Levothyroxine and What it Really Does to the Body

[Carrigon]

No one was ever gonna tell. I had to dig and dig. Levothyroxine, over time, pulls all the phosphorus out of your bones. Strips your body of Vitamin E, pulls most of the potassium out of your body, lowers your calcium levels, rips down your Vitamin D even more. So you get brittle bones, joint problems, all kinds of stuff as time goes on. Do they ever tell you this.........NO. Do they ever tell you that maybe you should be taking all these supplements in descent amounts while on the junk.........NO.

So here I am suffering with real deficiencies to where I've had the severe muscle cramps, heart problems, all coming from the potassium deficiency. Dry skin from the vitamin E deficiency, brittle bones from the low phosphorus, and all kinds of problems from the D deficiency.

I am so MAD that they don't tell you this. I had to research, I had to look up the manufacturer of the junk I'm on. I really had to dig. And there it was. So MAD.

 

[sleepy237]

wow i been 12 years on this thanks for sharing. guess supplements is only way to go for me. Take care Carrigon~Sleepy

 

[Sallysblooms]

A lot of meds do that. It is hard to learn it all. Hope you can get the supplements to help.

 

[illsince1977]

No one was ever gonna tell. I had to dig and dig. lowers your calcium levels

I am so MAD that they don't tell you this. I had to research, I had to look up the manufacturer of the junk I'm on. I really had to dig. And there it was. So MAD.

Hey Carrigon-

They told me at least this part (calcium) back in the 90s, wanting me off Cytomel while suffering osteopenia. Not sure there was actually any link for me, but "they" were concerned.

It is challenging to deal with medical professionals as we're never sure if information will be given to us, or if we will be patronizingly considered incapable of looking after our own best interests

(You know what I mean? The "Oh dearie, don't worry your pretty head! Just let us experts take care of it!" paradigm. Sorry, does my bitterness show here, everyone? Guess I'm a little transparent.
My slip's probably showing, too - or is that in style these days? I'm so out of touch!)

 

[Enid]

10 years on it - thanks Carrigon - how much you explain - severe arthritis, Osteoporis (additional treatment etidronite which for some reactive reason has required tooth extractions in hospital - why - what does it do). Additional Calcium is part of the treatment though. Excess potassium found in urine tests (too many bananas I was told). Will try to self supplement now - many thanks, hope you can too.

 

[liquid sky]

Carrigon, does this just apply to Levothyroxine or T4? Does Armour Thyroid with both T3 and T4 do this also?

 

[Carrigon]

They all do it, but the ones like Armor were better until they were forced to reformulate by the FDA. Now they all suck. It's all synthetics, they stopped allowing them to make it natural.

 

[Mya Symons]

The manufacturers of synthroid and levothyroxine (same main ingredient) don't acknowledge that their pills do this. I believe they do have a warning that if you take to much, you may get osteoarthritis, but nothing on normal dosage. Abbott Laboratories, makers of synthroid, also has quite a monopoly on the thyroid medicine business with plenty of money sent to National thyroid associations and doctors. (If I remember correctly, I think T4 thyroid medicine is the third leading pill sold in the U.S.) I have had Hashimoto's disease for a long time. After starting these meds I ended up with osteoarthritis at 29. The doc kept on saying it must be genetic and I would repeatedly tell him that I know of no one in my family that has had osteoarthritis before the age of 65.

However, a lot of people with FMS develop osteoarthritis, so I was never sure if it was the T4 thyroid meds or something related to FMS or a virus. I have always been interested in trying natural thyroid meds, but I just have never had the money to go anywhere my insurance won't cover. It's too bad that we all have to pay and arm and a leg to get a doctor that will treat us with medicines that actually work.

 

[liquid sky]

I looked up the Armour Thyroid and apparently they changed the fillers, but the thyroid hormones continue to be natural, pork based, I believe. I also noted on thyroid forums that many are saying it is not working as well as it used to for them. I have noticed a return of hypothyroid symptoms lately myself, dry hair, brittle nails and weight gain with no change in caloric intake.

I guess it's time to get some updated thyroid tests.

 

[valentinelynx]

No one was ever gonna tell. I had to dig and dig. Levothyroxine, over time, pulls all the phosphorus out of your bones. Strips your body of Vitamin E, pulls most of the potassium out of your body, lowers your calcium levels, rips down your Vitamin D even more. So you get brittle bones, joint problems, all kinds of stuff as time goes on. Do they ever tell you this.........NO. Do they ever tell you that maybe you should be taking all these supplements in descent amounts while on the junk.........NO.

So here I am suffering with real deficiencies to where I've had the severe muscle cramps, heart problems, all coming from the potassium deficiency. Dry skin from the vitamin E deficiency, brittle bones from the low phosphorus, and all kinds of problems from the D deficiency.

I am so MAD that they don't tell you this. I had to research, I had to look up the manufacturer of the junk I'm on. I really had to dig. And there it was. So MAD.

Actually, lately, in the U.S. awareness that l-thyroxine supplementation can lead to increased fracture risk has doctors more reluctant to treat low grade hypothyroidism. Is that a good thing? I think knowledge is helpful: be aware of problems caused by necessary treatments and correct them. Low potassium should have been picked up by any slightly competent practitioner, regardless of the cause. Testing for Vitamin D has become popular in the U.S., too, after recent studies showing widespread deficiencies hit the media. I think almost everyone has essential fatty acid deficiencies in western cultures, from bad diets. I absolutely agree that people need to be informed about their nutritional needs. Problem is, most M.D.s receive no useful instruction in nutrition. And, in the area of nutrition, recalling the aphorism that "half of what we know is wrong," I'm certain that the percent of wrongness is much higher! Sadly, we must educate ourselves (and I'm an M.D., too!), and be careful, because much of the info out there is wrong. Even some of the "science." Don't get me started on saturated fat and cholesterol myths!

 

[Sallysblooms]

I looked up the Armour Thyroid and apparently they changed the fillers, but the thyroid hormones continue to be natural, pork based, I believe. I also noted on thyroid forums that many are saying it is not working as well as it used to for them.

Yes, you can get compounded Thyroid, Porcine.

 

[rwac]

You can also get erfa thyroid from canada which is what armour used to be, I believe.

 

[LaurelW]

I know the company is mum about this, but doctors must be aware of it, because my GP, knowing I had been on Synthroid for decades, had me do a bone density scan. Yup, osteopenia at the age of 50. One of my big worries, because it's not like I can do weight-bearing exercise. So I just try to take a high-quality calcium-magnesium supplement and eat kale almost every day.

 

[Kierkegaard]

I found this on the Googles. Anyone have any thoughts on thyroid hormone (not just T4, which converts to T3, but also T3) could lower potassium? I'm reading up on how hyperthyroidism is associated with hypokalemia (low potassium), and I've also noticed a gradual decline of potassium since trying T4 five years ago, and currently have hypokalemic RBC/intracellular levels with muscle weakness and other low potassium symptoms (not bad), despite preferring to be on T4 because it makes my brain fog lower among other things.