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Category: t4

Feel better on T4 than you did on Natural Desiccated Thyroid?

Occasionally, hypothyroid patients will exclaim with conviction and truth that they outright feel better on Synthroid or Levothyroxine (T4-only meds) than they did when they tried Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) or even T3-only.  And we believe them.

But…there is an explainable reason which does not mean T4-only is better for you. It really isn’t. Bear with me and read on…

Years ago, as many of us were starting on NDT after being on T4, we were seeing our lives change in a huge way, far more than T4 did! It was like a miracle! Those five hormones really made a difference.

But some others were having problems when raising something so miraculous for others. Huh?? We didn’t get that.

It took awhile longer to finally see why and to answer the “huh?” i.e. we began to see that there were three strong and correctible reasons why someone was not seeing the miracle of NDT as others were, and instead, were blaming the NDT (or T3) and moving back to T4-only…

The three main and correctible reasons why NDT, which gives all five thyroid hormones, seems to fail…

1) NOT BEING “OPTIMAL” WITH YOUR NDT DOSE (it’s NOT about just being in range and not about being held hostage to the TSH)

We all have had a tendency to believe that our doctors know what they are doing with NDT or T3. But, the majority do not. They tend to leave you on too-low doses, and/or pay attention to the lousy TSH. Thus, due to the natural suppression of the feedback loop (hypothalamus to pituitary to thyroid), you will get worse on those lower doses, sooner or later. i.e. you will get more hypo, and/or have rising adrenaline, cortisol, anxiety or other. And because of that, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only.  But NDT, with all five thyroid hormones, could have worked well IF you had known to be more optimal. Optimal puts the free T3 towards the top of the range and the free T4 mid-range, and puts the TSH below range…all three…and removes all symptoms. What amount does that is very individual—some start to achieve that in mid-2 grains, others are in the 3-5 grain area, others may be higher.

What if you tried to raise to be optimal, but had worsening problems? Read #2 and #3 below.

2) NOT BEING OPTIMAL WITH YOUR IRON LEVELS (it’s not about just being in range)

When this is brought up to patients who once tried NDT and failed, they will exclaim with all sincerity “But my iron levels were great”. We know that a very small percentage may have had good iron. But what is common with the majority is they did NOT have good levels “Falling in the normal range” does not equal a good level of iron. It’s WHERE one falls that tells the story.

For example, with two types of ranges for serum iron (NOT ferritin):

a) When the range is approx. 40?155: women who have optimal serum iron tend to be close to 110, or 109, or 108, etc. They are NOT in the 90’s and definitely not lower when optimal. Men tend to be in the upper 130’s.
b)  When the range is approx. 7-27: women are optimal around 23ish; men are towards the top.

If they are lower than the latter examples, it messes up the ability to raise NDT and feel great without issue. Why? Inadequate iron levels tend to raise the reverse T3 (RT3) as one is raising their NDT.  As the RT3 goes up due to inadequate iron, you will feel worse. And because of that, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only…but if they had had optimal iron, NDT WOULD have worked…as long as they also had optimal cortisol (See #3 below) and were working to find their optimal dose of NDT (see #1)

See more details about iron here: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ferritin

3) NOT BEING OPTIMAL WITH YOUR CORTISOL LEVELS (it’s not about just being in range, and it’s NOT about blood cortisol)

We noted years ago that at least 50% of those with hypothyroidism had a cortisol issue as revealed by saliva, not blood. What does a cortisol issue mean? Either their cortisol was too high (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4) or was too low (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4), or had both high and low (due to the stress of being undiagnosed, poorly treated, or being on T4).

And what happens with a cortisol issue when you are trying to work with NDT? Either RT3 will go too high (the inactive hormone), or one’s T3 will pool in the blood and not make it to the cells, or both…and you won’t feel well or have bad reactions like excess adrenaline, anxiety, shakiness, feel-bads.

