Hypo symptoms on Levo with normal labs

Here were my last labs:

T4, free 1.64 range 0.82-1.77

Tsh 1.220 range 0.450-4.500

T3, free 3.3 range 2.0-4.4

They're normal but I still can't function.

The problem with these tests is that they don't show how much thyroid hormone is being absorbed by your tissues. My understanding is that the TSH test shows that your pituitary gland thinks your body has enough thyroid hormones and isn't asking your thyroid to produce any more; the free T3 and free T4 show how much thyroid hormone is unbound (I.e. is in your blood and available). So yes you can have normal results in these tests and still be hypothyroid if your body isn't absorbing the thyroid hormones. (All - please correct me if I have got anything wrong! ) So then the question becomes: 'what can cause the body to not absorb thyroid hormones? ' Cortisol problems spring to mind. Or a Ferritin level below 70. A third option is that there is something else wrong entirely - many other medical conditions have similar symptoms. Do also get your vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D levels checked (as well as ferritin and iron).

My issue with all of this is that I wasn't having any issues prior to having a TT. Not a single issue. I wasn't hypo or hyper and didn't have cancer. The only reason I had it removed was because the goiters were so large they were pushing on my esophagus and trachea making it hard to swallow and breathe. So if a vitamin deficiency or other issue was the culprit I would have had issues prior to the TT. So my gut is telling me it's the Levo or my ability to convert T3, more likely my ability to convert T3. Like the level of inactive T3 is too high. And I can't find a doctor to run a reverse T3 test to check it. Or prescribe a low dose of Cytomel or switching me to Armour. Something. I've never felt like this before. I took the stairs in my house yesterday and by the time I got to the top I was winded, dizzy, and my legs felt like they were going to give out. I had to sit down. Just going up the stairs. I used to be able to walk up 2 flights in my house without issues before my TT. I knew there might be issues getting my meds right after surgery but didn't realize it would make me virtually disabled. I can't work. And here in the next 2 weeks I'm going to start losing income when my medical leave runs out if I can't get this figured out. Just so frustrating.

You might be intolerant to some of the fillers in the thyroid meducation you are taking. Are you in US. Some people there can get NDT prescribed. Try going on WP Throid aka Westthroid-P

You can get a hypoallergenic Natural Desiccated Thyroid without a prescription. I'm on a bovine NDT called ThyroGold I buy over the internet. However my reservation about switching meds is that it is early days yet, only 6 weeks, and your body still needs to adjust.

That's what the doctors keep saying. But I can't live like this. These symptoms are severe. Yes, I am in the US. I will look those things up, thank you 😊

If you do decide to switch to NDT it is essential for you start on a low dose and build up slowly. Your body needs to get used to getting T3. See tpauk for dosing instructions. I have a theory that the people who have no functioning thyroid do better on NDT because it replaces the T3 their thyroid is no longer making. I've been on ThyroGold since 23rd June 2015 and had monthly blood tests, monitored by my NHS GP. To give you an idea of dosing: I weigh 53kg, i started on 150mg for 4 days then increased it to 300mg (150mg twice a day - upon waking and then 7 hours later) for 2 weeks. Then 450mg (300mg upon waking and then 150mg 7 hours later) for 2 weeks. Then 600mg (300mg upon waking and then 300mg, 7 hours later) for 2 weeks...

Read everything on the site before embarking on this. Particularly the questions and answers and the 3 free chapters of his book that explains it all. Good luck! I hope you soon feel better.

Really excellent advice Barbara. re your last post, last paragraph, you refer to "....chapters of his book......" could you tell us the author and the name of his book?

I'm copying this thread of posts and sticking it on my fridge, you really have the details, thanks.

I'm really glad that my ramblings are of use.

If I mention his name this post will be (understandably) moderated for advertising, so I'll give hints on how to find it. Let me know if you need me to pm you the link.

