If you take thyroid meds

[escrow]

for hypothyroid, what kind do you take? I have been taking levothyroxine since I was dx, and lately I am so dang tired and just not feeling right. My endo says he thinks I should switch to a different brand to see if that helps and gave me three to look at to see what is covered under my insurance. Synthroid looks too expensive, but I know many people swear that is the best. He mentioned Levoxyl, which looks like it is the same price as the levothyroxine.

Anyway, just wondering what has worked, hasn't worked for others.

[kimmyo73]

I have taken Armour and Naturethyroid with success. Both are different from your current med as they contain both T3 and T4. Do you have a full thyroid blood panel done? You could be fine on T4 but low on T3.

FYI...I have Hashimoto's which gave me hypo and a little over a week ago I had a complete thyroidectomy.

Good luck

[rosiedozie]

I've always taken Synthroid on the recommendation of every endo I've seen.

[ajj]

It will be different for everyone, but I was on levothyroxine for years and was feeling the same, tired, brain foggy and so swollen. It was like I was constantly retaining 10 pounds of water. The dr kept having to up my dosage and I just wasn't getting better. I ended up going on armour thyroid and it was the best decision I ever made. I feel almost back to normal now. It's been a year on that.

I think it would be great to try a different one. I know that each person will react differently to the kind of med and dosage. I haven't heard great things about levothyroxine, although I'm sure it can work great for some. But if your dr thinks it's a good idea and you aren't feeling better right now, it is worth a shot to try a new med.

[elleblue]

Nov 25, 2014 12:57:56 GMT -5 kimmyo73 said:

I have taken Armour and Naturethyroid with success. Both are different from your current med as they contain both T3 and T4. Do you have a full thyroid blood panel done? You could be fine on T4 but low on T3.

FYI...I have Hashimoto's which gave me hypo and a little over a week ago I had a complete thyroidectomy.

Good luck

This. Next blood panel make sure you're tested on your T3 levels as well as the standard T4 and tsh. I'm on levothyroxine but I also have to take a med (liothyronine) that supplements my T3 because my body doesn't convert the T4 to T3 like most. 

[auntie]

I started on Armour- it's made from desicated porcine thyroids. I isn't synthesized for human needs and can't be as tightly control for active ingredient.

I take Synthroid now. Brand name at the insistence of my endo who claims generics for Synthroid were grandfathered in and not tested to the degree they would be if they were submitted now for approval.

My cousin takes Cytomel- she claims it's like speed.

[escrow]

I'd love to try synthroid but it's like three times more expensive. I guess it's under $30/mo but still. I had labs done recently but only t4, I don't think I've ever had a full work up

[ajj]

Nov 25, 2014 13:38:10 GMT -5 escrow said:

I'd love to try synthroid but it's like three times more expensive. I guess it's under $30/mo but still. I had labs done recently but only t4, I don't think I've ever had a full work up

I would definitely recommend getting a full work up. The t3 is just as important and they should test for Antibodies.*


*not a doctor

[fuckyourcouch]

I take armour, my Dr will not prescribe anything else unless it just doesn't work at all for you.

[bobotron3000]

I take Armour too. I have tried synthroid and levothyroxine and Armour is the only thing that finally worked for me.

[escrow]

Armour was not one of the drugs he listed for me to check on. Ugh. I have an apt with my primary today (she is currently handling thyroid meds) I will discuss with her. No more to this levothyroxine though.

[lo]

Synthroid here. I was told to stay away from generics.

[jennistarr1]

Nov 25, 2014 14:00:50 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

I take levothyroxine, and my dose is being continually upped (it changes every six to twelve months). My doc's view is that you check all thyroid levels and you keep upping until there is a reason not to.

huh? Are you number stabalizing?

[craftyone]

I've done a few different things. I'm now on Synthroid. I stay away from the generic since the inactive ingredients can change from supplier or from batch. I've also done an Armour/Synthroid combo, but stopped about 6-7 years ago when there was a shortage in Armour.

I try to save by doing mail order and in the past I've gotten double the dose and cut the pill in half (my doctor was the one who suggested this).

[auntie]

Nov 25, 2014 14:04:22 GMT -5 escrow said:

Armour was not one of the drugs he listed for me to check on. Ugh. I have an apt with my primary today (she is currently handling thyroid meds) I will discuss with her. No more to this levothyroxine though.

Get an endo.

Yeah, yeah, I know your PCP will say they can handle this, but they're not a specialist. If you're being treated and still feel like somebody sucked all the blood out of your veins and replaced it with skim milk- your PCP isn't doing a good enought job with it.

One issue is that the accepted values for what constitutes "control" have been revised and many PCPs are still using the old numbers which could leave you feeling symptomatic.

My PCP's wife has hypothyroidism, so he's pretty familiar with tx. But I pay OOP to see the endo because I just do better in his care. He tends to roll the drug reps for Synthroid, so I rarely have to actually buy any.

[janegold]

Synthroid only. I've tried generic and things start to go haywire almost immediately. I've had more than one doctor tell me that generic levothyroxine is not a reliable dup of Synthroid.

[zaneyzoo]

I also take Synthroid.

Here is how it was explained to me - name brand drugs have a tighter restriction on the active ingredient (so +/- 3%) and generics have a looser restriction (+/- 7%) of the active ingredient, so that variance can cause issues.

That's what my endo told me. He said some people do great on generics, but he would prefer I stay on Synthroid. That advice has been backed by my own research and from other drs I have spoken with.

11 years on Synthroid so far

[ajj]

Nov 25, 2014 17:05:00 GMT -5 nicbreeful said:

If you take meds, does it correct your metabolism?

It should help, but it's not a weight loss drug. It should just make the things you do to lose weight actually work. Also, hypothyroidism and sometimes the meds to correct it can make you retain a bunch of water.  Getting my meds worked out helped me drop the water weight and the diet and exercise I was doing actually started to work.

[ajj]

Nov 25, 2014 17:17:20 GMT -5 nicbreeful said:

Nov 25, 2014 17:09:28 GMT -5 ajj said:

It should help, but it's not a weight loss drug. It should just make the things you do to lose weight actually work. Also, hypothyroidism and sometimes the meds to correct it can make you retain a bunch of water.  Getting my meds worked out helped me drop the water weight and the diet and exercise I was doing actually started to work.

Well, that sounds promising.  I just went in to get my thyroid tested yesterday.  I feel like my metabolism, within the last year, just took a nose dive.  Maybe I'm getting older but it was like one day, without changing my diet or exercise, I just started gaining a ton.  I dunno, guess we'll see.

I hope you are able to get it worked out.  :-)

[curtains]

I take generic synthroid. I pretty much hate it. My hot flashes are increased and my intolerance to stupidity have triplefolded. I am going to ask for non generic at my next appt.