Can hypothyroidism be treated without medication?

[Greta]

I know we have several board members who are very knowledgeable about thyroid issues (Ellie, gardenmom5, and others).  I was hoping I could pick your brains once again on this topic, but this time for my mom.  She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism several years ago, and has been taking thyroxizine (50mcg per day).  She doesn't have easy access to an endocrinologist in her small town, so this is just a family doctor who prescribes it.  I'm putting the results of her most recent lab tests below (I know they aren't complete - that's all the doctor ordered).

 

The problem is, she's had very bad hair loss over the last several years.  It started before she was diagnosed, so she was hoping the thyroid meds would help.  But they didn't, and it's continued to worsen.  

 

She ran into an old friend the other day who told her that when she got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, she didn't have any hair loss.  But then when they put her on thyroid meds, she started losing her hair.  So she stopped the meds and started using a supplement instead, and the hair loss stopped again.

 

So, my mom is thinking about stopping her meds and using this supplement instead, and I wanted to know if you think that's a good idea, bad idea, or worth a shot.

 

The supplement:  It's a company called 1 Body and it's called Thyroid Support dietary supplement.  It's high in B-12, Iodine, Selenium and Manganese .  Also has zinc, copper, molybdenum, L-Tyrosine, Schizandra, Coleus Forskohilii, kelp, ashwagandha root, bladderwrack and cayenne pepper.

 

Most recent lab results:

 

TSH  2.670    (Range 0.450-4.500 uIU/ml)

T4 Free (Direct). 1.14ng/dL.  (Range 0.82-1.77 ng/dL)   

 

Thank you in advance for any advice!

[momacacia]

I think it's worth a shot. Sounds like it has a lot of the thyroid supporting compounds in it.

 

I have seen people use supplements and wean off thyroid meds and onto only the supplement as symptoms/labs improve, but not necessarily exactly what you describe.

 

I'd also want to be sure my progesterone and ferritin levels are high enough...those can be related to hair loss as well.

[Sandragood1]

From a website on hair loss in women: Hair loss on the head of a woman indicates low estrogen or progesterone. Hair loss all over the body can indicate low thyroid.

 

It may be that the thyroid is not the source of the hair problem.

[Soror]

It depends. If it is Hashi's(90% of hypo is Hashi's) her body is killing her thyroid and long term it is better to be on medication.

 

She doesn't have all her labs though, you need to know the Free T3 at a minimum in addition to the Free T3 and optimally you need Reverse T3 as well.

 

Her T4 is low and her TSH while not alarmingly high is above the range for normal (non-hypo people have a TSH around 1).

 

Fwiw her doseage is low and she is only getting T4, not everyone can convert that to T3, which is what the body uses.

 

The selenium and iodine are important for thyroid function so those could help, so is iron as well fyi. 

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by soror

[Pawz4me]

My opinion is that it's a bad idea to stop levothyroxine. I dno't believe hypothyroidism can be treated w/o medication. In your mom's shoes I'd be looking for other possible causes of hair loss. There are supplements she could try in addition to her medication (like the ones Soror mentioned) that likely wouldn't hurt and might help. 

Edited October 3, 2017 by Pawz4me

[City Mouse]

My initial thyroid diagnosis was done on blood work alone. I did not know I was having symptoms. I started on meds and did not see a difference, so I stopped taking them for a while. That was when my hair started falling out. I went back on and. Y hair grew back.

 

I agree that there could be other issues for hair loss beside thyroid.

 

I have never seen a specialist. My thyroid meds have always been addressed through primary care, but maybe I have been lucky that my doctors have been female.

[Spy Car]

I'm NOT a great authority on hypothyroidism (but am nearly a year into treatment myself) and your mother's numbers, while "normal," are not "optimal" from my understanding of thyroid replacement. 

 

An optimal FT4 in my not expert opinion would be about 1.5 with her lab ranges. A TSH of 2.67 is way too high.

 

Quitting strike me as a very poor idea. She needs an increase in the dose.

 

Bill

[Ravin]

I would get a full workup on other hormones and check for vitamin deficiencies, and not stop taking the medication.

