topic Re: My thyroid experiment in Wellness

My thyroid experiment

hoosieroriginal — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 13:09:06 GMT

Last October I went to the dr my thyroid reading was super low and she contemplated putting me on meds. So I found an herbal thyroid support on Amazon that had great reviews. Some people even lost weight and said in general they felt much better. Dr. had also changed my at the same time I started thyroid herbs. I started getting a metal taste on the end of my tongue and thought it was the thyroid herbs and stopped taking it. It was the new BP meds I found out later and she switched me back to my old BP meds. Anyway, starting to take thyroid herbal meds again. I have a dr appt in July and want to see if it makes any difference on my thyroid readings. If it improves them, I'll keep taking it, if not, I'll toss them. I really don't want to go on synthroid - hear horrible things about it.

Re: My thyroid experiment

CatLoverDogsToo — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 13:11:50 GMT

@hoosieroriginal I just started taking Levothyroxine (generic synthroid). I am not happy about it. Can you post the name of the herbal thyroid support? I'm interested in trying it. Thank you in advance.

Re: My thyroid experiment

hoosieroriginal — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 13:17:26 GMT

@CatLoverDogsToo - It's from 1 Body -called simply Thyroid Support on Amazon. After I ordered, they sent me an email and actuallly sent me a second bottle free for ordering! Please read the reviews before you purchase to see if it is something you are interested in.

Re: My thyroid experiment

sidsmom — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 13:44:32 GMT

I personally wouldn't monkey with the thyroid.

I'm all for holistic, natural, but for now, take the medication.

Heart problems can stem from thyroid issues.

I stressed my thyroid out years ago w/ work stress, life stress, menopause, overtraining at the gym...hypothyroidism. I got on Synthroid. Over the last 9 years, I have released much of the stress & calmed down my workouts so I would have less inflammation. But one of the biggest things I did was focus on a calming diet...low fat, plant based.

Am I off Synthroid? No, but I've had to reduce my dosage a.l.o.t. over the years. Something's working. My current experiment is make my bedroom dark...I-can't-see-my-hand dark...to see if that has any affect.

As ususal, people want to fix something with a supplement.

It's not going to work since the Thyroid has multi-dimensional functions.

Especially worrisome if one takes a herbal supplement while taking other prescriptions.

Re: My thyroid experiment

LilacTree — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 14:01:28 GMT

@hoosieroriginal wrote:
Last October I went to the dr my thyroid reading was super low and she contemplated putting me on meds. So I found an herbal thyroid support on Amazon that had great reviews. Some people even lost weight and said in general they felt much better. Dr. had also changed my at the same time I started thyroid herbs. I started getting a metal taste on the end of my tongue and thought it was the thyroid herbs and stopped taking it. It was the new BP meds I found out later and she switched me back to my old BP meds. Anyway, starting to take thyroid herbal meds again. I have a dr appt in July and want to see if it makes any difference on my thyroid readings. If it improves them, I'll keep taking it, if not, I'll toss them. I really don't want to go on synthroid - hear horrible things about it.

@hoosieroriginal

I have been on Synthroid since my 50s (almost 30 years) and have taken it religiously every morning ever since. I have never had a problem with the med or recurring thyroid symptoms.

I have many autoimmune diseases, including RA, so I have many health issues. But my thyroid numbers have always stayed the same. That is the last med I would ever consider stopping.

I am interested in the horrible things you have heard though, if you care to post them.

Re: My thyroid experiment

SXMGirl — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 14:20:51 GMT

I have also been on Synthroid for many years with no ill effects. I have had radiation therapy on my thyroid and would never take a chance on using a supplement in place of meds unless I had doctor approval.

Many things affect the thyroid, which is a major part of our body. I exercise, eat very well, and since retiring, have time for myself. I believe a good lifestyle, along with Synthroid, has helped me to reduce the dosage and just feel good.

Please be very careful in not taking the meds. Many years ago, right after my radiation therapy (which I do not recommend, but that was a long time ago), the specialist who gave me the radiation told me that I was now cured. No meds were prescribed and I ended up in the hospital for 10 days. It was originally thought that I was having a heart attack. In other words, do not mess with your thyroid.

Re: My thyroid experiment

gmkb — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 15:31:43 GMT

I have taken Synthroid for twenty- five years and have never had any side effects. The thyroid is such an important part of the body; I would never take any chances with OTC supplements.

