Symptoms Or Thyroid Hormone Medication Side Effects
I put symptoms and side effects for all thyroid medications in the same category. This is because side effects of most thyroid hormones are primarily due to overmedication or inadequate doses of medication. That said, some individuals can have additional reactions to the fillers in the various medications.
Overmedication can cause hyperthyroidism due to therapeutic overdose. The cardiovascular and central nervous system effects are particularly serious. Its important when starting medications that you report all symptoms and have your labs repeated every four to eight weeks, or more often, if you have any of the above symptoms.
When not enough hormone is provided, people may continue to experience symptoms of hypothyroidism such as heavy menses, hair loss, dry skin, loss of eyebrow hair, infertility, constipation, slowed digestion, joint pain, depression, brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, and even miscarriages.
See the image below for the consequences of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
Vegan Diet And Hypothyroidism
There is some evidence that consuming a plant-based diet can support healthy thyroid function.
The journal Nutrients reported that following a vegan diet may help prevent developing an underactive thyroid. However, researchers noted that the lower risk wasnt statistically significant.
If you dont consume meat products, then you actually may be at a greater risk for hypothyroidism. Scientists say that fruits and vegetables are not a good source of iodine. Dietitians recommend that vegans and vegetarians that are iodine deficient should include in their thyroid diet 150 g iodine daily.
One way to supplement your diet is to consume spirulina as this is a plant-based, naturally occurring source of iodine.
Other Symptoms Caused By Hyperthyroidism
While some symptoms of hyperthyroidism are visibly obvious, others can be subtle and hard to spot. Symptoms include:
- weight loss despite an increased appetite
- rapid heart rate, which can lead to dizziness if left untreated
Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland doesnt produce enough thyroid hormones. If left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause an increase in your diastolic blood pressure. This is the pressure on your arteries when your heart is relaxed.
Around of people with hypothyroidism experience increased diastolic blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to feelings of dizziness.
Other complications of untreated hypothyroidism can include:
- developmental issues in a baby born to a birthing parent with untreated hypothyroidism
- trouble conceiving, as hypothyroidism can affect ovulation
- myxedema, or severe and untreated hypothyroidism
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Turmeric For Thyroid Health
Turmeric is one of the herbs for thyroid disorders as its antioxidant properties have a beneficial effect on thyroid health.
One study on animal models found that taking vitamin C, E and turmeric helped to improve thyroid function in cases of hypothyroidism.
Other studies have found that turmeric supplements can help thyroid disorders connected to hyperthyroidism. Turmeric supplementation helped to reduce the size of enlarged thyroid and normalize thyroid hormone levels.
Learn more about the benefits of taking turmeric and how this spice can help reduce inflammation in your body.
Branded Versions Of Levothyroxine
There are various branded versions of levothyroxine tablets, and each one has slight differences in absorption and fillers. The main takeaway from this section is that if you feel well on one particular brand, you will want to stick with it. If you feel unwell on that brand, you may want to consider adjusting your dose or how you take the medicine, or consider switching to a different version of levothyroxine .
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Understanding Synthetic Versus Natural Thyroid Medications
What is the difference between synthetic versus natural thyroid medications? Natural Thyroid formulations such as Nature-Throid, Armour, and WP Thyroid are derived from desiccated porcine thyroid glands which contain not only T4 like in synthetics but also T3. Natural thyroid from desiccated thyroid have been used to treat thyroid problems for more than 100 years as reported in medical journals and books. Natural thyroid formulations also target T2, T1 and Calcitonin which can be beneficial. Synthetic thyroid medications such as Synthroid and Levothyroxine contain Thyroxine , which is the identical hormone produced by the thyroid gland.
In our practice most patients feel much better, with more energy, and relief of symptoms when switching from synthetic to a natural thyroid. In addition, natural thyroid seems to address other medical problems by improving immune system, aiding in in depression, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and stabilizing cortisol levels.
Some people have concerns with the stability of natural thyroid formulations. Therefore to ensure that natural thyroid formulations are consistent analytical tests are performed on the raw material and on the actual tablets to measure actual T4 and T3 activity.
Homeopathy For Hypothyroidism #1 Natural Treatment For Hypothyroidism
Homeopathy for hypothyroidism is a trusted protocol for long-term results and gradually leads to a permanent cure. Homeopathy for hypothyroidism is very effective in restoring the deviated function and returning your body to normal health. Before remedies are prescribed, an extensive evaluation is carried out for your current symptoms as well as previous medical history. This allows homeopathy as a natural treatment for hypothyroidism to get to the root of the problem and find an effective cure.
Homeopathic remedies are personalized for a specific person. There is no single homeopathic remedy, and various remedies can be combined according to the symptoms faced. Some common homeopathic remedies for hypothyroidism are Calcarea Carbonica, Thyroidinum, Bromium, Fucus, and Iodum. Another advantage is that Homeopathy for hypothyroidism has no known side effects and is gentle enough to be used in all age groups.
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Signs Your Thyroid Medication Is Working
You will know your thyroid medication is working if your symptoms decrease. You may experience more energy or an overall better quality of life.
