Re: Erfa (just out of interest/private prescription - costs)

[Guest guest]

Jo,

Any particular reason it has to be Erfa? This is the only one which we cannot

buy without a prescription.... The other brands are not too difficult to buy

sans prescription.

I currently pay in the region of £150 a year for my meds and I take 3 x 1 grain

tablets a day.

There is no import duty on meds, just VAT and sometimes an £8 handling charge.

I'm curious to know why you feel you won't do well on thyroxine..... 85% of

people who take it are fine.... and the other 15% are the ones who find their

way to the forums..... The forums can present a biased view of it all because

we tend to be the ones who don't do well on Thyroxine. The 85% who are fine

don't need forums.

It is difficult to get NHS doctors to prescribe NT, but not impossible.. You

have to have at least given the Levothyroxine a fair trial though..... If you

are recently diagnosed are there plans to measure your levels and adjust doses

every couple of months? If not, query it with the doctor.

.

>

> I am just curious here...

>

> I am newly diagnosed hypothyroid and have started on thyroxine on the 12th of

January.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you

I was just thinking of Erfa because I am going to go under the care of Dr S and

I have heard he uses Erfa, but he may be happy for me to use Nature-Throid or

something else.

I have been advised by another private doctor who could not take me on as a

patient and whom I respect greatly that there is a 'very strong' possibility I

will soon have to switch to desiccated as there is proof I do not absorb many

minerals well due to the gastric bypass operation I have had years ago. I

already have to rely on injections for vitamin D and B12 and on extremely high

doses of multiminerals to just stay at 'normal levels'. She said with such

malabsorption my thyroid is 'struggling' to have the right minerals to convert

T4 to T3.

I am therefore getting prepared for what will be the inevitable and to be honest

I prefer to go on desiccated now rather then wait for the inevitable, I've been

ill too long.

>

> Jo,

>

> Any particular reason it has to be Erfa? This is the only one which we

cannot buy without a prescription.... The other brands are not too difficult

to buy sans prescription.

>

> I currently pay in the region of £150 a year for my meds and I take 3 x 1

grain tablets a day.

[Guest guest]

---Hi Jo> Thank you> > I was just thinking of Erfa because I am going to go under the care of Dr S and I have heard he uses Erfa, but he may be happy for me to use Nature-Throid or something else.----When is your appointment with Dr Skinner? You would be better wating for your appointment with Dr S so he can test you whilst on T4 only.> > I have been advised by another private doctor who could not take me on as a patient and whom I respect greatly that there is a 'very strong' possibility I will soon have to switch to desiccated as there is proof I do not absorb many minerals well due to the gastric bypass operation I have had years ago. I already have to rely on injections for vitamin D and B12 and on extremely high doses of multiminerals to just stay at 'normal levels'. She said with such malabsorption my thyroid is 'struggling' to have the right minerals to convert T4 to T3.---You should have whatever tests you can have done on the NHS before seeing Dr Skinner to save time and this will be cheaper than having them done privately. It will also give him a better understanding regarding your other health issues. > > I am therefore getting prepared for what will be the inevitable and to be honest I prefer to go on desiccated now rather then wait for the inevitable, I've been ill too long. -----There is no rush. Should you be required to trial NDT, you can order it after Dr Skinner's consultation. Dr S will write to your GP to prescribe it. If they do not comply, you can then decide which NDT to buy yourself... but cross that bridge when and if you get to it. You can also get prescriptions from Dr S until you can find a physician who will prescribe it, should you find that NDT does work for you.Changing your medication now before allowing Dr S to run tests on T4 only may upset the applecart. He needs to know what your labs are on T4 and why it isn't working. There may be many reasons your T4 isn't working, such as low iron, ferritin, B12, D3, Folate, magnesium, copper, selenium etc. Everything is in the Files section on the left side of this page, so explore, and if anything doesn't make sense, I'm sure someone on the forum can help. LoveJacquie>

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much Jacquie

I have had Vitamin D/B12/Folate/Magnesium/Ferritin/Iron tested just 10 days ago

my vitamin D is 150 , B12 is 612 (145-1000), Ferritin is 172 (22-275), Hb is

14.2 (12-15), Folate is 16.4 (3.1-20.5), Magnesium is 0.87 (0.65-1.05)

never had copper and selenium tested....though I have these in my supplements, I

take thyro-complex 2 a day and one sanatogen complete a-z (under advice of my

team at the hospital due to my gastric bypass/malabsorption)

so Dr S won't have to test anything as I have regular blood tests all the time,

I have everything up to date. I keep a copy of 'all' my tests/scans with me, as

I have tests either by myself or from my consultant in one hospital or from GP

it gets a bit 'messy' so I always request copies and keep them all in one folder

my last TSH/free T4/free T3/thyroid antibodies was done on 10th of January but

if he wants one just before our appointment I can have it done the day before I

see him no problem.

Am currently on 100mcg and though the fatigue is only 'very slightly' relieved

that is the 'only' change, NOTHING else has changed yet, still very slow heart

rate/low blood pressure, freezing cold, constipated, loss of hearing, loss of

memory, muscle pain in upper back, carpal tunnel, dry skin etc but the road is

still a long one of course

I have gone through the medical questionnaire on this site to check for adrenal

fatigue and like I have suspected I don't suffer from it.

> There may be many reasons your T4 isn't

> working, such as low iron, ferritin, B12, D3, Folate, magnesium, copper,

> selenium etc. Everything is in the Files section on the left side of

> this page, so explore, and if anything doesn't make sense, I'm sure

> someone on the forum can help.

> LoveJacquie>

>