[Greta]

Thank you all so much for the help! I don’t know if she’s had her progesterone and estrogen tested so I will mention that. I have also encouraged her before to see an endocrinologist. She would have to drive at least an hour to do so, which normally isn’t that much of a problem. But my dad has been having a lot of health problems recently, so she’s been quite busy driving him to various specialists all over Oklahoma and north Texas (one of the many reasons I don’t want to live in a small town). I think she’s pretty emotionally fatigued by all of that, and is hesitant to add yet another specialist to the list. But I think it might be worth it, and perhaps when I tell her what you’ve said about her numbers not being optimal, she will agree. I do know that she asked her current doctor about increasing the dose but he said he “can’t†do that since her numbers are within normal range.

[Spy Car]

Thank you all so much for the help! I don’t know if she’s had her progesterone and estrogen tested so I will mention that. I have also encouraged her before to see an endocrinologist. She would have to drive at least an hour to do so, which normally isn’t that much of a problem. But my dad has been having a lot of health problems recently, so she’s been quite busy driving him to various specialists all over Oklahoma and north Texas (one of the many reasons I don’t want to live in a small town). I think she’s pretty emotionally fatigued by all of that, and is hesitant to add yet another specialist to the list. But I think it might be worth it, and perhaps when I tell her what you’ve said about her numbers not being optimal, she will agree. I do know that she asked her current doctor about increasing the dose but he said he “can’t†do that since her numbers are within normal range.

 

Can you speak directly with her physician?

 

What is being relayed about the doctor's inability part to raise the dose because she is "in the normal range" is absolute rubbish. 

 

Doses need to be raised slowly and carefully, and generally new blood tests are ordered after 6 weeks. Her current dose is too low. And she is a long way off from going hyperthyroid. 

 

 

If she can't self-advocate, she needs you to get involved. Or get her to an Endocrinologist. But this should be an easy fix that her local doctor and some blood work could handle.

 

One thing about thyroid tests one needs to understand (and this applies to many other types of tests) is that "normal" does not mean "optimal."

 

Heck, "normal" doesn't even mean "good" in this case.

 

Why treat hypothyroidism and get a patient to sub-optimal (and quit there)? It makes no sense.

 

Bill

[HSmomof2]

I agree with others that stopping her med is not a good idea. Hair loss can be caused by a lot of things. I also agree that seeing an endocrinologist would be a good idea, even if it's further away. My endo is two hours away, but definitely worth the drive. I only have to go in to see him once/year. He sends standing lab orders to my local lab, so I can have my numbers checked every 4-6 months or if I'm feeling 'off'. He then handles dose changes over the phone.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Please, don't let her stop meds.  I did that once and it was bad.  Please encourage her to try the older, desiccated medications instead.  She could try Nature-throid or Armour.  They are prescription meds but they are more natural, provide her with the full realm of what is missing, and she should feel much better as well.  I was on Synthroid for years and I never felt good. Changing to a desiccated medication was life changing for me.  Good luck

[Greta]

Thank you for the further replies!

 

Bill, I live 500 miles away from her, and typically visit only once a year, so unfortunately it’s not practical for me to take her to her doctor’s appointment. But I have two brothers and one sister in law near her who would take her. And after I told her what you and the others here have said, she agreed to see an endocrinologist. She asked for my help finding a good one near her, so I will do my best! I know Ellie once posted a link to a website with a thyroid doctor locator, so hopefully I’ll be able to find that again!

 

Attolia, thank you for mentioning Nature-throid and Armour. I will pass that along to her.

[Spy Car]

Thank you for the further replies!

 

Bill, I live 500 miles away from her, and typically visit only once a year, so unfortunately it’s not practical for me to take her to her doctor’s appointment. But I have two brothers and one sister in law near her who would take her. And after I told her what you and the others here have said, she agreed to see an endocrinologist. She asked for my help finding a good one near her, so I will do my best! I know Ellie once posted a link to a website with a thyroid doctor locator, so hopefully I’ll be able to find that again!

 

Attolia, thank you for mentioning Nature-throid and Armour. I will pass that along to her.

