Do I really need to be on Synthroid

[dreeftwppd]

CUrrently on 37.5mcg.Ok, ok. Imagine if you have friends that are all about you can fix anything through diet etc. Basically telling me that I really don't need to be on Levo and just need to go the homeopathic exercise diet route etc.

What are your thoughts?

Also seeing that I am on life with these meds,  are there any drawbacks of taking this for the rest of me life?

[Barb135]

I don't understand your point... nobody is advocating that cancer be left in anyone's thyroid.  If a person has thyroid cancer, the thyroid has to be removed, which still leaves them on some type of thyroid hormone replacement medication.

By the same token, if there's chemical destruction of the thyroid, the person still has to take replacement hormones, because a thyroid that's been destroyed can't be repaired, replaced, regrown or reconstructed.  

With Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease, being the number 1 cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world, it's impossible to determine what triggers it in each one of us. We still end up on thyroid hormones for life, because we can't live without them, no matter what caused us to be hypo and as already noted, once the thyroid has been damaged, it can't be repaired...

[arcandraymond]

I feel so sad that we are in a world that is looking so much to make money that there are almost no research into finding the causes of illnesses so instead of saving the whole body we cure a few symptoms.

Our medical system should always look for root causes but they never do because there is no money to be made that way.

In the end, if for example it is some chemicals that causes a problem to the thyroid and prepares silently a cancer on the side, we might feel better by taking syntroid but the cancer will be there a few years after..

[flyingfool]

The "synthetic" Thyroid is a pure chemical. So if you put natural T4 into one dish, and synthetic into another dish,  Scientifically I do not believe that you could distinguish between them and identify which one is which.

If synthetic bothers you, then take Armour or Nature Thyroid. These are natural Thyroid.  I think they derive it from pig thyroid.  But it is natural.  And these also have both T4 and some T3.  Some people tolerate these better.

[goolarra]

I agree with the above comments.  I shirk meds whenever possible...almost entirely, actually.  However, a year and a half in hypoland before I was diagnosed convinced me that you can't live without thyroid hormones.  As my father used to say, "You think you're going to die, but afraid you won't."

Moose has a good point:  If you're a junk food junkie, improvement in diet and exercise can make you feel better.  It can't cure your hypothyroidism, however.  Some "temporary" forms of thyroiditis resolve spontaneously...just enough to make peole think they've done something that cured them.

He also makes a good point about people who refuse to deal in facts.  They tend to make you the "bad guy" if you don't "believe".  Would your friends tell you to stop taking insulin if you were a diabetic?  I doubt it;  they don't want you going into diabetic coma right in front of them.  Thyroid is considerably less dramatic, but the end result is the same.  

[dreeftwppd]

What got m thinking too was I head read, I think on this forum too from on eof the docs that thyroid CAN be fixed by diet...Will see if I can find that post.

Gimel, ha ok... 35 years. Done deal!!!!
LazyMoose - That's a good point, I have never really figured out what the cause of my Thyroid is. I know my antibodies were borderline. Next test am gonna check it all.

Barb - That's how I see it, I am just adding to what my body makes and got the response "anything synthetic is bad..." UGH.

I have felt much better on the Synthroid.

Funny thing is that I think every time I up my dose, a month later I feel like I need more.. this prolly means my thyroid is slowly dying right?

[Barb135]

Bottom line is:  Every cell in your body depends on thyroid hormones in order to function.  If your thyroid does not produce enough hormones, on its own, you will eventually die if you don't take the replacement hormones.  

Be very careful of people telling you things like that; they are, both, uninformed and maybe not as good friends as you think, to be telling you something that's downright dangerous for you.

[LazyMoose]

You've been here a while. So you might have read this before:

Not all hypothyroidism is the same, and should not be viewed as such. In the quest for any health cure you must first identify the cause. In hypothyroidism the cause is very difficult to identify. If your thyroid is removed, yes then you need med. If you have elevated autoimmune antibodies attacking your thyroid called Hashimotos' disease, you will increasingly need med your whole life as the antibodies increase. The antibodies are the cause, but what causes the antibodies is not yet known. If you have 'regular' hypothyroidism with no antibodies, then it’s not always for the rest of your life and causes may very as the thyroid is a very fragile organ that can be damaged by chemicals, body inflamation other unknowns. Sometimes, sometimes not.

I have witnessed and heard of people without elevated thyroid antibodies (not a disease then) reverse their thyroid disorder. The person I know had decreased t3 / t4 levels without elevated antibodies until a diet change. This person was described as gluten intolerant by physicians but did not have Celiac disease per blood test. Exercise alone will do nothing for the thyroid.

People have come here saying they feel better from their new diet, so they assume their thyroid is fixed. When asked to show new lab levels out of curiosity and proof, they never reply back. In these cases I can only assume their diet was so bad that stopping the daily intake of junk food did in fact make them feel better, as it can. Daily junk food can have 'felt' symptoms. 'Better' is not the same as symptom free, it’s just less symptoms.

I distinctly remember the 'grounding' post last year. Said something like, if you wear grounding straps while sleeping, the thyroid can be fixed. OK. I asked for proof in the form of thyroid lab numbers. Was scolded for being skeptical and was provided with zero proof. Some people are naïve ‘believers’ and don’t even fully understand what they are talking about. Salesmen and cultists love these types. Truth is based on proof. And proof is based on facts.

Many of these people refuse to seek answers as they live on ‘feelings’, its like facts don’t matter to them.  If some new found idea helps symptoms of a health condition its not magic, there is a reason for it. An article on MSN or Yahoo yesterday mentioned either china or Japan now recognizes ‘nature walks’ to increase the immune system – from clinical studies. It says in a mysterious way that people not exposed to nature have a decreased immune system. Nothing mysterious here, we’re animals, walking in the woods decreases stress, which increases immunity – that is the reason.

[gimel]

My thoughts are that, while meaning well, your friends aren't really helping you with such advice.  Ask them to show you scientific studies that confirm their contention, not just anecdotal information that they heard or read somewhere.  If you have hypo symptoms without taking thyroid meds, then diet and exercise will not replace the need for thyroid hormone.  With only adiet and exercise plan, where would the needed thyroid hormone come from?

Unaware of any drawbacks, long term,  from taking synthetic hormone to provide adequate levels of thyroid hormone.  I have been taking thyroid meds for over 35 years.  I'll give you an update in another 35 years.  LOL