Desiccated thyroid extract Puns

I have hypothyroidism. I used to take Cytomel and Synthroid years ago. Honestly, didn't feel tons better on them, but the doc said my numbers were better. So I shrugged my shoulders and kept truckin'. At some point, I started getting crazy painful diarrhea every morning. Multiple trips to the bathroom each morning. I would lose count. (Yes, I took the pills with water.)

I switched to Kaiser when I moved (Kaiser in the CA bay area has been a supremely negative experience for me) and asked my doc about it. She shrugged me off and would never answer my questions about it, so I just stopped taking them. I couldn't take the diarrhea anymore. It was epic and disrupted my life (and my ass) like you wouldn't believe.

A couple years later, my period is messed up, I have leg and feet cramps, along with the depression, bad sleep, low energy symptoms the never really went away with meds. I'm still not willing to trade that for diarrhea of epic proportions.

I've heard and read that people who don't have relief on the usual drugs with certain symptoms like depression, energy lows, and sleep sometimes respond better to desiccated thyroid extract (DTE).

So, two things:

1. If you've been on DTE, how do you like it? How does it compare to your experience on drugs like synthroid?
2. Anyone have diarrhea cuz of thyroid meds? What was your solution? If you've tried DTE, did it help your diarrhea?

Tl;dr

I still feel like a shitty Eeyore on synthroid & cytomel, but with the added fun side effect of multiple brutal ass explosions in the a.m. Would DTE help feeling like shit and/or the crime my colon is forced to perpetrate?

Inspired by some bloodwork I got back recently, I've been looking into how doctors view desiccated thyroid extract. Looking around the internet I've seen that some docs absolutely refuse to prescribe it, while others will relent if patients experience side effects from Levothyroxine. As far as relative benefits, many of the websites that advocate the use of desiccated thyroid extract seem to prefer it mostly because it's the "natural" option, which seems sketchy. How does the meddit community view this topic, and what do your fellow physicians generally say?

Background: I've recently gotten some bloodwork back and my TSH levels are high. My PCP gave a prescription to Synthroid (lowest dose given at 25 mcg) and after reading up on it, it seems as though some people have fairly uncomfortable side effects. My mother is on thyroid medication as well and switched from Synthroid to Armor Thyroid after having side effects and she is much happier with the latter. I will try Synthroid and hopefully there will be no side-effects. If there will be, I'll consider switching to Armor Thyroid.

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I (20 yr old, female) have recently discovered that I almost definitely have hypothyroidism problems, as I am showing almost all of the symptoms, and because a good half of the people in my family have it as well. When I try to discuss it at the doctor’s, they don’t listen to me and try to push other medications or symptoms onto me, despite my statements. I don’t know what to do about it, because I am actively being denied medical help.

Additionally, I have heard a lot of discussion regarding treatments for hypothyroidism. I know that some people do self treat with dessicated thyroid, but I also know many people take medication for it. I just don’t know what the right thing to do is. Does anyone have any advice? Any and all help is appreciated!

Hey guys, long time lurker, first time poster here.

At the beginning of April I switched from 100 mcg's of Synthroid to 60 mg's of Desiccated Thyroid (I'm in Canada so we don't really have a brand name per se like Armour, etc... It's called Erfa here, but my ND says it's essentially the same thing or closest considering it's the only option for going down the desiccated route). The first week I felt so much better but it's been a bit of a downhill slide since then. I've since spoken to my endocrinologist and ND again and we've increased my dosage to 90mg's since my TSH went up (from 3.97 to 4.77 during the switch). The goal is to get my TSH (and T4 which will be tested when I retest in June) to optimal levels. My question is to others who made the switch, did you find your levels normalized and if so roughly how long did it take?

I will say I think the T3 is helping but my suspicion is that I will need to keep increasing my dose over the next few months before my levels start looking good, but I would love to hear from others who have already travelled down my path. Thank you in advance!

