Alternative to levothyroxine

[Anya]

Hello. Ive been underactive for 4 yrs now. Levo has never gotten rid of the fatigue. Ive tried plenty of alternative therapies and have been on the anti candida diet for almost a yr. Within a month of being on the diet I had to reduce the levo from 100 to 75mcg daily which is great. Im also currently having an iv treatment to clean my cells of the nickel poisoning I got from the fixed retainer I was wearing. Whilst all my efforts have definitely strengthened my body up the brain fatigue is still very much there and im wondering if another type of thyroid med may help ie armour thyroid. Has anyone tried sn alternative to levo please and if so what and who prescribed it?! Im so fed up with the fatigue I just dont know what to do anymore...

[Hidden]

Quite a few of us take Armour. Some get it prescribed by private GP's, a very few lucky ones get it from the NHS, the majority of us have to buy it ourselves from overseas, which is less than ideal. T3 definitely helps (in my opinion) with the more mental side of being hypo, and is used as an antidepressant in a few cases, but even most psychiatrists dont prescribe it, although they can. You could try asking your GP first if they would give you a trial of T3 or NDT, just dont be surprised if they say no

[greygoose]

Be interesting to see you latests lab results. With the ranges, of course.

Hugs, Grey

[Anya]

Im getting some more done this week, as they missed off the free t3 last time. Grrr. Will post when I getvthem. Thankyou both. I will ask about the t3 only aswell. Thats interesting about it being used ad an anti depressant as im mostly low and akways on the verge of tears!!

Anya x

[PR4NOW]

Anya, fatigue, crying easily, and mild, moderate depression are all classic hypo symptoms. If you are on T4 and still having these symptoms you are either not on enough or perhaps not converting T4 to T3. You might see if they will add some T3 to your T4 or try getting NDT. Some people do fine on Levo, many do better on NDT. It is always the problem of finding what works best in your body. Have you checked ferritin/iron, B12, and so forth? Low B12 is very common and can mimic some of the symptoms of hypo. PR

[Anya]

Thankyou. Yes im keeping an eye on all levels of vits. Ive had extensive tests for those. Am v zinc deficient so am taking supps for that plus all the b vits, high vit c dose, mangenese, probiotics snd also doing b12 and magnesium injections each week. I'll talk to my private doc about the ndt and t3. The nhs doc doesnt entertain any of it. Apparently theres 'nothing wrong with me'...

Anya x

[PR4NOW in reply to Anya]

Anya, "There is nothing wrong with you" and "Your blood tests are normal", two of the most common phrases we hear, if only it were true. The next thing is usually, "Go see a shrink and get some anti-depressants", which doesn't help either. You have to keep after it and many times you have to change doctors. It shouldn't be this way, but it is. PR

[Anya]

Yes I know ive been down the anti depressant route a few years ago when I didt really know what to do and still had trust in my doctor! Pfff...

[Anya]

Hiya all here's my most recent results - what do you think? I think the TSH looks pretty low and T4 looks high but not sure exaclty what that means:

TSH - 0.79

T3 - 4.7

T4 - 21.7

Thanks

Anya x

[LouiseRoberts in reply to Anya]

Hi Anya

Have got the ranges for these please? Might be better to post as a new question - comments can get missed.

Louise

x

[Anya]

Thanks Louise - I will do. I just got the results over the phone but will be picking up a print out from the docs this evening so will post again then. Thanks x