Thyroid Medications: What's the Difference?
Prescription thyroid medications for hormone supplementation may be synthetic, natural (tablets made from pig thyroid gland) or bioidentical (made at a compounding pharmacy). So what’s the difference, and are some better than others? The answer depends on the individual patient’s needs.
Levothyroxin, which is marketed under the brand names of Synthroid™, Levoxyl™, and others, is a synthetic drug that is prescribed by many doctors for their patients with diagnosed hypothyroid conditions. Levothyroxin contains T4, which is the storage form of thyroid that is produced by the thyroid gland. The reason this drug has traditionally been prescribed is that under proper conditions the body converts T4 to T3, which is the active form of thyroid that you need to relieve the symptoms of hypothyroidism. For some, levothyroxin works well as a treatment; for others, however, this “T4 only” medication may yield limited results.
The problem that too many doctors overlook is that many patients have difficulty converting the storage form (T4) to the active form (T3) and therefore still have many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism even though they’re taking a proper dose of medication to treat it. This treatment can be made more effective by adding a synthetic form of T3 called Cytomel. If Cytomel is not given in this case, the next step a doctor may take is to prescribe statins for the high cholesterol, antidepressants for the fatigue and depression, and a range of other drugs to try to address the symptoms that may simply be the result of a poorly treated thyroid condition.
Another option is natural thyroid medication made from desiccated pig glands and marketed under the brand names of Armour Thyroid™, Nature-Throid™, Westhroid™, and others. These medications contain both T4 and T3 and many patients respond very well to them. The dosage is easy to adjust as patients report their symptomology once they’ve begun treatment, and this medication has been an excellent help for millions of thyroid disease patients.
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I have Hashis and was on synthetics for 20 years. By year 18 I had all kinds of hypo symptoms including hair loss, depression, low temperatures, inexplicable weight gain, foggy/fuzzy thinking (brain fog) and I had begun having symptoms of perimenopause - hot flashes, night sweats, erratic menstrual cycles. And the worst symptom of all - CRASHING fatigue. All it took was 15 minutes of playing with my 3 year old son and it would take 3 days for me to recuperate.
I went to 3 different doctors: my gynecologist (maybe it's perimenopause?), my endocrinologist (maybe my thyroid meds aren't working properly?), and my general practitioner. NOT ONE of them helped me. I was lucky I found information online that helped me to realize that (1) I was on the wrong medication (synthetics are CRAP), (2) I needed to find a different doctor to treat my hypothyroidism/Hashis, and (3) my new doctor needed to treat me based on my symptoms (NOT solely on TSH levels) and also do the CORRECT blood testing (FT3, FT4 - NO TSH testing for thyroid levels). It took me 2 years to find all this out (ON MY OWN - NO thanks to ANY doctor I had). And 2-1/2 years ago I finally got put on Armour Thyroid.
Those synthetics might SEEM like they're working okay. But, they're NOT. After only 3 days of being on Armour Thyroid, I finally started to feel like myself again. I still have some ground to cover - my adrenals were severely taxed by 20 years of taking Synthroid and Levoxyl. So, I don't have my thyroid quite where I'd like it. But, I'm getting there.
Good article, but Is there a problem with Armour Thyroid right now? I would like to try it, but a friend who has been on it for a long time said she is having problems getting prescriptions filled because problems with the FDA. Also, here is a very helpful article of hypothyroidism from Women to Women -- especially relevant if you are nearing menopause and have problems with your thyroid --
A natural approach to hypothyroidism can work wonders
Oh, I also would like to say that Armour Thyroid or Erfa's Thyroid or compounded natural thyroid are all in the "natural approach" realm, too. They're not synthetic (which I would consider to be a NON-natural approach) and they work 1,000 x's better than cramming your body with synthetic T4-only hormones in the hope that your body can convert those T4 hormones to what's REALLY needed: T3 hormones. Many, if not most, hypothyroid people have problems with the T4 to T3 conversion. Natural desiccated thyroid provides T1, T2, T3, T4, and calcitonin - the same things your body is supposed to have. Synthetic hormones ONLY provide T4. Pathetic. It's almost beyond my comprehension that thyroid is so widely mismanaged by the people we call "professionals". If I wasn't the person I am, I might never have found out the truth about thyroid treatment and testing. Thank goodness I took the time to find out the truth. But, I suffered for 20 years. I'd hate to see that happen to anyone else. That's why I share what I've found. :)
Hmm.... That looks weird. This is the thyroid article I wanted to pass along... http://www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/hormonalimbalance.aspx
Jacquelinenh, we ARE in the middle of a shortage of natural thyroid. However, you can get it made at a compounding pharmacy or even get a prescription for "Thyroid" by Erfa (in Canada). Many people are finding success with Canada's Erfa product. Some Armour has made its way back to the pharmacy shelves. But, only in small dosages (eg. 60 mg. is available at a few pharmacies I've checked with - but, that's just a fraction of the 210 mg I take).
The problem with the article that you posted is their misinformation about using TSH as a measure of thyroid levels. Unfortunately, almost all endocrinologists use the same practice. Here is what ALL doctors SHOULD be looking for instead: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/recommended-labwork/
It's very sad that doctors have completely lost the "art" of medicine when it comes to thyroid treatment. Before the days of labs, doctors treated thyroid by treating the patient's symptoms - and had very good success. They used natural desiccated (dried) porcine (pig) hormones (basically Armour Thyroid) and patients had RELIEF. These days, doctors treat the labs and not the patient. I lived with symptoms for years before finding out this was WRONG and I didn't HAVE to live that way.
I recommend this website (and ALL that's in it) to everyone: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com . It saved me.