Thyro-Gold FAQ

23rd May 2016 Paul Chris Jones

I'm not a Thyro-Gold expert, but I have noticed a lack of information about this thyroid replacement product. So in this post, I'll try to answer the following questions:

What's in Thyro-Gold?
How do I convert between Thyro-Gold and other thyroid medications?
Where can I buy Thyro-Gold?
How much does Thyro-Gold cost?
Is Thyro-Gold good value for money?
Which countries can Thyro-Gold be delivered to?
Is it legal to buy Thyro-Gold without a prescription?
How long is Thyro-Gold good for when stored?
How do I dose Thyro-Gold?
Is Thyro-Gold any good?
How much Thyro-Gold do people take?

What's in Thyro-Gold?

According to the Thyro-Gold website and the ingredients list on the packaging, Thyro-Gold contains:

whole-gland thyroid powder from the thyroid gland of New Zealand cows, which itself contains:

T1
T2
T3
T4
calcitonin

L-Aspartic acid
coleus forskohlii
vegetable capsules
silica
glyceryl behenate

The website also says that Thyro-Gold contains no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, expedients, corn, dairy, eggs, gluten, rice, sugar, soy, or yeast.

I skyped with the owner of the company that makes Thyro-Gold, Tammy Lowe, and she said:

In our 300 mg [tablet] it has 100 mcg of T4, and it has 25 mcg of T3 per capsule. Plus the T2, the T1 and the calcitonin.

That implies that the smaller, 150 mg capsule contains 50 mcg of T4 and 12.5 mcg of T3.

How do I convert between Thyro-Gold and other thyroid medications?

To make conversions easy, I've made a hypothyroidism medication converter. It's a tool that converts dosages between different hypothyroidism medications.

The converter shows that 150 mg of Thyro-Gold is equal to:

135 mcg of T4
or 34 mcg of T3
or 81 mg of of an NDT such as Armour Thyroid, NP Thyroid, Nature-Thyroid, Westhyroid-P or Thyroid-S

I have also written a more detailed blog post about this subject.

Where can I buy Thyro-Gold?

The only place you can buy Thyro-Gold is the official website, which is www.naturalthyroidsolutions.com.

You can order with PayPal or by phoning the distribution center directly.

How much does Thyro-Gold cost?

Currently, 180 capsules, 300 mg each, costs $104.41, and 180 capsules of 150 mg Thyro-Gold costs $62.58, no matter what country you are in. (Source: the Thyro-Gold website.)

But you also have to take delivery costs into account. Delivery costs $11.50 to the USA, and $24 to any other country. (I tested the UK, Canada, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Burkina Faso.) Interestingly, the delivery cost is fixed no matter how many bottles you buy. I tried buying 1,500 bottles in one go, as if I were mental, and the delivery cost remained $11.50.

Is Thyro-Gold good value for money?

In short, no. Well, at least not if you live in the UK, as I do. If you buy three bottles of 90 tablets, it's $164.38 (so about £108) including P&P to the UK. But I've found that the same amount of medication of Thyroid-S works out as four times cheaper:

£108 for 270 Thryo-Gold pills = 40p per pill
£40 for 1000 Thyroid-S pills = 4p per pill
But you'd have to take 2.7 times as much Thyroid-S because it's 2.7 times less potent, so we have to take that into account. So 4p x 2.7 = 10.8p. To put it another way, 100 mcg of T4 and 25 mcg of T3 costs 10.8p with Thyroid-S and 40p with Thyro-Gold.
40p / 10.8p = roughly four times cheaper

Which countries can Thyro-Gold be delivered to?

I think Thyro-Gold can be delivered to all countries.

Is it legal to buy Thyro-Gold without a prescription?

Yes, it is legal to buy Thyro-Gold without a prescription. What is illegal, however, is for the company to disclose the amount of thyroid hormone in Thyro-Gold. That's why you won't find that information on the Thyro-Gold website. Thyro-Gold's creator, John Lowe, summed it up when he said:

Nature-Throid and similar products are classified by the FDA as prescription drugs. Thyro-Gold is an organic food-derived product for which specific drug-like claims aren't made. The product is protected by the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. As such, the FDA cannot regulate it as a drug—that is, as long as we walk an informational and terminological tightrope in informing the public and practitioners about the product. That tightrope walk is the reason you and others may sense some hedging in my communications about Thyro-Gold. I apologize for the seeming evasiveness, but it's a necessity to help keep the product available prescription-free to the public

How long is Thyro-Gold good for when stored?

