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My doctor says that the only med for my hypothroidism is synthroid. Is there another alternative?

By Anonymous May 7, 2009 - 3:15pm
 
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I have been taking 125mcg of synthroid for 4 years and yet the symptoms are still affecting my lifestlye. I have quit taking the medication two months ago and feel better than I have in a very long time. I believe that I am being treated wrong for my condition. I have explained to my doctor time and time again that I wanted to explore other alternatives for treatment but he refuses to. He says there is no other alternative, and the other meds will not make a difference if we switch them. I am very concerned for my health. I am only 28 and there is no one else in my family with this condition. I believe that I am on an extremly high dose and that it may be one issue. I understand that medication is needed but do not understand while I am medicated why the symptoms are still here. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Symptoms include: fatigue, severe weight gain, dry skin, intolerance to cold, severly abnormal menstral cycles, decreased sex drive, depression, irritability, and muscle cramps.

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Hi, Anon. Thank you so much for your question.

Can you tell me why you are on the Synthroid? Have you had your thyroid removed? You say you've been on the medicine since you were 24; when you originally went on it, did it help your symptoms?

Here is a page and a video from Dr. Kharazmi, one of EmpowHer's experts, on Synthroid. In it he talks about how Synthroid can work for a person for years and then not help so much as the body starts to need more T3:

https://www.empowher.com/media/video/video-dr-kharazmi-synthroid-what-are-pros-and-cons

And here is a page where Coach Virginia talks about proper dosage of Synthroid:

https://www.empowher.com/community/ask/what-are-longtime-side-effects-taking-synthroid

One of the most important things that you said in your post was that you believe you're not being treated correctly, but that your doctor doesn't seem to have an open ear to your concerns, and that in fact he refuses to help you seek other alternatives.

Anon, if that's true, then this is a doctor who doesn't deserve your business. Doctors are there to help us, not to dictate to us. Have you considered finding another doctor, perhaps one with expertise in thyroid issues, who will test you and talk to you about alternatives?

You might be very very interested in checking out the website and book for another doctor, Ridha Arem, M.D. He has written for EmpowHer, his website is www.thyroidwellness.com (he also talks about supplements and has a line of his own available), and his book, The Thyroid Solution, is seen as being one of the best on the issue. His book is sold on Amazon.com or via this website http://www.thyroid-info.com/aremrevw.htm

And you might find the following blog interesting. It is written by a thyroid doctor who blogs about issues his patients are dealing with, and how he is treating them. The doctor is Dr. Richard B. Guttler in Santa Monica, California. He has been a thyroid expert for 31 years and directs a thyroid center that does all aspects of thyroid diagnosis and treatment.

Many of his blogs will not pertain to you, but he often discusses hormones and prescriptions, and it's interesting to read all the issues patients are dealing with:

http://thyroid.blogspot.com/

And here is his website:

http://www.thyroid.com/patientinformation.html#articles

That page has a lot of links at the bottom that might take you to other sites where Synthroid, current levels of thyroid measurement, or thyroid treatment in general is discussed.

I know that's a lot of information, but it seems that where our thyroid issues are concerned, we really have to be our own best advocate. Let us know if this information has helped you at all, and if there's anything more we can find for you.

May 8, 2009 - 8:55am
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