Treatment
The most common method of treatment is Synthroid (T4), but there is a natural medicine called Armour Thyroid. There is also Cytomel (T3) which helps boost the T4.
Be aware of the various methods of treatments and do not shy away from suggesting other forms of treatment if you feel yours is not working.
Be aware of the various methods of treatments and do not shy away from suggesting other forms of treatment if you feel yours is not working.
Desired Levels for Thyroid Disease
TSH: Since late 2003, the recommended "normal range" for the TSH test is .3 to 3.0, but most labs and doctors are still using the .5 to 5.0 reference range. Some practitioners even feel strongly that TSH levels above 1.5 to 2.0 require further assessment, more in-depth blood testing, and evaluation of symptoms.
T3:
T4:
T3:
T4:
Why Synthroid is Not an Optimal Treatment for Hypothyroidism
If your thyroid gland is not producing enough T4 hormone, replacing that hormone with a man-made alternative may seem like a logical option. But there are a number of reasons why this should only be used as an absolute last resort, not a first-line treatment.
For starters, the synthetic Synthroid is not identical to your natural thyroid hormone, as far as your body is concerned. As stated on GreenMedInfo:
"The glaring differences in their [Synthroid and Thyroxine] respective chemical/molecular make-ups will simultaneously reflect functional/behavioral differences. Not a single cell in the human body can be "tricked" into considering them bio-equivalent, even if the conventional medical establishment reiterates endlessly the manufacturer's marketing claims that they are treated identically by the human body.
… IF the pharmaceutical industry created a thyroid drug truly IDENTICAL to the natural hormone it is designed to replace, it would not be able to lay claim to a proprietary, patentable and thereby profitable product, i.e. there really is no reward in reproducing exactly the good works of … Nature."
In some cases Synthroid may actually worsen your condition, as the synthetic T4 may compete with your body's natural T4 for cellular receptor sites.
For starters, the synthetic Synthroid is not identical to your natural thyroid hormone, as far as your body is concerned. As stated on GreenMedInfo:
"The glaring differences in their [Synthroid and Thyroxine] respective chemical/molecular make-ups will simultaneously reflect functional/behavioral differences. Not a single cell in the human body can be "tricked" into considering them bio-equivalent, even if the conventional medical establishment reiterates endlessly the manufacturer's marketing claims that they are treated identically by the human body.
… IF the pharmaceutical industry created a thyroid drug truly IDENTICAL to the natural hormone it is designed to replace, it would not be able to lay claim to a proprietary, patentable and thereby profitable product, i.e. there really is no reward in reproducing exactly the good works of … Nature."
In some cases Synthroid may actually worsen your condition, as the synthetic T4 may compete with your body's natural T4 for cellular receptor sites.
The thyroid drug Synthroid (levothyroxine sodium), as the name implies, is anything but natural. It is not bio-equivalent to the natural hormone thyroxine, but is instead a synthetic, hormone-like substance with very different properties.
In conventional medical treatment for hypothyroidism, once blood variables fall into a range deemed "normal" thanks to the introduction of synthetic chemicals, the "treatment" is deemed a success. Unfortunately, the quality of life of the patient may actually worsen as the synthetic chemicals compete with the remaining natural hormones still being produced by their thyroid.
If you have hypothyroidism, it means you have a sluggish or underactive thyroid, which is producing less than adequate amounts of thyroid hormone. The latest estimates suggest that 20 million Americans have hypothyroidism, but the actual numbers are probably higher. Some experts claim that 10 to 40 percent of Americans have suboptimal thyroid function, which is often undiagnosed and untreated.
Unfortunately, conventional medicine's solution for hypothyroidism is virtually always the same: a prescription for Synthroid (levothyroxine), a synthetic thyroid hormone that is actually the fourth most prescribed medication in the United States.
The drug is purported to be identical to thyroxine (T4) -- the hormone that the thyroid gland naturally makes, but if you look at the structural and functional properties of each substance in the images from GreenMedInfo below, you can see they are actually very different.
In conventional medical treatment for hypothyroidism, once blood variables fall into a range deemed "normal" thanks to the introduction of synthetic chemicals, the "treatment" is deemed a success. Unfortunately, the quality of life of the patient may actually worsen as the synthetic chemicals compete with the remaining natural hormones still being produced by their thyroid.
If you have hypothyroidism, it means you have a sluggish or underactive thyroid, which is producing less than adequate amounts of thyroid hormone. The latest estimates suggest that 20 million Americans have hypothyroidism, but the actual numbers are probably higher. Some experts claim that 10 to 40 percent of Americans have suboptimal thyroid function, which is often undiagnosed and untreated.
Unfortunately, conventional medicine's solution for hypothyroidism is virtually always the same: a prescription for Synthroid (levothyroxine), a synthetic thyroid hormone that is actually the fourth most prescribed medication in the United States.
The drug is purported to be identical to thyroxine (T4) -- the hormone that the thyroid gland naturally makes, but if you look at the structural and functional properties of each substance in the images from GreenMedInfo below, you can see they are actually very different.
Issues With T4 Only Medications
Medications such as Synthroid, Levoxyl and Levothyroxine can be problematic for many - especially those without a thyroid. Many suffer from fatigue, aching joints, depression, anxiety, weight gain, loss of hair, dry skin and the list goes on. Doctors, when presented with these long lists of complaints will frequently dole out prescriptions for antidepressants like prozac and zoloft as the magic fix. We are NOT DEPRESSED! The underlying cause is nothing less than low thyroid levels - more specifically low Free T3.
Most allopathic doctors will prescribe a T4 only medication to thyroidless patients telling them that they will not notice a difference from the time when they had their thyroid. WRONG! We feel it. We need T3. The T3 hormone possesses about four times the "strength" of T4 thyroid hormones. Remember that 20% of the body's T3 comes directly from the thyroid gland so supplying T4 only causes us to lose that 20%. The other issue is in counting on the body's ability to convert the T4 to T3. This hormone being supplied is a chemical and does not look like the chemical structure of what your thyroid would produce and this I believe causes problems for the body.
When T3 levels drop the body's metabolism slows down yet there are still demands on it to continue to "perform". As an effort to maintain homeostasis the body will then draw off of the adrenals until they become totally fatigued and the patient collapses. This is when it becomes very difficult to recover. You now have to deal with low thyroid and adrenal fatigue. The adrenals are the sprinters of the body. They kick up the adrenaline when you experience the fight or flight response but when taxed daily to support normal body functions and forced into marathon running they will crash and burn.
Most allopathic doctors will prescribe a T4 only medication to thyroidless patients telling them that they will not notice a difference from the time when they had their thyroid. WRONG! We feel it. We need T3. The T3 hormone possesses about four times the "strength" of T4 thyroid hormones. Remember that 20% of the body's T3 comes directly from the thyroid gland so supplying T4 only causes us to lose that 20%. The other issue is in counting on the body's ability to convert the T4 to T3. This hormone being supplied is a chemical and does not look like the chemical structure of what your thyroid would produce and this I believe causes problems for the body.
When T3 levels drop the body's metabolism slows down yet there are still demands on it to continue to "perform". As an effort to maintain homeostasis the body will then draw off of the adrenals until they become totally fatigued and the patient collapses. This is when it becomes very difficult to recover. You now have to deal with low thyroid and adrenal fatigue. The adrenals are the sprinters of the body. They kick up the adrenaline when you experience the fight or flight response but when taxed daily to support normal body functions and forced into marathon running they will crash and burn.