Search for ThyroGold, you'll know if you've got the right site because it'll have a picture of the husband and wife team that produce it. Their names are Tammy and John. On the left hand side is a menu and one of the items is called 'questions and answers'. Click on that and at the top of the page are links to 3 free chapters of his book.

By the way, I'm now on 750mg ThyroGold and have been since beginning of September 2015.

Thanks Barbara, I had an idea it was him but I wasn't sure others would. I am getting a bit fed up of the inability to mention books on this site. I was asked by a desperate person how to start his research and my post was moderated because I mentioned books! Of course you need to pass the titles of books around, that is the basis of any dissemination of knowledge. That is why I haven't been posting here lately.

Hi LAHs, I had missed your posts as they are always so informative. Thanks

By the way, before I hit 'reply' I always 'copy all' so if my reply gets glitched or moderated I can just repaste ir send via private message as appropriate.

Good Idea!

So I've been on Thyro Gold for about 6 weeks now. I worked my way up to 600 mg and it was just too much for me. I went down to 450 mg and still too much. I still felt cruddy on 300 mg and had more lbs drawn and turns out I'm still hyper. So I'm now down to 150 mg and trying that. They don't have an lower dosages. The good news is that through all of this I haven't gained a lb. The bad news is that my lover and kidney enzymes are elevated, my cholesterol is through the roof and my blood pressure goes from hypertensive to super low. I'm also still having hyper and hypo symptoms presumably because my cortisol is still high. The doctor doesn't know if there's an underlying issue but he said he can't even look until we get the thyroid numbers normal and to stay normal. So I'm hoping 150 mg does the trick because I can't go lower than that without breaking the capsule open and trying to do half every day. And I really don't want to have to do that. I don't know how you're on 750 mg and one woman I read was on 1200 mg. Blows my mind. Hope all is well and that's my update. I'm back to work but I've had to take quite a few days off where and there and I constantly go in late. It's very tough to wake up in the mornings, like really tough. So I'm dealing with that and thankfully my doctor gave me a note and my boss is kind. Anyway, thanks for steering me in this direction.

Pardon the type-o's. Stupid iPhone autocorrect lol. Hope you can decipher what I'm trying to say lol

Hi  Jen, sounds like you're too low... Here are some ideas... getting the dose right is difficult because there's about a three week lag time before the stuff kicks in pretty well and three months before the blood levels out. So your changes in dosage may be too fast, unless you have quite a bit of previous experience. 

Were you you on a prescription previously? What was the correct dose? That should give you an idea of dosing. However, with the nonpharma, it's going to be a lot bulkier, so err on the side of higher rather than low.

Next, my recollection is that Thyrogold is porcine. Pigs have a much higher T3 than humans. So if you have brain fog (this is likely low T4), and anxiety, (could be low or high T3, but likely high bc of the porcine, unless your dose is WAY too low). With the porcine, I always had either highT3, with good T4, or good T3 and low T4. So this med works best for people who do not convert T4 to T3: people with gut or liver problems.

The symptoms you're talking about sound very similar to my experience when my meds were too low: cholesterol and lipids through the roof, sluggish liver, food sensitivities, severe anxirty, exhaustion. It's often difficult to distinguish low from high symptoms, particularly bc the anxiety is way worse when doses are too low.

If you have been advised medically that you need thyroid medication, a 150 dose is similar to a 25 mcg dose of NDT or levo. So the 150 is a very small amount. Is it possible you could be mistaking low symptoms for high?

Finally, if the problems you're having are due to a difference in the T3 to T4 ratios between pigs and humans, you could try a bovine one. Bovine T3 to T4 ratios are closer to humans.

Hope that helps. There are others on this site who use Thyrogold. Tips anyone? I seem to be doing well on bovine. 

Good luck!

 

So Thyro Gold is actually bovine thyroid from cows in New Zealand. According to a blog "100mcg of T4, Synthyroid or levothyroxine = 150mg of Thyro-Gold Show calculation

We know that a 150mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 50mcg of T4 and 12.5mcg of T3. Given that T3 is roughly four times more powerful than T4, the calculation is 50mcg of T4 + (12.5mg of T3 x 4) = 100mcg of T4."