I have been on Levo 100mcg for a coupe years and I don't feel better. My doctor won't prescribe Desiccated Thyroid like Armour so I'm looking to see if there are any ways to get it? I know it's not a prescription over seas, but I can't find where to buy it.

Any help is appreciated.

I’ve been on TRT for a few months and added in desiccated thyroid to resolve some symptoms that were unresolved from the testosterone therapy: cold hands/feet, low energy, morning lethargy, constipation, low shbg. It’s been a really positive experience so far, I feel about as good as I’ve ever felt in my life. I started out with 50mg/day in the morning and slowly worked up to 100mg morning and 50mg in the afternoon, and I’ve been feeling basically perfect. I just wanted to post about it to open up some discussion about it, since I don’t see NDT come up very often.

I'm getting treatment from a general practitioner who doesn't really know the finer points of hypothyroidism. He listens to me if I come to him with reasonable information. Would like to try synthetic hormone now because of all of the quality control issues over the last few years with desiccated thyroid, regardless of manufacturer.

Have you transitioned from going to the other? Do they just give you the synthetic, to an equivalent dose to what you have been taking on desiccated? Or do they somehow slowly change over from one to the other?

Hello Grupo!! I'm 33 yars old man , have Hashimoto and i did thyroidectomy.

I used levothyroxine in several quantities, but it doesn’t work for me. I researched and found that there is the natural hormone of the thyroid, but it does not sell here in brazil. You could help me with information about buying this medicine.someone could help me. I am getting sicker and sicker.

Thank you so much

I was wondering you any of you have a system on approaching patients who are like "you are never taking me off mah Armour!!"

It's crazy. How do you approach this? I typically convert Armour to the LT4 dosing based on the conversion chart, but patients are so reluctant since it "makes them feel better" despite a high free T4.

Anyone take it? I'm in Sweden and it isn't used here... after months of levo doing nothing but raise my blood pressure, I really would love to give this a try. Curious what other peoples experience has been

I've had health issue that I haven't been able to get to the bottom of with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, memory and cognitive issues, slow digestion / upper GI constipation, joint and muscle aches, loss of libido and sometimes goiters. I know it's dangerous but I had recently used a supplement with 500mg dehydrated beef liver and 30mg desiccated bovine thyroid per capsule and took 3 capsules per day for two weeks. It did make the goiters stop and improved my energy and cognitive issues but I'd rather have a professional manage it.

I stopped 4 days ago and my doctor has ordered blood work for THS, free T4 and T3. How long do I need to wait to get an accurate picture of my thyroid hormones without possible interference? Is it possible my body could have adjusted, producing less hormones while taking the supplement for two weeks?

Thanks!

Hullo, folks! 31 and cis-female, overweight with depression/anxiety/panic, chronic idiopathic urticaria, endometriosis, restless leg syndrome, and have some family history of hypothyroidism. I have been treated for Hypothyroidism on a largely symptom-based and "bloodwork usually within range but not optimal" basis (so....mild hypo??) since Oct of 2017. We're trying to find something that works for me that 1) makes me feel better, and 2) doesn't tank my bloodwork.

Background:

• Started Synthroid 75mcg in early Oct 2017
• ADDED Cytomel 50mg in late Nov 2017 (psych felt it would boost motivation, energy, willpower, mood)
• The above made me feel great! It helped me lose 50lbs (of the approx 160 I hope to lose in total), I had motivation, my mood was improved. BOOYA. Unfortunately my follow-up bloodwork in May 2018 showed that my levels had tanked (something...TSH?? was 0.01). :\ Psych took me off the Cytomel but left me on the Synthroid.
• Everything started slooooowing down. Haven't been able to stick with any means of losing weight (eating better, exercise, restraint around "treats" is gone), haven't lost any weight (gained back about 10lbs of what I lost), nails are weakening, scalp started getting REALLY itchy again, hair is dull and misbehaves, I'm exhausted, everyone tells me I "look sad", can't focus, brain fog, temperature is all over the place, no motivation or desire to do anything other than veg and watch TV, skin feels dry/tough.... Asked to go back on Cytomel but psych felt it better to try Desiccated Thyroid....so, after bloodwork showed my levels were more "normal":
• Continued Synthroid 75mcg and ADDED Desiccated Thyroid 60mg in mid-August 2018.

