what about thryomine?

[Browneyes49]

Is thyromine better than levothryoxine? I have 1/2 thyroid left and have all the symptoms of low thyroid. My doc has me on levo. I am somewhat better, my feet are better and I have lost about 8 lbs.

I am also doing Atkins. I feel better on this diet.
But I recently heard and read about thyromine. (how do they make it I wonder and if it so natural and good, how come we can't get a prescription for it? As it is now, meds are affordable due to insurance but this thyromine costs a LOT of money.

Of course every website says thyromine is wonderful.

And of course levothyroxine is of the devil...Never mind that levo has saved my sanity. I finally feel like exercising and just getting out of bed. But I do get itchy and I have a poop out time around 2 pm and 10 pm.

I would like to know the truth and whether anyone who has had surgery like me, or has been diagnosed as hypo went the thyromine route.

I am not talking about someone who has gained weight, feels tired and thinks they are hypo but no doctor says so. A lot of people gain weight during menopause and think all the symptoms are thyroid.

However, lack of estrogen can cause a multitude of problems as I have found out.

I was doing fine with my estrogen until my surgery and the subsequent hypo caused me to have an ESTROGEN crash as well as a THYROID crash.

So now I am dealing with two issues at one time.

Thanks for the advice.

[ErinB]

Re: what about thryomine?

From what you have told us, the levothyroxine your doctor prescribed is working for you. This is a med prescribed by a doctor who is qualified to treat you, a doctor who has examined you, a doctor who studies your lab results and listens to your symptoms, a doctor who knows your medical history and additional medical conditions. If I were you, I would discuss medical concerns with that doctor and trust his/her words over the words of multiple strangers of unknown qualifications on multiple message boards.


I know the boards of which you speak. Sometimes I see a voice of reason there, but you have to realize there are many who have read a few articles on websites with info most qualified physicians would consider questionable at best or, more likely, downright dangerous to those gullible enough to take medical advice from a message board. They also draw the hypochondriacs and those with other related issues.

Several of those message boards read like hard core advertisements for Armour. While I have no experience with Armour, I was pressured, during a very long titration process on the Levothroid my actual doctor prescribed, to ask to switch, I never did ask. I followed my doctor's orders and, as he told me, once my med was leveled to a low TSH and my body had time to heal from, probably, 40 years of underactive thyroid undiagnosed (my own fault, btw, for never mentioning my symptoms), I felt great and still do. It just worked, like the doc said, even though all those people told me my doctor didn't know what he was doing and I should listen to them.

Please realize I am not knocking other medications. If your qualified physician prescribes them, far be it from me to criticize. I'm just saying, you seem to be doing fine with the levothyroxine and, if I were you, I would just trust my doctor. If you are really curious about the thyromine and whether or not it might be better for you, why not ask him/her? I can't imagine anyone better to know the best answer for you and your body.

The only concern I might have with the generic levothyroxine would be if the pharmacy switches brands on me because different brands may have slightly different levels of hormone in them. Often, when a doc prescribes a generic levothyroxine, he/she will include a direction not to switch brands to avoid the possible issues with that. Something else to discuss with the doc.

[Browneyes49]

Re: what about thryomine?

Sounds like good advice. I am waiting another two weeks before I call my doc about this and one other issue. It has been a month and I want to give myself a good 6 weeks of taking meds before I complain.

I actually went to Whole Foods today and asked about thyromine ---the girl who helped me had never heard of it. that didn't seem right, since they always have EVERYTHING there. Maybe she was just clueless.

However I had decided not to take it, because I realized that it would interfere with my current med. Unless thryomine is a scam and doesn't work, it would do something and I might be worse off.

Again, thanks.

[ErinB]

Re: what about thryomine?

From what I could see via web searches, it appears to be some sort of supplement, probably aimed at those who want to be diagnosed hypothyroid because they think getting thyroid medication will help them lose weight, people who really aren't hypothyroid and, IMO, should be thankful about that.

If so, it wouldn't be FDA regulated, similar to Armour. That would certainly back me away from it.

As for giving the med six weeks, my experience tells me six months is probably more reasonable. Your body has been doing without the hormone for some period of time. Once titrated on the T4, you probably need to give all the organs involved time to get synchronized again, recognizing there is now an adequate supply of T4 and getting the production of the active hormones going again.