And because of having a cortisol issue, some exclaim “NDT didn’t work for me!” and they rush back to T4-only…but if they had…

a) done the 4-point saliva test, not blood
b) compared the saliva results it to the lab-values page (it’s not about that normal range)
c) CORRECTLY treated it (see this page, plus Chapter 6 in the updated revision STTM book if saliva is VERY low, which also applies to Adrenal Cortex),

….they would have soared on NDT…along with good iron and being OPTIMAL on NDT (or T3)

Note: it’s always about the results of a saliva test, NOT blood cortisol.

Bottom line, it’s not as simple as “feeling better on T4”. It’s more about that you are NOT experiencing the side effects that you did on NDT from any of the above three problems, which were all correctible. That is different.

“That all sounds like too much trouble–I’m staying on T4-only!”, you may be exclaiming….

There is a big problem with that reasoning that I hope you will be open to….Namely, T4-only outright…

  • CAUSES low iron
  • CAUSES a cortisol problem
  • CAUSES many other issues like lowered B12, lowered Vitamin D, rising blood pressure, rising cholesterol, depression, anxiety, heart issues, bone thinning, chronic pain….and more. The individuality is in who gets which…but T4 users do get problems of their own kind, sooner or later.

Please note that the above is not an empty strong opinion. It’s based on years of reported patient experiences from many who were on T4! i.e. most of the following hypothyroid symptoms were experienced by T4 users!! They were still hypo!

Now you may state “But I know people on T4 who do not have those problems!”.

First, some outright DO have some of those problems, but don’t realize it or they deny it (while others see it in them). Adrenal issues, even those denied, can make certain people awash with defensiveness, argumentativeness, denial, anger, paranoia towards others observations, low patience, moodiness, etc.

Yes, some on T4 do, in fact, do better than others. But you know what we have observed? The longer they stay on T4-only, the more problems WILL, in fact, raise their ugly heads eventually…like either adrenal issues, or low iron, or low B12, or depression, or rising cholesterol, or rising blood pressure, or heart problems, or dry skin and hair, or chronic pain, or bone loss, or rising illnesses…..on and on. Forcing the body to live for conversion alone backfires….sooner or later.

Summary: A working Natural Desiccated Thyroid, or adding T3 to that T4 as a second choice and getting those frees optimal, is a much better way to go than being on nothing but T4, according to years of worldwide patient experiences

A working NDT gives you all five thyroid hormones, and does NOT force you to live for conversion of T4 to T3 alone, i.e. some of NDT is direct T3. Additionally with T4-only, some people have genetic mutations which hinder the conversion of T4 to T3 and may not realize it.

There is a good reason that millions of patients found out that T4-only is not the way to go for many reasons, and NDT is the way to go if you correct the reasons you did NOT to do well...or even adding T3 to your T4 in an OPTIMAL amount. But you will still need optimal iron and cortisol!

P.S. The above three reasons are the most common for not doing well on NDT (or T3) and should be considered first. A 4th less common reason: chronic inflammation of any cause. Read about inflammation. If this is true for you, the sad part is that T4-only will also backfire, as it raises RT3.

Mold exposure can also effect conversion.

Click on the graphic to order an excellent saliva cortisol test.

102 replies

Read the mind-shattering realization by thyroid patients about what T4-only did to their hearts!

Screen Shot 2014-06-16 at 9.54.22 PMWhen my mother was in her 60’s, she had to have a heart procedure. It was scary. And at the time, I found it all very odd. There is no reported history in any of my ancestors of heart problems! Where did this anomaly come from?

It was only years later than I knew: her 30 odd years of T4-only use, which in her case was Synthroid. Not only did being on T4-only cause a daily need to nap, she was also totally dependent on antidepressants (which in turn made her emotionally flat) and she always had a weight problem. And, it caused high cholesterol and heart issues!

Today, patients realize that connection between their T4-use and heart-related problems. Here is what thyroid patient Carla sent me as one of many examples of a relationship between heart problems and being either hypothyroid or on a poor treatment with T4:

I had been on Synthroid for 12 1/2 years when I began to see certain problems coming along and getting worse. For one, my heartrate seemed to be rising. There were even times I literally felt like it was going to jump out of chest. Then there were chest pains. I just knew I was going to be one of those female heart attack statistics. I went to my family doctor, an Endocrinologist and a cardiologist. Hated driving in traffic to get to the cardiologist. But I got a fancy diagnosis of Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and worried myself to death. Beta blockers were on the menu.

