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I have been taking thyroid medication(synthroid or the generic) for 20 years. finally went to an endocrinologist hoping for better treatment. got the same answers! you are in the normal range. no further explanations. what do I do next?
I have been taking thyroid medication(synthroid or the generic) for 20 years. finally went to an endocrinologist hoping for better treatment. got the same answers! you are in the normal range. no further explanations. what do I do next?
Find a better endocrinologist or start doing a lot of research and see if you can treat your thyroid condition naturally.
Two common problems with hypothyroidism treatment:
Many doctors rely exclusively on TSH levels to determine the amount of thyroid hormone needed, when it often doesn't correlate with a patient's well-being, especially for those who are on supplemental thyroid hormone.
Many patients need a combination of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3 and not just T4 (Synthroid is synthetic T4).
The solution is to find a doctor who will (a) look at your actual thyroid hormone levels and consider patient symptoms, and (b) try you on a T4/T3 combo, either synthetic or natural (from pigs' thyroids). The thyroid tests that will probably be the most useful to you are free T4 and free T3.
Numerous websites cover these topics, and some can help you find a doctor who understands that the treatment of hypothyroidism is more than seeing if the level of a non-thyroid hormone (TSH) is somewhere within its too-wide reference range.
how can you treat your thyroid naturally?has someone informations about it?
thanks
This is an article that i provided a link to a few weeks ago.
The Great Iodine Debate (http://www.westonaprice.org/The-Great-Iodine-Debate.html - broken link)
I just googled "natural treatment for thyroid" and this is the page (below).
It may be helpful to just start reading to get a sense of things.
There's good information and not-so-good information out there in web-land.
Trust that you'll be able to sift through it all and then have some more clear questions.
There are natural treatments for every condition btw and people have varying degrees of success with them depending on a whole slew of factors.
Two common problems with hypothyroidism treatment:
Many doctors rely exclusively on TSH levels to determine the amount of thyroid hormone needed, when it often doesn't correlate with a patient's well-being, especially for those who are on supplemental thyroid hormone.
Many patients need a combination of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3 and not just T4 (Synthroid is synthetic T4).
The solution is to find a doctor who will (a) look at your actual thyroid hormone levels and consider patient symptoms, and (b) try you on a T4/T3 combo, either synthetic or natural (from pigs' thyroids). The thyroid tests that will probably be the most useful to you are free T4 and free T3.
Numerous websites cover these topics, and some can help you find a doctor who understands that the treatment of hypothyroidism is more than seeing if the level of a non-thyroid hormone (TSH) is somewhere within its too-wide reference range.
Excellent advice.
Definitely find an endocrinologist who take your symptoms into considerations, not just the LARGE range of TSH that is considered "normal"
age, stress, other illness etc can change the way your body uses the dosage.
I was on only generic Synthroid( T4) (the brand name doesn't do me any good) for about 6 months after my total thyroidectomy, adjusting and tweaking my dosage with my Endo every 6-8 weeks and then it just kind of stopped working. I needed to add Cytomel (the T3) since my body all of a sudden stopped converting the T4 to T3 on it's own, now I'm dealing with tweaking the numbers with this dosage.
It is a pain in the you know what, but if you've been on the same dosage for 20 years straight and been feeling okay, then that's pretty fantastic!
But now you must find a better Endo. for sure.
TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is a hormone released from the pituitary gland in response to blood levels of t3 & t4.
t3 & t4 (which are hormones in the thyroid) help regulate metabolism. All the docs I know test for TSH and t3 in cases of suspected hypothyroidism related to underactive thyroid. Some docs will check 3 and 4 for a more detailed diagnosis (t4 is a reserve that converts to t3 when necessary). I know about 15 years ago docs would only check TSH. Many of the docs were/are regulated by what kind of insurance you have and if the insurance will pay for it or not.
If a doctor diagnosed and is treating you with thyroid meds, they should be doing blood work (at least) every year in relation to your Dx. If symptoms increase more often then every year.
Are you just tired of taking a pill everyday? Is it not good news that with the medication your levels are within range or are you experiencing increased symptoms? An endo guy should have been able to come across to you alot clearer then that. Call/fax/email the person and ask them to clear up anything you don't understand.
thank you coyotesky..very interesting report,very helpful...
i am from europe and i am generally a very healthy person,i eat only daily fresh cooked,healthy,organic stuff,i do not drink coffee,i do not smoke,have absolutely no weight problems,bike riding,fresh air and so on,generally a very healthy european lifestyle...
i had no big problems till now...i was at teh doctor and my TSH is 6,58 and my T4 is 0,90. The doctor gave me levothroid.It is very hard for me to find hier a doctor specialised in homeopatic medicines and alternative methods like i am used to from Germany.
I do nto jump immediatelly (starting today..i was adviced) to take the pills teh doctor gave me.I am generally very selective with pills americans doctors give me and i do not take them only after i am best informed about them and only if another natural treatment did not work.So i consider my TSH is not that high (4 is the highest level)...my tsh can be influenced from a lot of other factors..like stress..i was moving and this means a lot of stress and work...i am not ready to take a synthetic hormone,till i did not try out other natural remedies...i will get informed now and try soemthing naturally,before i interfare in my natural cycle with a synthetic hormone...
in 6 weeks i have a new tsh test,so i will see,if it worked...i appreciate all the advices or ideas supporting me in the natural healing direction..
I felt really fortunate to have found an MD who is also an osteopath. He is well versed in, and open to, alternative treatments. At my request, he switched me to Armour Thyroid from generic Synthroid which I have been taking for years. Just recently he upped the strength, and current labs seem ok. I feel better also.
What does "TSH, 3rd Generation" mean? That number is 2.50, right in the middle of the .40-4.5 range.
T4, Free is .7, which is low for the range of .8-1.8. Is that OK for Hashimoto's?
I just got the results, and have to wait for an appointment to discuss with him, which is OK as it gives me time to do some research and learning.
Get online and see what tests there are for Thyroid copy them and take them to your Dr. and ask to be tested. If they will not test you go somewhere else even a Doc in the Box can test for these. Also tell them you want a B-12 (Pernicious anemia) too!
I know it is frustrating when the dont listen to us. But Get Proactive about it and ask for what you want. Remember we are hiring them so they work for us and anything reasonable from a patient should be done.
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