Concerns:

After four days on both Synthroid and Desiccated, I was getting super dizzy and feeling really gross. It's largely visual (like I am looking through a fishbowl) but I feel like my head is "on a swivel" and I have a weird "squishy frontal lobe" feeling (the front of my head feels weird...fuzzy? dizzy??), it seems, but it has made me feel really, really off. I had talked to two pharmacists and mentioned it to my Immunologist and both agreed it was strange to be taking BOTH but obviously didn't want to give a recommendation where they weren't the ones treating me. I asked my family doctor and he said he couldn't really tell me anything where my psych was adding the Desiccated as a sort of off-label use for my mood/energy/etc. After a week of this I

Does anyone know which Rx glandular medication (made from the desiccated thyroid of a pig I believe) is the cleanest? Are there any I'm not aware of?

In my dream world, the manufacturer takes the healthiest organically raised pigs, and they only use the most cleanest and safest additives and binders... Does anyone know which real-life medications come closest to this? If it helps, I have the ingredients for a few here, tho I know nothing about them:

ARMOUR:
Triiodothyronine (active ingredient)
Thyroxine (active ingredient)
Calcium stearate
Dextrose
Microcrystalline cellulose (May cause reactions in some people
Sodium starch glycolate
Opadry white
Minor amounts of calcitonin, T1, T2, and proteins

NP THYROID:
Triiodothyronine (active ingredient)
Thyroxine (active ingredient)
Calcium stearate
Dextrose monohydrate
Maltodextrin
Mineral oil
Minor amounts of calcitonin, T1, T2, and proteins

NATURETHROID:
(Active ingredient) Thyroid USP
Colloidal Silicon Dioxide
Dicalcium Phosphate
Magnesium Stearate
Microcrystalline Cellulose
Croscarmellose Sodium
Stearic Acid
Opadry II 85F19316 Clear – tablet coating

Note: this link says there are better reviews for Naturethroiud than NP Thyroid, for what that's worth:

https://www.drugs.com/compare/nature-throid-vs-np-thyroid

Thank you for any help!

Hi all,

I don't think Levo is doing wonders, thinking about giving NDT a try. How do I get a hold of it in Australia?

It seems it is not recognized as a medicine in Australia, rather a food product - https://www.thyroidfoundation.org.au/Alternative-for-Thyroxine-HRT

My doctor told me that I should switch from the usual Synthroid/T4 to Cytomel/T3. This turns out to be much harder then I expected!

I'm only taking 5 mcg so far but I'm finding it difficult to take because of its quick strong but brief effect.

The pill is very small and hard to cut and there are no smaller doses available.

I've seen suggestions to get a compounding pharmacy to make up an SR version of it, but I've also seen comments suggesting that it is difficult for a generic compounding pharmacy to do a good job with T3 because of the miniscule amounts of the active ingredient required.

It sounds like there might be an SR version of the pill (ie. manufactured that way) and that would be ideal, but I don't think that is available in Canada.

I've read that the natural thyroid products (ie. desiccated thyroid) contain both T3 & T4, so I guess that would be better then going back to straight T4, but I'm having trouble finding a source here for that too. And I would like to stick to decent quality products such that I'm taking a consistent amount each day.

And suggestions? Thank you!

My doctor has me on desiccated thyroid (Nature-Throid) and for the most part I would say it works pretty well but doesn't completely make me feel 100% (I could add I suffer from other health problems like hormonal imbalances, allergies, etc that could play a part in how I feel).

