We’ve learned about the key role of nutraceuticals for your thyroid health. Now, let’s talk about medications and whether you really need to be on them when you have thyroid disease.
In this article, I want to walk you through the role and necessity of medications, and how important it is to get them right.
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When someone is a good candidate and they are on the right thyroid medication, it can improve their symptoms. It can help them lose weight, have more energy, regrow hair, or cut their risks when it comes to other diseases. That’s a fact.
On the other hand, the wrong use of medications doesn’t improve any of those. If someone does not need medications, not only can it not help, it can hurt – it can even cause the symptoms they are trying to alleviate in the first place.
Here’s one super common example: Someone has gained weight from thyroid disease, and they go on medication to solve that. If they do not need thyroid medication, it might make them gain even more weight – while counteracting their weight loss efforts.
Another scenario could be someone who doesn’t need medication gets prescribed more than they need, and this doesn’t help.
Key Insight: When you’re looking at this yourself, there are so many variables. It is hard to know what is helping and what is hurting, and in many cases, we need to dig a little bit deeper to find a real case for thyroid medication.
Quite simply, it’s those who lack a thyroid. That’s the end of the list!
There might be others who could benefit from thyroid medication. But, if you lack a thyroid, you’re the only kind of person who truly needs medication on a long-term basis.
Beyond that, medication can also help those who have overt hypothyroidism. The chart below shows what this means in terms of blood tests…
Basically, this means that when TSH levels are really high (20 or greater) and T4 is below range (not ‘low-normal’ but way below range), medications may have a good chance of helping with thyroid symptoms.
But, that’s not the only option. There’s a lot of good data suggesting that regulating iodine, which I detail in the Thyroid Reset Diet, can help upwards of 60% of the time. That can still be useful and can help avoid needing thyroid medication.
Now that we have a really clear idea of who stands to benefit from taking thyroid medications, let’s talk about those less likely to benefit. Everybody else.
Those that have subclinical hypothyroidism, where the TSH is elevated but the T4 has not shut down, as well as those with suboptimal thyroid function.
That latter group encompasses those whose levels are normal, but there is some other reason where medication was considered as a benefit. This could include:
These are all things that are real, and they can correlate with thyroid symptoms. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – but, on average, medications are unlikely to help.
The question really becomes: Are medications likely to help you? And, regardless of how you have done on medications in the past, they are not likely to be your biggest help.
It is important to make that distinction because thyroid medications also come with risks.
You may feel like thyroid medications have helped you in the past or are helping you currently. So, I want to offer a couple of thoughts to clarify our thinking and introduce a new way of potentially doing things – for the benefit of your health, of course.
It’s almost never the case that someone only does thyroid medication. More often, they generally do a lot of other things at the same time, including:
These other things are far more powerful than we give them credit for, and I’ve learned to really emphasize these as I’ve grown throughout my career.
Key Insight: In most cases when someone does get better with thyroid medication, the other factors and changes were likely doing more work than previously thought. We need to embrace those other factors and how exactly they can help us.
So, what happens now? There’s a lot your body can do on its own, and we should lean into that. If you’re already on thyroid medications, but don’t fall into that camp of folks who truly need them, here is what you can consider doing…
Thyroid-Specific Formulations can be a massive help here. Thyroid Daily can be the best starting point for that, as well as T2/T3 converter. If you are someone with high thyroid antibodies, consider antibody support.
In so many cases, for those who have symptoms but have not had their thyroid removed (or have overt hypothyroidism), it is so much more about autoimmunity. You need to address that issue, and medications are unlikely to help.
I’d really recommend taking the Thyroid Quiz to get to the bottom of things. I built it to help you figure out where things stand with your thyroid, and where you can benefit the most from these Thyroid-Specific Formulations. I hope it helps you on your journey.
You really don’t want to be on more thyroid medication than you need. But, how do you know if you are getting too much?
The earliest sign of that is that your TSH goes below range. When you get too much, it can make you feel like you’re getting too little.
Earlier, I mentioned those weight gain problems. That is a really common issue, and it might reveal itself as a potential overdose of thyroid medication.
To do this, you MUST work with your prescribing physician. If you’d like my assistance as your physician, or to help guide you with your physician, you can work with me here.
It’s already kind of a cool idea for your thyroid to work on its own. But, there are even more practical reasons to consider deprescribing.
The biggest is that you can improve your symptoms. That’s because taking hormones is not the same as being able to make hormones. It really isn’t the same, and this is a big perspective shift for a lot of people. It’s so important that we embrace that understanding.
Even if you are simply lowering your dose, this can still correlate to improvements in symptoms for many people. The other benefit is lowering risks.
Especially when they’re not needed, taking thyroid medications can potentially correlate with increased risks of many kinds of cancers and total mortality.
The truth of the matter is that thyroid medications are both powerful and potent. This is important for us to remember because this power can be cut both ways.
It is an awesome thing that we have them and that we have a lot of options. But, you need to use them precisely and you need to use them correctly.
Please consider the following:
I hope this article helped you gain a bit more perspective and understanding of the role and impact of thyroid medications. And, to really think about whether you need them and if you’re currently getting them in the right amounts.
Next time out, I’ll talk a bit more about secondary conditions that go with thyroid disease. Until then, though, I’d love for you to take the Thyroid Quiz to see where things stand for you right now.
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 board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist, and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, Metabolism Reset Diet, Thyroid Reset Diet, and the Healing Hormone Cookbook.
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.