Re: My thyroid experiment

OnlyShopsOnline — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 15:45:49 GMT

I agree with @sidsmom. Don't mess with your thyroid. People think "it's only low thyroid. No big deal." It is a big deal. Your thyroid affects every single cell in your body. I've suffered from Hashimoto's for decades, and it was probably undiagnosed when I was younger, which is why I rarely got my periods and ended up with precancerous lesions in my uterus.

My daughter began suffering from unbearable fatigue in her 20's. She went to my endocrinologist, he ran blood tests and they were all NORMAL. Yet, he could detect changes when he palpated her thyroid, and she has nodules. He put her on a low dose of Synthroid, and her life returned back to normal.

Most of the time, if you have low thyroid, it's caused by an autoimmune condition.

If you're hypothyroid, it could be raising your blood pressure.

If you are already hypothyroid, I think you need to see an endocrinologist. Because, if your thyroid hormone, Free T3 and Free T4, are low, you need to be on medication. Damage is already being done.

It's not the Synthroid that causes people problems. It's the symptoms of they thyroid disease, and sometimes Synthroid isn't effective for some people. Or the dose may be too low. Or the dose may be too high.

For me, I take a combo of Synthroid and Cytomel and feel much better. There are natural hormones, like Armour Thyroid that work wonders for some people. But, for me, there was more T3 than I could handle.

I'm now 4 weeks out from a total thyroidectomy due to papillary thyroid cancer, and a parathyroidectomy due to hyperparathyroidism....all probably induced by the years of thyroidal inflammation. They caught it early. I was lucky. But, I'll be tested and scanned for the rest of my life to make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

The thyroid is serious business! It's not easy, but find a specialist that understands what they are doing.

Re: My thyroid experiment

StephfromIdaho — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 15:55:27 GMT

I take armour thyroid...it makes an enormous difference in my health, both mental and physical. Please follow your doc's orders, they know way more about these things than some random company that sells on Amazon. Your health is precious.

Re: My thyroid experiment

Snowpuppy — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 15:59:44 GMT

For the Synthroid crowd, please understand not everyone can take it.

It caused horrible breathing issues for me. My dr switched me to Armor. That was worse.

Re: My thyroid experiment

Nightowlz — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 02:36:06 GMT

Looks like with that formula of the product from Amazon is trying to treat with the Iodine. If you are low on iodine it may work.

I was going to try Thyro-Gold from Natural Thyroid Solutions but never have.

I have been taking thyroid meds for around 30 yrs. I'm now taking Acella NP Thyroid. The only one I have been able to lose weight on.

When your thyroid is out of whack enough you will know. All you will want to do is sleep. I could barley make it working 4 hrs a day back when I was diagnosed & worked part time. When I got off I went home & went to bed instead of swimming as I normally did. I did good just to get the laundry washed.

Last time Armour reformulated my TSH went up over 60. I was having problems walking, had muscle spasms in my stomach & all over my legs/ankles & sleeping all day. Went grocery shopping & did not think I was going to make it to checkout, load my car & unload when I got home. Felt like my legs were going to give out.

Thyroid is nothing to mess with. If you don't want to take prescription drugs for it I would see a Naturopath. Sometimes you can get it straight in the beginning with alternative methods. I don't know what those are just found that out years after I had mine.

If you go the prescription route I would ask for the natural dessicated form. Like Armour, Erfa, Acella etc. Check out Stop The Thyroid Madness dot you know what. So far from the NDT I have tried I like the Acella NP Thyroid the best. It's also cheaper. My Ins stopped paying for it since it's not FDA approved which means absolutely nothing IMO. I started paying out of pocket because I'm not switching to the synthetic. I paid $93.38 for a 6 month supply with a Good Rx coupon I got online. $15 per month is not bad. When Ins covered it I paid $20 for 90 days.

Re: My thyroid experiment

chrystaltree — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 20:17:03 GMT

I've heard horrible things about herbal stuff that comes from unknown sources and is unregulated and sometimes has no "herbs" in it. Good luck with that. I'll stick with my board certified endocrinologist and my levothyroxine....which has no down side. I expect to live a long healthy life so I don't play games with my body.