According to the Thyro-Gold website, three years.

How do I dose Thyro-Gold?

I'm no doctor, but I recommend starting with 150 mg (the smallest possible dose) if you have never been on thyroid hormone before. After two weeks, add another capsule to your daily intake if you think you need it.

Then, basically just increase the dose slowly until you become hyperthyroid. Then go back down one dose.

You can test at home to see whether your basal temperature is too high and your basal pulse rate too fast.

Is Thyro-Gold any good?

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information about Thyro-Gold's efficacy. The 2012 of edition of Stop the Thyroid Madness says "Many patients like it" [p. 226] and a user at hCGDiet.info says, "Im very happy i started Thyrogold". A user at paleohacks.com is very positive when she says, "I am on ThyroGold and it is working WONDERS for me!"

A reviewer at hypothyroidrage.blogspot.com.es found it difficult to tweak the dosage of Thryo-Gold:

Thyro-Gold only comes in capsule form, which makes tweaking the dosage difficult. I found that taking two 300-mg capsules a day was too much for me, and one capsule was not enough. If you need a smaller dose, Dr. Lowe's suggestion was to open the capsule and release some of the powder. At $50 a bottle, plus shipping, that seems like a waste of money. Plus, even if you reuse the released powder, you have no way to know how many milligrams you have released, or how much is in the capsule. Ultimately, I didn’t hate Thyro-Gold, but it wasn’t my favorite. Alas, not being able to tweak the dosage the way I needed was the deal breaker.

How much Thyro-Gold do people take?

Thyro-Gold capsule are very potent, so you will probably only need a few capsules. The second edition of Stop the Thyroid Madness recognises the strength of Thyro-Gold when it says, "some state it is very strong, so all they take is one [300 mg] capsule" (p. 226). However, I've read about patients taking more. In 2012, Jill Jackson said on her blog, "Where I was taking five of the other product I only needed two, at most, of the Thyro-Gold." Interestingly, this supports the claim that Thyro-Gold is roughly 2.5 times more potent than other natural thyroids.

Some patients take more still. Forumers at healthunlocked.com say, "I feel great on four 300 mg capsules of Thyrogold" and "My TSH was 14.7 so I started on 600 mg and worked my way up to 1200 mg [the equivalent is twelve grains of Armour Thyroid] until my body, mind, and soul were healthy."

What's the most Thyro-Gold that anyone has taken? Well, during our skype call, Tammy said that six capsules of Thyro-Gold (1800 mg) was too much for her. She said, "[when I switched] to the Thyro-Gold. I actually overshot, I was overstimulated because I started out on 6 capsules".

Anyway, I could go on, but it's a bit pointless because everyone's different and needs a different dose.

Let me know about your experiences with Thyro-Gold in the comments below.

Comments

2024-01-31 Kimberly

Thank you Paul for clarifying the 150mg T4/T3. I had the same awareness as the previous person. I had seen what appeared to be conflicting data.

2023-03-14 Larry Siron

How do I contact the company that sells Thyroid Gold. thank you

2021-01-07 Britt

Hi, its 2021 and Natural thyroid solutions is still out of Thyro gold. I am so close to running out. I keep trying to find a product that is similar with similar amounts. I take a 300 mg pill each day. Has anyone found anything comparable to this product until they have some in stock? Thank you

2016-07-22 Janet

I started Thyro gold today on the recommendation of my endo. I was on 125mg Levothyroxine but suffered terrible headaches so reduced to 100 mug and my TSH went up. I was still suffering from extreme fatigue and feeling very low. I received Thyro gold yesterday and took one 150mg along with 100 Levothyroxine. I made a mistake as I found the note from my endo recommending I start off with one 150 Thyro gold and 50 mcg Levothyroxine! Anyway, I am now totally wired, shaking terribly. Should I just stop the Levothyroxine tomorrow and continue with one Thyro gold.