This lessening of symptoms should not be accompanied by new ones. It should take only days to see improvement. However, your hormone levels may take months to level out fully.
Limit Your Sugar Intake
Too much sugar is bad for you in general, but it’s especially harmful if you have a thyroid imbalance.
One of your thyroid gland’s main jobs is to regulate your carbohydrate metabolism. If you aren’t making enough thyroid hormones, your body struggles to balance your blood sugar3, which can lead to fatigue, weight gain, and metabolic issues.
It’s a good idea to cut back on sugar even if you don’t have thyroid issues. It may be hard for the first week or two, but it’s worth it.
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Zinc As A Thyroid Supplement For Hypothyroidism
Taking zinc can be helpful for a low thyroid because zinc deficiencies are common in people with a sluggish thyroid.
Researchers report that zinc promotes good thyroid function and helps produce thyroid hormones. A zinc deficiency can result in an underactive thyroid. On the other hand, you need to have enough thyroid hormone to absorb zinc properly.
One case showed that zinc supplementation for hypothyroidism helped improve skin condition, reversed hair loss, and treated depression. Because zinc deficiency was the root cause of the thyroid condition, supplementation, in this case, was more effective than thyroid replacement treatment.
Other studies have shown that zinc together with copper, manganese, and selenium is essential for healthy thyroid function.
Foods that are rich in zinc and other essential nutrients to include on a thyroid diet plan include seafood, beef, cashew nuts, oatmeal, and dairy products.
Find out more about the signs of a zinc deficiency and what you can do to get more zinc in your diet.
Foods To Avoid For A Natural Hypothyroidism Treatment
Treating hypothyroidism naturally starts with diet. Eating foods that support healthy thyroid function, and avoiding those foods that suppress thyroid function, can go a long way to ease symptoms of hypothyroidism in some sufferers. Any time the thyroid struggles to produce enough thyroid hormone, it grows larger, trying to function better. Enlargement of the thyroid is known as goiter, and substances that interfere with thyroid function, stimulating this growth, are known as goitrogens.
Many common foods, some of them otherwise quite nutritious, contain goitrogens. The first step in treating hypothyroidism naturally is to avoid the following foods that interfere with normal thyroid function:
Soy products – Research suggests that phytoestrogens in soy may impair the action of an enzyme needed in the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Soybeans and soy based foods may also interfere with the bodys ability to use synthetic thyroid hormone in those who are on thyroid replacement therapy. Cooking soy does not make a difference in this case. Other studies indicate that soy does not cause hypothyroidism in those with adequate iodine storage. Regardless, if your thyroid is not functioning well, avoiding or cutting back on soy may help.
Caffeine – Research shows that caffeine can interfere with thyroid hormone replacement. It may also negatively affect those who are following a course of natural hypothyroidism treatment.
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Michelle Simon Phd Nd
President & CEO
As president and CEO of INM, Dr. Simon brings her passion for working with organizations dedicated to improving the quality and delivery of healthcare. This desire stems from her years of practice as a licensed naturopathic physician. In addition to holding a Naturopathic Doctorate from Bastyr University she also holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She has served on boards for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians , the Naturopathic Physicians Research Institute , and several advisory boards. Dr. Simon served nine years on the Washington State Health Technology Clinical Committee, as Ambassador to the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine and was recognized as 2018 AANP Physician of the Year. Dr. Simon shares with her husband a passion for adventure travel, preferably by boat or motorcycle. She also enjoys teaching a womens off-road motorcycling class.
What Are Thyroid Hormones Responsible For
Thyroid hormones are responsible for regulating your metabolism and the
increase your risk of developing atrial arrhythmia .
Too many thyroid hormones can also cause your heart to beat faster than it should. This is called tachycardia. If left untreated, tachycardia can cause lightheadedness.
Other complications from untreated hyperthyroidism can include:
- osteoporosis and thinning bones
- increased risk of blood clots and stroke
- irregular menstrual cycle and fertility issues
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Alternatives To Armour Thyroid
Natural desiccated thyroid is the original treatment for hypothyroidism. It has been used for more than a century.
In the mid-1900s, a synthetic version of thyroxine one of the two primary hormones the thyroid gland produces was developed. This synthetic form of thyroxine is called levothyroxine or l-thyroxine.
Even though natural desiccated thyroid contains two key thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine as well as other elements found in an organic thyroid gland, levothyroxine has become the preferred treatment. Brand names for levothyroxine include:
What Are The Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism
These are the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism in women and men:
- Still feeling tired after 8 to 10 hours of sleep or finding it necessary to take a nap each day.
- Unexplainable weight gain or the inability to lose weight despite eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
- Mood swings and/or issues with anxiety and depression.
- Women may experience hormone imbalances that cause severe PMS and irregular menstrual cycles.
- Men and women may experience fertility issues and low sex drive.
- Joint and muscle pain and inflammation, including carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis.
- Always feeling cold, especially in the hands and feet.
- Hair loss, cracking or dry skin, and brittle nails.
- Brain fog, lack of focus, and poor memory.
- Swelling of the neck, hoarseness, or excessive snoring.