I was on 150 mg of Levo when this all started and that was way too much. My levels were so high my doctor advised me to stop taking meds for several days to get the levels down as fast as possible. At that time I was clinically hyper but experiencing both hypo and hyper symptoms. When I asked the doctor how that is all he could think of was my abnormally high cortisol levels. I also started having issues with severe allergies and asthma which I previously had under control. All likely due to the uptick in cortisol.

He switched me to 100 mg of synthroid and that wasn't really doing much for me either so I switched to Thyro Gold. The creator of Thyro Gold said on their website to start out on 150-300 mg and then every two weeks or so add another 150-300 mg. And keep doing that every 2 weeks. And daily track your basal body temp and basal heart rate to find your right dosage.

I started out on 150 mg for about 4 days and then bumped it up to 300 mg and stayed on that for about 2 weeks. Then I bumped it up to 450 mg and was on that for about 2 weeks. Then bumped it to 600 mg and after only a few days I could tell that was way too much. So I went back down to 450 mg for a few days and then down to 300mg and had been in that for about 10 days when I had blood work done for my doctors appt. My blood work indicated I'm still hyper. So he told me to decrease the dose yet again. So now I'm in 150 mg and have been for about a week. According to the blog that's the equivalent to the dose of Synthroid when I switched. That's why it blows my mind that people can be on such high doses of Thyro gold.

Well I sent a lengthy reply but accidentally put a link in it so it was sent to a moderator. Didn't mean to do that, just wanted to site a source. But basically I said that Thyro gold is bovine thyroid and 150 mg is supposed to be equivalent to 100 mg of Levo or synthroid. I've had blood work done and I'm for sure hyper but my doctor thinks I'm having hypo symptoms as well as hyper because my cortisol levels are high. I redraw blood again in 5 weeks so I will find out then if 150 mg of Thyro gold is enough for me. So far so good.

Hi Jen, sounds like you're on the right track. I really appreciate you hyper/ hypo comments. It takes a while to figure this out bc it creates all the hypo symptoms plus others, but blood work isn't usually too far out of range relative to symptoms.

Switching to a bovine should help with the hyper/hypo. But it takes a while to detox from the Levo, I'm talking months.

The other thing I ran across, is some info about the irregular growth cells, and that they often have higher numbers of insulin receptors on the cell surface. I found this particularly interesting in my case, bc I have a large cyst, and am hyper/hypo, but my TSH has never been elevated proportionally. Since the TSH stimulates thyroxin production, and mine was constantly hyper/hypo, something else had to be stimulating the thyroxin production. The hypo is exhausting, and the hyper is the neck heating up like crazy and swelling up all around the cyst.

Now that I'm on the bovine, which I've found to be about 130 bovine to 25 prescription, it's calmed down a lot. I've also been taking thyroid supplements containing herbs, boron and kelp. These supplements seem to help keep the inflammation on the thyroid down. The inflammation seems to exacerbate the hyper/hypo. In addition, acupuncture has been helpful.

basically, at least for me, the cyst and inflammation are the wild cards in the equation.

Jen, Catherine, my experience of ThyroGold doesn't match with your source. I was on 100mcg thyroxine and am now on 750mg ThyroGold. (I started taking it on 23rd June 2015 and was on 750mg by September). Bloods were all fine in September. I dropped the dose for 1 month and the levels tested too low so I increased it back to 750mg and the next 4 months of blood tests from Nov to Feb were all in range. Then in March I was feeling a bit hypo (basal pulse =56) so I upped it to 900mg on 8 March. It became obvious this was too high and I lowered it back down to 750mg on 25 March. My bloods on 6 April show I was right to decrease it back down as T3=8.7 (I can't quite remember but I think the upper limit is 5.7), T4=26 (9-19). So by juggling like this (trying the dose either side of 750mg) I have established that 750mg is the right dose for me.