2016-08-14 Gail

Hi...I posted a reply, but wrote it under the comment section on this site. How is the Thyrogold working for you?

2016-11-04 scblue80

Im not a doctor but on reading up on any and all NDT and also from comments others have just stopped taking the Levothyroxine while on NDT since it has both T3 and T4 in it.

2018-01-06 Kb

Hi how did you get on with the thyro gold? Did you successfully switch from Levo to thyro gold?

2016-08-14 Gail

Hi...I can only tell you my experience. I'm currently on 100mcg of Tirosint (down from 125mcg and 112mcg). My TSH has remained slightly in the hyper range (below 1) despite the lower dose of Tirosint. I only feel well if my TSH is very low. I decided to give the Thyrogold a try only on weekends. I don't take the Tirosint on weekends, but instead take one 300mg of Thyrogold. When I took a blood test after five weeks, my TSH was still in the hyper range. I since lowered the dose of Thryogold to 150mg. I am thinking about taking only the Thryogold because it has relieved the symptoms that still lingered even on the prescription. My endo, unlike your endo, was not happy about my trying this product since my numbers have been good, but I never felt the same after being diagnosed with Hasimoto's 15 years ago. The Tirosint has worked better than the Synthroid, but this dietary supplement seems to work better than the pharmaceutical. I respect my endo as she is a fine Doctor, but I'm researching DO's that are more open to my decision. It's good to know that your endo has actually recommended this product. My question regarding the calculation on this site is when T3 is added to the mix (whether it be glandular or pharmaceutical), is the T4 percentage changed? It's my understanding that the 300mg of Thyrogold is equivalent to 100mcg of levothyroxin. When T3 is added, do most people adjust their T4 dose?

2016-08-31 Rhonda

You are completely irresponsible in publicizing this information. This is the ONLY source of NDT that can be legally imported in any country and many of us rely on that for our health! Bedridden and living to die is the alternative as importing Thyroid-S or any other source of NDT is ILLEGAL. Thyro-gold is a dietary supplement that saves lives. So please take down this information otherwise when this disease kills me because I can no longer get it, and it will kill me because I will take my life if I have to go back to living that way, my blood will be on your hands and I will make sure the world knows it!

2016-08-31 Paul Jones

I understand your anger, but maybe it would be better directed at the medical profession, which has made it illegal to sell NDTs without a prescription. In the UK, these would be organisations such as the Royal College of Physicians and the British Thyroid Association. I'm trying to educate people about Thyro-Gold, whereas organisations like these would rather ban all NDTs altogether. I'm not the villian here. Also, I'm pretty sure it's legal to import NDTs like Thyroid-S, no matter what country you're in. It might be illegal to export them or resell them, but not import them. So if you're only trying to buy an NDT from overseas, then the worst case scenario is that a customs official will decide to throw the pills away.

2016-10-29 Suzanne

And you are completely selfish to suggest that no one else who's suffering should benefit.

2022-08-08 Wojciech Majda from Thyroid and Metabolism

@Rhonda How could you make sure the world knows if you would be dead?

2016-11-10 Catarina

I would be very interested in finding out about other people's experiences with Thyro-Gold! I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's disease) 16 years ago and put on T4 only. Five years ago, I spent a fortune seeing a so called Hertoghe doctor who put me on Armour Thyroid. This was a couple of years after its reformulation, and it never worked for me. I was switched to Erfa Thyroid last year but, unfortunately, something seems to affect its effectiveness since production was moved from Belgium to Spain a couple of years ago...NDT is horrendously expensive where I live, and I am not willing to pay that much for something that is not working optimally. I have been on Thyroid-S from Thailand for the past eight months, but I have to say I find it rather weak. Even on doses as high as 8 grains daily, my FT4 levels are at the bottom of range, and my FT3 levels midrange at best. I have been considering trying one of the other Thai brands (Thiroyd or TR TMan) which are said NOT to contain cellulose but, instead of placing an order with a Thai company and always worrying about customs confiscating the shipment (plus, there are no guarantees they would work any better), I have been thinking about giving Thyro-Gold a try, given the glowing reviews online. However, many claim that porcine thyroid is much closer to human chemistry than bovine, and that porcine thyroid contains more standardized levels of hormones compared to bovine; has anyone having tried both Thyro-Gold and porcine thyroid drugs noticed a difference in potency and stability? Also, I have seen some claims online that NDT drugs no longer contain animal glands but synthetic hormones only, which would explain why the pills no longer stink like animal products apparently are supposed to do...it's true that neither Armour nor Erfa or Thyroid-S has a distinctive smell... I'd appreciate any feedback on this!

