​Thyroid Health

Thyroid Health is Essential!

Get the information you need about effective customized medications from a trusted compounding pharmacy.

Underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism is very common, and yet it is an underdiagnosed condition. It affects approximately 20 million people, and women are 5-8 times more likely to suffer from it. The most common cause of low thyroid activity is the autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Actually, 90% of Hypothyroid patients have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis but don’t even know that. In this disorder, the immune system creates antibodies that attack healthy thyroid cells as if they were bacteria, viruses, or some foreign body and this leads to the death of thyroid hormone producing cells. On the flip side of Hashimoto’s is Grave’s disease, another autoimmune disease that causes auto antibodies to induce excessive thyroid hormone secretion. When not properly treated, some patients go between Hashimoto’s and Grave’s disease, with Hashimoto’s being more prevalent. Testing for just TSH and T4 is not adequate for the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease (which, as mentioned, accounts for most cases of hypothyroidism). But TSH and T4 are all the lab tests done by most conventional medicine practices when hypothyroidism is suspected. Most patients are told their thyroid labs are “normal.” But is ‘normal’ good enough for every patients? Shouldn’t optimal for an individual patient be the treatment goal?

 

Misdiagnosed Hashimoto’s is more common than most people realize.

Even when patients present with persistent symptoms of hypothyroidism, many physicians still do not test for Hashimoto’s. Not even for those on medication like levothyroxine whose symptoms persist. Most patients on levothyroxine still have some or most of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Symptoms like fatigue, increased sensitivity to cold, constipation, dry skin, weight gain, elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, painful and prolong periods, depression, muscle weakness, hair loss and many more. It is like taking pain medicine for a headache but getting partial relief. TSH and T4 levels do not distinguish between hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. It is therefore important to do a full thyroid panel (TSH, free T4, free T3, TPO, TgAB, Reverse T3, Ferritin, Vitamin D) that includes TPO and TG antibodies. An ultrasound to check for nodules is also important for the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s.

 

Underlying Causes for Thyroid Dysfunction 

Addressing the root causes of an underactive thyroid, particularly Hashimoto’s, is very important for effective treatment. Exposure to endocrine disruptors or toxicants often found in foods (bisphenol A,- (BPA), phthalates, and flame retardants compounds like polychlorinated biphenyls(PCB), xenoestrogens: chemicals that mimic estrogen, chlorine: found in water systems and pools, bromide: found in plastic, baked goods, sodas, lithium: used in medications and drinking water, fluoride: used in toothpaste, water, aluminum: cooking pans and antiperspirant and heavy metals: lead, cadmium, cobolt, etc.) can all interfere with the function of the thyroid gland. Other factors that impact thyroid hormone balance include chronic stress, chronic inflammation, and food sensitivities: gluten, dairy, soy, grains (particularly corn), nightshades, nuts, and seeds) nutrient deficiencies: selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, Iron/ferritin-iron storage, thiamine, Zinc, magnesium), digestive issues, adrenal dysfunction. A root cause approach to treating Hashimoto’s needs to focus on why the immune system targets and destroys healthy thyroid cells in the first place.

 

Thyroid Health

The Right Thyroid Medication can Make a Huge Difference

The conventional treatment for hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s is to prescribe levothyroxine, which works well for some, but many others continue to struggle with the symptoms of hypothyroidism. One of the reasons for that is, for levothyroxine (T4), an inactive hormone to work, it must first be converted to its active form called liothyronine (T3). Several other processes and factors have to all be in place for the proper conversion of levothyroxine(T4) to Liothyronine (T3) and most patients do not normally have all the pieces in place for that to happen. Factors like, having the right nutrients, like selenIum, iodine, chromium, zinc, iron are extremely important for proper thyroid function. Having an unhealthy gut and liver, chronic stress which produces excess cortisol, suppresses the conversion of T4 to T3. That means a lot of patients on levothyroxine T4, may also need liothyronine T3 medication. However conventional practitioners are hesitant to prescribe T3. Most patients feel a lot better on a combination of T4 and T3 therapy. Natural dessicated thyroid (NDT) tablets and compounded thyroid-pls make BOLD-  can make a world of difference in how patients feel. NDT tablets cannot be customized for some patients who may need more or less T4 or T3 medicine in the pre-made tablets, and that is where compounded thyroid preparations come into play. With compounded thyroid preparations, the exact dose needed for an individual patient can be prepared upon the order of a physician. The reason most people still have hypothyroid symptoms even though they are taking levothyroxine and other thyroid medications are because their dosages are not properly tailored or personalized enough for their individual situation. The painstaking task of figuring out the right dose of T4 and/or T3 for an individual patient requires a skill set most healthcare practitioners, unfortunately, do not have. 

 

Your Compounded Thyroid Medication Could Hurt You if not Compounded with Skill

Compounding T4 and T3 formulations are the most challenging medications to make. There is extra time and cost associated with properly compounding and testing formulations. Thyroid hormones are so potent that they are dosed in micrograms (mcg) instead of milligrams(mg). If a patient’s prescription requires a 25mcg of T4 capsule, which is a precise and extremely small amount, being off even slightly can have toxic or even deadly effects. It is extremely important to find the right compounding pharmacy with the skill and expertise to make them accurately. There is simply no room for error or cutting corners.

 

The most common mistakes inexperienced or unqualified pharmacists make with T3/T4 formulations include:

 

        • Miscalculations of the microdosing on the amount of T3 or T4 
        • Improper or un-uniform mixing with the formulations fillers
        • Not thoroughly testing the formulation after compounding
        • Not knowing the difference between pure T3/T4 concentrate and T3/T4 dilutions

At Towne Lake Family Pharmacy, our years of training and compounding of Thyroid hormones and other compounds have given us the skills needed to accurately compound thyroid hormones.

 

For questions on thyroid and autoimmune health please contact us at 770-635-7697 and ask to speak to a hormone specialist.
thyroid-health

Thyroid Hormone Evaluation

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