Hypothyroid

S.,

I have a Dr. that I go to who deals with a lot of herbal products and has been able to put me on a few for different reasons and have worked great. You might want to contact him and see what he can do. He is awesome, I have gone to him for years and he has helped my family tremendously!
Bee Caves Family Practice. ####-###-#### Dr. Freeland

Hello, My name is Angie Mincmeoyer. I have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism since I was 24 and that was almost 10 years ago. Since then I take synthroid....I have been up and down so many times with medication I thought I would never get it right! But then a friend of mine has a business called USANA. It is a company that manufactors pharmaceutical-grade nutritional supplements. I have since joined the company and have been on the supplements for almost a year now and my thyroid has been under control for about 10 months now. I say that because I am 9 months pregnant and not once has my thyroid acted up thanks to the supplements I take. With my 2nd child I wasn't on the supplements and my thyroid was all over the place making me feel really bad.
I'd like to hear from you....please email me maybe I can help you. ____@____.com

A little about me:

I will soon be a mother of 3 I am 33

Thyroid levels need to be carefully regulated and monitored by a physician. There are many complications to too high and too low levels. Armor thyroid is supposed to be the most effective supplement. I have not tried Thyroid assist but would be careful due to the fluctuation of levels. I have been off and on medication for five years. I hope you have an understanding and thorough doctor.

Hi - this is my first post to Mamasource - I hope I do this right!

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started on a generic form of Synthroid. I've only been on it a few weeks, but I've started to notice a difference in how I feel. I was always cold and tired before and that's getting better.

I totally understand what you mean about treating things naturally, but the thyroid controls so many of the important functions in your body, I think it's important to make sure it's working properly.

Call your family doctor or an endocrinologist for a consult!

I hope you feel better.

Try Dr. Ron ____@____.com works naturally
as much as possible. I've been going to him for years!
Good Luck
Liz

i also have hypothyroidisum,take what dr. sugests. as i got older the things that can go wrong did. i now have to take blood pressure meds, and i got tacacardica so have to take meds for that as those 2 things alone are life threating. hope this helps. D.

i have had hypothyroidism for the past 5 years. I take Synthroid which is a synthetic drug to help my thyroid not stop working which could cause a lot of other problems. It is hereditary; my mom has it and she takes a natural drug called Armour (I think that is how you spell it). Please do not try to take care of this on your own; you need a good endrocrinologist or internist who specializes in the thyroid to help you monitor your thyroid levels. I did not pay attention to my levels last year and i got very sick. Your three year old needs you!

S. - I have seen Dr. Roby (a little expensive, no insurance) but met with good results on getting my thyroid and hormones assessed. I was severely deficient, so I take a thyroid supplement(Armour) along with DHEA, a good B vitamin along with a few other things...and have had good results. I have read (not done so myself) that iodine supplement can also help improve thyroid levels. I am 45 with a sweet little boy who just turned 4.

S.,
I am all for trying the most natural approach in almost all situations. I started out on synthroid and I felt so much better but then decided I want to try natural products. I ended up with aweful problems; depression, tired all the time, cold, extreme dry skin, weight gain and the list went on! Then I educated myself in regards to my thyroid and it's functions. It's a pretty important little gland. I don't miss a dose of my medication now.

Hi, S.

I have a lot of experience with hypothyroid. If you'd like to give me a call and we can talk, my number is ###-###-####. I will be gone most of the day today, but this evening I should be around.

J.

Hi! I'm responding because I've been doing a lot of research about this topic during the last few weeks. (My son is hypothyroidic, and I wanted to know longterm effects)

I guess you need to know why you're hypothyroidic, if it's because of an autoimmune issue. If this is the case, then I would say you should take the synthetic hormone (which your body will use just as efficiently as your own hormones)because the factors that are making you hypothyroidic are the real cause, and the thyroid issues are the symptom. If your thyroid quits working, then the antibodies that are attacking it can move on to other organs. Also, hypothyroidism affects your cholesterol, can be linked to type 2 diabetes, and other autoimmune diseases.

All of that to say that just because it's a synthetic hormone, it can still do wonders for your system.

If you go to diagnose-me.com, there is a whole section on diet and thyroid issues. That could be along the lines of what you're looking for! It's good stuff. But bottom line is to find out why your thyroid isn't producing and make decisions from that route.

Blessings! I hope this helps!

my 74-y.o. mother didn't like the side effects of thyroid medication (hair falling out badly) so she got Thytrophin PMG at the health food store and it seems to be working well.

