Should You Take the Thyroid Medication? {Food for Thought}
Back in 2007, I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Of course, being the 29-year-old that I was, it was like pulling teeth to even get doctors to take me seriously and test my thyroid because they said, “you are SO young.” It wasn’t until I lost two babies that they finally realized I knew my body and needed to get answers. They finally agreed to test.
The crazy thing is that after getting my test results back, my endocrinologist at the time, who was the top endo to a major league baseball team, said to take this medicine (levothyroxine sodium – T4) and slowly my thyroid gland would die and then we would deal with that when the time came.
At that point, I should’ve fired him.
But I was young and knew nothing about my body from a health standpoint and definitely didn’t know what Hashimoto’s was. I knew I just wanted to be able to have a baby buddy for the son I already had.
For months, I would continue to go to see this endocrinologist and tell him all of my symptoms and he would argue with me and say that nothing I was dealing with was related to hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s.
He even argued with me at one point that the pharmaceutical I was taking, that was prescribed by him, was not medicine. He refused to refer to it as medicine because he said it wasn’t.
Honestly, looking back at my experience with him it’s malpractice in my opinion.
Why I Took The Thyroid Medication
There are a couple of reasons that I chose to take the medication.
The first reason was that I didn’t know any better. I was brought up that doctors know best and have your best interest at heart. I felt at the time that he was trying to help me and getting more thyroid hormone in my body would give me adequate amounts to share with a growing baby.
The second reason is that I was fearful. Decisions made in the face of fear are never good. They don’t turn out well.
In hindsight, I should have researched what hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis were (not from a Google standpoint) and read some books about the immune system and natural/holistic remedies for the body.
Now, those would not have been that easy to find but the hunt would have been worth it.
What I Know About the Thyroid Medication Now
Prescribed thyroid hormone whether it is levothyroxine (T4) or Liothyronine (T3) or a form of desiccated thyroid glandular, is ONLY used to treat hypothyroidism.
When I got diagnosed, it was important for the doctor to help me understand that hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s were different issues to be dealt with. Not surprisingly, there was no such education.
Synthetic brand name thyroid hormone like Synthroid has dairy and dyes in it. Dyes are not something anyone should be ingesting if they want to be healthy. Dairy is questionable especially if it’s conventional dairy laden with hormones and pesticides.
Synthetic thyroid hormone taken long-term can have side effects:
Levothyroxine
- insomnia
- tremor
- headache
- fever
- fatigue
- anxiety
- emotional lability
- tachycardia
- palpitations
- cardiac arrest
- menstrual irregularities
- increased appetite
- decreased bone density
- dyspnea
- hair loss
- and MORE!
Liothyronine
Taking T4 alone can often be ineffective if the body is not converting T4 to the active thyroid hormone T3 well.
A person can become dependent on thyroid hormone because their thyroid gland and liver stop making it on their own because they have become reliant on the prescription. This can be a double-edged sword though because in the case of long-term Hashimoto’s the thyroid gland can become so damaged that it cannot viably contribute to thyroid hormone creation.
Thyroid hormone is not just simply T4 and T3. There is also T1 and T2!
Being dependent to refill and adjusting thyroid hormone medication for the rest of my life is not something I even thought about when saying yes to the medication. But that’s exactly what it becomes. Most of the time, once you take it, you don’t stop or it’s not easy to stop at all.
Why I Would Have Made a Different Choice About Taking Thyroid Medication
Had I truly understood what hypothyroidism was and what Hashimoto’s was, I would have made a different decision in choosing to take the prescribed thyroid hormone.
When I was newly diagnosed, the ultrasound did reveal damage to my thyroid gland, but not too extensive. Potentially, that damage, at the time, could’ve been reversible through nutritional changes, lifestyle changes, and the detoxification of my body.
