Does it seem like thyroid medication just isn’t helping?
If so, you’re not alone. A recent survey of over 12,000 people found that, for over 80% of people, medication did not improve symptoms.
It is easy to think that maybe you’re not on the right medicine, or maybe not the right dosage. Yet it turns out that nearly everyone who is put on thyroid medication is not a good candidate for it!
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Ideally it would reduce symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, and hair loss. Hopefully it would prevent the risk of other diseases that often accompany thyroid disease like heart disease and diabetes. In a perfect world they would reduce autoimmunity and prevent further progression of thyroid disease.
For people who are not a good candidate, medications do none of those things.
Clearly those who have their thyroid glands removed. They need medication and they will need it for life. Then there are those who have what is called overt hypothyroidism. This diagnosis is among the rarer types and it includes a severely elevated TSH and a T4 that is well below range. TSH is a thyroid stimulating hormone. It is a signal from the pituitary gland telling the thyroid to work. The higher it is, the less active the thyroid is. T4 is one of the two main hormones the gland produces.
Most people don’t have this combination, but for those who do, medications are helpful when used properly.
Nearly everyone who is prescribed thyroid medication is in neither of these categories. Most are prescribed because they have thyroid symptoms and other types of lab abnormalities.
Sometimes doctors prescribe it because they think it will help weight loss. Some do it because they see that the thyroid tests show early problems. They are trying to help, but our latest evidence makes it clear that thyroid medications usually don’t work in these cases.
People are often just told they have hypothyroidism or that their thyroid is slowing down. When thyroid experts look back at the original labs, they find that the most common diagnoses are subclinical hypothyroidism and suboptimal hypothyroidism.
Subclinical disease is where the TSH is above range, but T4 does not dip below range. Suboptimal disease is where the TSH is normal, but on the high side of normal. Nearly everyone on thyroid medication started out from one of these two conditions.
The truth is that subclinical disease and suboptimal disease are real conditions. They can cause thyroid symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, and more. But large studies have shown that medications just don’t help. They don’t help people feel better, they don’t cut the risk of further thyroid problems, and they don’t increase overall health.
The reason that so many people are frustrated with their thyroid medication is because they never were good candidates for them in the first place.
The symptoms from subclinical and suboptimal disease are not just from too little thyroid hormone. They come from the body attacking the thyroid and not using its hormone properly. Adding in more hormones rarely helps.
What do you do if you are on thyroid medication and still struggling? The main reason the body attacks the thyroid is because it builds up too much iodine. You can often reverse this by avoiding extra iodine in supplements, foods, and in cosmetics. See my latest book, The Thyroid Reset Diet for full details.
Many who start on the program find that they can feel better and need less medication. As always, it is important to coordinate any changes in prescription medications with your doctor.
Try the Thyroid Quiz today to learn more about your thyroid and the impact it may be having on your overall health.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:
1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here
Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.
Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.
Dr. Alan Christianson
Alan Christianson is a Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD) who is a board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist with a focus on thyroid disorders. He is the author of The Metabolism Reset Diet and the New York Times bestselling book The Adrenal Reset Diet.
He founded Integrative Health, a physician group dedicated to helping people with thyroid disease and weight-loss resistance regain their health.
He has been named a Top Doctor in Phoenix magazine and has appeared on national TV shows and in numerous print media.
Dr. Christianson resides in the woods by a lake in Northern Minnesota with his wife Kirin.
