Dr. Robin Urekar ND, Fergus, ON (2026)

12/25/2023

Happy holidays from my family to yours 💕🎅

12/01/2023

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.

11/30/2023

Join me for my free thyroid masterclass on Monday Dec 4 @7:30 pm EST.

11/30/2023

Is Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) Safe with Hashimoto’s and thyroid antibodies? Yes!

Will taking desiccated thyroid raise my thyroid antibodies? No.

Despite the misinformation online and held by some healthcare providers, NDT isn’t contraindicated with Hashimoto’s. It’s been researched in Hashimoto’s and is just fine.

𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐏𝐎 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐆 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐒𝐇 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 💊.

If the fear of raising your antibodies is holding you back from trying NDT, put that to rest and give it a try, you may feel better.

The next post in the thyroid meds series is on the researched benefits of NDT. Stay tuned.

11/28/2023

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.

I’ve got more NDT posts coming your way. What are your questions about NDT 🤔? I’ll try to answer them in my coming posts.

11/24/2023

Thyroid condition ✔️ medication ✔️

Thyroid medication is a hot topic, I often get asked are there options beyond Synthroid/Levothyroxine 💊? There sure are.

My personal preference when I was taking thyroid medication was Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT).

I use it daily in my practice 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)

I want to know, do you take a Synthroid or NDT? 👇

07/10/2023

Hindsight is always 20/20, right?

My thyroid journey certainly wasn’t a straight road to resolving my symptoms. If I was just diagnosed, these are the things I’d be doing asap 😊

1. Ask for a copy of my lab results. It’s important to start keeping a copy of your records, learning what they are and what they mean, and staying on top of them.

2. Ask questions! The more you know the better off you’ll be.

3. Ask about other medication options other than Synthroid. Synthroid is a great medication, but there are others that some people respond better to, knowing your options and discussing them with your healthcare provider is key. My preference was always for Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT).

4. Find a holistic practitioner who focuses on thyroid health and start a working relationship. There is so much you can do to support your health and thyroid health that isn’t part of the conversation with a family doctor or endocrinologist. Reaching out to an ND, holistic nutritionist, or functional medicine doctor can help you get on a path to symptom resolution.

5. Flex that library card. If you’ve been diagnosed, you now have a condition you can learn about. Facebook and Google can be dodgy places to look for medical advice, but published books (while sometimes outdated) are often a more reputable place to start.

Let me know in the comments if you have another suggestion ⤵️

04/11/2023

Technically TSH stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, but personally I think 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 is more fitting 🤷‍♀️😆.

By the time TSH is out of range, a person has usually been living with thyroid symptoms for 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 while being told, “everything is fine.” Exhausted, gaining weight, losing hair, menstrual irregularities, aches and pains… While TSH is making its 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣 out of range, we are left suffering being told our labs are normal.

Context can make all the difference.

While TSH isn’t a completely useless test, it’s SLOW and is best used in context with other labs. Having a full thyroid panel can be helpful to see how our thyroid hormones are being produced and converted, as well as if we have any positive thyroid antibodies. Using the results of these tests together can give us a much better picture of what’s going on with a person’s thyroid – long before TSH climbs out of range.

While getting a full thyroid panel run can be hard to advocate for if you’re not feeling your best and your TSH is “fine” getting the full picture might make all the difference. Ask your provider for 𝐓𝐒𝐇, 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝟑, 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝟒, 𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. It might help you get the answers you need, years sooner 💕.

04/05/2023

Was it just me? Drop me an emoji in the comments if your TSH is all over the place 📈🙋‍♀️

03/07/2023

📢Practice update - I am happy to announce that I moving to a completely virtual practice as of April 1. After adapting to virtual practice to continue to provide care during the pandemic, I have decided to remain virtual and close my office in Guelph. Providing virtual care has been a really positive experience. Feedback has been that it is both accessible and convenient, and that patient needs are fully met with collaboration with a primary care provider. I will no longer be working with the team at Guelph Women’s Health Associates clinic.

It is my priority to ensure you receive excellent customer service support as I change my contact information and means of communication. Please reach out to my exceptional virtual assistant Shena at hello@drrobinnd.com if you need anything. As a virtual practice, email communication is how Shena will assist you with any needs you have.

I look forward to continuing to support you and your health goals, virtually.

02/01/2023

It’s been a little while since I introduced myself 👋. I’m a Naturopathic Doctor with a practice focused on thyroid health. I’m passionate about guiding individuals to address the root causes of their thyroid condition and get back to feeling like the best version of themselves.

If you’re new around here, please say hi!

Dr. Robin Urekar ND

12/25/2023

12/01/2023

11/30/2023

11/30/2023

11/28/2023

11/24/2023

07/10/2023

04/11/2023

04/05/2023

03/07/2023

02/01/2023

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