It has definitely helped me stay away from some nasty hypo symptoms like low BT (I use to be super cold) and weight gain.

Has anyone switched between the two and what was the results like?

After years of struggling with severe hair loss on levothyroxine, my body finally seems to be relatively happy with the dose of NDT I'm currently on and with my levels all within normal range. I take the Canadian brand called Thyroid, but I can only get three months at a time, and even getting that is often difficult (there seem to be recurring supply issues).

Unfortunately I'm moving internationally in a few months, and after some poking around it seems that no form of desiccated thyroid whatsoever is available anywhere in the country I'm moving to. And while it'd be too long-winded to go into all the details, my nationality/insurance/living situation is also causing some logistical problems with how to reliably obtain NDT in the future.

So it'd be really ideal for me if I could get NDT online. I've heard that it's possible, but it seems like there are a lot of really sketchy websites. I searched this subreddit and it seems like it's recommended to not post the reputable sites so as to not draw attention to them, I think?

I would really, really appreciate it if someone could PM me where to get NDT online, and I would be glad to hear about any experiences people have with this. Obviously it would be amazing if I could get my current brand (Thyroid) so I don't have to figure out my dose again, but I'd be happy to get ahold of any brand of NDT.

Since I've been diagnosed I've been taking the regular thyroid meds my doctor recommended. My dose is 100mcg, but despite taking my meds with discipline, I still felt like shit. Recently, my hair started falling off so much I started to look bald when under bright lights, and that's unacceptable for me. I mean, the thyroid fucked up my weight, my face shape, the brightness and quality of my skin, no way I'd let it fuck up my best remaining feature.

So I took matters into my own hands, and since there's no desiccated thyroid in my country (I had asked my doctor previously, and he said he'd prescribe it to me, but there wasn't any he was allowed to prescribe) I ordered some from Thailand (they are reputable!).

I first took it yesterday, and today is my second day. And I woke up today without feeling I had to drink 2 liters of coffee to barely function! This can't just be placebo effect. Damn, now I wish I had done this sooner!

EDIT: Due to a lot of requests I've shared my supplier somewhere in this thread (I'm not the brightest redditor, lol). Hoping y'all get better!

Hello all! I (F 54 yr old) have been taking desiccated thyroid supplements for the last 3 months. My initial dose was 15 mg. I'm taking 30 mg for the last 2 months. My symptoms ( mainly fatigue) have not improved. But, I gained 7 lbs. I've not followed a good diet but I didn't indulge too much either ( not more than usual). Has this happened to anyone?

Hi all,

after several months of T4 only treatment (synthroid) without improving symptoms, my doctor asked if I want to change medication.

My questions is, which option is better for me ? Desiccated or Cytomel+Synthroid ?

Please share your experiences, thank you!

I've been feeling like my Synthroid isn't working lately. I feel tire all the time and weepy among other things. My primary care doc ran my blood work. My levels all came back dead center of normal. But he still thinks it's my thyroid. So he put me an desiccated thyroid in addition to my regular scrip of 1.5 mcg.

Has anyone else tried this in addition to their meds? Did it work?

Has anyone been prescribed this in the UK? Was your doctor difficult to persuade to prescribe this instead of synthetic t4?

important for me : Has anyone been prescribed this as their first medication for treating hypothyroidism?

I've not been on any medication yet and I've read so much positive stuff about natural desiccated thyroid instead of t4 I don't really see the point in trying T4 first and seeing how I get on, only to go through adjusting to a new medication, I'd rather get it right first time.

I'm worried i'll have a hard time persuading my GP, so I wanted to know of other peoples experiences with this prescription positive or negative, so I know if I should really fight for it / change GPs til I get it etc.

thanks :D

Just curious :)

Has anyone experienced normal TSH levels with low T4 levels while on Nature-Throid (or armour or any of the "natural" ones)?

I've been on Levothyroxine for 15 years. I recently moved and saw a new endo 2 months ago who prescribed me Nature-Throid because I was still extremely fatigued all the time, and he said many patients prefer it.