2017-02-24 Sally

Good day I am taking 100mcg levothyroxine and 10mg cipralex can I change to Thyroid gold and if so how much do I start with and do I just stop the levothyroxine and start with thyroid gold

2017-06-26 Alana

Hi I was wondering if you tried the Thyroid Gold? If yes is it helping? thanks

2017-02-25 samantha

thank you paul for this wonderful blog with all this information . im still tired and is very hard to lose weight . whats weird is that when i first started taking thryogld several years ago[ after taking synthroid for years that didnt helpa t all even made thinsg worse ] i lost 10 pounds but my resting pulse rate became very high[ turned out had very low cortisol] so had to stop taking anything for a while and gained weight again .and got better form the adrenal fatigue with herbal stuff and more rest ] then a few years later . [think lost some weight inbetween ],was taking less thryogold adn had gained 12 pounds then finally had tsh test it was about 5 so dr said to take more . i was thrilled to lose 12 pounds and still eat candy and cookies ! then pulse rate high again so had to take less and gained most of the wieght back and am still tired . now trying raw adrenal[ natural sources think ] and losing wiehgt again a little bit mayeb alittle less tired .anyone else have a problem with the high pulse rate. it seems like i should take more thyrogold to lose wieght and feel less tired but dont want to damage heart .thank you

2017-02-25 Paul Jones

It sounds like you were fluctuating between taking too much Thyro-Gold and taking too little. In other words, you never found the right balance. To be fair to you, finding the right dosage of Thyro-Gold is difficult because each capsule is so potent. As an illustration of this, the 300 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains an equivalent of 200 mcg of T4, whereas a capsule of Armour Thyroid, or virtually any other NDT, contains an equivalent of only 72 mcg of T4. So it's easy to accidentally take too much Thyro-Gold because even one capsule might be too much. A solution is to split the capsules so you can fine tune your dose. For example, you could try 1.5 capsules a day, or 1.25 capsules. The Thyro-Gold website says this is possible. Specifically, it says "You may wonder about taking half of a capsule of Thyro-Gold, or a little more or less. One can easily pull open Thyro-Gold™ capsules and then portion out and re-encapsulate the powder however he or she wants."

2017-08-12 lili

one capsule of 300 mcg is 100 mcg of T4, no? (You wrote 200 mcg)

2022-08-15 petra

Na Vašem blogu dáváte jiné informace o obsahu mcg. Reakce lili je správná. Jak to tedy je?

2017-08-12 Paul Jones

150 mg of Thyro-Gold = 100 mcg of T4, so 300 mg of Thyro-Gold = 200 mcg of T4 .

2017-02-26 samantha

thank you very much so it is just taking too much that causes the high pulse rate .tammy did say when i asked her when it first happend that it could be high or low cortisol which i did have . so i thouht maybe if i fix the too low cortisol then would be able to take enough thyrogold so that wouldnt be so tired and have the weight gain and puffy face[ the puffiness goes away in an hour or so] but not have the too fast pulse rate either. is so confusing and a little frustrating, though i know there are worse things than being a little overweight and being tired a lot. but the fatigue is really bad sometimes , like everyday ! thank you!

2017-02-26 samantha

i have noticed that since have been taking raw adrenal the past few days my resting pulse rate is lower [ even 47] when took tooo much was 88 or 90 or more] so am hoping that i can take more thryogold so will feel less tired and lose weight. now is 150 alternating 300 sometimes 300 more often than 150. does anyone else though get out of breath easily with exercise , walking is fine but jumping. its so great to find this blog thank you paul for all your research and help.