Fast forward, I found Stop the Thyroid Madness and then the FTPO forums, and convinced my doctor to start me on Natural Desiccated Thyroid and let me raise it to find the right amount for me. She was super worried about my heart in using NDT. I wasn’t because I had read how others had safely used it, and I followed my raises carefully. And I was right. My heartrate became normal! Normal!! I luckily didn’t have adrenal fatigue.

I think back about all those years on Synthroid and realized that I had been seeing other problems almost from the beginning! I had depression. I had low iron. Minerals low. And I had doctors who dismissed me. And of course, I was a TSH disaster. TSH was normal; I was not. Year after year. Then I progress into heart problems? The makers of T4-only should be ashamed.

And there are plenty of studies underscoring a connection between being hypothyroidism and heart issues:

  1. This abstract of the study underscores honestly that “restoration of normal thyroid function most often reverses the abnormal cardiovascular hemodynamics.” Cardiovascular involvement in General Medical Conditions: Thyroid Disease and the Heart
  2. This study outright admits that “Long-term levothyroxine treatment in young adults with congenital hypothyroidism is associated with impaired diastolic function and exercise capacity and increased intima-media thickness” Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of Levothyroxine Therapy in Young Adults with Congenital Hypothyroidism from The Journal Clinical Endocrinolgy Metabolism,
  3. This study states that “subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with impaired left ventricular diastolic function at rest, systolic dysfunction on effort, and enhanced risk for atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.” Whoa. And continued hypothyroidism is what all-too-many thyroid patients report from being on T4-only Effects of Subclinical Thyroid Dysfunction on the Heart from Annals of Internal Medicine
  4. This one has always blown us away. It’s called Low-T3 Syndrome; A Strong Prognostic Predictor of Death in Patients With Heart Disease and underscores why the thyroid hormone T3 is so very important for one’s heart. Natural Desiccated Thyroid, just like a healthy thyroid, provides direct T3!

And there are many, many, many more studies showing the connection between heart problems and hypothyroidism. And eventually, we might see these studies catch up even better about the connection between T4-only and heart problems. The body is not meant to live for one of five thyroid hormones alone.

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Do you have a success story to share about how having T3 in your treatment reversed your heart problems. Use the STTM Contact form to let Janie know you want to send YOUR story and we’ll include it here!

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* Read more about T3 and your heart health!

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50 replies

Thyroid treatment success stories–read Erin’s story about T4-only problems and moving to NDT!!

peopleI love real life stories!

In fact, I think those kind of testimonies are some of the most influential ways to help others. And Erin’s story below really struck me. She spent years ignoring the idea that her T4 treatment with Synthroid and later Levoxyl just might explain all the growing problems she was having. So she finally saw the light, made a change, and is feeling so much better as she finally is working on the right issues. Enjoy her story! And if you want to read more, they are on the Stories of Others page, which anyone is invited to contribute to!

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HOW I MISREAD MY CONTINUED SYMPTOMS WHILE ON T4-ONLY…THEN GOT WISE

by Erin

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis and post-partum depression after having my first baby at 23 years old. I went to the doctor because I was so depressed and fatigued that I couldn’t get out of bed most days. I also had terrible headaches. My doctor put me on Prozac and Synthroid and I stayed on both for the next 23 years (also later used Levoxyl).

Continued problems

The Prozac did help me to be more functional; however, I still had periods of depression and fatigue, and developed other health problems as well, such as anemia, IBS, and chronic pain from TMJ. I went back to my doctors seeking solutions, but they put me on new and different meds that didn’t help and actually caused worsening symptoms like sedation and dependence. I was even diagnosed with bipolar at one point and on six different psych meds at one time!

I finally got off all the meds except the Levoxyl (which I had switched to from Synthroid) and Prozac, and was able to go back to school and regain some functionality. But I continued to struggle with chronic pain, periods of depression, fatigue, and digestive complaints. My doctors periodically checked my TSH and told me I was optimally treated or raised my Levoxyl. I didn’t question their testing or treatment methods, and did not connect my health problems with my hypothyroidism.

