Success with metavive?

[RuthieRuth]

Hi folks - just wondering whether anyone has had any success with adding metavive to their levothyroxine dose? Tried increasing my levo and it made me feel dreadful so I'm back at 125mcg with a resulting T4 77% through range and T3 10% through range. Always Vencamil and always test at the same time as per guidance. Vitamins are optimal other than folate and ferritin which are "normal" (working on these).

I have an appointment with a T3 friendly naturopath (to speak to her about NDT) but not until June.

Just wondering if anyone has any success stories about metavive increasing their T3 that I might rely on in the meantime. Started on metavive 1 twice a day yesterday and so far so good. No adverse affects so far as I can see yet. Is this too good to be true?

[Butterfly801]

I tried Metavive as it is freeze-dried powder from animal welfare farms in Europe which do not use antibiotics or GMO. Unfortunately, I found it pretty weak. Maybe it is the nucleotides some find problematic? I never tried the old version so cannot compare them. The only OTC product I found good was Nutri Thyroid which unfortunately has been discontinued.

[Lynneypin]

I added it to my ndt to try and save money but unlike Butterfly801 it was too strong. I think it’s too haphazard. I also used to use Nutri Thyroid which was excellent for me 🫤.

[eeng]

I found it was good, although it did lower my TSH, which is to be expected. I am hoping eventually to get my doctor to increase my thyroxine dose so that was a problem for me. I tried metavive 1 and 3, which are the lower doses. I found the porcine one (metavive 1) felt more effective than the bovine one.

[RuthieRuth in reply to eeng]

Yeh I've got a script for 150mcg though only take 125mcg so hopefully not an issue for me. Do you know what it did for your T4 and T3 levels too by any chance?

[Auntyp62]

I tried metavive 1V 80……a couple of weeks ago. The hype said I could use alongside the 125 of thyroxine I take…my t4 levels are always top of range or slightly over to get T3 above 4. My pulse and blood pressure are usually steady and good. I dropped to 100 mg thyroxine hoping it would only raise t3.

Within 3 hours of taking it I got alarms on my I watch telling me my resting heartbeat was 10 higher than normal …..I took it for 3 days and was very jittery pulse and blood pressure all over the place……was more powerful than I thought it would be…stopped it and went back to 125 mg thyroxine and it’s back to normal now.

[jgelliss in reply to Auntyp62]

From my personal experiences I found that T4 at a higher range with a lower T3 range works the best. I would think that before my TT that must have been my set point.

[RuthieRuth in reply to jgelliss]

That is an interesting idea - my brain fog and inability to lose weight etc are so much worse now than they were before I was diagnosed though, so I think there must be some tweaks I can make to help reduce those symptoms. Hopefully the Metavive will help a little

[BadHare]

Hi Ruth,

I swapped this with T3, when my preferred NDT became unavailable I found it so good I stopped taking T3. I found the new formula as effective as the older form, & the available sizes make it easy to adjust between summer & winter doses. It doesn’t agree with everyone so it’s something you need to try for yourself.

Mel

[RuthieRuth in reply to BadHare]

Interesting - how much NDT/T3 were you taking before? Do you know what difference the metavive made to your bloods, or are you working off symptoms alone?

[BadHare in reply to RuthieRuth]

I took 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 grains a day with 25mg of T3. For a while i took five Metavive ii with approx 6mg of T3. I found I needed less when I started injecting B12 daily, so I must’ve been very deficient in this. I dropped T3 then reduced Metavive. At the moment I only take two Metavive ii, unless I’m outdoors in the cold too for longer than usual, though I may only need one ii or a Metavive i if it’s another hot summer.

[Noelnoel]

Have taken it for almost 7 years.

Metavive lV x 3 (bovine) raises both my frees to good levels. I’ve switched to one dose on waking

No, it’s not too good to be true, it’s only day one so you’re not feeling much yet and possibly won’t until about day 3 and even then you may not notice anything because although I find it potent, it’s also gentle but rest assured, some change IS occurring. As you get closer to optimal, increases should be very small because I find at that stage it’s very easy to tip over into being overmedicated. Very unpleasant

You’re on the porcine version so I’d suggest your current dose is enough for now, even if you’re not feeling anything. Try not to be tempted to increase it for several weeks yet and test in 6 weeks’ time. You'll then have a reference point from which you can make future comparisons.and decisions. You’ll likely see a small increase in FT3 and possibly a slightly lower FT4 (who knows!) but whatever the result, only then will you know your exact levels and together with how you feel at that point, will inform your next steps. Getting impatient and leaping ahead almost always ends in failure

[RuthieRuth in reply to Noelnoel]

Thanks so much for the insights! It's so hard to find anything here, even after hours of searching, so I really appreciate you replying. Yes, plan is to continue for a few weeks at least and then consider stepping up to Metavive II (which I bought initially thinking I'd start with half a capsule of that but it's too much of a faff to split them so then forked out for Metavive I instead). Had blood tests right before I started so I have a reference point to start from.