Treatment+for+Hypothyroidism

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Hypothyroidism cannot be cured and there has been no discovery to make the thyroid gland to function properly again. Most patient have it for their lifetime however there are some exceptions. Patients with viral thyroiditis have their thyroid gland working normally again just as some patients with thyroiditis after pregnancy. But it can be treated to be completely controlled through replacing the amount of thyroxine hormone that your own thyroid gland can no longer provide. This way it will bring your T4 and TSH back to normal levels so even if your thyroid gland can’t work right to produce the necessary hormone a synthetic thyroxine pill can restore your body’s thyroid hormone levels and your body’s function. The synthetic thyroxine pills (L-thyroxine or levothyroxine) contains hormone exactly like the T4 that the thyroid gland makes. The thyroxine treatment works so well because the synthetic thyroxine just like the T4 the thyroid gland is supposed to make keeps working in the blood for about a week (takes 4 weeks to clear completely from body). This allows your blood T4 levels to stay steady so a constant supply of T4 is available for the body’s cells.

Your hyperthyroidism may become more or less severe and the dose of thyroxine possibly will change over time. Your treatment will last a lifetime and you should never stop it on your own. If you do, it is most likely that the hypothyroid symptoms from before will return. But if you take your pills every day and work with your doctor to get and keep the amount of thyroxine you take right, you can be able to keep your hypothyroidism under complete control throughout the rest of your life. Your symptoms should disappear and the serious effects of not having enough thyroxine should stop worsening and actually improve.

The available brand of thyroxine currently are Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxy, and unithroid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates all four of these brands and they are all safe and effective. They all contain the same active ingredient: Thyroxine (T4)



Extra information on how to improve from hypothyroidism After people get diagnosed with hypothyroidism after years of dealing with the symptoms and believing that they are all just a part of life, ageing, an effect of stress. Some people may be relieved to know at last what is wrong with them so they can get help and treatment for it and move on with their life. However there are some people that get so emotionally exhausted and depressed they don’t have the motivation to try to get better. There are lots of issues in life that we don’t have a choice in but this is a problem that you can try to do something about it. And if you do, although it might take some time for your body to start responding to the treatment in the long run you will have greatly benefited from it.

In order for you to start your treatment properly and effectively the relationship between the patient and the doctor is essential. The better the patient and doctor work together as a team the better your body will improve. Since you will have hypothyroidism for the rest of your life, you will also be the person that has to take care of it. Total dependence on the doctor to do all the work for you is not what you need to do. You have to fill your prescriptions and make sure to remember to take your pills daily. Making and keeping your appointments for blood tests and visits to the doctor are crucial. It is also very important that you are honest with your doctor when telling the progress you feel, if you have any side effects, if the treatment is not working or if you forget to take the pills.

Besides keeping your doctor informed you should also be telling your family about your disease. Because hypothyroidism tends to run in families you should explain about your disease to blood relatives as a warning that it may be inherited since it is genetic.

Side Effects There are side effects to using the synthetic thyroxine to treat your hypothyroidism. If you don’t take enough of it then your hypothyroidism will continue regardless of the treatment. If you take too much, you will develop symptoms of hyperthyroidism, which is the opposite of hypothyroidism where you have an overactive thyroid gland. The most common symptoms of hyperthyroidism or too much of the thyroid hormone are fatigue but an inability to sleep, greater appetite, nervousness, shakiness, feeling hot, trouble exercising due to weak muscles, shortness of breathe and a faster heart rate. However those are symtoms that are recognizable, some changes that you may be unaware of that are caused by hyperthyroidism are bone loss and irregular heart beat. But the synthetic thyroxine pills do not harm the thyroid gland itself.

Ineffective treatments Most hypothyroidism is permanent and other remedies like Chinese herbs, selenium, iodine-tyrosine supplements, kelp, and other herbal medicines that promise to help the thyroid gland regain its function do not work. These false remedies can even prevent patients from getting the proper thyroxine treatment that is really needed.

Quiz Question: How can hypothyroidism be treated?