Hi S.,

In response to your thryoid condition. www.creeksideherbhouse.com on the theory page of that website is the protocol you need to follow to correct your condition. All healing begins with cleaning the waste matter from the body, then bring the internal environment back to alkaline, deparasiting the body, cleaning out the filter organs so the blood can clean itself. Putting the good bacteria back in the body, and changing the diet to feed the body nutrition and not junk.
There is a lot of good information on that website, as I have spend several years building it. All disease is the lack of proper maintenance on the body, and the lack of proper nutrition, which causes the body to go into deterioration. This can all be corrected. It is a process, there is no magic pills, nor are you going to heal anything over night.
Natural healing is a lifestyle change, and it all has to be done to get the best results.

All my contact information is on the home of the website, if you would like further information on natural healing.

Blessings to you
J.

You definitely need to find a good endocrinologist to make sure that your thyroid levels stay regulated. Aside from controlling metabolism, the thyroid plays a big part in regulating your digestive tract and your heartbeat. So there can be severe cardiac consequences if it goes for too long without being regulated.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism almost 5 years ago and responded well to synthroid, until after I had my son, 3 years ago. At that point I finally went to an endocrinologist who put me on a medication called armour thyroid. It is a more natural form of thyroid medication. The endocrinologist explained it to me as being the actual thyroid hormone from a pig, which is very similar to the thyroid hormone that the human body makes. You still need a prescription for this medicine though.

Something that I did not learn until after I went to the endocrinologist is that any thyroid medication can react with certain decongestants, leading to a cardiac episode that can range from an irregular heartbeat, to chest pain, all the way to a heart attack. I don't know all the medications this decongestant is in, but I do know it is the one in Sudafed. Don't take Sudafed or any other medicine that has the same decongestant as Sudafed while on thyroid medication. The doctor that originally diagnosed me neglected to tell me that, and I did not learn this until I saw the endocrinologist almost 2 years later. Needless to say I don't use the first doctor anymore!

Hello S.,

I have Hypothyroidism since I was in my early 30's. I am 46 now and a mother of a 2 year old. I have been on Armour thyroid since my initial diagnosis and it has helped me greatly. My levels have stayed at the correct area since I began taking the medication, even throughout my pregnancy! When I began taking Armour Thyroid, I felt so much better, even in the first week I felt better. I was more alert and lost some weight I had been carrying around.

Good luck and God Bless you,
Jeana

Hey S.,
I am 42 and have been on thyroid medicine since I was 15 yrs old. Hypothyroid is when your thyroid does not make enough. It causes lethargy, weight gain, mental sluggishness, etc. What I have found in all my years of experience is that the natural way is too much trouble. The creams, pills, liquids are all so hard to control the amounts, plus you have no way of monitoring your blood to see what your levels really are. I had an internist tell me that you do not want on Synthroid. Always ask for Levoxyl and NEVER go generic. The Levoxyl is made from natural bovine tissue and is much more effective and easier on your system than the synthetic stuff made in the labs. Once you get the correct dosage down, you really don't need to have your blood checked but once a year at your annual pap smear. You will feel a world of difference from synthetic to natural as well. (I could anyway) I found that it also helps to take a Mega B vitamin everyday.

Good luck. Hope this helps
C. S
Cypress

Find you a health store and a clerk you can trust. I developed this problem taking HRT so I certainly do not want more chemicals introduced into my body that will harm something else while I am working on a low thyroid. Google facts about what to eat/not to eat. Drink distilled (like you put into your steam iron) water as you don't want to ingest floride or chlorine gases as they are especially harmfull with low thyroid (don't ask me why they put either of these in our water supply when they are poison..., but I digress). If you are not in the habit of drinking the 8 glasses a day, start. This condition leaches and you will get very dry skin. You will be tired, so you need a good vitamin/mineral supplement. There are also homeopathic remedies that will help, but first you need a health store you can trust. For the most part, you get reliable information there, but just like some doctors, you will find those in it for the money and have no clue to what you need. I have gained weight, but am learning how to control it. Protein tables or drinks will help curb the sweet cravings (this is one way your thyroid uses to get you to raise your body temperature. EAT. A good analogy is to think about your thermostat that controls your furnace for heating your home. When it gets too cool, the stat brings on the heat. When your body temp drops, the thyroid encourages you to stoke the fire.) Do you know for sure it is low? If you do not know yet for sure, try this: put a thermometer by your bed, before you rise each morning, take your temp under your left arm; do that for 5 mornings in a row, and divide by 5 to get the average. That is the body temp you need to know. Tell your doctor. The thyroid sleeps while you do, and it awakens between 5:30-7AM. It varies for everyone. But, you need to know for sure before you begin treating for it, just in case it is something else. Start with what I have given you, and if you have any questions, let me know. I do most of my health care naturally, which rubs some people the wrong way, but remember, the rule of thumb is when you use chemicals, for every ailment you treat, you create "10" more. Personally, I don't like the odds.