Ive been meaning to get to his office to do recheck blood work but haven't yet. A few days ago I saw my primary care doctor and she ran my yearly physical labs, which included thyroid testing. My TSH was normal at 1 (ref range 0.35-5.5) but T4 was slightly low at 0.63 (ref range 0.7-1.7). She didn't test t3. She told me to get my levels rechecked asap with the endo because she hadn't seen that before.

Overall I've felt a lot better on the Nature-Throid - however I have noticed my hair seems to be shedding a lot. I plan on getting my labs redone by the endo next week but I thought I'd ask if anyone has experienced this and what you needed to do.

Edit: just as a reference, when I was on Levothyroxine before switching my TSH was 3.3 and T4 was 1.1.

So I have a lot of common thyroid issues, so one of the members here suggested that I try a thyroid Med such as desiccated thyroid. So I ordered some from Canada and after taking it for several days I began to get very itchy when working out or sweating. He did caution that it's possible to have an antibody reaction to the medicine, could that be what is happening to me?

I know everyone's best amount varies because all bodies are different, but I was wondering how much you guys usually take per day?

I'm really interested in the question of hypothyroidism, hormone balances, and in whether there's a type 2 version and how to treat it if so. And I'd like to hear anecdotes and experiences of people here.

Standard medical thinking is that TSH is an absolute indicator of thryoid function, and that to treat it, T4 is all that's necessary, it will get converted to T3 as necessary, and that as long as you've normalized TSH, any remaining symptoms must be hypochondria, or some mysterious made-up syndrome like CFS or fibromyalgia.

There have been no studies whatsoever that show that TSH is an absolute indicator of thyroid function, or that there's no type 2 version. That's just dogma, made up in the 1970s.

There have been several good studies of T4 vs. T4/T3, and mostly they've found no difference in the things that they've measured, but they've also found that patients strongly prefer T4/T3, although no-one knows why (or seems to think that's important). None of them did anything sensible like measuring a clinical symptom score.

There is a vague feeling in endocrine circles that 10:1 T4:T3 might work better in some cases, and that this may be associated with a polymorphism in a deiodinase enzyme.

On the other hand, they seem happy to accept that a lot of people 'cured' of hypothyroidism will develop CFS/fibromyalgia/depression/IBS. (which look just like mild hypothyroidism). I've seen a survey which implies that nearly half of hypothyroidism patients still have symptoms under treatment.

Before the TSH test, thyroxine doses were much higher, and many more people got treated. In fact one of the early studies on the TSH test showed that symptom relief was best when thyroxine doses were a lot higher than those needed to normalize TSH. I think we can take it to the bank that the TSH test doesn't do what it's supposed to do, either as a diagnostic tool, or as a method of titrating dose.

The interesting question is whether T4/T3/NDT combinations are better than T4 alone. It's perfectly possible that T4 alone fixes everything, as long as you give enough.

Broda Barnes thought that NDT was wonderful, and as long as you gave enough, it would fix practically any condition in which waking temperature was low.

John Lowe thought T4 monotherapy was terrible, and only worked for a small fraction of people, whereas NDT was great and cured 3/4 of his fibromyalgia patients. The other 1/4 needed high doses

I'm having the hardest time finding a doctor who will prescribe Armour, Naturthroid, Westhroid etc. I took synthroid for years and felt terrible (always tired, hurting all over, couldn't think straight, hair loss etc). A few months ago I found a new endocrinologist who switched me to Tirosint because I have a lot of allergies and it doesn't contain as many fillers. She also put me on a low does of T3 which has helped in some ways but not as well as I think it should. I'm very sensitive to medications and I don't react well to a lot of chemicals and synthetic substances so I really think the next step should be a natural hormone replacement. Is there a good way to find a doctor who will prescribe it? Is there maybe a directory somewhere? Does anyone know of a good endocrinologist in Northern Delaware/Southern PA/NE Maryland or New Jersey? I'm in Newark, DE.

