Which works best for you? I began on the synthetic, then I found that I got worse or got sisde effects from them and tried the real ones, but they always made me emotional, anxious and depressed. How are you coping and what meds do you take?
I've always wondered which works best too. Been on Levo for 8 years and suffered with chronic fatigue and low mood and hair loss. Recently been trying liothyronine combined and whilst it perked up my energy, my heart really doesn't seem to like it and the hair loss has worsened.
By 'real' hormone do you mean NDT? I would like to try these. Have you had your levels tested with the natural hormones? I always find if my levels are only slightly out my mood plummeted
...also, I don't know whether this would be possible but could you suggest taking a small dose of synthetic alongside the real ones? Don't know if this is possible as I'm still waiting to see a specialist myself after suffering the nasty side effects of thyroid meds
I think Carmel it is a case of getting the exact does. I am on 75 mcgs from 25 mcgs and only now the hairs on my legs are returning my energy is better and my mind more clear. I did have side effects each time my dose was increased but they wore off after about 3 weeks
Hope this helps. Gill
But best to see endocrinologist after 8 years. They know best.
I agree with Gillian. I first started out on Levo and my (angel) doctor spent two years! diddling around with my Levo dose, which we finaly got perfect. His attention to getting my dose right is not usually experienced (because it takes a very long time). It also takes a doc who is not determined to push what he learned at medical school and is intimidated by a patient who reads up on the subject and reports back symptoms and suggestions on how to fix them. That will guarentee you will never get the right dose.
The other major factor is different brands will react differently. My wonderful, perfect dose on Forest Pharmacuetacals was dashed when they went out of business and my hospital used a different brand as thier generic.
The right dose on the right brand will work fine. I could not get a second doctor who would pay me this much attention again, so I switched to NDT Armour and never looked back.