I can confirm ThyroGold is bovine NDT.

Does this help? If there's anything else you think I can help with, do ask.

Thanks Barbara! Good to know the dosing! I guess they're all a little different. Seems for sure the non-prescriptions are way less potent, making for inconvenient large dosing.

keep in mind that when you change doses, it can actually spike your blood work temporarily, so use the blood work as a guide with symptoms.

Since none of these meds are perfect, with imperfect delivery to already broken systems, you may need levels on the high side or even slightly above ranges to feel your best. 

That is so incredibly strange!

This is the equation I found online from Paul's Blog: "100mcg of T4, Synthyroid or levothyroxine = 150mg of Thyro-Gold Show calculation

We know that a 150mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 50mcg of T4 and 12.5mcg of T3. Given that T3 is roughly four times more powerful than T4, the calculation is 50mcg of T4 + (12.5mg of T3 x 4) = 100mcg of T4.".

And that seems to be the case for me. My blood work on 300 mg was very clearly hyper. I will stay at 150 mg and see what my blood work looks like in 5 weeks. I have read several people are on 150 mg and do quite well. Everyone is different I guess. The wife of the creator has said multiple times that 150 mg contains T4 that is equivalent to 50 mg of Levo. Plus the T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. And since T3 is super potent you don't need as much T4. So we shall see.

Luckily I didn't know this dosing advice when I swapped to ThyroGold, so I did the dosing slowly as advised and went on symptoms and basal pulse rate, blood tests added an extra aassurance.

True. I can't rely on my basal temp. It was in the low 96 range and I was hyper. And was in the normal 97 range but my blood work again showed I'm hyper. it would be nice if it worked so I didn't have to keep paying for blood work and to see the dr. I saw one lady is on 1,200 mg and doing great. The creator did say everyone is different. I will know for sure when I draw again in 5 weeks.

I've just worked out that if I use my ThyroGold dose and my weight I get a figure of approx 14mg ThyroGold per kg of bodyweight. If you were to use this figure and multiply it by your body weight what dose would it indicate for you? I realise you've other things going on too, but it would be interesting to know. I'd also like to know if the lady who is on 1200mg were to do this calculation whether it would come out as 14mg per kg too. In other words how generic is this figure? Another piece of information that is needed for a true comparison is that my thyroid is completely defunct. If your thyroid is partially working then the dose needed per kg would be less.

If I used that rule of thumb I'd need 1,200 mg of Thyro gold. I'm 177 lbs which converts to 80 kg or so I believe. Yes I have other things going on but it was the damage from being hyper for 2 months. I don't have a thyroid so I can't survive without medication. I wasn't having issues prior to having it removed, labs were normal. But I had a nodule so large it was difficult to breathe and swallow. So I had it removed for that reason. It wasn't cancer either. I was never diagnosed with anything so I have no idea what caused the nodule.

Well that disproves that rule of thumb!

Using the calculation for thyroxine of 1.7mcg per kg that's used by doctors gives 136mcg of thyroxine which isn't far off what you were on (150). So it sounds like there is something else going on as well as hypothyroidism.

What does your doctor suggest to treat your high cortisol? Everything I've read says this needs to be treated first. Look at tpauk website.

He said we have to get my thyroid levels right before we can look at anything else. He thinks the rest will fix itself once the levels are right. I only have high cortisol because of this.

Fair enough. I was going on the fact that even the levothyroxine patient information leaflet says do not take if got high cortisol. Wait until after next blood test to see if current strategy is working? Then ask to try different approach if it's not?

The low body temp is concerning, even if the blood shows normal. It's possible that an infection could cause the low body temp, but I would trust the low body temp more than the blood work, simply because the blood work  only shows what's in your blood, not necessarily whether the cells are able to use the thyroxin. In a perfect world, there would be a metabolic product test from thyroxin activity.

