Re: Anyone self medicating?

[Guest guest]

Hi Annie

I take ERFA, started off on Thyroxine, then went onto Armour now on ERFA.

I really only went onto Armour because my GP didnt have a clue. They told me i

was in range when infact i was not in range for someone on thyroid replacement

therapy. So I self medicate although i do see an endo once a year, and he always

tells me i am taking a little too much, but that is where i feel well and thank

god no one has control over what i take or i think my life would be pants again.

I buy my medication as the pct here will not allow nhs prescriptions, although i

did get one, that was when a dr was leaving and he obviously didnt care what

they thought, infact he went out of his way to get the prescription sorted for

me.

All the best with what you decide.

Carol

>

> Hi there,

>

> I am interested to hear from anyone who is self medicating with natural

dessicated thyroid. I have autoimmune hypothyroidism and have been feeling

unwell again recently despite an increase in my thyroxine. I am wanting to try

NDT as I have heard so many good reports about it. So I would love to hear from

people who have self treated with NDT, how you started and how you are getting

along with it.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Annie x

>

[Guest guest]

MODERATED TO REMOVE MOST OF PREVIOUS MESSAGE: PLEASE USE HIGHLIGHT AND DELETE TO

REMOVE MOST OF THE MESSAGE YOU ARE RESPONDING TO BEFORE POSTING.

THANK YOU

MODERATOR

Thanks for your message,

Sorry for more questions, but I am really interested What difference did

Armour/Erfa make for you, are you totally symptom free now? Did you have to

support your adrenals too?

How does your endocrinologist view your self medicating? I assume that you see

him privately?

Annie

>

>

> Hi Annie

> I take ERFA, started off on Thyroxine, then went onto Armour now on ERFA.

[Guest guest]

Hi Annie

I see my endo on the nhs, he is very careful in what he says or doesn't say. He

sees no reason for me to come off my ERFA.

As to how i feel i feel like someone turned the light on.:-) i hope i never ever

have to go back on thyroxin. Although my endo did say that he would have tried

t4 and t3 but as i was on erfa/armour and getting on fine he would leave it

alone.

I was never right on thyroxin, but it could have been that the dose was not

correct, i just do not know for sure.

I will try not to change back and keep on buying my ERFA

Carol

> >

> >

> > Hi Annie

> > I take ERFA, started off on Thyroxine, then went onto Armour now on ERFA.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Annie4, let us know a little bit more about your suffering,

the results of your last thyroid function tests. Have you been tested to see

whether you have antibodies to your thyroi8d? If not, ask your GP to test your TPO

and TgAntibodies. Also, you need to ask for specific minerals and vitamin

levels to be tested. These are ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, folate,

magnesium, copper and zinc. If any of these are low, the thyroid hormone cannot

be utilised properly at the cellular level and you will continue to suffer

symptoms of hypothyroidism until whatever is low has been supplemented and

their levels brought to where they should be. Unfortunately, doctors will tell

you that you do not have a problem if your results show ANYWHERE within the so

called normal range, but we need to know whether they are at the bottom, the

middle or the top of the range. When you get these results, post them on the

forum with the ref. range so we can help with their interpretation.

How much levothyroxine were you taking and how long had it been

since your dose was increased?

Have you been referred to an endocrinologist?

Have you been tested to see the level of cortisol and DHEA your

adrenals are secreting?

Have you done the 'Medical Questionnaires' that you will find in

our FILES section to see how you score?

Is there a possibility you could be suffering with systemic

candidiasis?

Do you have amalgam fillings that might be causing mercury

poisoning?

I ask all of these questions because any one of these could be

the cause of the levothyroxine not working properly for you.

However, for the majority of those who have changed to natural

thyroid extract , our life has been transformed - me included who has now been

taking it for the past 8 years and have never felt so well. You do, however,

need to go through a process of elimination to ensure that you are not

suffering with any of the above, because if you ARE suffering from one of these,

it must be treated before starting on ANY form of thyroid hormone replacement,

T4-only, T4/T3 combination, T3 alone or natural desiccated porcine thyroid

extract.

Luv - Sheila

I am interested to hear from anyone who is self medicating with natural

dessicated thyroid. I have autoimmune hypothyroidism and have been feeling

unwell again recently despite an increase in my thyroxine. I am wanting to try

NDT as I have heard so many good reports about it. So I would love to hear from

people who have self treated with NDT, how you started and how you are getting

along with it.

[Guest guest]

Annie - when you take levothyroxine only - you must remember

that this is a pro-hormone. It has little to no activity on it's own until it

converts through the liver, kidneys and other thyroid hormone receptors throughout

the body, into the active thyroid hormone T3. It is T3 that is the ACTIVE

hormone that every cell in your body and brain need to make them function. Most

people appear to do well on levothyroxine - or so they say, but there is a

large minority of us who are unable to convert for many and various reasons. So

- the thyroxine lies in the blood with nowhere to go, unconverted and building

up until we start to feel symptoms of toxicity. Doctors are leaving their

patients to suffer with this problem for months and years, because they are not

listening to their patients story or checking out their symptoms or signs. If

doctors tested free T4 and free T3, for patients who are not converting, they

would see their free T4 remained high in the range mostly, and their free T3

was low in the range, but the laboratories are refusing to do these tests. You

can however, get your levels of free T4 and free T3 tested through a 24 hour

urine test through Genova Diagnostics (see our FILES section) under the FOLDER

entitled 'Discounts on Tests and Supplements' and then click 'Genova

Diagnostics' and follow the instructions there for ordering to claim your

discount for being a member of TPA.

