T4 only medications, simply put, seem to be inadequate to relieve all of our symptoms.
T4-only medications (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, Unithroid, Eltroxin, Levaxin, Norton, Eutrosig, Oroxine, Tirosint, for example). The absolute truth is, that taking T4 only medications means you are counting on being able to convert that T4 hormone to the hormones T1, T2, T3. There is no Calcitonin in T4 medications though.
Your thyroid, when healthy, will produce T1, T2, T3, T4 and Calcitonin.
This what those hormones do:
**** T4 ****
The Storage Hormone. The major hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Stored in the body cells. Available for conversion to the active T3 hormone as needed by the body.
**** T3 ****
The Active Hormone. Used by all parts of the body from regulation of other glands, heart, lungs, organs, to brain function. Without adequate levels of it… you’re a mess.
**** T2 ****
This hormone has been found to be a factor in metabolism. So? Well, metabolism is what maintains your body temp so that you don’t feel cold all the time. It regulates how the calories in the food you eat are used
(for energy or for fat). It helps with how much energy you have, or don’t have.
**** T1 ****
Recently they’ve been releasing info that T1 affects the brain function.
**** Calcitonin ****
Produced mainly in the parathyroid glands, but also, to an extent, the thyroid gland. It allows the body to take calcium out of the blood and put it back into the bones.
So, as you can see, if you do NOT convert that T4 in your medication to all of these other hormones, your body is severely lacking in much of what it needs.
There are many causes of not being able to convert T4 efficiently.
Iron being too high or too low
Adrenal issues (cortisol too high or too low)
Liver stress
Genetic mutations DIO1 and DIO2
Chronic stress
Eating excessive amounts of goitrogenic vegetables
Poor absorption of nutrients or fasting long periods of time
Heavy metal issues
Inflammation
Insulin Resistance or Diabetes
Again, some examples and certainly not all of the reasons! One way to know if you are not converting well, is to test Reverse T3, T4 will convert to the not usable Reverse T3 instead of those hormones we so desperately need to function.
Some people never feel well on T4 only meds, the high hopes of finally knowing why they feel so awful and that this magical pill will make them feel better, those high hopes crushed as months go by with no improvements. Some of these people describe actually feeling worse than before they began the T4 only medications. Our bodies were designed to receive 5 hormones, not one.
Some people say they feel just fine on T4 only medications. However, when they switch over to Natural Desiccated Thyroid hormones, discover symptoms they had grown to live with begin to disappear! So often we accommodate, we squeeze a nap in, blame aches and pains on getting older, when in fact, these were actually hypothyroid symptoms. Adding T3 to T4 only medications can also help some people.
Some people who state they feel fine on T4 only medications, suddenly discover that things they are being treated for are actually hypothyroid symptoms. Some symptoms that may happen are cortisol issues, low iron, heart issues, low vitamin D, low B-12, depression, anxiety, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and hair loss.
Then there are those that only had a conversion issue (High Reverse T3 levels, high or optimal T4 levels and low T3 levels), unable to convert the hormones they made on their own properly, in most cases due to non-optimal iron and or adrenal issues. In these cases, simply treating the cause can correct the issue and regulate itself.
Doctors seem to like to treat the symptoms of hypothyroid patients’ verses treating the thyroid hormone adequately to alleviate symptoms. Basically, putting band-aids on the gaping wound. Antidepressants for depression, anti-anxiety for anxiety, statins for high cholesterol, water pills for water retention, weight loss pills for weight gain, pills to stay awake, pills to go to sleep, pills for chronic pain, and on and on and on… Every one of these pills has its own set of side effects and risks. Why not treat the actual issues, thyroid hormones (or lack thereof!) and watch these symptoms disappear on their own, side effect free?!
Testing:
in the early 1970’s the TSH lab was developed (remember now, people have been treating and testing thyroid hormones LONG before this!). Unfortunately, the volunteers who were tested to establish a healthy range were not excluded if they had a family history of hypothyroidism! What does this mean? It means people who were already hypothyroid were included in forming a desirable range for TSH. The range at that time was 0.5-5.0. Only recently was this top of the range lowered to 3.0 in the United States. The TSH so very rarely actually tells the story of how the hypothyroid patient feels, some are bedridden at 3.0 and some are still functioning. We must test the actual thyroid hormones to know what is going on. The TSH being a Pituitary hormone that tells the thyroid to make thyroid hormones, but the TSH does NOT tell us how much thyroid hormone our thyroid made.
Treating Hypothyroidism
T4 only medications are T4 only medications, this includes Tirosint and compounded synthetic T4 medications. You must convert well to have them work. So often, we simply do not convert well at all. There is also no guarantee if you are converting now that you will convert forever.
Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) has been used successfully since the 1800’s, it contains all 5 thyroid hormones: T1, T2, T3, T4 and Calcitonin. Because the active hormone T3 is in this medication, we must begin low and raise slowly, nobody wants to shock their system with too much all at once, just like we don’t want to shock our system with not enough.
Many Dr’s who DO understand how to treat with NDT follow these basic dosing guidelines:
3:00 PM temperatures of 98.6F/37 C using a mercury thermometer
Healthy heart rate and blood pressure for your age
Free T3 labs towards the top ¼ of the range and Free T4 labs mid-range
Elimination of symptoms
Remember we talked about conversion before?
NDT also has T4 in it, so if we have conversion issues (usually iron and or cortisol not being optimal), we may not be able to raise NDT past a starting dose, and then have to raise with T3 only to bypass conversion while we work on those things causing us these conversion issues. This has become fairly common in those who were treated on T4 only meds for some time, and those who were not diagnosed right away. Because of this, it is a good idea to test the iron and cortisol before beginning NDT.
There are some interesting side effects to T4 meds:
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/levothyroxine-side-effects.html
Here is some more interesting information for you to share with your dr about the downside of t4 only drugs like synthroid or levothyroxine:
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/levothyroxine-side-effects.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cen.12532/full
http://www.drdahlman.com/synthroid.shtml
http://www.curezone.org/art/read.asp?ID=96&db=5&C0=842
http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/97.cfm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas…/2017/…/171023094614.htm
https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/synthroid/