Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) Medication
Thyroid Medication is an important piece of the puzzle for improving thyroid symptoms. In working with patients, we can work with your current medication, or we can discuss the option of NDT.
In my practice, I prescribe Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT), for several reasons:
💊 It contains active free T3 hormone in addition to T4
💊 Not synthetic, biologically similar to what our own body produces
💊 Doesn’t rely entirely on our body’s ability to convert T4 into T3
💊 Well absorbed
💊 No gluten or dairy non-medical additives (in ERFA)
Who may benefit from taking NDT medication?
👉 Because NDT contains the 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝟑, many people feel better taking NDT than Synthroid which only contains inactive synthetic free T4.
👉 NDT doesn’t rely entirely on your body to convert T4 medication into active free T3. It comes with some free T3 in it.
👉 It provides a balanced ratio of T3 and T4 hormones.
👉 NDT contains the full spectrum of thyroid hormones, including 𝐓𝟏 & 𝐓𝟐 which aren’t in Synthroid/levothyroxine.
👉 T2 has been shown to support a 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲.
👉 T2 increases basal metabolic rate.
👉Who can take NDT? Anyone with hypothyroidism who requires medication, including those with Hashimoto’s. 𝐍𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬.
👉 It can be especially helpful in people who have had a 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐲 as NDT provides the full spectrum of hormones that their own body can no longer produce: T1, T2, T3, & T4.
Research on NDT
While there is research on Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) use, there aren’t a lot of studies directly comparing it to Synthroid. However, the few that we have are favourable.
In a recent study, 6 months after switching to NDT from levothyroxine, the study participants reported improvement in symptoms across all domains surveyed which included improvement in “𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐠, 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐮𝐫/𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡.” Significant symptomatic benefits and improvement in quality of life were experienced by patients with a history of hypothyroidism unresponsive to levothyroxine when treated with NDT.
📝PMID: 34626513
In a study comparing NDT to T4 (levothyroxine) 48% preferred NDT, 18% preferred T4, and 32% had no preference. The study participants reported having 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲, 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬, 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝 with NDT. The patients most symptomatic on T4 medication preferred and responded favourably to NDT.
📝 PMID: 23539727
NDT isn’t the full solution when it comes to comprehensive thyroid care, but from a
medication-only standpoint, many patients notice improvements and prefer NDT when given the choice. In working with patients, we can work with your current medication, or we can discuss the option of NDT.