Let’s start with two thyroid facts:
The diagnosis of hypothyroidism (low levels of thyroid hormone) is missed by most physicians. Patients arrive with obvious symptoms of hypothyroidism every doctor learned in medical school, among them sensitivity to cold, weight gain, dry skin, fatigue, and constipation. The doctor listens, sometimes attentively, and then orders a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) blood test. TSH does not come from the thyroid itself, but rather from the pituitary, a Wizard of Oz sort of gland that controls your thyroid from behind its curtain.
Understand that a high TSH test result indicates low thyroid function. Think of your pituitary churning out the hormone in an attempt to stimulate your thyroid. If your TSH is within normal range (currently 1.0 to 5.0), you’re told that low thyroid is not a problem and you’re sent on your (less than) merry way, tired, cold, sluggish, and depressed, thinking “I thought it was my thyroid.”
What your doctor should be measuring are your actual thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, and testing you for the common thyroid autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. She also should know that many endocrinologists now believe any TSH test result above 2.5 should be treated as an indicator of low thyroid. Probably 20% to 30% of adults drag around with their TSH higher than 2.5.
On the opposite end, patients themselves over diagnose hypothyroidism. If you go online and start reading websites devoted to the thyroid gland and underactive thyroid, someone somewhere has attributed every possible discomfort the human body can experience to low thyroid.
Take being overweight as an example. Let’s face it: a single daily thyroid tablet for weight loss would be a whole lot easier than eating healthfully and boarding your elliptical. It’s human nature to pray that the villain of your middle-age spread is an underactive thyroid rather than an overactive fork.
Early days
The first physician to point out that hypothyroidism was likely being badly underdiagnosed by doctors was Broda Otto Barnes, MD, a Rush Medical College-trained physician and professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Noting the consistently low body temperatures of low-thyroid patients, he standardized a basal body temperature self-test you can find here. Barnes drew the line at 97.8 (recently changed to 97.6) and felt that any temperature lower than that in a person who also had symptoms of low thyroid merited a trial of thyroid hormone treatment.
The Barnes self-test never caught on with a majority of physicians, mainly because TSH was discovered at about the same time and seemed more scientific. These days, an increasing number of you bring your basal temperatures to your doctors as evidence of self-diagnosed hypothyroid status. It’s likely your doctor hasn’t a clue about Barnes and his work, but to reassure you your doc may actually order a TSH test. If it comes back normal (below 5.0), you’ll hear “Your thyroid’s fine,” but in your heart you know better.
With perseverance, you’ll eventually locate a physician to write a thyroid prescription based on your symptoms and basal temperatures.
Ineffective thyroid replacement: what next?
But what happens when you take the prescribed thyroid replacement and nothing happens? Your hopes are dashed. You’re still cold, tired, and, worse than anything, you haven’t lost an ounce. What went wrong? Don’t give up! There are several avenues for consideration:
- Your dose isn’t high enough. A definite possibility, but don’t increase it on your own. Dose adjustment is not DIY healthcare. Let your doctor adjust your dose by listening to your symptoms and tracking the results of a full thyroid panel (TSH, T3, T4). Some patients feel best being a scoatch under hyperthyroid (a scoatch is slightly less than a smidgen), but going around in a self-induced overactive thyroid state (called factitious hyperthyroidism) is simply unhealthy.
- The thyroid replacement product isn’t right for you. Conventional physicians have been brainwashed to prescribe Synthroid/Levoxyl, a synthetic T4 that replaced Armour’s dried (desiccated) pig (porcine) thyroid in the 1960s (older Chicagoans still remember Armour as a meat-packing company). T4 triggers cells outside the thyroid to make T3, the active form of the hormone. Some people have better T4-to-T3 conversion systems than others. The original Armour thyroid was a blend of T4 and T3 and very similar to human thyroid. Several years ago, Armour was acquired by a Big Pharma company that changed the manufacturing process and bollixed it up.
The name of the best natural thyroid is easy to remember: Nature-Throid. Other excellent thyroids are WP Thyroid and ERFA. If your doctor adamantly refuses your request for NatureThroid, consider Liotrix, a blend of synthetic T4 and T3 in the same ratios as NatureThroid. Or find a different doctor.
