Ellie Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 this product instead of a prescription? I know I'm hypothyroid, have been for years, but I need to do the labs again, and with no health insurance and a greatly reduced income, the cost of this product looks really good. Whaddaya think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Who is Byron J. Richards? Have you asked your doctor what he thinks about this product? It reminds me of something that would be sold on an infomercial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Who is Byron J. Richards? Dunno. That's why I'm asking here. :001_smile: Have you asked your doctor what he thinks about this product? I am not very trusting of my doctor. That is, I think I have more issues than he is willing to investigate. It reminds me of something that would be sold on an infomercial. I know, right?:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 My other thought was to see if you could get your prescription filled through a Canadian pharmacy. My father was sick and his prescriptions were several hundred dollars a month. My mother was able to get 2 filled through a canadian pharmacy at a huge discount. I wonder if the makers of synthroid or any other drug offer some kind of some assistance program where you can get the drugs at a discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 My other thought was to see if you could get your prescription filled through a Canadian pharmacy. My father was sick and his prescriptions were several hundred dollars a month. My mother was able to get 2 filled through a canadian pharmacy at a huge discount. I wonder if the makers of synthroid or any other drug offer some kind of some assistance program where you can get the drugs at a discount. My thyroid prescription isn't very costly; it's the lab fees I'm trying to avoid. I do get my rosacea prescription through a Canadian pharmacy because it costs a boatload of $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I'm not familiar with that particular product, but I was glad to read on its website that it doesn't contain animal glandular products. Just this week my daughter's doctor ripped me up and down for trying to calm her (very mild) hyperthyroid with ThyroSoothe. It was recommended to me by an alternative practitioner. The doctor read the ingredient list and asked whether I was aware that it used bovine adrenal matter. Apparently it's really risky, and it's even riskier if the company is careless about cutting into the medulla (I think that's what the doc said) instead of the cortex (or maybe it's the other way around). The doctor said she has no problem with her patients using small amounts of herbal matter sometimes (though she said trying to mix herbs and use too much can lead to problems), but using animal adrenal products on a 14-year-old was totally unacceptable. I completely agreed and tossed the bottle away right there in her office!! It may be a while before we experiment again with alternative medicines. I hope, though, that this particular medicine works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 My thyroid prescription isn't very costly; it's the lab fees I'm trying to avoid. I do get my rosacea prescription through a Canadian pharmacy because it costs a boatload of $$. Get your labs online or through a lab company coming to a health food store near you. You pay for the lab tests online, then they send you to a lab near your home. And, there is no thyroid med. in the product you asked about, just supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracieT Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Other than the ingredient Gugulipid, which I've never heard of, everything else is great for the Thyroid and I think they'd all be ok to take even with something like Synthroid. What specific thyroid problem do you have? I don't properly convert T4 to T3 and I have been taking something very similar which has helped a bit, but not totally. I finally had my Ferritin tested and found out it's WAY low. Low ferritin makes it so you don't convert T4 to T3! So, now I'm on iron and hopefully that will get my ferritin up and get my thyroid working right. My ferritin level was 18 and they want it above 90!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Two things will make your body not convert Synthroid which is a T4 only drug. That would be low Ferritin levels and adreanal problems, either high or low cortisol problems. If you have one or both of those things going on with your body your body will not convert T4 into the T3 that your body needs. I suggest reading :Stop the Thyroid Madness website Our bodies cannot live off a T4 only drug ( which is a storage hormone). The trick is to actually find a doctor that has the slightest bit of a clue as how to treat Thyroid Problems properly, and an endocringologist is not one of them sadly enough. If you can actually manage to get a doctor to write a script for a Natural Hormone like Erfa ( Canadian version of Armour thyroid)then by all means. This it the top drug for thyroid problems. Not synthetic "Syncrap" (Synthroid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 There is a lot of good information on thyroid problems nowadays. I also am having the low ferritin issue. And if its auto immune- treating the thyroid directly, especially with iodine, can make it worse. Its really a bit complex and the lab work read by a doctor who hasn't done recent studies in thyroid, won't help much anyway. I think the product might