The reason I'm very insistent, is that my blood work always looks normal, yet, Simptomatically, I'm clearly hypothyroid, plus, I have a very large cyst, which by definition is hypothyroidism.  The only thing that ever came up much out of range was my rT3. High rT3 can often be present with adrenal disease, but my feeling is the adrenals become exhausted because they try to make up for the low thyroid.

It might be worthwhile to check your rT3, because if it's high, it binds up too much T3, and your T3 will show normal in blood tests, but is inactive. There's a ratio range - you can look it up online- of T3: rT3 that is acceptable. The anxiety you're feeling could be either low or high T3. I had anxiety way worse when my T3 was low than when it was high.

In the end, if you aren't feeling well when the numbers look right, you have to either, increase the dose, or look elsewhere for the source of the symptoms. Body temp is considered a very strong thyroid indicator, whereas other symptoms- sluggishness, hunger, dry skin and others- can be caused by diabetes and othe disease.

Strangely, infection has very similar symptoms to low thyroid. Particularly the inability to regulate body temperature, the sluggishness, and even low body temp.

He isn't ruling out an underlying issue but he said we can only treat one thing at a time. So get the thyroid numbers right and see how I feel. And if I still feel crappy then start looking at other things.

My blood work shows I'm hyper thyroid so I'm reducing the dose and repeating labs in 5 weeks. I have high cortisol so be think that's why I'm having both hypo and hyper symptoms.

2 Before you take LevothyroxineDo not take this medicine if you:are allergic to levothyroxine or to any of the other ingredients (see section 6).suffer from an overactive thyroid gland that produces too much thyroid hormone (thyrotoxicosis)have any condition that affects your adrenal glands (your doctor will be able to advise you if you are not sure)If any of these apply to you, do not take this medicine and go back to your doctor to discuss your treatment.

I'm not taking Levo. I'm taking Thyro Gold now.

Sorry Jen, it jumped and sent the message before i was ready.

The following extract grom the levothyroxine patient information leaflet is why I'm concerned.

2 Before you take Levothyroxine

Do not take this medicine if you:are allergic to levothyroxine or to any of the other ingredients (see section 6).

suffer from an overactive thyroid gland that produces too much thyroid hormone (thyrotoxicosis)

have any condition that affects your adrenal glands (your doctor will be able to advise you if you are not sure)

If any of these apply to you, do not take this medicine and go back to your doctor to discuss your treatment.

I suggest you point this bit out to him.

But I'm not on Levo.

Hi Jen, yes. Your situation is very similar to mine. Here's what I think happens...

Thyroid is low but goes decades without being diagnosed (I recently found out that in addition to my mother having a severe thyroid issue, virtually every female on my dad's side of the family is dealing with thyroid disease. I suspect I had thyroid disease from about the age of 15. Took me until I was in my early 30s when the cyst developed. Was diagnosed in my mid 40s with Hashimotos, and took another 2.5 years to get meds, when I finally found a good Endo who checked the rT3 and knows that a cyst results from hypothyroidism, period.

When the thyroid is low, the pancrease and adrenals work extra to try and make up foot it, but they eventually get exhausted. Meanwhile, the thyroid starts growing irregular cells to try and produce more thyroxin. These irregular cells have more insulin receptors on the surface, so they are triggered to produce thyroxin not by TSH, but every time you eat, by insulin. The body tries to function this way for a while, but it doesn't really work properly, so the other endocrine organs become exhausted and the cyst keeps growing to try and maintain proper thyroxin levels.

By by the time you become symptomatic, your Endo organs are all exhausted and the cyst is making massive amounts of thyroxin, while the healthy thyroid cells are actually suppressed... So all your blood work looks normal bc your system has completely bypassed the thyroid/ pituitary feedback loop.

by the time you get medical treatment for the thyroid, you can't keep up with the all out endocrine system failure that is already in play.

That's ok, the PIL advice applies irrespective of which thyroid medication you are taking.

Quite possible and he admitted there may be something else at play here but he said until we get the thyroid labs normal we can't start looking at anything else.

