Wean off synthroid

Unfortunately, not many of us are doctors or know your entire situation (and cannot offer a ton of advice). Personally, I would take the amount of Synthroid your doctor/endo prescribed and to discuss it with them if you want to lower the dose or stop taking it.

Being a healthy weight doesn't mean your thyroid is ok. If your thyroid is severely damaged by an autoimmune disorder (hashimotos, etc) then it's like trying to expect a car engine with three blown cylinders to work like new if you touch up the paint.

Get your TSH/T4 levels checked regularly as your doctor recommends and stay on synthroid. If you're worried about the synthetic nature, ask your Dr for Armor instead. It's a natural thyroid hormone made from, appropriately enough, dried pig thyroid glands.

I am also on synthroid for hypo. I've lost around 7% body fat and am still taking the same dosage. I expect to take it the rest of my life, if I lose 20 lbs and am super thin or gain 100 lbs. It sucks taking a pill every day, but rather than being disappointed by it, just accept that you most likely will take this your whole life and get it checked every 6 months.

Hi there. I am in the process of this now. I have been on Synthroid for 10 years and started working with a naturopathic doctor to try to get off of it. When my ND got my bloodwork from my MD, my levels sat at around 3. In the middle of the range by old standards. My ND thought that because my levels were at that while ON meds, I would probably not be able to go off of it. Despite their advice, I took my natural supplements and weaned myself from half dose of Synthroid over 6 weeks, then no Synthroid for 6 weeks. New bloodwork showed my levels were over 8. I am now back on the meds but only because I am terrified of gaining more weight. No matter what I do, no exercise & eating what I want or 6 day a week workouts and 1400 calories/ day, the scale does not budge more than 1 pound up or down. If my options are staying at this weight or risking gaining even more, I'll stay put I guess. I am not happy about it but this much weight has already seriously impacted my quality of life.
I am now back on my gluten & dairy free diet, walking, doing yoga, and kickboxing and hoping for the best but I am extremely discouraged.

Young people with cystic fibrosis are on medications for life. Similarly children born HIV positive, and type 1 diabetics. It is annoying to be young and on medication for a chronic condition. I get that. It is what it is, though. Those who love you would rather you stay on your meds and be healthy, though.

I used these examples to reconcile myself to my son's diagnosis of Schizophrenia, who similarly will be on mood-altering drugs for life.

I don't have any thyroid hormone naturally, so I'm on it for life, as most people are.

I don't know and have not met anyone who was being weaned off of thyroid medication. That's not to say it's never happened, but it's not a common thing.

I hate taking pills and I hate timing all the different pills and timing food eating around them. It's highly annoying. But it is what I have to do, so I do it. There are worse fates.

I have been on Synthroid for 9 years and I have only heard one person being weaned off but they were only on it for 6 months. I think you should get a second opinion to see if you really need Synthroid but do not try to wean off of it yourself as it can cause severe reactions. It really is not that bad of a medication as it rarely does any bad while you are on it. The reason I am even typing right now is because of Synthroid. Good luck!

If you need Synthroid - you need that for life. Thyroid glands do not increase output. Don't think of this as a negative - think about how lucky you are to live in a time where this is treatable by taking a pill daily!

Go to your physician, endocrinologist hopefully, and request a full thyroid panel: TSH, Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, and RT3.

Never alter your Synthroid dose without specific direction from your physician. Decreasing this dosage can cause a myriad of other medical consequences, particularly to your pituitary gland.

Ive never heard of weaning yourself off of synthroid. I only have half a thyroid so its synthroid for life. Best of luck though if its doable to get off of it!

anayapaya wrote: »

On top of that, I feel like I was Miss diagnosed from the beginning. I went to the doctor for a routine check up and she said my thyroid levels were a bit off. Then she immediately put me on synthroid without testing again... I've been on it ever since. I feel like maybe she should have tested me a few times before giving me the drug, but I was only around 18 years old so I didn't really think about what it was. I didn't know it was going to be long term either.

Other factors can affect your thyroid levels. It's possible, but not entirely probably, that you were misdiagnosed. If I were you, I'd see your doctor (or get a new one if you're uncomfortable with yours, as you seem to think she's not working in your best interest) and ask to be tested again. Before being tested, however, you should stay on whatever level of synthroid you are supposed to be on for a period of a few months (2 or 3). Take it consistently, always an hour before food with plain water.