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Natural Remedies For Thyroid Issues
1. Ashwagandha
So for starters, the No. 1 natural remedy you need to start to support the thyroid is ashwagandha, which is proven to heal thyroid and adrenal issues. Ashwagandha is known as an adaptogenic herb. Adaptogen herbs mean they help you adapt and deal with stress, and ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine.
Other adaptogenic herbs can include things like tulsi or holy basil also things like rhodiola and ginseng and licorice root. All of those are adaptogen herbs, but ashwagandha may be the most effective at naturally supporting overall thyroid health, especially as a natural treatment for hypothyroidism and Hashimotos. In fact, in the studies on it, it was actually shown to help both hyper and hypothyroid symptoms, which is amazing.
So, you should definitely add ashwagandha to your hypothyroidism diet since it works as a way to treat hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
2. Selenium
The No. 2 thing you should consider adding in to overall improve your thyroid function is selenium. The benefits of selenium are critical actually, selenium has very powerful antioxidant-like functions. In fact, studies have shown that selenium helps balance out T4 in your body hormones, so again, taking a therapeutic dose of selenium every day has also been shown to benefit thyroid function.
There are also foods high in selenium you can consume, including:
5. Proteolytic Enzymes
The Euthyroid Yet Symptomatic Patient
There is little mention of patients who did not respond symptomatically to treatment despite having normalization of their other measured variables, such as BMR or serum PBI, in the early clinical trials in the 1940s through 1960s. After the 1970s , a new category of hypothyroid patient was recognized: the patient who received thyroid hormone replacement therapy, had normal serum TSH, and exhibited residual symptoms of hypothyroidism. Initially, such symptoms were largely dismissed as unrelated to the thyroid condition . Indeed, hypothyroidism is prevalent, and symptoms overlap with those of other common conditions, including menopause, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Likewise, thyroid hormone had been administered for nonthyroid disorders, including obesity and psychiatric disease, for decades. Thus, it was difficult to assess whether patients with residual symptoms had been misdiagnosed. Residual symptoms were even attributed to nonadherence .
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Natural Remedies For Thyroid Health
What Im going to share with you today are natural remedies for thyroid health. There are more people than ever before that are struggling with hypothyroidism, Hashimotos disease, hyperthyroidism and Graves disease.
If you personally are one of those people who has a sluggish thyroid, a slow metabolism, maybe you exercise and the weight doesnt come off like it should, you struggle with adrenal fatigue or lack of energy all of those are warning signs that you might have a thyroid issue.
Im going to cover my top five natural remedies that are safe, healthy and effective for improving your thyroid function and helping your body heal any sort of thyroid issue.
How Thyroid Problems Are Diagnosed
The most common way to diagnose underactive thyroid is through blood testing. There are a couple of different lab tests that can be run, but one of the most accurate is the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test. When there isnt enough thyroid hormone in the body, the pituitary gland responds by releasing thyroid stimulating hormone. As thyroid hormone levels increase, the pituitary stops producing TSH, so TSH readings above a specified level is considered to indicate hypothyroidism. This test has its flaws, however, as many health care professionals disagree on how high the TSH levels must be before a diagnosis of hypothyroidism should be considered. The trend in recent years has been the ever lowering of the TSH threshold of hypothyroidism, resulting in many more diagnosed as having hypothyroidism compared to decades ago. Physicians are encouraged to start treating with prescription medicine even though laboratory test may be normal as long as patients complain of fatigue.
If a person truly has hypothyroidism, then treating hypothyroidism with medicine or naturally can help prevent the condition from growing worse and return the thyroid to normal functioning. If a person has symptoms of low thyroid because of other conditions, such as adrenal fatigue, then thyroid replacement is only a temporary symptom patch until the root cause is resolved.
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Porcine Derived Whole Thyroid Glandular Medication
A natural thyroid medication you can find is from the entire thyroid glands of pigs.
It contains all four essential thyroid hormones. These are the T4 , T3 , T2, and T1 hormones.
Whole thyroid glandular medication comes with iodine, glandular tissue content, and thyroglobulin protein. These benefit the wellbeing of the body.
T2 can help burn fat and increase metabolism. The glandular in this natural desiccated thyroid drug rebuilds your weak thyroid gland.
Vitamin D For Hypothyroidism
It is important to make sure and get enough vitamin D to help prevent thyroid disorders such as Hashimotos thyroiditis or Graves disease.
Research published in 2017 found that vitamin D deficiency is often connected to autoimmune diseases. Adequate amounts of vitamin D3 are needed to stimulate the thyroid and produce enough thyroid hormones.
Scientists noted that more research needs to be done to see how vitamin D supplements for low thyroid could be beneficial in treating the disease.
Learn more about some of the other diseases that could be linked to a vitamin D deficiency. Very often vitamin D is an essential nutrient that is missing from our diets.
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What Are Natural Thyroid Treatments
If you take medication for hypothyroidism, you may find it helpful to also use natural remedies for thyroid disorders. Although there is no natural thyroid medication that doctors recommend, holistic treatments for hypothyroidism can help to improve your thyroid condition.
Just make sure to consult with your doctor before taking any natural supplements as some of them may interfere with medications.