Yes. Jen, that is absolutely the approach. Getting the thyroid stable is key because if the thyroid levels aren't stable, everything else us off and you can't tell what's going on.

Do you have to get Thyroid Gold yourself or is it being prescribed by your GP?   If yoiu are getting it yourself can you tell me where you get it from, if you need a private prescription for it and how much it is?   

Hi Rosie, you can buy the ThyroGold online yourself. It is not prescription. Just do a search for it.

Are you taking it instead of levothyroxin or as a supliment?

Here's my story in the hope it will be of use to you.

In May 2015 when I became intolerant to the fillers in all the synthetic thyroxine meds, I needed an alternative, and quickly. (I even swelled up with liquid thyroxine).

I opted for ThyroGold because I could get it quickly without a prescription.

It was really scary buying it off the internet: would it have in it what it said it did? Would it harm me?  Would it work?. Was it a scam?

I've been on ThyroGold since 23rd June 2015 and had monthly blood tests, monitored by my NHS GP. To give you an idea of dosing: I weigh 53kg, I started on 150mg for 4 days then increased it to 300mg (150mg twice a day - upon waking and then 7 hours later) for 2 weeks. Then 450mg (300mg upon waking and then 150mg 7 hours later) for 2 weeks. Then 600mg (300mg upon waking and then 300mg, 7 hours later) for 2 weeks, then 750mg (450mg upon waking and then 300mg 7 hours later).

At 750mg my symptoms subsided - no longer cold, skin and hair not dry, muscle fatigue gone and muscle stamina now good, brain fog diminished (not completely gone but probably due to poor sleeping habits i.e. reading this forum until the early hours - something I'm trying to stop doing!)

I've was on 750mg for 5 months. Then I tried increasing to 900mg blood tests (for T3, T4 and TSH) showed this was too much, so I dropped it to back to 750mg. After a couple of months at 750mg I lowered it to 600mg and the same blood tests showed this is too little. So I've now (as at 28/4/2016) settled on 750mg.

I read everything on the site I bought it from before embarking on this course of action - particularly the questions and answers and the 3 free chapters of Dr lowe's book that explains it all, including how to spot if you are over medicating.

ThyroGold definitely has in it what it says it has, because recently I ended up having 2 thyroid blood tests 5 days apart (the lab didn't do the TSH test because it was only 26 days since the last test was done and the 'test is valid for 27 days'. So my GP requested another blood test. Because from this test we only wanted the TSH I didn't think it would matter that I had already taken 450mg ThyroGold that morning. Well they actually did T4 & T3 as well on the 2nd test and it showed both T4 & T3 higher than on the previous test (which is what one would expect).

My blood test results in February after being on ThyroGold for 5 months were as follows.

3 Feb 2016:

T3=3.7 (2.6-5.7)

T4=14.0 (9-19)

TSH='repeat request - following result is from 8.1.16 and is valid for 27 days'=1.5 (0.4-4.9)

Results from 8 Feb 2016:

T3=6.3 (2.6-5.7)

T4=16.4 (9-19)

TSH=0.02 (0.4-4.9) - remember I took ThyroGold on the morning of this test, so this is what one would expect - I'm getting enough thyroid hormone so the pituitary gland isn't asking for any more thyroid hormones (it does this by producing TSH), hence the TSH reading is low

Note: to take a dose which is not a multiple of 150mg (which is the snallest size ThyroGold comes in) entails pulling a capsule apart and only taking half of it. ThyroGold isn't like thyroxine, because it contains T3, one can't just take 600mg one day and 450mg the next if one needs a dose of 525mg.

I have a theory that the people who have no functioning thyroid do better on NDT because it replaces the T3 their thyroid is no longer making.

Note of caution: if you do decide to switch to NDT it is essential for you start on a low dose and build up slowly. Your body needs to get used to getting T3. (See tpauk for dosing instructions).

