Re: Thyroid basics.

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u deserve an oscar for this email. Thanks.kats3boys wrote: I know in chat yesterday we had some very confused new comers..and every once in a while it is nice to get back to basics with out the fine tuning..The thyroid produces two main hormones..T4 this is a thyroid hormone with 4 iodine molecules attached to it. It is considered the storage hormone and the hormone that is in most abundance in the body.T3 this is considered the active hormone that the body

uses..every cell in the body is effected by T3.. the thyroid produces a little T3 the rest of the T3 comes from the body ( mainly the liver) by stripping off a iodine molecule form T4 making it T3.TSH..is not actually a thyroid hormone..it is a pituary gland hormone..the body sends a signal to the brain telling it, that the body needs more or needs less thyroid hormone..the signal is then sent to the pituary gland that then sends out the TSH signal to the thyroid to speed up production or to slow down production.In a healthy body free of Thyroid disorders this happens naturally..----------------------------------------------------Thyroid medications..There are two types of thyroid medications..ATD's also known as Anti Thyroid Drugs..PTU ( propylthricaicil) and Tap( tapazole) or the Tap generic ( methazole) ..These medications are used when you are hyper.. they block

the thyroid from producing thyroid hormone T4 and T3.Thyroid replacement medication..Synthroid and generics...this is a Synthetic T4 replacement hormone.Cytomel..this is a synthetic T3 replacement hormone.Armour and generics...this is a natural dessicated pig thyroid that contains both T4 and T3..________________________________________________SO which medication is right for you?This really depends and is up to your preference and also up to your body on how well it responds to the different types of medications.Some people do well on Synthroid alone, others need a combination of all of the above.._______________________________________________This part is just my opinion and I know others do not agree..but for those hypo because of hyper treatment and for those not left hypo too long I prefer Synthroid as the first try...These people usually do

not have conversion issues and the body is designed to convert most of the T4 to T3 on a as needed basis.It is important that your doctor run the FT4 and FT3 labwork on you..I mean after all you are taking a T4 replacement..you want to know how much replacement you are taking and how well you are converting to T3.Once the doc starts you on Synthroid you want labs again in 6 weeks..this is how long your body takes to level out on that dose of Synthroid. Based on your FT4 and on SYMPTOMS and how YOU feel, increase the Synthroid, labs again in 6 weeks, repeat procedure and this continues until you are symptom free OR your FT4 hits the high end of the range..always make sure you do labs in 6 weeks after no dose change to just make sure your body agrees and decides you are on the right dose..For most people who have not gone undiagnosed for years or left to languish hypo for years this works..Now

if your T4 hits the high end of the range and you feel like garbage..take a look at the FT3..has it been moving up with the T4??This is where things get more tricky..If the FT3 is low then you have a few options..looking at things to aid conversion.. and either switching to Armour or adding a little T3..if both are high in the range and you are still hypo big time then you need to switch to Armour and look at Adrenal issues etc..But the basics..whether on ATD or replacement is to get the FT4 into the top end of the range and tweak from there..could be, might be..may work , may not but you need to get there first.Kats3boys __________________________________________________