- You may have an issue with T4 altogether and may need pure T3 (liothyronine, Cytomel) added to your T4 as a separate prescription. Since T3 is much more potent than T4, your initial dose will likely be quite small, on the order of 5 mcg (mcg stands for micrograms, one millionth of a gram or one thousandth of a milligram). If you’re prescribed Cytomel, never ever self-treat (“Oh, I’m feeling so fat today, I’ll just take a few extra Cytomel”). Yikes! Too much Cytomel can trigger very unpleasant side effects and potentially dangerous heart arrhythmias.
- You may be taking Cytomel (T3), but feel an afternoon crash. This is because T3 has a short half life and disappears quickly from the body. You might feel better if you spread your dose throughout the day–e.g., 5 micrograms three times daily. There are also capsules of slow-release T3 available, but you’d need to get these from a compounding pharmacist. It can be expensive and is rarely covered by insurance.
- You may have forgotten about your adrenal glands. Your thyroid and adrenals are both pituitary-controlled, stress-responding glands. When you’re under chronic stress, both can become fatigued. If you start treating for low thyroid, your increasing metabolism may place an extra burden on your adrenals. Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can mimic hypothyroidism. Take an adrenal support formula when starting thyroid hormone replacement. If you still feel thyroid symptoms and your lab tests are good, have your doctor order an adrenal test, which measures salivary cortisol throughout a single day.
- You may have overlooked selenium. It’s only recently been shown that diets low in selenium can induce hypothyroidism. You needn’t add another supplement for this. Just eat some selenium-rich foods—they’re all quite tasty. This first list is for meat and fish eaters, the second for vegetarians (pescetarians, please scan both).
- Familiarize yourself with Janie Bowthorpe’s website Stop The Thyroid Madness. The more I read her, the more I’m convinced she knows more about thyroid than 99% of physicians practicing in the US.
- Don’t increase your thyroid dose without professional supervision. I’m well aware of Denis Wilson, MD’s, work and his “Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome,” which is essentially Broda Otto Barnes revisited along with time-release Cytomel in place of desiccated porcine thyroid. But Cytomel is simply too powerful for you to play with on your own.
- Remember that fatigue is one of the most common problems people bring to their primary care physicians. There are dozens of causes of fatigue. If your pursuit of hypothyroidism doesn’t pan out, don’t give up. Keep researching, at our WHC blog and elsewhere.
Be well,
David Edelberg, MD
A note on my previous comment before someone asks (not about my crap late night spelling and syntax), my t3 levels have been checked. My TSH is fine. I’m not.
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
Please give a call to schedule a telemedicine visit with one of our functional medicine clinicians. They can go over your history and testing, discuss treatments you’ve tried, and decide where to head next. Our scheduling staff can be reached at 773-296-6700.
We’ll look forward to your visit!
-Dr M
cliffmaurer
It’s not working. I am on 200 mcg t4 and experiencing rapid onset arthritis. I had hand and foot surgery. I’m slated fot 2 spine surgeries. That happened in a year but spine continues to move. Knees just went from fine to painful and creaking in 2 months. I’m weaker than I used to be. I’m trying to fight the arthritis with exercise and stay flexible. I’m 54 limber, reasonable weight, somewhat muscular but it’s a battle against time and time seems to be very short, it’s happened so fast. Breathing has become harder (spine moved to squeeze esophagus, nasal drip, weak lungs, elevated diaphragm, I think I feel my thyroid in my throat, etc). I have every normal symptoms ((swelling, hair loss, narcoleptic fatigue). and weird ones like skin issues and vomiting.
The only explanation is my thyroid. I test positive on both thyroid tests under the ANA panel and nothing else under it. The problem is thyroid. My echotexture is heterogeneous and 1 lobe atrophic. and hard.
No one will help because my levels are balanced. I couldn’t even get seen this year because I wear a face shield rather than a mask because breathing is difficult anyway, covering my nose and mouth make me feel like I’m drowning. I isolate and test negative for covid but that doesn’t get me seen. I doubt full vaccination will either (2nd shot in 2 wks).
I had a kidney failure before starting meds when creatinine soared. I think it’s soaring again as kidney infections are back. I believe t4 is working less and less. Is that possible?