I am not medically qualifiedv and therfore I'm not qualified to advise you, I am merely saying what I did and what the results were, so you can use it as one source of information to make your own decision. ThyroGold is classed as a 'nutritional supplement' so that people like me can buy it without a prescription, but don't be misled, like thyroxine, ThyroGold is a very powerful drug which is used instead of thyroxine.

Rosie, I'm taking it instead of the levothyroxin.

Thanks Barbara for the info. I like your idea of starting slowly on the natural. I'm on a different manufacturer, American Biologics, and started with three caps a day of 130 mg. after a month, I realized this was way too low and increased to 6 per day. After less than two weeks, it still felt too low. In the end 9 of the 130 mg caps per day seems best. I'm waiting for a couple of months to get blood work, hoping to get an accurate reading. Good news is that I'm feeling a lot better!

Hi Catherine, one way you can monitor your levels in between blood tests is to take your basal pulse and basal temperature (basal just means at rest, and is advised to take it first thing in the morning whilst you're lying in bed before you move - though it won't be accurate if you are shocked into life by the alarm clock!)

You get it yourself and it does not require a prescription. I just bought my second 90-count bottle of 150 mg. it cost me. $44.44 after shopping. You can't post links on here so you'll have to google it to get to it. They also come in 300 mg but I'd start at 150 mg until you figure out your perfect dose.

Most people end up taking anywhere from 600 mg-1,200 mg but I was seriously hyperthyroid at those levels (blood work and symptoms to prove it) despite my basal heart rate and temp being normal. There's a symptom list on the site too that the creator's wife sent to me to track the severity of your symptoms and if they increase or decrease based on dosage. Blood work, that list, knowing your body to pick up on symptoms, taking basal body temp, and basal heart rate each morning and tracking them are all things I recommend you do when starting this product to determine the proper dosage.

As I lowered my dose the symptoms have subsided so I'm learning that for me a smaller dose is better. And I do not have a thyroid anymore so I'm heavily dependent on these meds. I may one day try to increase up to 300 mg but it depends on what my next set of blood work shows and if I start to have hypo symptoms. Right now I'm good at 150 mg. but everyone is different.

I have read online Paul Jones Blog found that a 150 mg capsule contains 50 mg of T4 and 12.5 mg of T3 along with T2, T1, and Calcitonin per his discussion with the creator's wife. So one 150 mg of Thyro Gold is the equivalent to 100 mg of Levo or Synthroid. T3 is roughly 4x's the power of T4, so 50 mg of T4 + (12.5 mg x 4 = 50 mg of T3) = 100 mg. which makes sense for me because I was on 100 mg of Synthroid when I switched, but wasn't doing very well without the T3. The switch has been good for me.

The creator is a doctor who specialized in thyroid issues and created this for his wife who has thyroid problems. He died a few years back in a freak accident but his wife still sells it. She responds quickly to any questions you have. It's worth a shot if the synthetic meds aren't working.

Hi Jen, I can't equate the calculations you quote with my experience. I was on 100mcg thyroxine and now all the blood tests and absence of symptoms since September 2015 show that 750mg ThyroGold is the correct dose for me. It shows the importance of starting at a low dose and increasing slowly to find the dose that is right for you.

I'm aware; you told me the exact same thing 2 weeks ago and again 2 months before that. I still would like to share my experience because as I said in my post not everyone is the same. I also mentioned all the tools available to determine the proper dose. But at the end of the day how you feel says it all. I didn't do well on a higher dose so if my experience helps someone then I'd like to put it out there.

At the top of your message you say that 'most people are on 600-1200mg', yet using the calculation supplied (where 150mg = 100mcg thyroxine) this would equate to 400-800mcg of thyroxine, which doesn't seem right. The rest of the information you supply about ThyroGold mirrors my experience. It is therefore important that people follow the instructions on self dosing to find the dose that is right for them.

That is what the creator's wife told Paul Jones when they Skyped for his piece that he wrote on his blog. Did you look it up when I referenced it 2 weeks ago and again a few days ago? I also read that same content breakdown elsewhere in several places on the Internet so there must be some merit to it. Look it up yourself.

