Category: thyroid

Anti bodies, part 1, Anti-TPO

March 17, 2021 / L S-L / 0 Comments

This is part 1 in a series on anti bodies and auto immune thyreoditis. In this first part I will take a look at anti bodies in general and Anti-TPO in particular. I think you will be a little surprised at some of the findings. It’s maybe a little nerdy for some. But the main points are listed in the summary.

This is a complex topic, and there is a lot of research going on. I will probably revise these posts as I learn more.

Abstract

All anti bodies look the same, Y shaped. They differ only on the tips of the Y. That is where they bind onto specific anti genes. People without thyroid disease can also have low levels of anti bodies, particularly Anti-TPO and Anti-TG. But whether they GET a thyroid disease later, we don’t know. A study showed, that many women had anti bodies up to 7 years before they got symptoms (1).

All antibodies are produced within the thyroid itself by B lymphocytes. So if on has little or no thyroid, one does not have high levels of anti bodies.

TPO is an enzyme that takes part in the process where Iodide gets converted into Iodine. Iodine is the form the thyroid uses in it’s hormone production. TPO can get damaged by oxidative stress. Anti-TPO then gets produced against the damaged enzyme. Oxidative stress can start as a result of Iodine deficiency. The process has started.

Anti-TPO is not what causes the greatest damage to the thyroid. It’s B and T lymphocytes that do that. Plus a form of the TRAb anti body, the cleavage TRAb. That can cause cell death as well. I will write about that in part 3.

One can have high levels of Anti-TPO without the thyroid decreasing in size. We call everything Hashimotos, but that is not correct. Hashimotos is the AIDT that starts with a goiter. The thyroid gets infiltrated by B and T lymphocytes, and cannot function as it should. But it doesn’t atrophy. Whereas Ord’s does not start with a goiter, and the thyroid atrophies. I will write more about that in a later part in the series.

HOW IS NDT MADE?

October 7, 2020 / L S-L / 4 Comments

I have got to admit, I have been very ignorant about how NDT is made. I have believed that NDT and glandular supplements, like Metavive and Thyrogold, were virtually the same. And I have been telling people that. They are not, glandular is a much weaker product. I could be embarrassed about this. But I choose not to. This only proves my point, that there is so much to learn about this thyroid issue. Let’s try to stay openminded, and just admit when we are mistaken. That is the only way to learn something new.

I have this info from Chris at Pim Pom products, also the photos. Most of it is a direct quote from him. I have just added a little. Thanks, Chris!

Quality of NDT

September 5, 2020 / L S-L / 0 Comments

Abstract

There is so much talk of issues with NDT. And I have already written one post about it. I hope to be a sobering voice. I see a lot of stress and worry created, especially in the US. We take it more easy here in Europe.

Is there any need for worry? No, you don’t need to worry. Only people who do not know anything about their optimal levels, or how to monitor them, need to worry. You will learn how to do these things, if you don’t already know it. I will teach you. Then you just adjust your dose as needed.

Because thyroid meds will continue to fluctuate also in the future. And not only NDT, synthetic meds differ in their hormone levels as well. You can read more about that here.

Synthetic T4 meds like Synthroid and Levo, are legally allowed to vary between 95 and 105 % of the given amount. So your current batch can be 10 % stronger or weaker than your previous batch. NDT and synthetic T3 medicin is allowed to vary between 90 and 110 %. The current recall of Nature Throid and Westhroid is for medicine that might contain 87 % of the given amount. That is 3 % less than what is allowed. OMG!

FOR THE THYROID NEWBIE

July 3, 2020 / L S-L / 4 Comments

Basic guide for you who are new to thyroid issues

I wanted to make the guide I wish I had had. Way back when, more than 20 years ago. Knowledge that could have saved me a lot of suffering. Maybe I would have been more healthy today.

So it is my hope, this info will help you. Of course, there is so much info today, compared to earlier. But maybe there is too much info for someone new to this. I hope I can make it,if not easy, then at least possible to understand.