For many years, I just lived with the pain, discomfort, and fatigue. I chalked it up to stress and aging. But the IBS and fatigue got progressively worse until they were seriously interfering with my life. I had bloating, constipation and pain that often kept me housebound. I went to my doctor, and was told to change my diet, and take over-the-counter preparations for constipation. He never suggested that my health problems could be related to my hypothyroidism.

My denial and my apathy

My mother, who began frequenting a particular thyroid website, told me that some people can not convert t4 to t3, that she was one of those people, and that I might be too. She encouraged me to go back to my doctor and ask him to test my t3 levels. It seemed unlikely to me that my hypothyroidism was not being adequately treated! After all, I was getting my health care at a university medical center – a teaching institution.

My doctor ordered lab tests yearly and had not adjusted my Levoxyl for several years. I think too I was just plain too exhausted to deal with it. I barely had enough energy to get through work, let alone devote time to researching an alternative form of thyroid treatment that, in my mind, probably would not work anyway! I think, too, the Prozac contributed to my failure to seek alternative modes of thyroid treatment by dulling the pain and keeping me apathetic.

The pain and discomfort of my IBS is what finally pushed me to take the first step to finding an alternative form of health care. My husband had been insisting for a few years that I go to a naturopath or functional medicine doctor, but I didn’t want to pay out of pocket when I had medical insurance that I paid for each month.

My breakthrough, finally

Finally, I got on the internet and searched for a functional medicine doctor in my area, and found one not far from my house. My new doctor, a naturopath, ordered comprehensive lab testing, which revealed that I had very low free t3 levels, severe anemia, low b12, low ferritin, high cholesterol, candida overgrowth, other digestive bacteria imbalances, and more! He told me that my health problems were related to my hypothyroidism, which, he said, was not optimally treated on my current medications. He advised me to reduce my Levoxyl and add .25 grain of Naturethroid each day. He also recommended a variety of supplements.

When I first took the Naturethroid, I didn’t feel much. But about two weeks later I began to feel better than I had in years! I could not believe how amazing I felt; it was like a miracle! My IBS, head and jaw pain went away, and I had feelings of well-being. I was convinced natural desiccated thyroid was the solution to my health problems.

A bump in the road

About 10 days later, however, I started feeling anxious, restless, shaky, and having heart palpitations. I went back to my naturopath and he told me to stop the Naturethroid. I felt intuitively this was incorrect. I frantically searched the internet for some reason for my symptoms, and found STTM. I learned that I couldn’t tolerate the Naturethroid because of my low iron and low cortisol. I also felt empowered by what I learned on STTM; the site encouraged patients to make their own decisions about their healthcare. After that, I took over management of my own health care. I told my naturopath what I had discovered, and he agreed to adopt the treatment plan I felt was right from what I learned from STTM. Fortunately, he was open-minded and has been willing to be my equal partner in my health care.

I learned from the STTM site, book and forums that recovering from years of untreated hypothyroidism from staying on T4 meds is more complicated than simply getting on NDT. It takes a lot of work to stay informed, investigate, identify and treat the root causes of my health problems with natural remedies. It is far easier to remain passive and allow my doctors to dictate my treatment. However, my apathy kept me sick for a long time, and I cannot afford to lose anymore time being sick! Treating the root causes of my health problems is well worth it, as it leads to longer-lasting and better results than simply covering the symptoms with harmful pharmaceuticals.

Success and confidence for the future

While I still have work do to, I have come a long way and feel better than I have in years. The progress I have achieved in recovering my health has made me confident that I will ultimately achieve optimal health with the tools I have learned on STTM.

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What thyroid patients should know about Oxidative Stress

20130817_151332With a recent Italian study hypothesizing a significant correlation between T4-only levothyroxine use and lung cancer because of “oxidative stress” (possibly due to the serum peak of T4), or the same oxidative stress simply from the hypothyroidism itself, it spurs curiosity as to what oxidative stress is about and what we, as thyroid patients, can learn from this biological phenomena!