Hello S.,

I have a friend, Yolanda B., that was diagnosed with a hypothyroid condition, and this is her testimony of drinking a product called limu moui - a brown seaweed:

"About three years ago I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition, HYPOTHYROID, which caused constant fatigue. You can also be depressed and experience weight gain. I began to take Limu, then doubled my dosage. In about 45 days my energy level increased. And, as it increased, I realized that I had not taken my presciption medicine. And, so six months later, after going back to my endocrinologist, she confirmed that I did not need presciption medicine anymore. She took me off and I am drug-free now for two years. And, I attribute this to Limu. That is the only thing that I changed in my diet. That was it! - Yolanda B. Sugarland, Texas

If you would like to know more go to www.discoverlimu.com and if you would like to try it make sure you enter the referral number ###-###-####. Good luck.

T. R.
###-###-####

I'm a nurse practitioner, and also hypothyroid for several years and on medication. You really need to take the medication. Synthroid has been around for years and is very safe. I would not mess with herbals on this. Hypothyroid is very common as we age (I'm 52) and you need to get your thyroid levels regulated. Listen to your doctor.

Hi there.
There is a great book-The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup.
There is a section on hypothyroidism.
Maybe consulting a nutritionist about foods to add or avoid.
I just turned 50 and, like you, hope to treat menopausal symptoms as naturally as I can.
Good luck!
D.

Hi S.,
I am a wellness consultant and I also work at Cost Plus Nutrition here in San Antonio. I highly recommend you read "Iodine, Why You Need It,Why You Can't Live Without It" by David Brownstein, M.D. Purchase the 3rd edition. He details the recent research where it is found that a good 90% of patients seen in clinic are depleted of iodine/iodide, which is a necessary element for the entire body, not just the thyroid. You will read how chlorine, bromine and fluoride block the uptake of iodine/iodide from receptor sites. The therapeutic actions of iodine/iodide repletion is antibacterial, anticancer, antiparasitic, antiviral, elevates pH and is a mucolytic agent. Conditions treated with Iodine/Iodide (Lugol's solution) is ADD, Atherosclerosis, Breast Diseases, Dupuytren's Contracture, Fatigue, Excess mucous production, Fibrocystic Breast Disease, Hemorrhoids, Headaches and Migraine Headaches, Hypertension, Infections, Keloids, Liver diseases, Sebaceous Cysts, Thyroid disorders, and Vaginal infections and more.
According to Broda A Barnes, M.D. in his book, "Hypothyroidism, The Unsuspected Illness", one can easily detect an underactive thyroid at home. Take a thermometer, preferably a mercury one, and set it by your bed at night. In the morning, before getting out of bed, put the thermometer under your arm for 10 minutes. Record the temp. and do this for 5 days and get the average. For women still having a menses, do this on day 2,3, and 4 of your period. Dr. Barnes said that an optimally functional thyroid would be indicated by a temperature range of 97.8 to 98.2. Anything lower than the 97.8 would be indicative of an underacive thyroid. Now you have a baseline from which to follow the use of Lugol's solution. After beginning this therapy, continue to monitor your temperature once a month. If you would like more details on the use of Lugol's solution and why blood tests are not accurate in determining hypothyroidism, e-mail me at ____@____.com.

I have been taking medacine for 9 years. They discovered it when I was 16. You need to take the meds. I know that now a days people are worried about taking drugs but your thyroid controls so any things in your body. You have no idea. If I forget to take the meds. I am moody and have many problems all day. This is not something to joke around with. My best advice to to talk to your doctor and try it. You will see the difference. Good Luck

Hey S.,
I had some thyroid issues after the birth of my son at age 40. The interesting thing was that my OB and family MD told me that my levels were normal, but I felt horrible. I finally went to a chiropractor/acupuncturist/herbalist and she has started me on a natural supplement. I highly recommend her as she has helped me tremendously when no one else even took my complaints seriously. the other docs kept telling me it was because I had a newborn and a 3.5 year old and that I was an older mom. I just felt like I was moving through cold molasses. I was achey and not sleeping well. The supplements are working really well for me and I can get them at People's Pharmacy. If you are interested, her name is Dr. Tenesha Weine, DC and she is in the Westlake area of Austin. Her office phone number is ###-###-####. good luck.