I’m in California, does anyone reading this know someone who can help? I want to try thyroid removal but no one will do it.. The nerve pain is intense but it’s the rapid bone loss, breathing and kidneys that terrify me. Also my platelets increase and increase which seems like possible heart trouble if the continue to. I showed my “medical team “(I track it on quest, someone has to). I believe even if I could get an in person rather than virtual appointment they’d still just obsess on my levels. They can’t see past them. No doctor I’ve ever spoke with except my surgeons has. They all say the problem is thyroid. But they can’t stop it. I need an endocrinologist to acknowledge what’s happening and advocate for alternate treatment including surgery. All they do is order tests, test levels, prescribe t4 and declare the job done. It’s so easy there are businesses capitalizing on doing just that. My puppy is thinking of starting one.
Again, late night rant but I’m scared they’re letting me die. Yes, levothyroxine is not the be all and end all of treatment, or it shouldn’t be.
Rebecca
Hi. I have been on thyroid medication for a year now and nothing seems to be working to change my levels. I started taking levo cause my T4 was low and it never gif my levels to go up but messed with my T3 so I was put on synthyriod and that made my T3 to high so I was put back on other med with different dose. My TSH has be at a 0.00 while my T3 and T4 is in normal range. I went off my pills for a few weeks and tsh went to normal but T4 went lower then it was when I first started taking meds. We can’t seem to find out why we can’t get all 3 levels in normal range at same time. Could there be more going on with my thyroid ?
Reanna
Hi Reanna,
It’s possible that something more is going on here. If you’d like a second opinion, any of our functional medicine practitioners would be happy to help you with this. You can schedule a telemedicine visit or in-person consultation to go over everything and decide your next steps. Our scheduling staff can be reached at 773-296-6700.
cliffmaurer
I get a thyroid med from a compound pharmacy but the doctor that prescribed my med to the compound pharmacy is moving. So I going to an endocrinologist do the any natural ingredients at all
Cheryl Duitsman
Been on armour for 5 years…last year starting gaining weight and can’t lose it, hair falling out, joints ache. Regular doctor is clueless.
CAROL ZIMMERMAN
Hi
i am actually a thyroid cancer patient of 30 years. I was on synthroid but it quit working and I started on Nature Thyroid 15 years ago and it worked perfectly. Now suddenly my tsh is 12.080 and I can’t lose weight, achy etc. I am on 5 grains a day and my doc seems afraid to have me take a higher dose but I am miserable. Could I add cytomel? Do people take 6, 7 grains a day?
Adrienne Cooper
Hi Adrienne –
This is definitely worthy of a more comprehensive discussion with one of our functional medicine practitioners. We see this sort of thing all the time, but causes are varied and it’s best to make recommendations based on a more detailed conversation. Please call our Patient Services staff at 773-296-6700. They can set up your visit, and telemedicine visits can be submitted to your health insurance.
Hope this helps!
-Dr M
cliffmaurer
I was diagnosed at 24 and 13 years later I still feel like crap. I am taking 3 grains of nature thyroid and my levels just tested still hypothyroid. Unfortunately I have been treated by army doctors the whole time and they said it’s fibromyalgia and don’t do anything about it. I know it’s been my thyroid the whole time but I can’t get help. Would you say it’s just the thyroid or could something else be causing it? Thank you
Jasmine Brennan
Hi Jasmine –
It’s very likely that something else is going on here. All of our doctors and nurse practitioners are available for video and telemedicine visits, and this sounds exactly like the type of problem we see all the time at WholeHealth Chicago. If you’d like, please call our Patient Services staff at 773-296-6700 and schedule a visit with either Wendy Ploegstra (our nurse practitioner) or Caley Scott (our naturopathic doctor). Whomever can see you soonest would be ideal so you can start to get to the bottom of this.
Best wishes,
Dr M
cliffmaurer
What does it mean when your thyroid medication doesn’t work then what
Theresa McGuire
Hi Theresa –
There are a variety of ways to treat thyroid and a myriad of medications to do so. It’s best to let your prescriber know that they’re not working for you. If you’ve not already done so, you can have your thyroid levels re-checked to see if your medication is working to boost your numbers, even though your symptoms are unchanged. Typically if your thyroid numbers and your symptoms have not changed, you may need a different thyroid prescription. If your numbers have improved but your symptoms are the same, it may be that you and your healthcare practitioner need to determine if other things besides your thyroid are going awry.