I was born with half a thyroid and have therefore been on synthetic thyroid supplements (synthroid/levothyroxine) since birth. My dose was steady at .125 mg from ages 13-20 and then started climbing...and climbing. I'm now 28 and in the last eight years my dosage has gone from .125 mg to .175 mg. Though I've not been tested in about 8 months now, I'm beginning to feel that it might need to be upped again based on certain symptoms...constant fatigue, getting sick often, brittle nails and hair, extremely dry skin in spite of my diligent moisturizing regimen, skin problems, "brain fog", being totally unable to lose weight in spite of being very diligent about tracking my food intake and exercising 4-5 times/week...the works.

Right now I have a bunch of concerns. Firstly, I think that there is something else going on besides just congenital hypothyroidism (possibly Hashimoto's), but my doctors keep just lumping all thyroid issues in with the fact that I have half a thyroid. My current PCP doesn't seem to really care about my thyroid symptoms because the levels are "normal" (for her). I've not been tested in awhile, but last year my TSH was just under 5 (down from around 9 a few months earlier...) and my T4 was weirdly high, but she didn't think a retest was necessary. I know that I feel generally better if my TSH is below 3, but she didn't find it necessary to raise the dose again and also didn't think it was necessary to refer me to an endo. I really want to try switching to a desiccated thyroid treatment, but she isn't entertaining the idea of switching me over to Armour Thyroid for reasons she can't seem to explain.

However, now that I've got new insurance that doesn't require specialist referrals, I'm going to an endo on my own and am going to ask about Armour Thyroid and also ask to be tested for antibodies to see if I've actually got Hashimoto's. Buuuut I'm of course afraid that he will turn me down too, particularly where the desiccated thyroid is concerned. Does anyone have any advice about talking to doctors on the matter? Many seem to be very suspicious of desiccated thyroid and I am not really sure why (other than the medical industrial complex etc. etc.).

Thanks a lot for any help you can provide!

My TgAb has been undetectable for several years but has become detectable after six weeks on Nature-Throid. Can the components of a natural desiccated thyroid product stimulate antibody production in the absence of thyroid tissue?

I am trying to find an alternate explanation for my elevated TgAb level that isn't possible thyroid cancer recurrence.

If this is possible - are NDT products a bad idea for thyroid cancer patients that presented with autoimmune involvement? Is there pig thyroglobulin in NDT products that can confound a Tg assay?

For more background, please view my previous post.

Thanks!

I'm on my third day and I've been getting weird, jittery symptoms including anxiety and depression.
No heart racing and temperature has been around 37. I was on 20mcg T3 + 25mcg T4 beforehand so it's not being caused by the T3 itself. I'm just wonderinf whether this is going to pass or whether I'm going to be unable to tolerate Armour.

Curious what people prefer for thyroid health. I don't really need help with anxiety, I'm looking for something more on the energizing side. My thyroid levels have been technically in range when tested but I get goiters on and off and am very fatigued.

F22/5'4/132 lbs/caucasian

Hello medical professionals.

I was recently in a high end supplement store and asked the clerk what I should do if I am having trouble sleeping. She said "it must be your hormones" and said I should take Symplex F from Standard Process. It contains Bovine Ovary, Adrenal, Pituitary, and Thyroid extracts (with thyroxine removed). She told me to take 4 pills at bed time and I didn't really feel comfortable taking that many.

Over the course of 3 or 4 weeks I've taken one or two a few nights a week. I looked up the drawbacks of bovine extracts and now I'm scared. My period has also not come yet, I'm about 4 days late. Could taking those extracts, even if not regularly, cause this? Did I ruin my adrenals/ovaries/pituitary glands by taking this? I plan on tossing out the bottle. I'm so scared and downright angry that I was told to take something by someone I was supposed to be able to trust.