What am I missing?

Sharry1978

I've just had a read through some of the posts on here.
I was diagnosed aged 6 with hypothyroidism and type 1 diabetes. My doc did tests and gradually regulated both. By around age 10 I was on 200mg thyroxine. I am still on that now aged 34. I have a diabetic review once a year where they also check my thyroid levels.
I have had some other medical issues recently, which made me forget my medication.... I am now feeling better after restarting the thyroxine.
I have never heard of natural thyroxine or had much other input from my gp.

What am I missing?

fiberartist219

I haven't tried it, but the idea behind the natural stuff, like Armour, is that you get more than just T4. You also get T3 and any other T hormones that come with it. Many doctors don't want to talk about it and it is harder to find in pharmacies.

Personally, I find that most of the time the T4 medication works just fine. Not everyone does ok converting the T4 to T3, so those are the folks that usually inquire about the Armour.

islandmonkey

I've just had a read through some of the posts on here.
I was diagnosed aged 6 with hypothyroidism and type 1 diabetes. My doc did tests and gradually regulated both. By around age 10 I was on 200mg thyroxine. I am still on that now aged 34. I have a diabetic review once a year where they also check my thyroid levels.
I have had some other medical issues recently, which made me forget my medication.... I am now feeling better after restarting the thyroxine.
I have never heard of natural thyroxine or had much other input from my gp.

What am I missing?

Since you have Type 1 diabetes, I suspect that your thyroid issues are likely also autoimmune - have you ever been tested for Hashimoto's? Have you had your antibodies tested recently?

What tests is your doctor running? Are they just looking at TSH, or at your free T3 and free T4 results? TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone, and there is much controversy over what the "normal" range is. To be honest, I wouldn't let mine get over 2.0, and realistically I'd want it at least at 1.0. However, your TSH doesn't really matter all that much, especially in isolation. You need to be looking at your free T3 and free T4 results.

T4 is essentially the "storage" form of thyroid hormone, and T3 is the "active" one (T4 is also somewhat active but very minimal compared to T3). T3 is the one that acts at the cellular level, and acts like a key in the ignition for your cells. People with hypo symptoms are generally low in T3.

Your body converts T4 into T3 by dropping one iodine molecule. If your body has issues converting (as many with hypothyroid find), or you are low in key vitamins and minerals involved in the conversion process, then no matter how much synthetic T4 (synthroid, levothyroxine etc) you take you'll still feel hypo and have symptoms. In fact, taking T4 can be damaging because if there is too much in your body it will start getting converted into Reverse T3 (RT3) -- RT3 acts like the *wrong* key in the ignition....it doesn't make your cells do anything, AND it blocks T3 from doing its job.


You're on a VERY high dose of synthetic T4 -- I don't even have a thyroid anymore and I was on less than that!! That tells me that your levels likely are NOT optimal, and that your free T3 is probably low. If your free T3 is too low, especially in comparison to your free T4, then you have two options for adding T3:
1) Add a synthetic T3 med like cytomel.
2. Switch meds entirely and take a natural dessicated med like Nature Thyroid or Armour. These contain T4 *and* T3, and also T2, T1, and calcitonin. As well, the T4 is bioidentical to your body's natural T4 and is easier to convert into T3. Many, many thyroid patients say they "finally felt normal again" after starting a dessicated med.



I would recommend that you get your free (not total) T3 and free T4 tested, and see where they are at. They shouldn't just be "within normal range", they should be OPTIMAL. OPTIMAL free T3 is in the top 1/3 of the range, and free T4 around mid-range.

islandmonkey

Oh, and most GPs aren't very educated in thyroid management, which is why you likely have never heard this before. Most of them test TSH and then tell someone with a TSH of 3.5 that their thyroid is "normal" and dismiss their symptoms.

islandmonkey

Many doctors don't want to talk about it and it is harder to find in pharmacies.

Many doctors won't talk about it because the synthetic T4 companies have wormed their way into being the default med.

This is INCORRECT about it being harder to find in pharmacies - Walgreens carries it!!! Depends on your state but many people also find that it's cheaper.

Personally, I find that most of the time the T4 medication works just fine. Not everyone does ok converting the T4 to T3, so those are the folks that usually inquire about the Armour.

A lot of people feel "fine" on T4 meds. Those same people usually feel GREAT when on dessicated meds... I'd rather feel great than just "fine"!!