Re: My thyroid experiment

hoosieroriginal — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 21:19:51 GMT

@LilacTree wrote:
@hoosieroriginal wrote:
Last October I went to the dr my thyroid reading was super low and she contemplated putting me on meds. So I found an herbal thyroid support on Amazon that had great reviews. Some people even lost weight and said in general they felt much better. Dr. had also changed my at the same time I started thyroid herbs. I started getting a metal taste on the end of my tongue and thought it was the thyroid herbs and stopped taking it. It was the new BP meds I found out later and she switched me back to my old BP meds. Anyway, starting to take thyroid herbal meds again. I have a dr appt in July and want to see if it makes any difference on my thyroid readings. If it improves them, I'll keep taking it, if not, I'll toss them. I really don't want to go on synthroid - hear horrible things about it.
@hoosieroriginal
I have been on Synthroid since my 50s (almost 30 years) and have taken it religiously every morning ever since. I have never had a problem with the med or recurring thyroid symptoms.

I have many autoimmune diseases, including RA, so I have many health issues. But my thyroid numbers have always stayed the same. That is the last med I would ever consider stopping.

I am interested in the horrible things you have heard though, if you care to post them.

@LilacTree - Both of my sisters were on Synthroid and they could never get the right dose - always back and forth to the dr. Many people I've known still were lethartic, couldn't sleep, hair falling out - even on Synthroid. My dr wouldn't even recommend Synthroid for me even with a low reading - I'm tired of gaining weight and having no energy.

Re: My thyroid experiment

Nightowlz — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 02:38:25 GMT

@hoosieroriginal Since doctors go by your TSH do you mind me asking what yours was?

Re: My thyroid experiment

violann — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 13:27:43 GMT

The pill that is prescribed byn endo or internist is a replacement for the hormone that the body is MISSING. Itis nota medicine to make

I take armour Thyroid, which is a thyroid hormone replacement derived from the thyroid gland of pigs. Synthroid (Levoxyne) is a synthetic chemically produced thyroid hormone repalcement. Some people do better on natural replacement, as I do and some do better on synthetic replacement.

There are no supplements that I know of that are replacements for the body's naturally produced thyroid hormone, and I have done a lot of research. If your thyroid hormone number is low, you will not feel well unless/until a medical professional treats you with the appropriate replacement.

With that said, unless the thyroid gland is completely removed, the amount of thyroid hormone in the body CAN change over time, and needs to be assessed regularly.

It is potetially dangerous and nonproductive to think any supplement or OTC can "solve" the complicated issues of thyroid disease.

Re: My thyroid experiment

LilacTree — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 15:41:20 GMT

@hoosieroriginal wrote:
@LilacTree wrote:
@hoosieroriginal wrote:
Last October I went to the dr my thyroid reading was super low and she contemplated putting me on meds. So I found an herbal thyroid support on Amazon that had great reviews. Some people even lost weight and said in general they felt much better. Dr. had also changed my at the same time I started thyroid herbs. I started getting a metal taste on the end of my tongue and thought it was the thyroid herbs and stopped taking it. It was the new BP meds I found out later and she switched me back to my old BP meds. Anyway, starting to take thyroid herbal meds again. I have a dr appt in July and want to see if it makes any difference on my thyroid readings. If it improves them, I'll keep taking it, if not, I'll toss them. I really don't want to go on synthroid - hear horrible things about it.
@hoosieroriginal
I have been on Synthroid since my 50s (almost 30 years) and have taken it religiously every morning ever since. I have never had a problem with the med or recurring thyroid symptoms.

I have many autoimmune diseases, including RA, so I have many health issues. But my thyroid numbers have always stayed the same. That is the last med I would ever consider stopping.

I am interested in the horrible things you have heard though, if you care to post them.
@LilacTree - Both of my sisters were on Synthroid and they could never get the right dose - always back and forth to the dr. Many people I've known still were lethartic, couldn't sleep, hair falling out - even on Synthroid. My dr wouldn't even recommend Synthroid for me even with a low reading - I'm tired of gaining weight and having no energy.

@hoosieroriginal

Whenever I hear "can't sleep," it makes me wonder if they are taking it either at night or with no regular schedule. It is very important to take it regularly, and first thing in the morning.

I gained weight during menopause and I think the hypothyroidism and perhaps the Synthroid were equally responsible. However, once menopause was over, I lost the 20 lbs. I had gained. Right now I weigh less than I weighed in high school. I have lost a lot of my very full head of hair, but I have attributed most of that to aging and prednisone for RA.

I also suffer from exhaustion, but I have at least five autoimmune diseases which all cause these symptoms, so I never know what disease is causing what symptom.

As I indicated, my numbers rarely change and I am tested often because of all of my ailments. I do consider myself lucky that my thyroid problems, at least, seem to be well controlled.