I have now had Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism for 15 years and, though I have worked on nutrition, lifestyle and detox, for 9 years, now, by the time I started, which was 6 years after my initial diagnosis, my thyroid gland was too damaged to be able to regenerate and start naturally making adequate hormones for my body.
The changes I have made and continue to maintain, have made a world of difference in my overall quality of life and virtually living symptom-free, BUT I still have to take prescribed thyroid hormone.
In the past, several times, I have tried to get off my compounded thyroid hormone prescription, but my body did not respond well and it crashed each time and took me 3 months to recover.
What I Would Have Done Instead of Taking the Thyroid Medication
First, before even considering taking thyroid hormone medication, I would have spent at least a year if not more, overhauling my nutrition, being sure to analyze and change every area of the 6 pillars of nutrition (digestion, blood sugar balance, hydration, fatty acid balance, mineral balance, properly prepared nutrient dense food.)
Secondly, I would have spent that same year managing my stress better, getting therapy (like A.R.T) to deal with traumatic past experiences where I was stuck emotionally, and overhauled my sleep routine to be sure that I was getting 8 hours of solid sleep per night. I had young babies but would have delegated A LOT more and gotten more outside help.
Thirdly, I would have detoxified my lifestyle. That would have included changing my kitchenware, cosmetics and toiletries, cleaning up my indoor air, switching out all my toxic cleaning solutions to non-toxic ones, filtering ALL of my water with the best whole house water filter and started drinking activated electrolyzed reduced molecular hydrogen water.
Fourthly, I would have managed the EMF’s in my home better (though they weren’t as prevalent way back then) they have grown exponentially and are something that can contribute greatly to disease and place a burden on the immune system.
Fifthly, I would have detoxed my body and killed any and all silent infections. That would have included getting both root canals and crowns taken out (which is one of the reasons I got Hashimoto’s), killing parasites, cleansing out heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides out of my body and cleansing my body from mold. I would have made sure that daily I was drinking half my body weight in ounces filtered, activated water! During these processes, I would have utilized coffee enemas, castor oil packs, infrared sauna, hyperthermia, IV nutrition, red light therapy, grounding, rebounding, essential oils, dry brushing and more!
Is that a lot to do?!?!? Yes! But, had I done that early on BEFORE I chose to take medication, I likely would not have had to take the medication because my body would have been able to heal itself, the way God designed it to.
If I had done all of that and given it a good long chance in my life, and my antibodies did not go away and I did not go into remission and my thyroid hormone levels were still low, then I would have taken the medication. But not before doing ALL of those things first.
Presently, I have done all of those things for many years now. That’s why I live without symptoms even though I still have those diagnoses. Likely, I will always need to be beholden to the pharmaceutical company for this medication for the rest of my life and for that I am sad.
On a side note, if you choose to take thyroid medication, there is no shame in that. Some people do choose it. I just want you to know what to expect and what it is really for, as well as what you are signing up for.
Because I don’t want you to have to experience what I did and I want you to be able to know how to do all those nutrition and lifestyle things I mentioned, I created a program (Wellspring™) to walk you through every single facet of overhauling your life from mindset to the 6 pillars of nutrition to detoxifying your lifestyle.
This truly gives your body a hand up so that your immune system can operate optimally and protect your body as well as love your body rather than be at war with it!
Concluding Thoughts
Please note, that hypothyroidism is NOT Hashimoto’s or vice versa. Hypothyroidism simply means that you don’t have enough active thyroid hormone in your blood. That can happen for a myriad of reasons.
Hashimoto’s is an IMMUNE system problem and taking thyroid hormone medication literally does nothing for remitting Hashimoto’s antibodies or the symptoms that come with the disease. This is KEY to know!
In presenting my story to you as well as some facts about prescription thyroid medication, I hope I have armed you with more information to make the best decision possible for your journey. As always, feel free to ask questions in the comments.
*Please note, I cannot legally give you any medical advice or advise you on your particular issues as you are not my client and I do not know your health history.
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