Help with dosing please - Question and Answer Forum - Elaine Moore Graves' Disease and Autoimmune Disease Education

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Saturday, April 07, 2012

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Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.

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Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.

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Help with dosing please

3/1/2012 5:31 PM

myjeannie

Joined: 4/6/2009

Posts: 21

Help with dosing please

Hello Elaine! Hope you're well :)

I had RAI in 2008 and it's been a nightmare since. With your help and the folks over at DS I've been able to manage this far. I would love some advice with the transition from synthroid to Erfa Thyroid, if you would please.

So happy after a very long battle, I’ve finally found a doc that has prescribed natural desiccated thyroid. Let’s hope this one’s a keeper.

My labs on 150 mg synthroid – Feb. 28, 2012

Free T4: 22.1 (9.0 – 23.0)

Free T3: 5.1 (3.5 – 6.5)

TSH: suppressed

I would like to raise my Free T3 and eventually drop the synthroid all-together and just go with Erfa Thyroid. I’ve learned slow and steady wins the race and I want to be careful with the addition of the T3 and work up slowly especially since 5 mg of cytomel gave me supreme headaches and I could no longer take that drug. Below is what I have to work with:

· Erfa Thyroid 125 mg (T4=73 mcg/T3=17mcg) (Dr. Getit – will not give me synthroid)

· Synthroid 150 mg (Dr. Dontgetit – will not give me erfa thyroid)

· Pill cutter

Dr. Getit sent me to a compounding pharmacy and they said once I get going on the Erfa and see where I’m at, they would play with the ratio of T3 and T4 to get it just right for me.

Thank you so much, Elaine!

Jxo

3/1/2012 6:17 PM

Elaine

Joined: 8/1/2008

Posts: 3374

Re: Help with dosing please

Hi MyJ,

Your labs actually look pretty good. While most people like their FT3 around mid-range, some people (like me) feel better with FT3 closer to the high end of the range. I prefer a glandular extract since you also get T1 and T2, and recent studies suggest that T2 is necessary for proper metabolism. One report suggests that T2 is also essential for weight loss.

Either way, the move to Erfa sounds like a good one. As with Armour, the amounts of T1 and T2 aren't listed but both of these thryoid precursors are present. Based on your labs on Synthroid, the ERFA may have a higher T3/T4 than you need, but there's no way to know without going on it and then adjusting accordingly. You may end up needing a bit more T4 and less T3. You're lucky that the compounding pharmacy will work with you on this. Take care, Elaine

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Help with dosing please

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