Searching for solutions to Chronic Illness!
Please join my new groups on Facebook and MeWe!
Please join my new Groups on Facebook and MeWe. I want to share all I’ve learned about autoimmune thyroid disease and Hashimoto’s.
Healing My Root Cause (Thyroid and Adrenal) on Facebook
Healing My Root Cause (Thyroid and Adrenal) on MeWe
T4-only medications such as Synthroid, Levothyroxine, and Tirosint do not give you all the thyroid hormones that your thyroid would normally produce. Your thyroid produces T1, T2, T3, T4 and Calcitrol, or the active form of vitamin D.
T4-only medications cause hair loss, chronic pain and may not do anything meaningful with your free t3 levels, especially if you have liver problems and/or gut problems and aren’t converting. I have yet to see anyone with optimal free T3 and optimal reverse T3 on a T4-only medication.
If you are unable to convert to free T3 effectively, especially with liver and gut problems, T4-only medications are only going to exacerbate your problems.
T4-only medications cause high reverse t3, especially in the face of past starvation diets, and low carb and vegan lifestyles. Other causes can include iron and cortisol and adrenal problems. High reverse T3 will block the free t3 from entering the cells, making you even more hypo and more symptomatic. You may experience hair loss, dry skin, dry hair, adrenal and cortisol issues, low iron, low minerals, low stomach acid, etc. The doctor may increase your meds, and it may make your symptoms even worse.
Why are doctors so reliant and driven to prescribe T4-only medications? Simplicity. They feel that they understand the precise dose and effects of T4-only medications, plus they are probably only following TSH levels, which tell us literally nothing about what is really going on with our thyroid hormones. They will also tell you that Natural Dessicated Thyroid, or NDT such as Armour Thyroid and NP and WP Thyroid, are not precise in dosage or not approved by the FDA, despite the fact that these medications have been successfully prescribed for well over a century.
I’ve heard it countless times from friends, family, and co-workers: “You really should see a doctor about those migraines/sleep problems/back problems…”
And just like my mind works, the Janet Jackson song “What have you done for me lately” comes into my head.
So I go to the doctor for migraines and they prescribe a migraine pill. But have they tried to do anything beyond that? Maybe try to figure out why I’m getting migraines?
Same goes for sleep and back problems. If I could only count the number of times I’ve been told to take Naproxen or Ibuprofen for my pain! Why did I just take a day off work, and cause my insurance to be billed for an office visit so that the doctor could waste “our” time telling me to take OTC medicines?
Or how about when we get something like a yeast infection? Instead of wondering why I’ve had an infection continuously for 34 years or so, I’m again told to treat my symptoms with a yeast cream. What’s to prevent my infection from coming back?
And maybe part of the problem with Western Medicine is that we are forced to deal with a Stove Top approach. What do I mean by that? Well, you go to your Dermatologist for say, a skin rash, but do your other doctors know about this treatment? Do your other doctors look at what treatments you are receiving from other doctors to see if maybe the treatment plans are not working well together or have contraindications?
Or how about the doctor that has never heard of your illness or refuses to run tests? Or, worse yet, they don’t acknowledge that your disease exists, such as Fibromyalgia. Sometimes they will even tell you to stay off the internet. I will research any condition that I need to in order to fully understand all implications. Doctors don’t have all the time in the world to answer my questions, and may not have the wealth of knowledge as say, a Facebook group or Forum may have. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others with your particular illness. Sometimes it helps just to know that someone else is out there that knows how we feel.
I look forward to talking more about Root Cause and how we can ALL feel better and improve our quality of life. There is no magic panacea, and no snake oil for sale here. Just hard, honest opinions on treatments and supplements that I’ve tried or have been recommended by trusted professionals.