 

I understand. You don't need to take her, but could you call her GP and give him or her the (polite) "mommy-bear" (daughter-bear) treatment?

 

When our parents get older they sometimes lose the fighting spirit when it comes to advocating for themselves. 

 

There are more naturalistic ways to treat hypothyroidism (like taking natural desiccated thyroid) that many here might embrace (and I can't say they are wrong in their approaches--no expert here). And there are more exotic tests when things go poorly. But I know that dosing levothyroxine using TSH and FT4 tests generally isn't rocket science.

 

By the standard and highly-conservative measures of traditional Endocrinology practice, your mom's scores are sub-optimal. 

 

Optimizing the dose can be done with labs and phone consults and/or emails.

 

 

Trust me. I've been living this. 

 

Bill

[itsmylife]

I would check iron levels and B-12.  My hair loss was/is beyond my control.  I had a iron infusion and B-12 shots which caused a temporary relief from hair loss.  This was one and half years ago.  Hair loss is back again - I have not been taking my iron tablets for a couple of month.  Time to go back on them.

 

And yes, I am hypothyroid.  Which causes anemia.

[PeterPan]

It might be more effective to help her get a new doctor, one who is more knowledgeable with natural thyroid options and hormones. Mary Shomon's site has some lists, and some of the med manufacturers have lists you can try.

 

I used to be on a significant dose of armour and now I'm not, but personally I think that's an unwise thing to pursue on your own, without help, when you're older, when you're stressed. Her Free T4 is pretty close to the middle of normal, which makes you think that something else is underlying the hair loss. 

 

As far as that particular supplement, she could take a LOW DOSE in addition to her current meds. The idione and the tyrosine in it would have an effect, yes. If she has Hashi's, yes it would be ill-advised. That's how I went from meds to supplements, with a transition like that. I felt myself going hyper as we started the supplements, so then I decreased and weaned off the meds. But really, it was a pretty ugly process. Like I said, if it were *my* mother *I* wouldn't do that. I would give her something easy and consistent and increase the support by helping her find a better doctor. I just helped a friend with this and she scored a thyroid doc who is also good with hormones. There might be someone like that you could help her find.

Edited October 3, 2017 by OhElizabeth

[Spy Car]

It might be more effective to help her get a new doctor, one who is more knowledgeable with natural thyroid options and hormones. Mary Shomon's site has some lists, and some of the med manufacturers have lists you can try.

 

I used to be on a significant dose of armour and now I'm not, but personally I think that's an unwise thing to pursue on your own, without help, when you're older, when you're stressed. Her Free T4 is pretty close to the middle of normal, which makes you think that something else is underlying the hair loss. 

 

As far as that particular supplement, she could take a LOW DOSE in addition to her current meds. The idione and the tyrosine in it would have an effect, yes. If she has Hashi's, yes it would be ill-advised. That's how I went from meds to supplements, with a transition like that. I felt myself going hyper as we started the supplements, so then I decreased and weaned off the meds. But really, it was a pretty ugly process. Like I said, if it were *my* mother *I* wouldn't do that. I would give her something easy and consistent and increase the support by helping her find a better doctor. I just helped a friend with this and she scored a thyroid doc who is also good with hormones. There might be someone like that you could help her find.

 

Like you, I wouldn't want to use NDT without an expert backing me up.

 

But the FT4 is at 1.14. Middle of range at this lab is 1.3. That looks a pretty big gap to this novice. Would you settle for these numbers yourself? I would not. I'd want to be in the half to 3/4s of range zone.

 

Bill

[gardenmom5]

her tsh is high.  she's still hypo.

some of what is in the supplement she wants to take is supportive for the adrenals (which often need support for hypo patients) - but I have no idea of the quality of the supplement she wants to take.

what form of b12?  (she can take a 1mg sublingal methylcobalamin - it's cheap)

what the concentration of withaniloids in the ashwagandha?

what form of iodine?

 

I would NOT stop taking her rx as this point.  that's liable to just make her worse.

i would look for a functional medicine dr.  thyroid patients have a history of detesting endocrinologists.

[PeterPan]

Like you, I wouldn't want to use NDT without an expert backing me up.