2017-03-24 Gabriella

Would like to share my recent experience with Thyro Gold. I have been taking this product for years now, previously was on Armour and Armour did not work at all for me. Not like it did before the reformulation. I went for most of my life undiagnosed, hence I am difficult to treat. Not until I read "Stop the Thyroid Madness" did I look for a doctor that would take me seriously. At that time, it took 6 to 8 Armour for me to have any relief. Once Amour was reformulated, I decided it was time for a change and I found Thyro Gold. I take 3 300 mg capsules spaced throughout the day. This is where I feel best and my numbers are in the high end of the ranges. It is important to realize what works for me may not work for others. What is important to know about Thyro Gold is more is not better. Due to the 10% Extract of Coleus Forskohlii Root, taking too much Thyro Gold will raise resting heart rate. This happened to me, after a few days it got better. 'This can also happen with prescription medication as well. Otherwise, Thyro Gold has alleviated more symptoms than any prescription I have ever tried. Having had read so much, for anyone coming off synthetic trying Thyro Gold, do not take both together. Stop the synthetic and start Thyro Gold, I would encourage you to research this. I was unaware NDT by prescription has become all synthetic, that would not surprise me, that is correct about the smell it used to have!

2017-05-24 Laurie

I was on Armour 180 when my tests came back so irregular. Anywhere from 7 to 119 of which the Dr.s response "You should be dead." I would be OK for a few months n either 120 or 180 of Armour, then again the blood work would go bizerk. Then I would have to go on Levothyroxin, though I forgot the dosage now. Three years ago I switched to Thyrogold as I was only paying the Dr.s to tell me, "You should be dead." Since they didn't know, and I know nothing why not try what works? I take 450 mg of Thyro-gold now and feel great. My TSH readings are strange at 0.02, and the Free T4 is at 17, which is way too high, but that sure is better than former readings and I feel great. It seems like there must be adrenal fatigue, but I do not know how to deal with that. I did find a test for the antibodies which at first showed I had Hashimotos but after fasting on a glass of fresh juice for 21 days (ginger, lemon, lots of various greens, carrots, turmeric) the levels came down so I am only borderline Hashimotos!

2019-09-01 EILEEN LL

LAURIE, you sure are resilient and persistent! Hope you are still feeling great!

2018-01-13 Judith Booth

This measurement is not as you have suggested above.

2017-09-17 Susanne Thomsen

Im taking a half capsule of Thyrogold 150 mg a day. And is it much better for me as Erfa. My TSH is 0,90 and my T3 and T4 are great.

2018-03-11

Hello .. I was doing well on Erfa up until this last prescription. I’ve had to double what I usually take to feel normal. I think this batch is bad! Wondering if you’re still on ThyroGold? Insurance probably doesn’t pay since it’s marketed as a supplement.

2017-09-28 Barbara Wood

Which is correct? All quotes are from your site. A 150 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 50 mcg of T4 and 12.5 mcg of T3. A 300 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 100 mcg of T4 and 25 mcg of T3. 150 mg of Thyro-Gold = 100 mcg of T4, so 300 mg of Thyro-Gold = 200 mcg of T4 .

2017-09-28 Paul Chris Jones

A 150 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 50 mcg of T4 and 12.5 mcg of T3. A 300 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold contains 100 mcg of T4 and 25 mcg of T3."

These two statements are correct (or at least, it's what Tammy Lowe told me).

150 mg of Thyro-Gold = 100 mcg of T4, so 300 mg of Thyro-Gold = 200 mcg of T4.

I think I see the cause of confusion. What I meant here is that 150 mg of Thyro-Gold is the equivalent of 100 mcg of T4. A 150 mg capsule of Thyro-Gold doesn't contain 100 mcg of T4 - it contains 50 mcg of T4 and 12.5 mcg of T3. But T3 is four times as potent as T4, which means that 150 mg of Thyro-Gold is equivalent in potency to 100 mcg of T4.

Paul Chris Jones is a writer and dad living in Girona, Spain. You can follow Paul on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.