T4-Only Meds Do Not Work
It’s true. In the vast majority of thyroid patients, if not all, Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, Unithroid and other “T4-only” medications are NOT doing the job as a sole treatment, according to the worldwide experience of patients and certain observant doctors…unless you think that an elevator that goes up to the 5th-floor-only on a 50 story building is “doing the job. Yes, you might feel better than before you got on, and your symptoms may be “improved”. But most ALL patients on T4 medications are left with symptoms due to an inferior treatment!
Additionally, the extreme majority of doctors fail to heed the warning even on thyroxine inserts: to test your cortisol levels. Low cortisol, aka adrenal insufficiency, is a common occurrence with hypothyroid patients, especially considering the long years you are left undiagnosed due to a faulty TSH and a doctor’s blindness to clinical presentation.
And what do uninformed doctors do for the symptoms you continue to have on T4-only meds? They put you on anti-depressants, statins, pain meds, and all sorts of bandaid medications to cover the effects of a poor thyroid treatment—chronic low grade depression, high cholesterol, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, “Fibromyalgia”, bi-polar, anxiety, hair loss…to name just a few. When you mention your poor energy levels, they tell you to exercise more. When you mention your weight problems, they tell you to eat less.
And the worst thing they’ll say when you continue to have symptoms? “It’s not your thyroid. Your TSH is normal, and you’re optimally treated.” That, friends, is NOT so…and has lead most all thyroid patients into continuing agony and self-doubt.
Why did T4-only medications come about in the first place? We can surmise it was a money-in-the-pocket decision by the pharmaceuticals. By the early 1960’s, T4-only meds had been fully developed and were touted as a new and modern treatment for hypothyroid patients, with other pharmaceuticals developing their own brands. And everyone fell for it. For over 45 years, hypothyroid patients have been put on these drugs. And it’s been a disaster.
What is “T4”? T4, also called thyroxine, is the thyroid storage hormone. Its main function is to convert to the active thyroid hormone–T3, which gives you good overall health, energy and stamina. T3 affects every single cell in your body!!
The theory was that T4 would convert to the T3 needed for the body. But in nearly ALL patients on T4 meds, the T4 does NOT convert into an adequate amount of T3, leaving you with symptoms that neither you OR your uninformed doctor realize are related to inadequate treatment—poor stamina compared to others, chronic low grade depression, thinning hair or outer eyebrows, feeling cold when others are warm, cholesterol problems, aches and pains, hard or small stools, easy weight gain, memory problems, foggy thinking, a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, difficulty conceiving………the list is long and pathetic. In other words, healthy thyroids are NOT meant to rely SOLELY on T4-to-T3 conversion!
Additionally, being on a T4 only medication means you are missing out on getting direct T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. If they weren’t important, why would the human body make them??? Did you know it’s calcitonin that keeps calcium from leeching out of your bones?
But there’s even more to the problem: it’s called the TSH lab. Around 1973, the TSH lab test was developed. Based on a sampling of several volunteers, a so-called “normal” range was established—.5 to 5.0 (recently lowered to 3.0). But volunteers with a history of family hypothyroid were NOT excluded, leaving us with a range that leans towards being hypothyroid! In fact, the TSH RARELY corresponds to how a patient feels. There is a large majority of patients who have a “normal” TSH, even in the “one” area of the range, and have a myriad of hypo symptoms.
So what’s the solution? Patients are returning to a medication that was successfully used from the late 1800’s onward: natural desiccated thyroid hormones, more commonly known as the brand name Armour. Armour is an FDA approved product made from pig glands, meets the stringent guidelines of the US Pharmacopoeia, and gives patients EXACTLY what their own thyroids give them–T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin.
Additionally, patients and certain wise doctors are NOT dosing by the TSH, Instead, they raise their Armour according to three criteria (and not in any particular order): 1) the elimination of symptoms 2) getting a mid-afternoon temp of 98.6 using a mercury thermometer and 3) getting their free T3 towards the top of the range. Doing the latter WILL suppress your TSH, with not a sign of hyper.
On a T4-only medication, you are destined to have a less-than-optimal free T3, a mid-afternoon temp lower than 98.6, and the continuation of some hypo symptoms FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, no matter how high you try to raise it.
Is it worth it?
*To proceed from this page and learn more about natural desiccated thyroid, go here.
*To benefit from what patients have learned in their use of desiccated thyroid, go here.
*To see the different brands of desiccated thyroid, go here.
*AND FINALLY, if you didn’t click on the bold red words above to see the LONG AND PATHETIC SYMPTOMS of those on T4-only meds i.e. the ones you have when your uninformed doctor is calling you “normal”, go here. I’ll bet you’ll find a LOT of YOURS!!
This bible of hypothyroid treatment contains most everything you will find on this site, plus a whole lot more, including a chapter on T3, an explosive doctor chapter, historical information on desiccated thyroid as well as T4, an entire chapter on the TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hooey), how to interpret your cortisol labs, extra details in two adrenal chapters, and more!
You can order the book from the publishing website here:
www.laughinggrapepublishing.com
SPREAD THE WORD! Order a t-shirt or tongue-in-cheek bumper stickers HERE. YOU are a part of this thyroid patient revolution, and our power lies in letting others know!