Hope this helps – best wishes to you.
Dr. M
cliffmaurer
What about iodine supplements; will that help hypothyroidism? I have been on Nature Throid for many years and while I feel a lot better I’m definitely not 100%. I’m always cold, can’t loose weight, my lateral eyebrows are thinned, I have half the hair I used to and it is extremely dry and the lunulas (half moons) on my fingernails are non-existent.
Marie
My patients are reporting best results with NP Thyroid and that’s what I am prescribing exclusively. Get a different batch from your pharmacist
Dr. E
Doctor E,
I was on Naturethroid for about 6 years for hypothyroidism and did great until it was back ordered in Jan 2018 and I was put on WP till June 2018 when it came back in stock. A couple of weeks after I started it again I began to lose a lot of hair, have fatigue and joint pain. I did feel revived up too. I switched to NP for a month until the refill where it smelled like cat urine and people were reporting a return of hypo symptoms so I got off. My symptoms did get better but then I plateaued. Next I tried synthetic t3/t4 compounded and my hair was great but the top of my head was sore. Now I am on Armour started at 30 mgs plus 5 mcg of cytomel for two weeks, and now 45 mg for one week and I think I feel worse. More joint pain and fatigue. Shouldn’t I be starting to feel better or at least the same and not worse? When do I know that Armour is not for me or it’s just a dosing challenge? The STTM site has been reporting that all NDT’s with the possible exception of Armour are failing. What do you think?
Lynn
I keep hearing about how taking thyroid medications will show in your blood within 2-3 hours. Under what conditions will this NOT occur? I am hypothyroid, TSH over 80 in the morning and over 50 in the afternoon, and have been taking large (> 500mg) doses of natural desiccated thyroid for a month. I get my blood checked weekly. I have seen no statistically significant improvement in TSH, Free-T4, or Free-T3 since I began replacement therapy. They are all basically static (allowing for the circadian fluctuations of TSH).
I continue to feel tired, and my body temperature is stubbornly stuck at 97.5. When taking large doses of NDT I feel a head rush after about an hour or two, but no symptoms of sweating or racing heart, and no increase in my temperature. I have tried 2 different NDT brands with similar results so I do not believe it is the medication.
When researching malabsorption, all I see are doctors smugly stating that it is probably the patient not taking the meds. In my case I can categorically confirm that I am taking the medication. They simply aren’t doing anything. Other than faulty medications, what other conditions could cause a complete lack of response?
Al Fansome
do you have advice for maximum absorption of thyroxine pills,I use thyroxine 100 mg per day but I still have fatigue , constipation and low energy
mahdi
Hi Mahdi –
The first step here would be to confirm with your prescriber that your medication and dose are correct, usually done through a blood test. If you’re still having symptoms, some tweaks may need to be made, or other factors causing these issues should be addressed.
Hope this helps,
Dr M
cliffmaurer
i’ve been taking Eutroxsig for my hyperthyroidism since i was like 8, it has been like 8 years and i’m still in on the medication and i’m taking 100 micro-grams everyday on an empty stomach. Am i not getting better? I’ve heard that this resolves in months, my sister even had it for a couple months and now she doesn’t have it anymore, yet i have continued to take it for YEARS.
Mel
Find a functional medicine doctor in your area and ask about intestinal bacteria and their relationship to obesity. Several studies have linked gut bacteria to obesity and if the gut ecology can be altered weight loss is easier
Dr E
Doctor E,
Now that my temperature is finally getting above 98.1F, when can I expect my metabolism to get faster and to start losing weight.I have been above 200 lbs for 20 years. Is there anything else I can do to help the process?
Aelxa
Hi Doctor E,
Thyroid can be complicated by having a MTHFR gene variant such as I have.This gene affects the methylation of folic acid, but many people do not realize it affects ALL vitamin and hormone conversions, like turning T4 into T3.
