Hypothyrodism
Hypothyrodism
I wouldn't have thought it possible to restore dysfunctioning thyroid glands but if you have hashimoto's - according to the link below - it could be possible.
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
If this were indeed possible, I wonder why we don't hear more about it, since it's often claimed that Hashimot's is by far the most common cause of hypothyroidism...?
It might be possible if someone was diagnosed when TSH 3 so not much thyroid had been destroyed. But if you are fobbed off and told you are OK until TSH >10, I shouldn't think there's a cat's chance you'd have enough undamaged thyroid left to do the job.
Levo isn't a medicine, it's a hormone replacement which you need if your thyroid can't produce that hormone itself.
Damage that has already occurred to your thyroid is irreversible. Whether it is possible to stop or slow down further damage if you have hashimoto’s disease ( hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune disease) is highly debatable but some claim success. You do need to be aware that if you come off hormone replacement completely that you can also cause long term irreversible damage to your body by becoming profoundly hypothyroid. It is not something to undertake without careful monitoring.
First thing is do you have Hashimoto's (high antibodies)
If you're not already on gluten free diet then you need to read up about how and why it helps
Vitamins too
But unless caught extremely early (very unlikely) then the damage is already done and, as the others have said, thyroid replacement hormone is exactly that......replacement hormone. Not something you can manage without
But improving vitamins and gluten and/or dairy free helps a great number
the thyroid secret on YouTube by The Thyroid Pharmacist, Izabella Wentz is very informative
Curious as to why you'd want to go off levo...? As others have pointed out, it's not so much a drug as a hormone replacing the ones your body can no longer produce on its own...I know I felt much better after I was put on thyroid hormone replacement, and I have never considered going off it in the 20 years since (I have Hashimoto's). Do you not feel well on levo, or is there another reason you'd like to try natural alternatives?
You are extremely fortunate that levothyroxine worked for you. It doesn't suit everyone and I, myself, was far more unwell on levo than before being diagnosed (by myself) with a TSH of 100 due to the many doctors/specialists giving me diagnosis for other things I didn't have.
Researchers have shown that most benefit when they take a combination of T3/T4. Some cannot convert synthetic levothyroxine into sufficient liothyronine (T3) which is the only Active thyroid hormone required in all of our T3 receptor cells.
Sorry, I must have expressed myself very unclearly!
I never did great on T4 only, but it definitely was better for me than nothing...however, after ten years on levo, I switched to NDT and, after some tweaking and "brand hopping", I am now on Thai NDT and doing great. I wish they had never messed with Armour and Erfa and maybe other brands as well
What I meant, in response to the first question, was why someone would want to go off any thyroid hormone replacement in favour of natural alternatives...? Unless T4 only did not work, but that is not clear from the original post.