A little help please

[Louiserosie]

Hello all hope you are all well I have an under active thyroid I take levothyroxine but has any one tried the tyrosine supplements with it and how did you get on with it ? Is it advisable to take it ? Thank you

[Lalatoot]

I found this on the Web MD page re interactions:

"Thyroid hormone interacts with TYROSINE

The body naturally produces thyroid hormones. Tyrosine might increase how much thyroid hormone the body produces. Taking tyrosine with thyroid hormone pills might cause there to be too much thyroid hormone. This could increase the effects and side effects of thyroid hormones."

[helvella Administrator in reply to Lalatoot]

That headline and the text are at odds with each other.

Yes, tyrosine is used by the thyroid to make, in the end, thyroid hormone. But I am not aware of any actual interaction between tyrosine and thyroid hormone.

I don't think that many people are deficient in tyrosine. What an excess of tyrosine does, well, I don't know!

[Lalatoot in reply to helvella]

This is where it came from

webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingre...

[helvella Administrator in reply to Lalatoot]

I certainly agree that is what it says. And thanks for bringing it to our attention. But I suggest it is typical of the fairly naive and poorly thought through "recommendations" that are so prevalent.

For example, it appears to deny the possibility of tyrosine affecting people who are not taking thyroid hormone pills. Whilst including those who have no thyroid (and we not not expect tyrosine to make any difference to in terms of making thyrod hormone.

Possibly the words of the original recommendation, in their original context, make more sense?

[Louiserosie in reply to helvella]

No not me but thank you for your reply

[humanbean]

I will admit to trying various supplements which are allegedly good for the thyroid or good for increasing energy, but which are not recommended by this forum. And I know that desperation is never good for the wallet.

Tyrosine was one I tried. It gave me dreadful headaches and I wouldn't try it again.

[Angel_of_the_North]

If you have an underactive thyroid because you are protein deficient, then tyrosine would help (as thyroid hormones are made up of iodine and tyrosine amino acid), but if you have an underactive thyroid because either your pituitary gland or hypothalamus doesn't tell your thyroid to make hormones (Central hypo) or your thyroid gland is not capable of making enough hormone (primary hypo) it won't help any more than putting petrol in a car with no engine will make it start

[Louiserosie]

Thank you I don’t know why I have an under active thyroid I never really get any sense from my gp