Aa
natural vs. synthetic hormone replacements
I have been on Synthroid for about 17 years --- I had a thyroid-ectomy when I was a teenager.
my levels have never been consistant so my dosages changes rather often!
I am now looking into one of the replacement hormones that has both T3 and T4 , that are all natural!
Has anyone made the switch? and how did it work out for you?
thanks
my levels have never been consistant so my dosages changes rather often!
I am now looking into one of the replacement hormones that has both T3 and T4 , that are all natural!
Has anyone made the switch? and how did it work out for you?
thanks
I was thinking to - I know you have been on Synthroid for a long time - but have they checked your labs??
I mean done specific testing like Free T3 and Free T4 - These two in particular will tell alot on conversion issues.
I'd hate to see - if you are soooooooooo close with this dose and may need like Chitchat says a vit or mineral to help things even out. Switching could just throw the whole thing away and starting from scratch again.
Test first and see where your frees are at. If you seem to find FT4 being high and low in FT3 - well...... this could be good to look at T3 treatment then. Especially if you are still symptomatic too.
I mean done specific testing like Free T3 and Free T4 - These two in particular will tell alot on conversion issues.
I'd hate to see - if you are soooooooooo close with this dose and may need like Chitchat says a vit or mineral to help things even out. Switching could just throw the whole thing away and starting from scratch again.
Test first and see where your frees are at. If you seem to find FT4 being high and low in FT3 - well...... this could be good to look at T3 treatment then. Especially if you are still symptomatic too.
P.s
Excuse the spelling istakes...not at home and on the laptop in the dark (hehehe)
Excuse the spelling istakes...not at home and on the laptop in the dark (hehehe)
I am surprised you have been so tolerant after 17 years lol !
I think I wouldve gone stir crazy after all that time with different dosages all the time.
Ok..lets start.......
You are now 35 yrs old and as you may well know, Graves and Hashi's are well known for bringing on 'early menopause'.
I was 38 when I first noticed irregular periods etc when for years they had been every 28 days.I then went through the monopause and discovered a few months ago that I had gone through all the Graves garbage at the same time as menopause and have now been Post Menopause 3 years ago.
Get your estrogen, progesterone, and testerone levels checked and rule out menopause.
Personally I think you may come under the catergory of 'too hard to handle basket' with your Doc/Endo and for yeard have tolerated the 'closest dose' instead of them trying you on a dose of T3 and T4 meds. A lot of Doctors do that.
They get you 95% normal then when trying to 'tweak' even more because the symptoms are still there, they leave you hanging as they cannot 'tweak' your meds any more and are 'as close to wellness as can be expected'.
Obviously thats not good enough...well not in my eyes anyway.
Make sure your Calcium and Vitamin D levels are ok....as they tend to go low after TT. I am on a combined Calicum/D tablet (1000mg) daily. The Vitamin D helps the calcium to absorb better. Dont take a calcium tablet on its own as it will not absorb as well.
My atttude to your posting is this......
If after 17 years your thyroid levels fluctuate to the stage of continuous dose changes then trying something else is 'well overdue'.
I am no expert on a T3/T4 combined meds as I have never taken it but have done my homework and research enough to know that you have given your T4 med enough time to 'even out' and it hasnt worked.
Personally I wouldve gone to a combined T3/T4 med sooner so you must be a really patient person lol.
The scenario is......
You have tried T4 med, it hasnt stabalised you.
So now time to try a T3/T4 combined med and take it from there.
Whether it be Armour or whether it be Synthroid with Cytomel.
After 17 years of no thyroid , you would know yr body inside out in regards to symptoms.
I would research Cytomel and Armour and then speak to others here who are on these meds and then decide from there.
To put it bluntly....what do you have to lose?
The T4 med is NOT doing what it is supposed to do and if it was me in your shoes, I wouldnt stop until I felt that I had done all I can in this thyroid condition.
After all......it is us who has to live with the garbage and like all of us, you want your life back.
See your Doctor and suggest this...if he/she says NO then move on until a Doctor does listen to you.
Graves and Hashis takes too many years of our lives to put up with '2nd best'.
In my eyes..2nd best is NOT good enough.
Hopefully you will find that balance as you really deserve it after all those years.
Stella is the most informative person who I know who knows about Armour and AR-10 is also a genius at this sort of stuff.
All the best and let us know how you go.
P.S
My levels are now stable on throxin (T4) and I am now back to fulltime work after Graves, Hyperthyroidism, 3 episodes of Atrial Fibrillation in 2 weeks prior to RAI June 2008) and also TT september 2008 because of Thyca.
I was hypo end of July 2008 and now have my life back.
The only reason I wasnt given a T3 med was due to the fact I have heart problems and a heart murmur.
Hope this posting can be of some help to you.
I think I wouldve gone stir crazy after all that time with different dosages all the time.
Ok..lets start.......
You are now 35 yrs old and as you may well know, Graves and Hashi's are well known for bringing on 'early menopause'.
I was 38 when I first noticed irregular periods etc when for years they had been every 28 days.I then went through the monopause and discovered a few months ago that I had gone through all the Graves garbage at the same time as menopause and have now been Post Menopause 3 years ago.