S., hypothyroidisim is a low functioning thyroid. Your thyroid is a very important part of your body. I affects so many things your sleep, weight, energy, skin, and the function of many other parts of your body. I have had it for about 25 years. I take medication and it atill gets out of wack sometimes. I have to get tested every six months. My advice to you is follow your doctor's advice, if he/she recommends medication then that's would you should do. If you take homeopathic remendies how do you know how much to take? Ask your doctor what he thinks of
going that route.P. K.

Hi S.,

Getting a doctor to test your levels (TSH) it is really difficult, they like to point to being overweight, and inactive as the causes rather than the symptoms of what is going wrong with your hormones. Read up on the problems on Google - check out Estrogen Dominance, Hypothyroidism, Autoimmune dissorders/illnesses. Seek out the care of an Alternative Medicine doctor, a Naturopath, or a Chiropractor (which is what I am doing now, after almost 3 years) if you want to go the natural way for treatment. I believe that natural medicine is such a wonderful alternative for people that cannot take conventional medicine without suffering from severe side effect reactions. I have found that out the hard way and am still suffering from the effects of drugs taken (by a doctor's prescription) over a year ago. I am currently on only supplements and Progon-B a natural plant-based Progesterone to counter and balance my high estrogen levels. I am also soon to be 49 years old and have come to believe I am suffering from "menopause from -ell." My mother was finished with menopause by the age of 47 and did not have an easy time of it either, she just did not get as "sick" as I have - probably because of the doctor's care I was receiving a few years ago. I have since found out that my treatment seems to be a standard that obviously does not fit everyone's needs. Hope you find help and comfort soon.

A.

Armour is a natural thyroid that has been used for decades before the synthetics came out. Find a doc who prescribes Armour and will work with you....not just write a prescription based off blood work...any doc can do that...even those who don't know anything about thyroid. I am learning that blood work doesn't always show everthing, so when thyroid looks normal and it's not, it does not show on results. Author Mary Shomon is a thyroid advocate and has several books out. Learn as much as you can. I am in the process of finding new doctor to switch to Armour.

Hope this helps.

Deborah

Hi S.,
I was diagnosed with Hypothyroid about 3 1/2 years ago. I am always reading to see what I can do to support my thyroid while taking the meds for energy. My dosage has trippled since I started taking it and I haven't lost any of the 35 lbs I have gained. I feel better now, but still have to be tested every six months. Honestly, I have found that the only way to keep your levels normal is to take the meds and watch your diet. I'm up for most anything if you have any suggestions! Thanks and good luck!

Try the Heath stores not the ones at the mall. I stop taking mine about 6 months ago, husband things I should get back on it. I feel fine though without it. Never heard of thyroid assist.

I hear tanning at a tanning salon helps alot.

S., I am 57 and have been on medication for hypothyroidism since I was 28. I had begun gaining weight and felt fatigued all the time. I have never tried any herbal or natural remedies and I don't know that I would want to. I do know how I feel when I am out of my meds or am not getting the correct dosage and it's just something I don't want to gamble with. An untreated thyroid condition can cause problems with your heart so I urge you to go to your Dr right away. Good luck. V.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the age of 18. I am now 32. I DID NOT want to take medicine either, I mean, c'mon a pill every day for the rest of my life????!!! I could barely keep up with my b/c pills! Well, I have asked every doctor if they have invented anything yet to take the place of those pills, like a shot once or twice a month anything! Sorry, nothing. No, haven't tried thyroid assist, would definately ask your physician before I did, though. Truth is my levels weren't that alarming either, but after a while of not taking my Synthroid I was weak, fatigued, throat swollen, my levels were reading like that of a dead person, really. When I got back on my Sythroid MAJOR improvement. We are the unlucky ones who have to depend on a pill to "be normal" whatever that is! It's just a low hormone level we have and need to take pills (hormones) in place of that.
Let me know how the other works for you if you decide to take it!

Hello S.!
I do know it is supposed to be serious! They say you can die from it, but if you let any problem go long enough without trying some thing different, you can die from them as well... I have had problems with my thyroid since I was 19. Sometimes, I took thyroid medicine. Then, I was told I did not have thyroid trouble and there was nothing wrong with me yet I did not feel the greatest. They say I inherited it from my parents. I have had 2 hip replacement surgeries in 2000 and 2004. I feel better now that I am 57 and I can walk like a normal person! I do not blame you for not wanting to take a lot of medicine if it can be controlled by eating right or by some natural vitamins! Is the thyroid assist an over-the-counter natural type pill? If you have a regular doctor you might ask her/him if he knows any thing about it. Also, most pharmacists know a lot about things like that.
I'll be praying that you find out exactly what you need to do!
LOL in JESUS,
Sheryl