Re: Ok....I have started my NDT

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

> I have started with 1/2 grain after my blood draw this morning, and I am about to take 1/4grain now. My heart rate is still fine and the only thing I noticed was about an hour after I took my half grain I had a sudden wave of extreme yawning. It passed after about 30 mins. > Is this something that is normal? Not sure if it is normal, but I do yawn a lot after having ingested my NDT (Thiroyd)... it also makes me relaxed and tired, so could easily fall asleep after taking it (and usually do after my morning dose at about 5 or 6 am)...have the best sleep of the night at that time

Question though.... you seem to be starting on ¾ grain/day.... it is usually recommended to start with ½ grain for about a week before going up, when switching from a non-T3-containing thyroid hormone. Mind you, we are all individuals, but personally I think going slower is more effective. If you can tolerate ¾ grain straight off, then I would recommend to stay on that dose for at least 4 weeks before upping the dose again – regardless of how much Levothyroxine you had taken before. NDT works differently from T4-only and the body needs some time to get used to the unfamiliar active hormone T3. The biggest mistake people make with NDT is to rush up the dose.

Also, does anyone take 'Thiroyd'? I am a bit concerned about the possibility of an aluminium content. I found this site with reference to gluten http://www.thyroid-s.com/is-thyroid-s-gluten-free Unfortunately the fillers in Thiroyd appear to be a closely kept secret by the company. I have not managed to find out any more other than Thiroyd is gluten and lactose free. But I can say that I have taken Thiroyd now for nearly 3 years with great success – never any problems (last famous words!)

Best wishes,

[Guest guest]

Hi there

I have bought the 'Stop the thyroid madness' book as I wanted to swap from

thyroxine to NDT as well.

On this book it says when doing 'the switch' from synthetic thyroxine (like Sue

has done, stopping thyroxine one day and taking NDT the next), a safe dose to

start on is around one grain, they say some may start on a lower dose due to

'heart issues', excessively low cortisol or other conditions or some can start a

little higher, but one grain according to their experience and

opinions/experience shared with them by 'informed' doctors is a safe

introductory dose for most.

They then say to hold that amount for for one to two weeks and then start

raising by approximately half a grain every few weeks.

they also say that though 'a few' may be ok on one grain, most will need to go

higher and when you get to 2 to 3 grain is where it is 'wise' to hold the dose

for at least 4 to 6 weeks to allow the T4 to build and show its T4-to-T3

conversion results

(information taken from 'stop the thyroid madness' revised edition page 55-56 J

A Bowthorpe M.Ed 2011)

> Question though.... you seem to be starting on ¾ grain/day.... it is

> usually recommended to start with ½ grain for about a week before

> going up, when switching from a non-T3-containing thyroid hormone. Mind

> you, we are all individuals, but personally I think going slower is more

> effective. If you can tolerate ¾ grain straight off, then I would

> recommend to stay on that dose for at least 4 weeks before upping the

> dose again – regardless of how much Levothyroxine you had taken

> before. NDT works differently from T4-only and the body needs some time

> to get used to the unfamiliar active hormone T3. The biggest mistake

> people make with NDT is to rush up the dose.

>

>

[Guest guest]

On this book it says when doing 'the switch' from synthetic thyroxine (like Sue has done, stopping thyroxine one day and taking NDT the next), a safe dose to start on is around one grain, they say some may start on a lower dose due to 'heart issues', excessively low cortisol or other conditions or some can start a little higher, but one grain according to their experience and opinions/experience shared with them by 'informed' doctors is a safe introductory dose for most.They then say to hold that amount for for one to two weeks and then startraising by approximately half a grain every few weeks.they also say that though 'a few' may be ok on one grain, most will need to go higher and when you get to 2 to 3 grain is where it is 'wise' to hold the dose for at least 4 to 6 weeks to allow the T4 to build and show its T4-to-T3 conversion results

Yes, there are different advocates giving different advice and there are no rigid rules on which is `best'. It very much depends on the physical condition a patient is in, whether there are any underlying illnesses, or if the patient is already used to any type of thyroid hormone and so on.

In my personal experience to start `low and slow' is best. Time and again patients run into trouble because of upping the dose too quickly and then they have to go back to square one and start all over again.

On the basis that ½ grain (60 mg) of NDT equates approximately to the effects of 37 -50 mcg Levothyroxine, I think it is a good starting dose and each subsequent increase should be another ½ grain for "stable" patients or ¼ grain for "delicate" patients with underlying issues for a further 4 weeks..

It is true that some doctors recommend for their patients to start thyroid treatment with 100 mcg Levothyroxine, but most doctors recommend a starting dose of 25 or 50 mcg. Few patients would find 100 mcg a very comfortable starting dose, although it does depend on the size of the patient as well. An average built man would probably have no trouble with that, whilst a petite woman might struggle.