I was on Synthroid and two Cytomel a day and still hypothyroid. It was only when I went up to three Cytomel a day (taking one every eight hours) that I got my T4 & T3 levels into the mid-range, but my temperature still was below 97.5F all day long. By taking half a 5mg Cytomel every four hours my temperature is now finally hitting above 98.1F and I no longer feel cold all the time, and can also tolerate heat and cold temperatures better.
A second benefit of being in the mid -range is that my body is starting to produce growth hormone again, which is a miracle. Back in 1998 they did a IGF-1 test on me and it was only 29, and after the in-hospital IV challenge test I had to start taking daily growth hormone shots. In January 2018 my IGF-1 was 168, after getting my thyroid levels in mid-range my IGF-1 is now 248 and I can look forward to decreasing my growth hormone that I have to inject every day. I checked on PubMed (the NIH. gov site) and found that endocrinologists know that if you get the thyroid levels at mid-range then the body’s production of growth hormone will increase, yet my doctor never tried to get my levels to mid-range! Sometimes you have to adjust the timing of the medicine to get good results, not increase the amount of medicine. As you said the medicine does not last long in the bloodstream,turns out it lasts about four hours. Now my smartphone alarm goes off every four hours and I carry around a glass bottle of water to take that half tablet of 5 mg Cytomel and I am feeling better and better everyday. Better temperature tolerance, my hair and eyebrows and eyelashes are growing back, and my mood is getting better too.Turns out your brain needs T3 to make serotonin, and my chronic pain levels dropped from 7-9 down to 2-3 enabling me to cut my pain medicine by one half after only three days on the every four hour routine. Your brain needs T3 to make dopamine,more dopamine and serotonin, less pain signaling in the brain.
Taking Cytomel every four hours is a pain, but the benefits are great. I have not had any weight loss, but perhaps my metabolism will get better over time.Years of eating less than 1000 calories a day has made me so I can not get below 205 lbs.
However, now I am finally getting better and it is all due to timing. The sad part is I had to learn about endocrinology and make the changes in timing myself, my endocrinologist did not and is not interested in talking to me about my improvements through timing. On the other hand my pain management physician is fascinated and trying to find an endocrinologist to send his patients to for treatment, to get them in the thyroid mid-range.He has found almost all his pain patients are hypothyroid and barely in the so-called “normal” range. The benefits of being able to take much less pain medicine and having better pain control at the same time at that lower dose is one he would like to see all his patients have, if possible.
Aelxa
I’m on NP thyroid and even though I feel like it’s helping my hair loss is still out of control. Help…!
Leanna Havell
Thank you!
Lauren
Hello Doc,
Thanks for your response. Unfortunately I can’t tolerate NDT. It amps me up so much I feel like I’m manic! And this is on a half of a 1/4 grain. The traditional endo I went to also doesn’t want me taking T3 containing meds because I’m trying to conceive? Since the NDT makes me freak out (and I’ve worked on my ferritin, B12, and took Ashwaghanda for a year for adrenal support), and the T4 puts me into a coma, he basically said well you can just stop taking meds if you want. I’m so lost and confused. I have no idea what to do next.
Lauren
Hi Lauren – In reading your comments, I wanted to pass along a case about which Dr. Edelberg wrote a few years ago. It involves someone who struggled with thyroid issues and actually wanted to completely avoid any kind of prescription. He worked with Mari Stecker, one of our acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists and after a series of treatments, continues to do well. Here’s a link to the case; perhaps something to consider given your history of dealing with this stuff: https://wholehealthchicago.com/2011/09/27/hey-doc-when-are-you-going-to-write-up-my-case/
Hope this helps!
-Dr M
cliffmaurer
Wish I saw this years ago ; Ashawaganda was amazing for me or so I thought ; it messed your thyroid meds up ; so we can’t take it unfortunately! We can’t take Maca either
Karen
Hi Lauren
It sounds like you felt much better on NDT. Why don’t you go back to the functional med doctor and return to NDT. Your response to Levoxyl is not at all unusual
Dr E
Hi Doc,
This is a great article. Very easy to understand. I’m subclinical hypothyroidism. I went to a functional place and they only like to give NDT so I tried that.. even built it up very very slowly and I’m just too sensitive to it so I went to an endocrinologist who put me on levothyroxine. I feel like death warmed over after a week ok the levo. When can I expect to feel better again?