I fully agree that the calculation would mean that you're unwell unless you're on the equivalent of 500 mg of Levo and that that seems highly implausible. But the calculation makes sense to me on how I was hyper at 300+ mg. I reached out to the creator's wife, Tammy, and all she would tell me is that everyone is different. I can't explain it.

And again all I am doing is sharing my experience. I already listed for her all the tools she needed to figure out her own dosage and you've mentioned it twice now how important it is. I also gave her both sides of the spectrum; mentioning most are on higher dosages but that there are those of us who require a lower dose. I said and did absolutely nothing wrong in sharing my personal experience and information I've found on my own post. Because it doesn't fit with your experience doesn't mean I can't share it in peace.

Uhm, yes folks. You need way more of the natural because it's a lot bulkier because it isn't "refined", just dessicated.

I'm on a different brand, but, 9x130mg= 1170mg per day seems to feel about right to replace the 200mcg levothyroxin. 

A friend of mine on a different brand of the OTC bovine takes 3x130mg per day to replace her previous dose of 60-75mcg of NDT (prescription porcine).

This is no longer a discussion. This has somehow turned from being a helpful forum to one that is making me feel very defensive and upset. Until you do your own research on Thyro Gold and you talk to the creator's wife yourself then please do not act like you know how it works for me. In this case Catherine Thyro Gold is not bulky. Not according to the creator. His research has shown that being hyper if you're not symptomatic is actually ok. He had a patient who felt terrible on normal doses of prescription meds but the blood work showed her clinically fine. Turned out to be antibodies attacking her thyroid. So she amped up her meds to a dose no mainstream medicine doctor would approve and she felt a lot better. The point being that some people need a lot more to feel better. That's why he has a symptom sheet. Because it boils down to how you feel. If you feel fine on 150 mg like me then great. If you need 1,200 mg to feel better then great. Why are you people basically attacking me for not needing higher doses? And for sharing information I learned about this product? Just because you all don't agree doesn't make it wrong. If I could delete my post I would. I only opened it back up 2 weeks ago to give an update not to restart this mess that's stressed me out more than its been helpful.

I no longer need help from this forum, please stop responding to it and me.

Jen, im

Jen, I'm sorry you feel upset, it certainly wasn't my intention. I was trying to understand why our experiences were so different. I am on ThyroGold and have been for 10 months. It was really nice to find someone else who is on it and who has had good results too.

I;m interested in you being on Thyro Gold, do you have a prescription medication as well as that ot just the Thyro Gold, I am thinking of going on to this so would be interested in your experience.

Rosie, I'm not sure if have answered your question elsewhere, however just in case... I take ThyroGold instead of levothyroxine. If you click on my name you will be able to see my other posts, in which I extol the virtues of ThyroGold.  It is the only thyroid medication I (and my GP) have found that I can take as I am alergic to corn (aka maize starch) which is in all the synthetic thyroid medications and many of the other NDTs.

Hi Barbara,   I'm not allergic to maize or anything just the synthetic, but I am also thinking of going onto Thyro Gold as I am finding it hard to find a private GP to give me a prescription for NDT.   So annoying this, but yes that is my second choice, might have some obstacles to overcome though as being in the UK I will have to fax over an importation form etc first to order it, but that can be overcome I think.   Glad you think it's good that's reassurring.

Hi Rosie, I'm in the UK. I printed off the international shipping form, filled it in, scanned it, then emailed it to the enail address in the 'contact us' section. I only did this for the first two orders then Tammy emailed and said they would keep it on file and I didn't need to send it again. I've not had any problems with the orders. Depending on the amount of the order, you might have to pay import duty, which cost me £7.50 last time.

I love being on ThyroGold; I only wish I'd known about it years ago.

That sounds really good thanks for that.   Looks like I will be going that way as not progressing much with getting NDT on prescription, glad it's good stuff.