Have you recently been told that you need to be on thyroid medication? This is a very common situation in both the natural and conventional worlds of medicine.
But is it always the right choice? In this article, I want to help you answer the question of “do you need thyroid medication?” today.
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Thyroid hormones do a lot! In fact, they regulate nearly every important chemical reaction in the body. If we broke that down into three big categories, it would include:
When any of these things aren’t working correctly, that’s when we begin to see the classic symptoms of thyroid disease. Things like easy weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, brain fog, poor memory, and more.
To put it simply, thyroid medications are versions of thyroid hormones that are made into pills. They come in one of two major categories:
But, what do they do? In taking them by mouth, they begin by entering the bloodstream and they work in ways similar to what the body would do on its own.
A while ago, I may have used a word like ‘identical’ instead of ‘similar.’ That’s because we now know that it’s not an identical process. For those who lack a thyroid, it is life-saving and absolutely critical, but it’s truly not the same as having a healthy operating thyroid.
Key Insight: Large-scale studies have shown that those on medication with normal levels have different health effects than those not on medication with the same levels. Simply put, taking a hormone is not the same as making it. Let’s dive into that.
When we start to think of thyroid medication, we need to think of it as a sort of crutch. While it can be helpful in some cases, it doesn’t replace a functioning leg in the exact same way.
In addition to that, thyroid medications also come with risks. Those on thyroid medication have various risks, including:
In many cases, even when they reach normal levels, those on thyroid medication can still experience a host of unpleasant symptoms.
On top of some of the less tangible drawbacks, like costs, tests, and overall hassle, it also comes down to the idea that you need to rely on medication to make things work.
One of the biggest conditions where thyroid medications are prescribed is in the case of Hashimoto’s disease. Hashimoto’s is an immune attack in which the body goes after the thyroid – which is often (not always) tied together with hypothyroidism (too little thyroid hormone).
The most common scenario is to have Hashimoto’s disease, but not hypothyroidism. This is where someone has measurable antibodies or signs on an ultrasound of autoimmunity, but still has normal thyroid levels. This is where most people enter the world of the thyroid.
Key Insight: Medications do not help with Hashimoto’s. They offer very little value, but this is also where people start getting prescribed.
Now, let’s talk about hypothyroidism. This is something that occurs by degrees, where you can have a mild, moderate, or severe lack of thyroid hormone. We can otherwise refer to this as stage one, stage two, and stage three. Let’s break each down:
Key Insight: The tricky part is that medications can sometimes feel like they are helping, which makes us want to continue on with them. In those cases, I often ask patients “What else did you do in addition to medication?” This can often reveal things you’re doing, like dietary changes or exercise, that could be having an even more powerful effect than medications.
You need thyroid medication if your thyroid has quit. If it has been taken out, destroyed by radiation, or shriveled down to nothing. Now you need medication.
In all of the other situations, you will have options and do not expressly need thyroid medication. The first big thing is shifting your diet.
I have always felt that food is some of the most powerful medicine out there. In the recent past, we have seen really great data showing the impact of dietary changes.
Key Insight: Changes to your diet can be used to reverse thyroid disease almost completely. That has been borne out in the data, and formed a huge part of the logic when I wrote The Thyroid Reset Diet. You can check it out here.
It can be hard to know which thyroid diet you may want to consider in place of medication. There are a lot of options out there, and many of them simply aren’t as effective.
The most powerful mover for any diet concentrated around the thyroid will be one that regulates iodine. Attuning your diet to a ‘low-iodine window’ can really give your thyroid the opportunity that it needs to heal and get better.
Once someone has healed their thyroid, they can be more lax with their diet and enjoy a broad range of foods. It’s not about gluten-free or paleo or nightshades or whatever, it’s about regulating something critical like iodine.
The fact is that there are some nutrients we need, which we are commonly low in, that the thyroid needs that we lack. Giving our thyroid what it needs to operate can be a big help.
Nutraceuticals can be a big help here. They can also reduce the inflammation in the thyroid, which also helps facilitate and speed up the healing process.
On top of that, they can:
The data here inspired me to create what are called Thyroid-Specific Formulations. What happened was that I came across all of these great studies that kept revealing the same thing – people need these things and they need them bundled in a meaningful way.
Things like Hypothyroid Support, Antibody Support, and Thyroid Daily, are really simple things that can have a massive impact on the way you feel and how your thyroid heals.
Now that you know a bit more about thyroid medication and whether you need to be on it, what do you do next? If you do need medication, that’s totally fine.
The main thing is to know the medications that will be most appropriate for you, and the best ones for your specific condition. That includes having the right amounts.
A weird thing happens with thyroid medication. If you take more than you need, or take it unnecessarily, you can have the exact same side effects that you would have if you were simply hypothyroid and untreated. You’d experience virtually no benefits at all!
Turning away from medications, if you have tried to change your diet but not gotten better, what do you do? My advice would be to check your iodine levels. It might be the case that your body needs more time or more thorough iodine avoidance.
The correct test here is going to be your iodine-to-urinary-creatinine ratio. Ideally, you want your levels to be below 100 micrograms of iodine per gram of creatinine. If you are not there, you either need more time or more diligence.
The other big thing to consider are comorbidities. There are a lot of other conditions that go along with thyroid disease, and most people often have more than one. A lot of these are undiagnosed and undertreated, and they can cause symptoms.
This could include:
Other issues that could arise include being on the wrong dose or the wrong medication, but if you find yourself in those first two stages, medications were likely never the answer all along.
The best thing is to take a step back and go through the process of deprescribing. The good news is that many can and have done this, and it’s likely easier than you think!
When it comes to the question of thyroid medications, I think we need to really rethink what we’re doing and take some proactive steps to get your health back where it needs to be.
That starts with understanding where you currently stand. Please consider taking my Thyroid Quiz today to really get a sense of where you’re at (and what you can do to feel better).
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.