We are all different, and there is no `one fits all' starting dose; but since we on this forum don't have all the information about a patient's history it makes sense to stick with cautious advice. Starting with ½ grain and after an initial 7-10 days on that, followed by ½ grain steps every 4 weeks thereafter suits most patients. The `4 weekly increase' advice is based on the fact that it will take the average body about 4 weeks to level out the hormones and a further ~2 weeks to `register' a slight overdose.... so when you have reached your ideal dosage it will still take about 2 weeks for you to notice slight hyperthyroid symptoms like tremor, palpitations, shortness of breath etc. If you up your dosage sooner than every 4 weeks, you will probably feel fine initially, but if you have rushed ahead, you might soon run into problems without knowing by how much you have gone `over'.... and then you'll have to start all over again.

With warm wishes,

[Guest guest]

On the basis that ½ grain (60 mg) of NDT

----------

That is incorrect, a half grain is 30mg; a grain is 60mg depending on which brand of NDT you are taking.

Fibrojay

[Guest guest]

> On the basis that ½ grain (60 mg) of NDT > ----------> > That is incorrect, a half grain is 30mg; a grain is 60mg depending on which brand of NDT you are taking. > Fibrojay

Ooops - sorry everyone and thank you Fibrojay for noticing that ... you are absolutely right, 1/2 grain is 30 mg. It should read -

....On the basis that ½ grain (30 mg) of NDT equates approximately to the effects of 37 -50 mcg Levothyroxine .....

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the advice folks. I have read all the files and thought it said

that if you are normally on thyroid replacement, just to make the starting dose

under 1 grain per day.

I am however on my second day, and my 3rd day without my t4 and I feel so hypo.

I am really worried that my symptoms are going to return with a vengeance as I

am afraid of feeling that ill again.

Today, I started by having gained 2 1/2lbs this morning and my basal temp was

34.9c. My heart rate is averaging 58 and I am yawning so badly that I feel I am

grabbing for something with my eyes streaming. My temp at the moment after lunch

is 35.4c.

The only thing that I have had other than hypo symptoms is at around 2.30pm, I

had a flutter, ie 2 or three double heart beats. I did not worry as I have had

that every time I have changed dose in the past and always, stangely enough at

2.30pm. Is that significant.

I'm sorry this is a long post, but I am having such a horrible day and am so

upset, but don't really know why.

Thanks all

SUe

>

[Guest guest]

We recommend differently here in the UK. Check out the attached

document 'How to Use Natural Thyroid Extract'. When starting any

product containing the active thyroid hormone T3, you need to start slowly and

carefully. Start on half a grain (30mgs) for 7 days, and increase by an other

half day. Stay on that dose fore 3 weeks and increase by another half grain and

you then increase every 3 to 4 weeks by a half grain until you find the dose

that works for you. Read the whole article though.

Make sure though that your adrenals are functioning well and

that your levels of iron, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate,

copper and zinc are in a good place in their respective reference ranges. Ask your

GP to test these for you. I

If any of these are low in the range, no amount of thyroid

hormone can be fully utilised at the cellular level.

Luv - Sheila

On this book it says when doing 'the switch' from synthetic thyroxine (like Sue

has done, stopping thyroxine one day and taking NDT the next), a safe dose to

start on is around one grain, they say some may start on a lower dose due to

'heart issues', excessively low cortisol or other conditions or some can start

a little higher, but one grain according to their experience and

opinions/experience shared with them by 'informed' doctors is a safe

introductory dose for most.

They then say to hold that amount for for one to two weeks and then start

raising by approximately half a grain every few weeks.

they also say that though 'a few' may be ok on one grain, most will need to go

higher and when you get to 2 to 3 grain is where it is 'wise' to hold the dose

for at least 4 to 6 weeks to allow the T4 to build and show its T4-to-T3

conversion results

(information taken from 'stop the thyroid madness' revised edition page 55-56 J

A Bowthorpe M.Ed 2011)

1 of 1 File(s)

A22.HOW TO TREAT WITH NATURAL THYROID EXTRACT.doc

[Guest guest]

Thanks Sheila,

that looks/sounds like a good way of doing it

I have already switched to NDT by the way, but have done it differently myself.

Like it has been pointed out, I have made sure I was well in the top range with

D3/B12/folate/ferritin/magnesium, have been supplementing with thyro complex as

well and have done the adrenal test from this site and just like I knew anyway

my adrenals are fine.

It is true that we are all different and we will all respond differently and the

things pointed out about the above vitamins/minerals and the adrenals are SO

important! So yes, start low and go cautiously is certainly an approach which

will be safer to generally give out to a wide audience I agree!

ps thanks for the document

>

> We recommend differently here in the UK. Check out the attached document

> 'How to Use Natural Thyroid Extract'. When starting any product containing

> the active thyroid hormone T3, you need to start slowly and carefully. Start

> on half a grain (30mgs) for 7 days, and increase by an other half day. Stay

> on that dose fore 3 weeks and increase by another half grain and you then

> increase every 3 to 4 weeks by a half grain until you find the dose that

> works for you. Read the whole article though.

>

> Make sure though that your adrenals are functioning well and that your

> levels of iron, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper

> and zinc are in a good place in their respective reference ranges. Ask your

> GP to test these for you. I

>

> If any of these are low in the range, no amount of thyroid hormone can be

> fully utilised at the cellular level.

>

> Luv - Sheila