Lauren
Hi Lili
Synthroid is pure T4 and needs to be converted by your body to T3. Some people have difficulty doing this. Ask your doctor either for pure T3 (Cytomel) or a mixture of T4 and T3 (called WPThyroid, formerly Nature Throid)
Dr E
Dr. E I was prescribed generic synthroid My blood level was 20..the medication is NOT working after four months, confirmed by subsequent blood tests, why?
Lili
Thanks very much, Dr. E!
Sarah Hemmer
It is virtually the same as NatureThroid
Dr E
Dr. E., please, you didn’t mention Acella’s NP Thyroid — any experience with it? My insurance provider forced me back to the corner of overpriced and underserved (Walgreen’s) and they filled my Armour prescription (which is ~ $1 a pill) with the Acella instead — I’m hesitant to start down this road, since the Armour has served me well enough. Is Acella more like ERSA and NatureThroid, or more like Synthroid?
Sarah Hemmer
Hi Teresa
I’ve seen low TSH hypothyroidism (a/k/a secondary hypothyroidism) due to pituitary “fatigue,” but not due to a tumor. However it is a possibility and if there are other signs of pituitary insufficiency, the possibility of a tumor merits investigation
Dr
I want to add to my post above–my TSH has mysteriously gone down to .3 and lower in the last ten years. I know STTM site says this might be a pituitary issue. My basal temp during the worse of it was 95. I tried to tell my the doctors it was my thyroid medicine. They refused to listen. I’m now on two grains of naturethroid and I feel great. I had been on one and a quarter grain.
Dr E, have you ever had a case of low TSH, hypothyroidism, and pituitary tumors?
Teresa
I am on lifelong thyroid replacement due to treatment with radioactive iodine. The TSH test has been the bain of my existence. My thyroid dose has been lowered lowered 30% over the years to match the decline of my TSH tests. My health has suffered greatly because of this. I finally have found a doctor who is willing to look past the TSH and look at the free T4 and free T4. So many doctors refused to do this because they were worried that their license would be revoked for putting my bones and heart at risk. I finally found a doctor who agreed with the opposite logic–too little thyroid also harms the bones and the heart. He understands that you need the right amount–not too little,not too much. He also looked at my pulse rate of 60 He said that was indicative of someone who should not be on a lower dose.
Teresa
Hi Pawan
Quite a few doctors (myself included) start prescription thyroid based on a combination of symptoms and low basal temps. Unfortunately the over the counter supplements are not always helpful
Dr E
Excellent Article Dr. E.
I have a question. My basal temperature is continuously low when I take it first thing in the morning around – 97.1. But my blood report for thyroid is normal – TSH, T3, T4 and hashimoto antibodies under normal range.
But have symptoms of low thyroid specially low energy and sensitivity to cold.
Does the NatraBio, Thyroid Support with real thyroid can help.
Does low thyroid can cause lowT.
Appreciate a reply.
Thanks
Pawan
Hi! I am being treated for hypothyroid for my 4th month. My constipation has been WORSE than ever. I am taking Synthroid. My doctor increased my dose but still no help. Is it possible my body isn’t able to covert the T4 to T3? I also have high estrogen levels. Thanks!
Nicole
Hi Nicole –
This is a common problem we see with thyroid management, and you raise a good point about high estrogen levels. If you’re not making progress, please give our office a call and schedule a video telemedicine consultation with one of our functional medicine providers. They can take a different look at your history and thyroid lab reports, and explore other treatment strategies. You can schedule this by calling 773-296-6700.
We look forward to helping you with this, Nicole!
-Dr M
cliffmaurer
I’ll gladly take constipation over depression, muscle ache and fatigue any day.
Miserable
Eureka! You diagnosed me with sub clinical hypothyroidism from my basal temperature in 2010. Through the years, my energy has returned with a health coach, improved diet and gluten free options. Grains are not my friend at all. I’ve relocated since my treatment where my primary care doctor informed me that my health was perfect, but the gas, constipation and bloating remain a mystery until today…
I will be requesting a SIBO next year
Nelson
It is excellent
Dr E
WHAT do you think about *NP Thyroid Brand , made by Acella
A