Depending on how long this has all been inadequate, your body is going to need time to heal. You are now eating a healthy diet and, hopefully, taking any vitamin/mineral supplements you need which will help in this process. It does take some time, though, requiring some patience.

[Browneyes49]

Re: what about thryomine?

You are right. It reads on the thyromine web pages that this is for someone not diagnosed & NOT on meds, or diagnosed and refusing medication for whatever reason.

I checked several sites for experiences of people with 1/2 or no Thyroid and didn't come across that. It was as you said, people who have gained lbs. and feel tired, depressed, etc. and can't get treated.

I wanted it to be a quick fix, like my morning coffee which I am hardly ever drinking now! Chai tea instead. Since it has only been a month, I know I have a long way to go.

but i do think in the last 2-3 days something has changed. I guess maybe the T4 is converting? Is that what is happening?

[ErinB]

Re: what about thryomine?

My experience tells me that is what is happening, yes. It takes time for everything to work well together again. For me, since I am certain my thyroid had begun to underfunction in my 20s and I didn't begin treatment until May 2006, about 3 years ago, this all took a very long time to get sorted out. In the meantime, as I was able, I began proactively helping me feel better.

First I just began moving around and doing physical things as much and as often as I could. I had become extremely sedentary, had pretty much lost interest in living until a friend practically forced me to see a doctor. Gradually I began to feel better, added a good diet, then supplements, and some concentrated exercise and, finally, got back to the gym where my young trainer is absolutely thrilled with what I am able to do. And I feel better than I can remember throughout my entire previous adult life. It just keeps getting better as muscles get toned and the weight gradually comes off. I don't know how many years I have left, but I am determined to make them as enjoyable and healthy as I can.

The T4 is what my body needed. Given that, it could, can and does convert that to the active hormones my body needs. Personally, I don't listen to those who try to scare me, who try to tell me, "Oh, but you need to give it T3 and T1." In fact, I don't, and I have been shown no science, no competent study, nothing at all to back up those claims. Until I do, I'm not willing to experiment on my body.

Now, I do have a friend who does need some T3 added to the T4. Her doctor is carefully adjusting those for her, but her case is very different because there is some problem in the pituitary which causes interference with that conversion process. It may be a tumor. They have not yet determined what that problem is and it took years before they were even willing to begin treatment for underactive thyroid because of other concerns more important in her case.

You will find competent doctors less willing to appease older patients who want T3 added, unless it is really necessary, and that is because T3 is active. Hence, it is more dangerous. Too much can cause a heart attack and the risk is higher as we age. While the adjustment is definitely slower using the usual T4 treatment, it is the very best until/unless it is proven one has issues (such as a pituitary tumor) which prevents his/her body from ability to do the conversion. This typical treatment, while seemingly slower to get optimal, is actually the most natural, supplying on that which the body cannot produce anymore and then letting the body resume normal function, supplying only the amount of active hormone one really needs.

So, I would, if I were you, definitely take my questions to my physician, but I would be willing to give my body plenty of time to adjust and get this function working normally, give my body plenty of time to heal from whatever length of time my thyroid was underfunctioning.

You know when you had the surgery, but you probably don't know how long your thyroid was underfunctioning. It is possible you went a very long time with and underactive thyroid and also need some healing time.

The reason I say my condition likely started in my early 20s is because I was tested then. That would have been in 1964-1965 when the tests were not as accurate and when doctors typically did not begin treatment until the labs showed numbers far more out of whack than the ranges today.

My mother was hypothyroid and could not understand from what I ate and my activity level at that time why I was having so much trouble maintaining a normal weight. She didn't understand why I slept so much and why it was so very difficult to awaken me after an inordinate amount of sleep. I was always very cold and there were other typical hypo symptoms which concerned her, so she finally convinced me to be tested.

The doctor said the labs showed "borderline," but he was not willing to treat based on that. I thought it was a lifetime answer, so I never considered hypoT after that. In fact, I didn't when I finally raised a flag in 2006. I thought I might be diabetic, but it was my doctor who ordered the TSH test. He said he was fairly certain, just wanted the lab to confirm.