Getting NDT,s on prescription

I asked about liquid Thyroxine but was told as I am on 100 mg Thyroxine it was going to cost them £300 per month so it has been refused.   I think it is possible that I am allergic to fillers, if that is what they use to reduce it to tablet form as I have the same problem with Morphine and after a hip replacement I had to ask them only to prescibe the liquid form as the tablets make me ill.   Although I haven't got a reply yet I am getting the feeling it is going to be tough.   A friend of mine knows someone with the same problem who has gone on to something natural, I think that is possibly an NDT but it is only costing her £22 a month, so I have asked her to find out about it for me.   It is a minefield this.   Thyroid UK have said that GP's can prescibe it so I think I might contat them as well.   Thanks for your reply, it's a help to know that I am not the only one in this situation.  

American biologics do a bovine NDT without prescription - one of the ladies on here is on it. I don't know what fillers it has in, but may be worth investigating. Also look at Thyroid S, Thyroid W, and Thiroid which are other NDTs.

Thanks for that, I am going to do a lot of research and see what I come up with

Yes that's helpful.   I will look up availability of Bovine which I have heard of.  Thank you

Catherine, I'm curious if you're still having luck with the Bovine Thyroid Supplement?

I have started Armour approximately 6 weeks ago and am very unhappy with its side effects. 

Thanks in advance. 

Hi Shack, I switched to the bovine glandular, and was on that for a year. I stopped taking the one I was on because I notice a formulation change and was having some minor stomach pain. In all, I was on various forms of thyroid meds for 5 years and none the better for it. 

I went off off the meds and have been supplementing with high doses of  amino acids, turmeric and chlorophyll. Don't knock it, it seems to be working. 

My my mother has had her thyroid removed. I switched her from levo to ThyroGold and she's doing much better.

The Armour has higher T3 than humans, so it (as well as levo, but opposite) will throw off your ratios of T3-T4. So you tend to get side effects from this and from the fact that it's not human thyroxin, lastly you have the unnatural oral delivery.

I've been on bovine OTC ThyroGold since June 2014 and am doing great. No swelling, no itching. My muscles now work, I've lost weight, I've got more energy. NHS GP is monitoring my levels with monthly blood tests of TSH, T4 & T3. All seems fine. Now if I could only get rid of the food intolerances...

I have to agree with Barbara.in addition to various manufacturers of levo, I tried Armour, WP, Naturethroid. The NDTs worked ok when I was first diagnosed, but none of it seems to work right anymore. I don't even care why anymore. It just doesn't work. 

 

My best guess is it's because ThyroGold is a bovine NDT and the others are porcine NDTs. Bovine T3 & T4 levels are closer to that of humans than porcine ones.

Plus, you have to ensure your cortisol levels are OK first else the adoption of NDT causes palpitations and other side effects. There is a good (well I think he is from what I've read) integrative medicine practitioner who has written the best write up of how this all works. His name is Michael S...

schachter. Do a scholar search on Google

Barbara, thank you, as well, I am having quite an experience with all of this and welcome all sources of knowledge!  

I am looking forward to feeling better!

-Dena

Catherine, thank you for the information!   I do not knock the power of the natural pathways!   

Excited to have your comments

-Dena

Thanks is for the encouragement, Dena. I'm just doing whatever works.

The main thing to know is that if one needs thyroid hormone replacement, one cannot do without it - like someone who is diabetic needs insulin. Some people at the beginning of their autoimmune attack on the thyroid seem to be able to reverse it by cutting out dairy, gluten and soy and eating unprocessed foods. I'm not one of this group. I reckon my hypothyroidism was diagnosed 14 years after it first started and by that time my thyroid was wrecked.

Barbara, I wouldn't be so quick to give up. I am not giving up. I have severe thyroid disease on both sides of my family, I had a severe bromine exposure in my 20s. I went undiagnosed and untreated even with the large cyst, but was able to get the thyroid disease into remission for ten years inadvertently. I've spent my life dieting and when the thyroid disease was in remission, it was as if the weight melted off. I still had to keep an eye on things, but I was so used to dieting, that it was heaven to be able to eat and not gain weight like crazy. 

Ok, so 10 years later it came back with a vengeance. Right now the score is thyroid disease, 10, me 1.5 points. I figure I get one point for realizing the meds were making me more sick than they were helping.  I get another half a point for trying things that seem to work. I've got so much autoimmune disease going that my whole system is shutting down and it will be a long haul back up. The good news is I'm no worse without the meds and I've been off them since November. And I actually feel better.

Barbara, I agree with you. Some are able to gain leverage with dietary discipline.  

I've easily given up soy, gluten, and unprocessed foods.  My battle with dairy and sugars (chocolate, creme brûlée, wine!), however, is much more difficult for me. :-(

I have always been an active person:

*Lake-tivity ;-)

*20-30 weekly cardio miles

*Weight lifting to maintain bone density

Since this lack of thyroid stimulating hormone has presented, I have found, among several things, I'm encumbered with skin hypersensitivity, a strange abdominal bloat, heart palpitations, as well as lack of motivation/energy. 

I am hoping I can find a recipe for health and that these side effects will dimenish, as well as having my energy rebound soon!  

I am am so happy to have found this forum I'm learning so very much!

The doctor i entiobe at the beginning of this discussion suggests palpitations can be a sign of two things if you have hypothyroidism. Either you are over medicating with thyroid hormone or you have insufficient cortisol to process the thyroid hormone...

entiobe = mentioned!

Hi Catherine, don't worry, I'm not giving up. Being realistic my hypothyroidism wasn't diagnosed for 14-15 years and my TSH when it was diagnosed was 170 - I don't know whether the ranges were the same then as they are now, but my GP did say he'd never seen results so high. I'm doing everything I can to promote well-being and if my thyroid happens to get fixed, it will be a nice bonus. Being realistic, the chances aren't very high.

Thanks Barbara. I've seen some pretty crazy numbers showing up in posts here. My TSH  never tested much  above 2.5 that I can remember, and my situation is pretty severe. I just figure that if your pituitary is working that hard, it's probably in the early stages. After a while, the pituitary sort of gives up trying to get results by producing more TSH, which could be one reason a lot of people don't test high for TSH.

Do you if it makes any difference whether you test fasting or at different times of the day?

Thyroid levels do vary during the day, so I try and get my bloid tests dibe under the same conditions each time i.e. at the same time each time and not having taken thyroid tablets that day. I've not noticed any difference with the levels between fasting or not. My understanding is the only reason the pituitary gland would stop producing TSH is if it too became damaged.

bloid tests dibe = blood tests done!