Oxidation–what the heck is that?

I have a shampoo holder that hangs from the shower nozzle, and to my dismay, it started to rust underneath the coating. (Note to self: don’t buy a hanging shampoo holder from a garage sale, even if it does look brand new). And this rust is an example of “oxidation”, i.e. when the iron comes into contact with oxygen (also via moisture), an oxidized corrosion will form called “rust”. Other examples of oxidation are the greenish patina you see on copper, the fading of paint on your house, or the brown coating you’ll see on an exposed cut apple…all due to the substance coming in contact with oxygen.

In your body, oxidation is a constant and normal chemical reaction going on every hour, every day and occurring when your cells come into contact with oxygen. It’s a required process to supply your body and all its cells with energy. Oxidation helps your body to get rid of old cells in favor of new cells. Your immune system also uses oxidation to attack and kill off pathogens.

Biologically, oxygenation describes the process of any particular molecule (which is made up of connected atoms) coming into contact with oxygen (making it an “oxygenated molecule”), resulting in the loss of an electron–a subatomic particle with a negative electric charge that surrounds any of those atoms. This oxygenated-molecule-minus-an-electron will frantically try to connect with another molecule which does NOT have this electron loss, and this constant attempt of connection produces an unstable “free radical”. And free radicals can cause all sorts of havoc.

Fortunately, a healthy and balanced body has a built-in ability to keep these unstable free radicals in check with anti-oxidant defense mechanisms…or at the very least, slow the havoc of a free radical down. Those heroes include several anti-oxidant enzymes, also called free radical scavengers, which can neutralize all those frenzied free radicals. Our body will also use nutrients in what we eat to squelch those free radicals, such as Vitamin C and E. Our bodies have the ability to repair DNA and tissue damage from free radicals, as well as zap damaged cells to death!

When Oxidation become “Oxidative Stress”

On the negative side, sometimes your body can lose the ability to take care of all the free radicals caused by the constant oxidation. (Collectively, all these free radicals are called “reactive oxygen species” (ROS).) The body then becomes overwhelmed by the excess of oxygenated free radicals, causing all sorts of damage. And this is all termed “oxidative stress”.

Alarmingly, oxidative stress can cause the loss of one of your key and internally-natural antioxidants: glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant produced by your own cells, and it neutralizes those free radicals/reactive oxygen species. It also works expertly with antioxidants vitamin C and E. And as your glutathione levels fall, a cascade of toxic deterioration and damage can also begin, from cells to tissues to organs. Scientists theorize, and studies propose, that this is what leads to conditions like:

Oxidative stress may also be negatively affecting your methylation process, such as the MTHFR enzyme.

Dr Andrew Weil explains :

Although we need oxygen to live, high concentrations of it are actually corrosive and toxic. We obtain energy by burning fuel with oxygen – that is, by combining digested food with oxygen from the air we breathe. This is a controlled metabolic process that, unfortunately, also generates dangerous byproducts. These include free radicals – electronically unstable atoms or molecules capable of stripping electrons from any other molecules they meet in an effort to achieve stability. In their wake they create even more unstable molecules that then attack their neighbors in domino-like chain reactions.

Some Causes of oxidative stress

There are quite a few situations mentioned in articles and studies which can cause your body to be overly stressed from the results of oxidation and all the reactive oxygen species. They include, but are not limited to:

  • excess endurance exercising
  • excess weight lifting
  • lack of key antioxidant nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Magnesium and other minerals
  • excess radiation or sunlight
  • smoking (huge cause of oxidative stress)
  • excessive drinking or drug use
  • over-exposure to toxins in our air, water and foods like pesticides, chemicals, heavy metals and more
  • prescription medications
  • processed foods with all their artificial dyes, additives or flavorings
  • excess physical trauma
  • Graves disease aka hyperthyroidism
  • excess copper levels from the MTHFR defect

Your thyroid condition and Oxidative Stress

In addition to all the above, there are a vast amount of documentation about the strong relationship between hypothyroidism and Oxidative Stress. In just four examples of many:

  1. Oxidative stress and enzymatic antioxidant status in patients with hypothyroidism before and after treatment : concludes that “increased ROS levels in hypothyroidism may result in a pro-oxidation environment, which in turn could result in decreased antioxidant PON1 activity, increased MDA (malondialdehyde) and NO (nitric acid) levels”. ROS stands for Reactive oxygen species, which are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen
  2. Serum Lipids and Oxidative Stress in Hypothyroidism : found relationship between high Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, LDL and MDA levels in hypothyroid patients with oxidative stress
  3. Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Hypo- and Hyperthyroidism “Despite some contradictory reports, the aforementioned results provide strong evidence that thyroid hormones induce oxidative stress in target tissues.”
  4. Oxidative stress status in hypothyroid patients. “Hypothyroidism undeniably can be risk factor for in- creased oxidative stress; can eventually lead to many other complications. Antioxidant therapy and antioxidant diet should be advised along with thyroid hormone replacement therapy to diminish further complications.”

What we might conclude as informed thyroid patients

Plenty of research studies and articles underscore that lack of optimal thyroid hormones are strongly associated with your anti-oxidative status in a negative way, meaning the lack of adequate thyroid hormones means oxidative stress. And worldwide thyroid patient reports underscore the reality of a potential, hypothyroid-induced “oxidative stress profile” with their chronic inflammation and finding themselves more frequent illnesses, besides lowered levels of important nutrients (due to hypothyroid-induced low stomach acid) which can end up contributing to oxidative stress. In other words, all too many patients have reported continued hypothyroidism while being on T4-only, or they reporting seeing symptoms of hypothyroidism creep up the longer they stay on T4-only. Continued hypothyroidism can occur if you are undertreated even on Natural Desiccated Thyroid or T3-only thanks to being held hostage to the TSH lab test (or issues with untreated low cortisol).

Conversely, informed thyroid patients could surmise that proper treatment of their hypothyroid state, in addition to their acquire low iron, low nutrient, low cortisol state, could strongly improve their anti-oxidative status in a positive way. And reported patient experience in the use of Natural Desiccated Thyroid may be underscoring this, as well. Namely, patients who switch from T4 to NDT report far better health outcomes i.e. less sicknesses, better well-being, lowered inflammation.

In the meantime, the same four Italian researchers who did the study on T4-only, lung cancer and oxidative stress may eventually provide us with more tips to counter this issue.

Ten suggested strategies for informed thyroid patients to consider to counter oxidative stress

  1. Be on a thyroid treatment which gives the best results, and thus, may play a role in lowering your oxidative stress, which reported patient experience reveals to be natural desiccated thyroid (or adding T3 to your T4 treatment, or even being on T3-only).
  2. Get a wide variety of antioxidants in foods.
  3. Optimize and balance your blood sugar levels
  4. Identify and address your food intolerances
  5. Optimize your gut health
  6. Treat your low cortisol
  7. Dr. Kharrazian recommends the following nutrients: N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), L-Glutamine, Selenium, Cordyceps, Gotu kola and Milk thistle. (Learn about each before using)
  8. Consider meditation and/or Yoga or any other stress-busting activities
  9. Find ways to laugh…and laugh….and laugh!
  10. Get plenty of sleep.

Discuss all the above with your doctor so he or she can be included in your team approach to your health and well-being. Let’s STOP THE THYROID AND OXIDATIVE STRESS MADNESS! 🙂

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** Want to chat with other patients concerning this oxidative stress issue? See a list of good thyroid patients groups.

** Need a good doctor to be in partnership with you? Here are strategies to help you.

** Like to learn in book form about better thyroid treatment? Order the Bible of better thyroid treatment as learned by patients (and the publishing company, with each order of the STTM book, is giving away a FREE 4-page handout on Herbs which help thyroid patients, for a limited time!)

** Check out this neat video by Tyler DeWitt explaining the difference between an atom and a molecule.

** For a very technical description of free radicals, check out the “Radical” Wikipedia article.

** See a list of diseases and conditions caused by oxidative stress on the Oxidative Stress Resource website. . http://www.oxidativestressresource.org/

 

16 replies

More BAD news if you are on T4-only like Synthroid??: It might cause Lung Cancer, says a study!

