might tell you is simply 'fumbling in the dark'.
I take Metavive and the dose corresponds well to the dose of Armour I used to take. It is very easy to over-replace and miss your ideal dose. 6 x Metavive 2 sounds high, so I think you need to get a blood test. The symptoms of over replacement are very similar to under.
Met ll x 6 is quite high a dose but perhaps not for you weight and height
As you’re feeling better than in September that’s a positive but test results with ref ranges need to be seen before useful comments can be made. Raising levels by Met ll x 1 is too much at a time, however, it’s done now but is definitely not advisable as you get closer to your optimal dose because you’ll go tearing past it into feeling over medicated
Your private GP “thinks” you may have AI hypo? Knowing whether or not you have an auto immune thyroid condition would be helpful but for Hashimoto’s hypo the treatment would be the same
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