These people who are not converting for whatever reason need

either the addition of synthetic T3 (the ACTIVE thyroid hormone) or synthetic

T3 on it's own, or natural desiccated porcine thyroid extract, which has T4, T3,

T, T1` plus calcitonin for the bones.

The difference from using levothyroxine-only when changing over

to a medication containing T3 can be life-saving. The benefits are felt quickly

in most cases.

If your endocrinologist is not finding the answers as to why you

are still suffering symptoms when taking levothyroxine alone and you feel you

are no longer prepared to continue suffering, then you can either try another

endocrinologist (we have a recommended list of doctors by our members) or you

may need to go down the self medicating route. It matters not what your

endocrinologist thinks about you doing this - this is your life and health and

doctors should be working with their patients. You could tell him that you are

considering self medicating with natural thyroid extract and would he please

monitor you. He might learn a lot.

However, the majority of NHS endocrinologists have been given much

misleading and incorrect information about natural thyroid extract, so perhaps

you would be wise to first read my rebuttal to the British Thyroid Association

when they wrote the statement they now have on their web site about Armour

Thyroid - versus - L-thyroxine-only therapy - http://www.tpa-uk.org.uk/tpa_responds1.php

- if your endo. is one of those who believe the BTA - you may wish to print off

this document and ask him to read it. These are FACTS. The BTA never back up

any of their statements with references to any scientific research/studies,

which is wrong and makes their statements 'Opinion' ONLY. I have backed up my

rebuttal with 140 odd references and asked the BTA to amend their misleading

and incorrect statements, but to date, they never have, and they never even

acknowledged receipt of the information I sent to them. I put the blame

squarely at the feel of the British Thyroid Association as being the one organisation

responsible for causing so much suffering for those with symptoms of

hypothyroidism. They don't give a jot. This is criminal and the Department of

Health continue to take whatever the BTA state as gospel, even though we have

spelt it out to them how wrong they are in their recommendations regarding the

diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism.

Natural thyroid extract has been used safely and effectively for

over 100 years and was the ONLYO medication prescribed for ALL those suffering

with hypothyroidism for over 50 years, until the manufacturers developed

synthetic T4, believing this to be the be all and end all of thyroid treatment.

This is the worst therapy a sufferer could be given.

Luv - Sheila

Sorry for more questions, but I am really interested What difference did

Armour/Erfa make for you, are you totally symptom free now? Did you have to

support your adrenals too?

How does your endocrinologist view your self medicating? I assume that you see

him privately?

Annie

>

>

> Hi Annie

> I take ERFA, started off on Thyroxine, then went onto Armour now on ERFA.

[Guest guest]

MODERATED TO REMOVE MOST OF PREVIOUS MESSAGE: PLEASE USE HIGHLIGHT AND DELETE TO

REMOVE MOST OF THE MESSAGE YOU'RE RESPONDING TO BEFORE POSTING. THANK YOU.

MODERATOR

Thanks for your reply Sheila,

This site is incredible, I am so glad that I stumbled across it. It is so good

to have a place to come to speak with other hypothyroidians who know exactly how

it feels to live with this condition. From reading other peoples stories it is

obvious that I don't suffer as much as others but I still don't feel I have

regained my full health and I am curious to know what natural thyroid extract

could do for me. In a desperate moment I ordered Nature Throid. I have an

appointment to see Dr. P in September, I would like some support around checking

my adrenals which I have read is important before changing thyroid medication

and feel assured that Dr. P can help with this.

I am so grateful for your help, I feel listened to and hopeful that I can feel

really well to enable me to enjoy life to the full.

Annie XX

>

> Annie - when you take levothyroxine only - you must remember that this is a

> pro-hormone. It has little to no activity on it's own until it converts

> through the liver, kidneys and other thyroid hormone receptors throughout

> the body,

[Guest guest]

It might be an idea for you to get the 24 hour salivary adrenal profile

done to check your levels of cortisol and DHEA before you see Dr Peatfield. Go

to our forum web site thyroidepatientadvocacy

and in the Menu on the Home Page, click on FILES. On the list that opens,

scroll down to the folder entitled 'Discounts on Tests and Supplements'. Open

that and then scroll to 'Genova' and open that document and you will see what

tests you can order and how much they cost. TPA members you will see get a good

discount. salivary adrenal profile and be sure to write that 'Thyroid Patient

Advocacy' is your practitioner. They will then send the kit out to you. You do

the test at four specific times during the day. 8.00a.m. - 123 Noon - 4.00p.m.

and as close to midnight as you can. At each of these times, you spit down a

little straw that you place in the test tube until you have almost filled it.

Send it off the next day by special delivery and the results should be sent

back to you in about 10 days to 2 weeks. You can then take these results with

you to your appointment.

Luv - Sheila

This site is incredible, I am so glad that I stumbled across it. It is so good

to have a place to come to speak with other hypothyroidians who know exactly

how it feels to live with this condition. From reading other peoples stories it

is obvious that I don't suffer as much as others but I still don't feel I have

regained my full health and I am curious to know what natural thyroid extract

could do for me. In a desperate moment I ordered Nature Throid. I have an

appointment to see Dr. P in September, I would like some support around

checking my adrenals which I have read is important before changing thyroid

medication and feel assured that Dr. P can help with this.

I am so grateful for your help, I feel listened to and hopeful that I can feel

really well to enable me to enjoy life to the full.

Annie XX

>

> Annie - when you take levothyroxine only - you must remember that this is

a

> pro-hormone. It has little to no activity on it's own until it converts

> through the liver, kidneys and other thyroid hormone receptors throughout

> the body,