Re: T3/T4 combo versus Natural Thyroid (with all four hormones)...

[Guest guest]

TSH testing only is just plain insufficient to see what is going on with your

thyroid. At the ver least you need to be tested for FreeT3 and FreeT4. This

should be done after a 12 hour fast and with no meds of any kind before the

thest. If this docotor won't order it for you, a new doctor

needs to be found who will care enough about you as a patient to have the

testing done.

 

There is naturethroid which is a (natural- pigs thyroid extract) medication with

T3 and T4 in it, and there is also Thyrolar (from Forest Labs) which has T3 and

T4 in it. Some people say that having T2 and T1 are important, but from what

I've learned the body actually breaks down the T3 in to T2 and T1 anyway.

 

The important thing is to get testes to see how much of the medication is

converting to T3 and actually getting into your cells and not just floating

around in your blood.

 

No self medication should be done by anyone who doesn[t REALLY understand what

they are doing. Finding an experinced, open minded and caring doctor is the most

important thing.

 

Roni

From: brian cooper <brianevans_99@...>

hypothyroidism

Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 11:54 AM

Subject: T3/T4 combo versus Natural Thyroid (with all four

hormones)...

I don't think I've posted for a while, but have appreciated what I've gotten

from others in the meanwhile...

Wondering if there's clinical difference in the benefits from a T3/T4 combo such

as taking synthetic levo (T4) and Cytomel (T3) if they can be effectively

co-dosed---or some synthetic combo, if it exists.....and

a quality natural thyroid product such as ERFA (and ???) reportedly are?

Part of this is by way of asking, do T1 and T2 in the natural product make a

noticeable difference?

Last summer my TSH--all the doctor will test--was around 0.5 on Levoxyl

in the range of 95-105 (can't recall exactly). I'm now on Levoxyl 125 but, even

so, my TSH was 2.5 a month or so ago.

Will be grateful for insights, comments, suggestions...

P.S.--I asked a local compounding pharmacy if he could make the equivalent of

(good) Armour, but I believe the only natural component he had was T4.

_________________________________________________________________________

> From: hypothyroidism <hypothyroidism >

> Subject: Digest Number 5183

> hypothyroidism

> Date: Friday, May 20, 2011, 5:15 AM

> There are 17 messages in this issue.

>

> Topics in this digest:

>

> 1.1. Re: The Science of Acupuncture and Qi Gong alive and

> well.   

>     From: SheilaT

> 1.2. Re: etc.   

>     From: ledbyrain@...

>

> 2.1.

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

First you should be aware that ALL of the T3/T4 from whatever source is

bioidentical. Further, normally all you need to take is T4 because your

body breaks T4 down into T3, which is what you cells actually use.

T1 and T2 are waste products from the utilization of T4/T3 and have

AFAIK no established benefits.

Most people take T4 only and do great. However there seems to exist

some small percentage of hypo patients who do not do well with T4 only,

and some subset of that number do well with either T3 alone or a

combination of T4/T3.

AFAIK there is no credible support for the effacy of T3 or T3/T4 over T4

alone; I believe the research has shown no benefits above chance or

placebo. HOWEVER: There is a heck of a lot of anecdotal evidence that

some people do in fact benefit from T3 or T3/T4 rather than T4 alone. I

think this evidence, while it would not be sufficient to be used in

credible research is thought by many here [including me] to be

sufficiently convincing that there is little doubt that at least some

people do in fact do better when not taking T4 alone. Just ask Roni...

Luck,

..

..

> Posted by: " brian cooper " brianevans_99@...

>

<mailto:brianevans_99@...?Subject=%20Re%3A%20T3%2FT4%20combo%20versus%20Na\

tural%20Thyroid%20%28with%20all%20four%20hormones%29%2E%2E%2E>

> brianevans_99 <brianevans_99>

>

>

> Fri May 20, 2011 11:54 am (PDT)

>

>

>

> I don't think I've posted for a while, but have appreciated what I've

> gotten from others in the meanwhile...

>

> Wondering if there's clinical difference in the benefits from a T3/T4

> combo such as taking synthetic levo (T4) and Cytomel (T3) if they can

> be effectively co-dosed---or some synthetic combo, if it exists.....and

> a quality natural thyroid product such as ERFA (and ???) reportedly are?

>

> Part of this is by way of asking, do T1 and T2 in the natural product

> make a noticeable difference?

>

> Last summer my TSH--all the doctor will test--was around 0.5 on Levoxyl

> in the range of 95-105 (can't recall exactly). I'm now on Levoxyl 125

> but, even so, my TSH was 2.5 a month or so ago.

>

> Will be grateful for insights, comments, suggestions.

> ..

>

>

>

> P.S.--I asked a local compounding pharmacy if he could make the

> equivalent of (good) Armour, but I believe the only natural component

> he had was T4.

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote:

>

> ...Wondering if there's clinical difference in the benefits from a T3/T4 combo

such as taking synthetic levo (T4) and Cytomel (T3)

> if they can be effectively co-dosed---or some synthetic combo, if it

exists.....and

> a quality natural thyroid product such as ERFA (and ???) reportedly are?...

I do not recall people that tried both noticing a difference except with the

excipients. Most were problems with the new formulation of Armour, and some

found relief switching to the synthetics.

>

>... Part of this is by way of asking, do T1 and T2 in the natural product make

a noticeable difference?...

This list has had some controversy over this in the past. There is evidence that

T2 is metabolically active, and in slightly different ways than T3. However, it

takes a hefty slug of T2 to get these effects (Body builders were the main

market.), and there are only traces of it in dessicated glands. Since there is

some T2t in every tissue, the shear volume of meat in a rare steak would give

you a larger dose of T2 than in a daily dose of Armour.

As Roni mentioned, 100% of the T4 or T3 you take is eventually converted to T2

and then to T1. Only a fraction gets recycled, and that is only if you have an

active gland. You get much more T2 and T1 from your own conversion process than

from the trace in Armour. If your body had some sort of deficiency in T2, it

would find a way to slow conversion to T1. Again, a tiny change in that

metabolic stream would provide much more T2 than Armour.

Since you only absorb at most about 80% of the T4 you take but near 100% of the

T3, Armour is really a T3 type medication. Oral ingestion of it is far from

being " natural " whether it comes from an animal or a synthetic combination. For

people with conversion issues, that has advantages over pure T4, but the T2

component cannot make a difference over synthetic combinations.

Chuck