Lungs

After worldwide patient experience has revealed that T4-only treatment results in a slew of continuing hypothyroid symptoms, now we have a study which implies that T4-only treatment could be raising your risk of LUNG CANCER.

This complete study came out just last Thursday, August 8, 2013, in the Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology journal and it’s certainly not good news, if true, on top of what thyroid patients already know has been a failure in so many ways.

The Italian authors said the correlation between lung cancer and T4-only treatment was “significant“!

In other words, says the study, as hypothyroid patients raise their T4-only levothyroxine medication to chase continuing symptoms of hypothyroidism, it can lead to medication-induced hyperthyroid state, which in turns leads to an overproduction of oxidative stress. The latter oxidative stress is a known cause of cancer and other chronic diseases. But with T4-use, it’s specifically problematic for lung cancer, implies the study.

Oxidative stress can be defined as a that which results in “significant decrease in the effectiveness of your iinherent antioxidant defenses, such as glutathione” (Wikipedia). And there are two main consequences: your body doesn’t detoxify itself well, nor does it repair any damage well because of free radicals.

The study states:

The prevalence of breast, colorectal, gastric and lung cancer in 18 Italian Regions during 2010 was correlated with the sales of LT4 in 2009. The cancer prevalence was analyzed in women aged 30—84. This age range corresponds to more than 80% of the consumers of the drug and to about 99% of all malignant cancers. The correlation between sales of LT4 and cancers was determined with the technique of Density Ellipses. The age and smoking contribution for lung cancer was determined with the Sequential test.

It also adds:

Lung cancer was the only tumor found directly correlated with LT4 supplementation.

It’s particularly interesting to note that simply being hypothyroid results in increased oxidative stress, but the use of T4-only medications creates the same problem via a different route, explains the study. “LT4 can alter the oxidative balance in lungs and behave as a negative factor because of oxidative stress….”

The authors conclude that “hypothyroidism might also be involved in the development of lung cancer”, but the study does send an alarming message about the correlation between T4 use and lung cancer, as well.

The website Green Med Info, which promotes natural and integrative modalities, goes further into the discussion about the problematic nature of treating hypothyroidism with T4-only, stating

One of the main drawbacks of administering T4 in isolation is the possibility that it will not convert adequately to T3, and will therefore ‘back up’ causing excessive T4 activity, i.e. hyperthyroidism. There is also the very real possibility that T4 will not only not properly interact with thyroxine cellular receptors, but will block out what remaining natural levothyroxine the thyroid is still producing (and whose conformational state is far more health-promoting), essentially acting as an endocrine disrupter at the very moment that it is acting as intended as a ‘TSH suppressor.’ This T4 blocking/endocrine-disrupting property of the synthetic form would also activate a negative feedback loop within the endocrine system, further suppressing remaining thyroid function, and resulting in the atrophy of the compromised thyroid, a iatrogenic ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ if you will.

And they conclude: “There is also compelling research indicating that desiccated thyroid extract (Armour thyroid) results in superior clinical outcomes versus the synthetic hormone, especially as concerns improved body weight.” And of course, patients who have switched to natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) have reported FAR better results repeatedly! Brands are not limited to Armour. Other brands which patients like include Erfa, Acella (NP Thyroid), Naturethroid, Westhroid-P and more.

Message to those still using T4-only

Millions of hypothyroid patients have reported millions of prices in their own degree and kind thanks to their use of T4-only medications. Now we have a study that implies your risk of getting lung cancer is increased. What’s next?? It’s not a pretty picture, if the correlation turns out be accurate for some. Time to take a strong and open-minded look at what patients have learned.

ADDENDUM FROM JANIE: Please note that this study doesn’t say that every single T4 user is going to get lung cancer. My mother was on Synthroid her entire life, and though she had many miserable symptoms from it being a poor treatment for her, she never got lung cancer. It just seems to say that the researchers noted increased oxidative stress with T4 use, and they saw a correlation between that and lung cancer in some. Read the entire study information here and decide for yourself.

 

 

 

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