The TSH that is tested on thryoid bloodwork is "thyroid stimulating hormone". It's basically the body's "gas pedal" for your thyroid. The T4 tested is an indicator of the amount of stuff your thyroid is making.

My thyroid was essentially non functional. When I went in for bloodwork, my TSH was sky high. A normal is 0.4 - 4.2, I think. Mine was 21. Essentially, my body had the gas pedal to the floor (and then some) and my thyroid was all "I'M GIVIN' 'ER ALL SHE'S GOT, CAP'N!" and only releasing a tiny trickle of the hormones required.

If your TSH is in the low end of the normal range on the level of synthroid you're on, maybe you can ask the doctor to back you off a bit. Wait a few months, test again, etc. If you start to see your TSH creep back up into the high end of the range, you'll know that you have found the appropriate amount you should be taking.

It's not depressing to have to take medication. Its not more shameful than a diabetic needing insulin. Make it a part of your personal bathroom routine in the morning and get on with enjoying life.

I cannot emphasize enough that this is not something you want to mess around with on your own.

Consider yourself fortunate to have been diagnosed so early. I spent my late teens and the entirety of my 20's starving myself to keep any kind of semblance of a normal weight - when I didn't, I gained quickly and it was impossible to lose it eating anything more than 600 calories a day.

I found myself to be abnormally cold much of the time, had anemia, depression, and a host of other seemingly unrelated issues that I couldn't figure out what was happening.

Accepted medical wisdom at that time was that unless you had had a child or were over 50, hypothyroidism was rarely considered. It was only when I saw a gynecologist for menorrhagia that I was actually diagnosed.

The effects of thyroid deficiency can manifest themselves slowly, and you might attribute some of these things to other conditions when taken separately. By the time I found out I had hypothyroidism, I had gained a lot of weight, had severe depression, very low blood pressure (had passed out suddenly on several occasions and was damned lucky that those times it happened were in places where the worst thing that happened was getting a few bruises), anemia due to having (at that point) a heavy 6 month long period, and was borderline hypothermic (body temperature 94.8 as opposed to 98.6). You do not want to get to that point.

Losing the weight has been a hard slog, and is still a work in progress. There have been setbacks but that usually coincided with a requirement to change my dosage. Thyroid affects everything from your ability to conceive to cholesterol levels. That little bit of knowledge (about cholesterol) saved me from having to get onto cholesterol medications by having my levothyroxine dose adjusted.

There are some good resources out there on hypothyroidism, but if any one or any site that tells you that you can 'cure' yourself of this condition RUN, quickly, in the other direction.

Ironically coming of your thyroid meds will probably show you what depression truly is...

Stop self-adjusting and talk to your doctor.

CSARdiver wrote: »

If you need Synthroid - you need that for life. Thyroid glands do not increase output. Don't think of this as a negative - think about how lucky you are to live in a time where this is treatable by taking a pill daily!

Go to your physician, endocrinologist hopefully, and request a full thyroid panel: TSH, Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, and RT3.

Never alter your Synthroid dose without specific direction from your physician. Decreasing this dosage can cause a myriad of other medical consequences, particularly to your pituitary gland.

He's too modest to point it out, but in the quoted post, you're hearing from an actual scientist whose work has been with this condition and these drugs. Listen.

I'm hypothryoid, too. I'll take levo for the rest of my life.

See your doctor, or a new one if your current one is unhelpful. You could perhaps stop if you were misdiagnosed in the first place, but that's something that would be determined by blood tests, not by how you feel. It can't be determined by how you feel.

If you're unable to afford your essential medications, look into drug company assistance programs, or other sources of aid. Don't just stop taking it.

TheAnayalator wrote: »

Anyone who has hypothyroidism, can you please tell me if you were able to wean yourself off of the synthetic drug synthroid? I have had hypothyroidism for about 4 years and I have decreased my dosage from 100mg to 50 mg. I am praying that there is hope that I will never have to take this drug again once I'm healthy.

I wouldn't even try!!!! If my thyroid levels are within my normal range is because I am taking meds. Talk to your doctor or endocrinologist!!