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Which Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapies Are Available Other Than Synthroid And Cytomel?
Hi, I recently had my thyroid removed due to a diagnosis of cancer. I am a 28 year old female and since my operation last year in May, I have had a really hard time adjustinybto my new hormone supplement of synthroid. My endocrinologist currently has me taking 150 mcg of synthroid in a addition to a twice daily dose of cytomil. The last blood work done revealed that my tsh has dropped to a .01 and my free t4 and total t3 are within a noemal range. My question is, is it possible, evem within the normal range , that the dose of hormones I m currently taking not working for me? I just can t shake the feeling, evem close to after a year, that I do notnfeel like the same person I was before having my thyroid removed. While some days I feel my energy is okay, others I just have absolutely no motivation to get up. I ve gained roughly 10 pounds and can t seem to shake a desire to snack o everything in my refrigerator. All of these things were never a problem before and it s driving me crazy because my endocrinologist doesn t seem to understand or agree that my dose isn t right. Please help. Any answers or helpful tips you can give would be very much appreciated. Are there certain foods I should be avoiding? Are there other alternatives to synthroid and cytomil that may be better? Thanks for your time.
Fri, 27 May 2016
Dear , This is Dr. S.Tomar from Healthcaremagic.com's medical team and I will be your medical advisor for this question. Thank you for sharing your concern with us and showing trust on us.
The symptoms which you have mentioned are not uncommon after thyroid removal . Here I would like to inform you that after every thyroid surgery the patient is treated with thyroid hormones life long . The efficacy and doses of thyroid medicines are assessed by TSH levels . In most of the cases the dose of the thyroid hormone is set for a target TSH level and that is the reason why you need TSH levels checked periodically and the doses are modified based on your TSH levels . Mainly the patients are divided into low , intermediate and high risk group and the TSH LEVELS ARE MAINTAINED as 0,5 to 2 mU/L , 0,1 TO 0,5 AND BELOW 0,1 RESPECTIVELY . So you should ask your endocrinologist that in which category you belong to , and TSH levels should be maintained according to that . Suppose if you are on low risk group then your TSH levels should be between 0,5 to 2,0 mU/L , and According to general guidelines your current levels of TSH are low if you belong to low risk group and your doses should be reduced . But your current doses may be correct also if you belong to intermediate or high risk group . As far as medicines are concerned so all medicines contains same hormone but different fillers and dyes , and you should always use the same brand/manufacturer which your doctor has prescribed , as different brands have different absorption rates . If in anycase you need to change the manufacturer due to some unavoidable reason then you should get your TSH levels checked 6 to 8 week later , because your TSH Level may have changed and may be it's not at that desired level which your endocrinologist wants.
You should consult this issue further with your Endocrinologist .
I wish you good health.
This is my initial response and feel free to contact if you need any further clarification .
Thank you for your question and feel free to contact us further for any query or follow up.
sincerely,
DR.S.TOMAR
The symptoms which you have mentioned are not uncommon after thyroid removal . Here I would like to inform you that after every thyroid surgery the patient is treated with thyroid hormones life long . The efficacy and doses of thyroid medicines are assessed by TSH levels . In most of the cases the dose of the thyroid hormone is set for a target TSH level and that is the reason why you need TSH levels checked periodically and the doses are modified based on your TSH levels . Mainly the patients are divided into low , intermediate and high risk group and the TSH LEVELS ARE MAINTAINED as 0,5 to 2 mU/L , 0,1 TO 0,5 AND BELOW 0,1 RESPECTIVELY . So you should ask your endocrinologist that in which category you belong to , and TSH levels should be maintained according to that . Suppose if you are on low risk group then your TSH levels should be between 0,5 to 2,0 mU/L , and According to general guidelines your current levels of TSH are low if you belong to low risk group and your doses should be reduced . But your current doses may be correct also if you belong to intermediate or high risk group . As far as medicines are concerned so all medicines contains same hormone but different fillers and dyes , and you should always use the same brand/manufacturer which your doctor has prescribed , as different brands have different absorption rates . If in anycase you need to change the manufacturer due to some unavoidable reason then you should get your TSH levels checked 6 to 8 week later , because your TSH Level may have changed and may be it's not at that desired level which your endocrinologist wants.
You should consult this issue further with your Endocrinologist .
I wish you good health.
This is my initial response and feel free to contact if you need any further clarification .
Thank you for your question and feel free to contact us further for any query or follow up.
sincerely,
DR.S.TOMAR
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