Get your estrogen, progesterone, and testerone levels checked and rule out menopause.
Personally I think you may come under the catergory of 'too hard to handle basket' with your Doc/Endo and for yeard have tolerated the 'closest dose' instead of them trying you on a dose of T3 and T4 meds. A lot of Doctors do that.
They get you 95% normal then when trying to 'tweak' even more because the symptoms are still there, they leave you hanging as they cannot 'tweak' your meds any more and are 'as close to wellness as can be expected'.
Obviously thats not good enough...well not in my eyes anyway.
Make sure your Calcium and Vitamin D levels are ok....as they tend to go low after TT. I am on a combined Calicum/D tablet (1000mg) daily. The Vitamin D helps the calcium to absorb better. Dont take a calcium tablet on its own as it will not absorb as well.
My atttude to your posting is this......
If after 17 years your thyroid levels fluctuate to the stage of continuous dose changes then trying something else is 'well overdue'.
I am no expert on a T3/T4 combined meds as I have never taken it but have done my homework and research enough to know that you have given your T4 med enough time to 'even out' and it hasnt worked.
Personally I wouldve gone to a combined T3/T4 med sooner so you must be a really patient person lol.
The scenario is......
You have tried T4 med, it hasnt stabalised you.
So now time to try a T3/T4 combined med and take it from there.
Whether it be Armour or whether it be Synthroid with Cytomel.
After 17 years of no thyroid , you would know yr body inside out in regards to symptoms.
I would research Cytomel and Armour and then speak to others here who are on these meds and then decide from there.
To put it bluntly....what do you have to lose?
The T4 med is NOT doing what it is supposed to do and if it was me in your shoes, I wouldnt stop until I felt that I had done all I can in this thyroid condition.
After all......it is us who has to live with the garbage and like all of us, you want your life back.
See your Doctor and suggest this...if he/she says NO then move on until a Doctor does listen to you.
Graves and Hashis takes too many years of our lives to put up with '2nd best'.
In my eyes..2nd best is NOT good enough.
Hopefully you will find that balance as you really deserve it after all those years.
Stella is the most informative person who I know who knows about Armour and AR-10 is also a genius at this sort of stuff.
All the best and let us know how you go.
P.S
My levels are now stable on throxin (T4) and I am now back to fulltime work after Graves, Hyperthyroidism, 3 episodes of Atrial Fibrillation in 2 weeks prior to RAI June 2008) and also TT september 2008 because of Thyca.
I was hypo end of July 2008 and now have my life back.
The only reason I wasnt given a T3 med was due to the fact I have heart problems and a heart murmur.
Hope this posting can be of some help to you.
Hi, and great question to ask. I had a partial thyroidectomy in January '07 and my other side never regained function. After about 10mos of tweeking the dose of Synthroid we found a TSH of 1.8 on 75mcgs of Synthroid was optimal for me, and in my case actually has attained a better quality of life than my subclinical "normal for me" of my own thyroid producing a TSH of 2.3. All my symptoms disappeared on Synthroid so for me, so I will stick with it unless it stops working , but I'm always open to any other meds including the T3/T4's if my doctor thinks it would help me and my current med stops working.
With any replacement thyroid hormone, it's important to keep working very closely with your doctor to ascertain if it's helping you feel better and the TSH and labs are in line and keep at it to get the finest quality of life with the least amount of symptoms.
Once you achieve your best levels you will feel great ... it's sometimes tedious, as we've seen on this community among many members and many meds alike and some with combinations of meds.
Oftentimes the key is finding the right doctor to *listen* to you as a patient and not look at the lab results as *normal* because oftentimes they just aren't *normal* for you.
My last word is to have your Vitamin D levels checked, too. Mine were severely low out of the blue and so are many on this community ---- that, they say, has something to do with not feeling well, too, and I blamed it on needing a med dose and they uncovered a 9.4 vs. 32-100 normal and now I'm on supplements and feeling better and wasn't my thyorid.
C~
partial 1/07
With any replacement thyroid hormone, it's important to keep working very closely with your doctor to ascertain if it's helping you feel better and the TSH and labs are in line and keep at it to get the finest quality of life with the least amount of symptoms.
Once you achieve your best levels you will feel great ... it's sometimes tedious, as we've seen on this community among many members and many meds alike and some with combinations of meds.
Oftentimes the key is finding the right doctor to *listen* to you as a patient and not look at the lab results as *normal* because oftentimes they just aren't *normal* for you.
My last word is to have your Vitamin D levels checked, too. Mine were severely low out of the blue and so are many on this community ---- that, they say, has something to do with not feeling well, too, and I blamed it on needing a med dose and they uncovered a 9.4 vs. 32-100 normal and now I'm on supplements and feeling better and wasn't my thyorid.
C~
partial 1/07
I made the switch and went to Armour just over a year and a half ago. Synthroid did not work for me for 4 years. I never felt good. I had RAI in 2003 and have no thyroid function now - but there was no surgery to take the gland out for me.
It took some time for me to adjust ( 3 mths) but saw much better results - going to a T3/T4 med.
It took some time for me to adjust ( 3 mths) but saw much better results - going to a T3/T4 med.
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