Natural thyroid treatment?

[Dmason0]

Curious if there are any natural treatments for hypothyroidism. After being of between 75-88 mcg of levothyroxine for several years I took myself off because it didn't seem to be working anymore. Wondering if there's anything I can do besides going back to the doctor who doesn't seem to listen to me anyway. Thanks!

[Heloise]

By natural, do you mean without prescription? Natural desiccated thyroid extract from porcine (Armour, Erfa, Naturethroid) was used from the early 1900's until drug companies made synthetic T4 like levo.

You can buy other derivitives over the counter but they are usually from a bovine source which is not as close to human thyroid as pig thyroid, so may not be as effective.

On another note, this functional neurologist feels there are other aspects of low thyroid that are not clear cut thyroid problems. In fact, it would be good to know about that before starting any hormone replacement.

youtube.com/watch?v=nZ_CP7l...(Not working as expected?)

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Dmason.

Primary hypothyroidism is usually a lifelong condition requiring daily thyroid hormone replacement. If you were experiencing hypothyroid symptoms on 75mcg-88mcg Levothyroxine (T4) you may not have been optimally dosed.

How long have you stopped taking Levothroxine and how are you feeling now? It's not uncommon to feel better a week to ten days after stopping T4 but it rarely lasts and hypothyroid symptoms usually pile in with a vengeance.

Thyroid glandular support (usually hormone free) may help a slightly underperforming thyroid for a while prior to a hypothyroid diagnosis but it isn't the replacement hormone hypothyroid patients need. Long term untreated hypothyroidism can cause heart problems, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes and other long term health issues. Sometimes a different brand of T4 may be more effective or T4+T3 combination or for those who don't tolerate synthetic T4 and T3, natural dessicated pig thyroid (NDT).

If you post your last thyroid blood results with the lab ref ranges (the figures in brackets after your results) and say what dose and medication you were taking when you had the blood test members will advise whether you were optimally medicated.

Ask your GP to test ferritin, vitamin D, B12 and folate as hypothyroid patients are often deficient/low and these deficiencies can cause musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and low mood similar to hypothyroid symptoms. Post your results with the lab ref ranges (the figures in brackets after your results) in a new question and members will advise whether supplementation is required.

[Glynisrose]

Yes, NDT which is what you would have been prescribed many years ago instead of the nasty, cheap levothyroxine that people get now!! personally I don't think that levo works long - term.