Switch from NDT to liothyronine - panicking about the cost

[Insomania]

I'm panicking about the cost of liothyronine.

My private thyroid Dr is recommending I stop NDT Armour and switch to liothyronine because of reverse T3. (I don't agree with him but that's a conversation I'll have with him.)

I just looked it up with Smartway 2024 medication price list and liothyronine is three times the cost of NDT Thyroid (£3k p/a instead of £1k). OMG! I cannot afford that.

Is it possible to buy it with private prescription cheaper from other chemists or is this the cost everywhere?

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

if you take your private prescription to Roseway labs it should be much cheaper, I get 100x 20mcg (which gives me 200 days of 10mcg dose) for £75. This is for Thybon Henning.

[Insomania in reply to Regenallotment]

Thank you for this! It’s also on the list at Smartway for around this price. At least that is an option I can suggest instead of 2 x 5mg tablets per day.

[Regenallotment Ambassador in reply to Insomania]

Yep the Thybon Henning 20mcg is soft enough to crack with a fingernail down the centre line of the tablet, i can easily get that into quarters if I need to.

I also use a pill cutter for my T4 to get 75mcg from 100mcg. I know SlowDragon uses a craft scalpel for hers.

[1eskimo]

wow, so expensive. in France 30 scored tablets of Cynomel 0.025 mg cost around 4.40 euros

[TaraJR in reply to 1eskimo]

Can you buy Cynomel in France over the counter, or does it have to be by prescription?

[pennyannie]

Hello Insomania :

I always thought NDT the most expensive treatment option ?

Just reading your last few posts and it seems as though Armour worked very well for you -

and think whatever treatment option we take - we still need to keep one eye on maintaining the co-factors of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D as these co-factors play a crucial role in supporting any thyroid hormone replacement.

and with you having to have iron infusions - this a more difficult situation to manage.

[iancpriestley]

Hi Insomania,

Another cheaper option is to self-purchase and forget UK prescriptions.

I can obtain a box of authentic 100 x25mcg T3 Tiromel branded tablets, delivered to home for about £22-25, including p&p, either from a UK source or from abroad (ex Turkey). If instead you look to California, then if you buy more than x10 boxes, they come in at about £15-£16 per box, again delivered to your address.

1eskimo is absolutely right! The absolute cheapest method is for you/friends to buy these tablets when abroad on holiday. A friend has just purchased x10 boxes, off the shelf in a local pharmacy, in their regular holiday haunt in Turkey - at about £3.00-3.50 inc exchange costs, per box. So, this is coming in at about 12-15% of what I normally pay for nearly a full years' supply!

I can't wrap my head around some of these costings....I believe the NHS pays about £65 per equivalent box, so someone/somewhere (the UK taxpayer?) is being massively exploited....but let's not go there.

[HashimotosSucks in reply to iancpriestley]

Beware of sellers of Tiromel: they may use a .co.uk domain name, but they are not based in the UK. There is one seller who has stopped delivering after receiving payment. There have also been reports of dodgy batches. Don’t order Tiromel without contacting the admin team first!

[RedApple in reply to iancpriestley]

Beware of scammers when considering self sourcing. Explanatory post here: healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[HashimotosSucks]

I had no idea UK doctors cared about rT3, I thought that was an American phenomenon.

Is the idea for you to switch back to NDT when rT3 is lower, or to stay on lio? I am asking because I fell for the rT3 myth a few years ago and self-sourced lio. After a few weeks off T4, I was hardly functional and had to go back on a combo. There was no way I was able to stay on lio only for a minimum of 12 weeks. So I would recommend a plan B in case you don’t feel better on T3 only.

What symptoms does your endo attribute to high rT3?

[Insomania in reply to HashimotosSucks]

I’m very concerned about changing.

In hindsight I’ve messed up. I got to optimum in January, felt fabulous but after six weeks a little fatigue crept back in. But overall I felt I was very near optimum.

At this time I could see a cluster of menstrual cycle related symptoms. So I’ve been progressed appts with GP, changing my HRT to progesterone-only PMSS approach which has meant reducing oestrogen.

When I reported symptoms to thyroid Dr at review, I didn’t make very clear it was likely the symptoms were to do with oestrogen withdrawal rather than thyroid.

So Dr is recommending I stop NDT and trial Lio because my RT3 has crept up, symptoms have increased and my FT3 is at 70+% of range.

This is where telehealth is tricky because I really need a conversation with him. I can’t face changing thyroid meds when I’m changing HRT, it’s ludicrous.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Insomania]

Never change two things at once

Tell your thyroid dr you are staying on current medication while you change HRT first

[HashimotosSucks in reply to Insomania]

Well, ideally, you should not have to decide which meds to decrease, increase, add or stop, your doctor should do that! That is what you are paying him for!

Is this doctor by any change in the US or Australia? Those are the only countries I know of where a few doctors specialise in treating rT3.

[helvella]

If you ever consider a non-prescription source, please read this warning and take it very seriously.

📢 ⚠️ Purchasing thyroid (and other) medication without prescription - Please Be Wary! ⚠️ 📢 (Repost)

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Insomania in reply to helvella]

Thank you for the info. I intend to stick with prescriptions. I’m very aware of how powerful T3 is and I wouldn’t feel safe going it alone.

[CreakingGate47]

I’m puzzled about why you’re making this change if you don’t agree with your doctor? There are mixed views about rT3.

What are your latest blood results?

[CreakingGate47]

I have a reliable source of T3 who I’ve used for a very long time and is used by several on here.

However I’m reluctant to share by PM because of the warnings in this thread. If you want to discuss, feel free to PM me

[HashimotosSucks in reply to CreakingGate47]

There is a seller used by patients in Europe for years who suddenly recently stopped delivering after payment, with lots of patients no longer knowing what to do as they depend on them for thyroid medication. This has happened in recent months so people who ordered back in 2024 may not even have noticed yet. So even reliable sources can disappear or become unavailable.

[CreakingGate47 in reply to HashimotosSucks]

I am aware.