I don’t know how you are feeling at present. If you have just been diagnosed with hypothyroid, with autoimmune thyreoditis, have had your thyroid removed or maybe you are struggling to get a diagnosis. Maybe your doctor is dismissing you, but you feel sick and know something is wrong.

HAS NDT GONE BAD?

May 24, 2020 / L S-L / 2 Comments

NO, NDT hasn’t gone bad. That is the short answer. I take NDT myself, and it works just fine.

I see people claiming, NDT is no good anymore. That it is better to take synthetic T4/T3 now. I think this is very serious, that this incorrect, untrue info is being spread in the Facebook groups. It stems from STTM, Stop the Thyroid Madness, and its Facebook group, Adrenal Fatigue and Thyroid Care. STTM is a site that has contributed so much, and I am sad to see, there is such black and white thinking going on. This issue isn’t black and white.

I wrote to the woman behind STTM about this, Janie A. Bowthrope. I told her, we are lots of people who do great on NDT here in Scandinavia. She said, most of those who still “believe” they are ok on NDT, only experiences adrenalin! I find that to be a strange claim. What does it mean? Adrenalin? We don’t have good thyroidlevels? We just think we do? A female admin in the Facebook group, told me in a comment, we here in Scandinavia probably took our meds right before labs! None of us know how to do our labs (?) I am a member in thyroidgroups in many countries. The members in the Norwegian groups are among the better informed in the world, as far as I am concerned. I am aware that many thyroid patients don’t know how to do labs correctly. Norwegians on NDT are not among those.

It’s a little difficult to take this seriously. Yes, absolutly, there were some bad batches of Nature Troid in 18. It didn’t take long before there were good batches again. STTM claims, that NP Acella is bad now. We don’t have NP here in Scandinavia, I don’t know if they have it in other European countries. But i see lots of people saying it is fine for them, in the US groups. Just now, May 2020, I see people here in Scandinavia saying, there is something wrong with Erfa. With the smelly product Erfa themselves have made a statement about it. Erfa says, they contain the proper amount of hormone. But some experience it differently.

So I am not saying, there are no issues. But to say, all NDT has gone bad, and to accuse the producers of being callous and indifferent to us patients and only out to make money, as Janie Bowthrope does here, https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/2019/09/23/the-sad-saga-of-where-we-are-today-as-hypothyroid-patients/ That is a sad saga.

SYNTHETIC T4 TO NDT CONVERSION

May 19, 2020 / L S-L / 0 Comments

How do I convert my T4 dose to NDT?

This is a question one sees often in the thyroid Facebook groups. There is a lot of confusion and insecurity around this. Which is not so strange, as there is very little good info on the topic. Here are my recommendations

The conversion tables the NDT (thyroid) producers themselves provide are ridiculously low. They are wrong, wrong, wrong. I don’t understand how they think at all. If they do. Think. One would be seriously under dosed if adhering to those guidelines. And if one’s doctor reads them, one could get serious problems. I don’t know how many doctors read these instructions. I hope they don’t. Here is a table from Nature Troid as a (bad) example.

TRIAC

April 22, 2020 / L S-L / 0 Comments

This is just a short abstract of Thyroid Patients Canada’s article on Triac, https://thyroidpatients.ca/2020/01/02/when-dosing-t3-you-get-higher-levels-of-triac/ . I just want to draw your attention to this metabolite. The quistionmark on the image, is meant to signify my surprice when learning of Triac. I had never heard of this thyroidhormone metabolite until I read Tania’s post. It is quite strange, as it has been studied since the 1950ies. I don’t think many of our doctors have ever heard of it.

So what is it? It is a thyroidhormone metabolite like FT4 and FT3 are. It acts much as FT3, it’s abbreveration is TA3. It has a much shorter halflife than FT3, about 6 times faster.

Category: thyroid

Anti bodies, part 1, Anti-TPO

Abstract

HOW IS NDT MADE?

Quality of NDT

Abstract

FOR THE THYROID NEWBIE

Basic guide for you who are new to thyroid issues

HAS NDT GONE BAD?

SYNTHETIC T4 TO NDT CONVERSION

How do I convert my T4 dose to NDT?

TRIAC

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