quitting synthroid question...

[Guest guest]

Hi All-

I am new here. My doctor prescribed Synthroid several years ago. I was obese and

depressed. My tests showed I was on the low end of thyroid levels. Now, after

changing my

diet and lifestyle, I find that all those problems have disappeared, and I wish

to

discontinue Synthroid. She told me that I would have to take it forever, as my

thyroid

would quuit making it.

Does anyone out there have any experience with quitting Synthroid? Is it true

the thyroid

will no longer produce it on its own?

Thank you,

keedle

[Guest guest]

My experience and study (I have had Hashimoto's for approximately 40 years) is

that the hormone levels fluctuate all the time. The function of the gland

fluctuates all the time.

I would think that if your symptoms went away, it was because you were medicated

and treating your hypothyroidism adequately. If you did not *need* the

synthroid, I would think your tests would show you as hyperthyroid. If you are

taking it and your tests say you are normal, then the replacement hormone is

keeping you normal.

You are not treating the symptoms when you take thyroid replacement medicine.

You are treating the underfunctioning gland. Adequate medicine and care is

supposed to make the symptoms go away.

keedle2002 <keedle2002@...> wrote:

Hi All-

I am new here. My doctor prescribed Synthroid several years ago. I was obese and

depressed. My tests showed I was on the low end of thyroid levels. Now, after

changing my

diet and lifestyle, I find that all those problems have disappeared, and I wish

to

discontinue Synthroid. She told me that I would have to take it forever, as my

thyroid

would quuit making it.

Does anyone out there have any experience with quitting Synthroid? Is it true

the thyroid

will no longer produce it on its own?

Thank you,

keedle

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome! well, it's wonderful that all your symptoms have disappeared and

you're feeling so much better. The medicine is keeping your symptoms under

control.

your doctor is right...you most likely will need thyroid replacement the rest of

your life. There are exceptions to any rule. You will find a few people who

stopped their medication and used alternative methods instead of medication.

I was told if I'm not treated with hormone replacement, I would eventually

die...before it does damage to my organs.

mentioned something about if your TSH was in hyper range, then you might

not need the hormones. I have heard of a few folks whose thyroid finally started

to produce and then they started having some hyper symptoms. they decreased

their medication and slowly went off. they said their thyroid started working

again. i only recall reading about a couple such folks.

There are a lot of us with Hashimoto's disease who feel better when our TSH is

in the hyper range. We don't have symptoms of hyper T, but rather of hypoT. My

TSH had been in the hyper range for quite some time (now it's in normal range),

but even with it being in the hyper range, I still had symptoms.

Most doctors will treat patients based on labs, but we need to look at our

symptoms. Many of us actually feel better when we're in the low end of the hyper

range.

Anyway, besides all that, labs are oftentimes not the best indicator of how

we're doing. If we look at our symptoms that will tell us a lot.

I have read that people who are hypoT can produce some hormone...it can

fluctuate. I have read of people who have " recovered. "

If you are symptom-free, then the medicine is working well for you. In my

opinion, I would not want to go off the medication if my thyroid medication was

working for me. I think going off your medication is VERY risky, and I would

advise you to talk to your doctor about this.

Good luck, sheila

keedle2002 <keedle2002@...> wrote:

Hi All-

I am new here. My doctor prescribed Synthroid several years ago. I was obese and

depressed. My tests showed I was on the low end of thyroid levels. Now, after

changing my

diet and lifestyle, I find that all those problems have disappeared, and I wish

to

discontinue Synthroid. She told me that I would have to take it forever, as my

thyroid

would quuit making it.

Does anyone out there have any experience with quitting Synthroid? Is it true

the thyroid

will no longer produce it on its own?

Thank you,

keedle