help. I think it could be worth a try. But you might also get on the internet and do some extensive research about thyroid- gluten intolerance can be implicated in thyroid issues. There are things you can try. This is the book I read recently- I downloaded it onto my ipad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Two things will make your body not convert Synthroid which is a T4 only drug. That would be low Ferritin levels and adreanal problems, either high or low cortisol problems. If you have one or both of those things going on with your body your body will not convert T4 into the T3 that your body needs. I suggest reading :Stop the Thyroid Madness website Our bodies cannot live off a T4 only drug ( which is a storage hormone). The trick is to actually find a doctor that has the slightest bit of a clue as how to treat Thyroid Problems properly, and an endocringologist is not one of them sadly enough. If you can actually manage to get a doctor to write a script for a Natural Hormone like Erfa ( Canadian version of Armour thyroid)then by all means. This it the top drug for thyroid problems. Not synthetic "Syncrap" (Synthroid). I doubt that I would be able to get my doctor to do more than the basic thyroid test. :glare: When we have health insurance again, I'll try nagging him, but although he's a nice man, he's very traditional. But that will have to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Other than the ingredient Gugulipid, which I've never heard of, everything else is great for the Thyroid and I think they'd all be ok to take even with something like Synthroid. What specific thyroid problem do you have? I don't properly convert T4 to T3 and I have been taking something very similar which has helped a bit, but not totally. I finally had my Ferritin tested and found out it's WAY low. Low ferritin makes it so you don't convert T4 to T3! So, now I'm on iron and hopefully that will get my ferritin up and get my thyroid working right. My ferritin level was 18 and they want it above 90!!! I only know that I'm hypothyroid. My doctor is satisfied when the lab results show that my thyroid is in the "normal" range, even though I still have some symptoms (low metabolism, some hair loss, inability to lose weight, and so on). Once he said that I was clearly overmedicated, and that I should watch for continued weight loss and other hyperthyroid symptoms, none of which I was having. :glare: When I asked if we could increase my meds until I was no longer hypthryoid symptomatic, he said it didn't matter; only the labs mattered. Ok, well, if we watch for symptoms of overmedication, why wouldn't we watch for symptoms of undermedication?:confused: At any rate, as I said, right at this moment I'm trying to avoid labs because of the cost. And FTR, I saw no change when I switched from Sythroid to Armour and back to Synthroid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Get your labs online or through a lab company coming to a health food store near you. You pay for the lab tests online, then they send you to a lab near your home. Ok, but then what? Do I take the results to my doctor and hope he'll prescribe something that will actually help?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Ok, but then what? Do I take the results to my doctor and hope he'll prescribe something that will actually help?? Take the lab report to the doctor. It will be from a lab company in your area. The doctor usually wants current labs to renew your script for thyroid meds. When we didn't have lab coverage, I went to a health food store, a lab rep. came there regularly. My thyroid labs were about $100 (instead of thousands just showing up at the lab w/o insurance). I get TSH, free T3 and free T4. I don't convert T4 to T3 well either, I take NatureThroid. My doctor didn't mind, in fact, he asked how I got the labs so he could tell other patients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I take selenium (which is one of the ingredients in that product) as a way to support my thyroid. I also take natural thyroid pills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I only know that I'm hypothyroid. My doctor is satisfied when the lab results show that my thyroid is in the "normal" range, even though I still have some symptoms (low metabolism, some hair loss, inability to lose weight, and so on). Once he said that I was clearly overmedicated, and that I should watch for continued weight loss and other hyperthyroid symptoms, none of which I was having. :glare: When I asked if we could increase my meds until I was no longer hypthryoid symptomatic, he said it didn't matter; only the labs mattered. Ok, well, if we watch for symptoms of overmedication, why wouldn't we watch for symptoms of undermedication?:confused: At any rate, as I said, right at this moment I'm trying to avoid labs because of the cost. And FTR, I saw no change when I switched from Sythroid to Armour and back to Synthroid. Do you know the TSH level? the old "normal" is not what the new normal is. My dr wants me at about 1 for TSH. I'm just about there. She tested the other levels this last time, and they were within normal ranges so I'm okay since I've just started on this journey. I do want to keep up with my numbers myself. But the day they called I couldn't get all then numbers written down. I am doing much better though. Yeah check your library out for books to read about hypothyroid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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