 

But the FT4 is at 1.14. Middle of range at this lab is 1.3. That looks a pretty big gap to this novice. Would you settle for these numbers yourself? I would not. I'd want to be in the half to 3/4s of range zone.

 

Bill

 

But you can't do that without a doctor. And there are plenty of people who get patted on the head and told their fine and handed prozac with numbers like that. It's why I do things alternative ways now.

[Plateau Mama]

The difference (in my experience) between a GP and an Endo treating hypo is tically this. A GP sees the number is in the normal range and says you're good. An Endo knows that each individual person will feel best at a certain number and will work to get you there. It took two years for my endo to get my numbers where I felt good. Once I knew what that number was my GP could monitor my numbers.

[Greta]

Thanks so much for all the replies. Even though I’m not responding to each one, I am reading each one, taking notes, passing things along to her. So I really appreciate the help.

 

Bill, that’s a good suggestion about calling her doctor. Thanks!

[PeterPan]

There are privacy laws. Unless the patient has signed paperwork allowing you to talk with the doc, I don't know that you can. I have POA paperwork on my dad, and even so he had to sign MORE paperwork allowing me to talk with his practitioners. I suppose they might just listen, but some docs won't talk with you at all without paperwork. I have that paper trail, so I can call and talk with them and problem solve. It's really helpful.

[Prairie~Phlox]

I would get a full workup on other hormones and check for vitamin deficiencies, and not stop taking the medication.

 

I agree, my friend just went to the ER over the weekend because she has it and she quit taking her medication a while ago.  She's now back on things, gradually and gradually gaining her strength back.

[Soror]

To add to the stories, a couple of years ago I stopped my meds because I thought I might be better off without it, my TSH went to a 39, my levels of hormones were well below range I was so fatigued raising my head was an effort. 

[Greta]

I didn't realize that stopping thyroid meds could have such scary consequences.  She has decided to stay on the meds for now, and see another doctor.  I'm having a hard time finding a good one close to her, but I'll keep looking.  

[Pawz4me]

I didn't realize that stopping thyroid meds could have such scary consequences.  She has decided to stay on the meds for now, and see another doctor.  I'm having a hard time finding a good one close to her, but I'll keep looking.  

 

Well, stay off them long enough and you could die (myxedema coma).

 

That's a pretty scary consequence. ;)

 

Hypothyroidism is nothing to mess around with. 

[Spy Car]

But you can't do that without a doctor. And there are plenty of people who get patted on the head and told their fine and handed prozac with numbers like that. It's why I do things alternative ways now.

 

I'm afraid I'm not following your point. What can't one do without a doctor?

 

I know many more sophisticated patients use combinations of medicines (like T3 or NDT) and an array of blood tests (as in Stop the Thyroid Madness).

 

I'm not one of those people. I'm just plodding along following the lead of my very conservative-traditional Endocrinologist who relies on TSH and FT4 to dose levothyroxine. He's one who told me that the FT3 test "has no place in conventional medicine." 

 

I'm not suggesting following the path of least resistance is the smart play. I am no expert in this area. And were I having difficulties, I'd push for alternatives. I applaud those who are smarter about dialing in their thyroid need better than me. 

 

That said, Greta's mom's TSH looks too high and the FT4 too low for this non-expert to feel comfortable with if they were his own scores.

 

The biggest thing I've learned in the past year and a half is that hearing blood work is "normal" isn't necessarily good news. I'm sure we agree about that.

 

Bill

[Greta]

Well, stay off them long enough and you could die (myxedema coma).

 

That's a pretty scary consequence. ;)

 

Hypothyroidism is nothing to mess around with.

 

Yes, very scary indeed!

 

 

 

 

My Mom has found an endocrinologist not too far from her who will accept her insurance. Of course I can’t be sure he will treat her better than her family doctor, but it’s worth a try at least.

 

I’ve asked two doctors to test me for thyroid antibodies, and they both refused. I had given up, but after this conversation, I’ve decided to get the test myself at a HealthCheckUSA. I’m going to do that today.

 

Thanks again to everyone who posted!