Ever wonder what is actually in levothyroxine? This medication is one of the most prescribed medications in the United States and yet so many people have no idea what they are actually consuming every day. Understanding what’s in this medication is important because some of the ingredients may be causing you problems. When it comes to thyroid medications there are two types of ingredients you should be aware of: 1. Active ingredients And 2. Inactive ingredients The active ingredients are usually not the problem for most thyroid patients because this component is dose dependent. You are either ..read more

Many thyroid patients with autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto’s and Graves’ don’t realize this but the antibodies that cause thyroid problems (that are associated with these disease states) also cause problems in other tissues in your body. These antibodies are like heat-seeking missiles that target various proteins and receptors in your thyroid gland which results in abnormalities in thyroid function as well as thyroid gland damage. We are also learning that these antibodies can cause harm and damage to other tissues as well depending on which antibody you have present in your body. Le ..read more

Early research suggests that up to 30% of thyroid patients currently taking thyroid medication may not need it. That’s great and all but what does that mean for you? How can you tell if you are in that lucky 30%? Well, if you’ve ever wondered about that I’ve got some good news for you: We have some signs that, if present, indicate that you have a higher likelihood of getting off of your thyroid medication. In addition to these positive signs, we also have some negative ones as well and today I’m going to go over both. Before we jump in, you should be aware that this data is still emerging so i ..read more

Contrary to popular belief, hypothyroidism doesn’t have to be a disease that lasts forever. While there certainly are irreversible causes of hypothyroidism there are also plenty of reversible causes as well. And today I want to focus on just that: Reversible causes of hypothyroidism. If any of these underlying causes of hypothyroidism have caused your thyroid disease then there is hope that you may be able to get off of your thyroid medication! And that’s why understanding this information is so important. With that in mind, let’s jump in: 1. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: Hashimoto’s can cause both ..read more

I’ve been helping patients with Hashimoto’s for a long time and throughout that time I’ve seen a lot of bad information, misinformation, and just plain wrong information. What I want to do today is just set the record straight. Here are 4 things that I wish every patient with Hashimoto’s knew either early on in their diagnosis or right when they were diagnosed. Understanding these facts will help shape your understanding of your disease and better help you navigate the world you are about to step into. Without further ado, here they are: The first fact: If left untreated, Hashimoto’s will resu ..read more

Thyroid conversion is one of the most important aspects of thyroid function that thyroid patients need to be aware of. Thyroid conversion refers to the ability that your body has to take inactive thyroid hormone and turn it into active T3 thyroid hormone. Throughout your time as a thyroid patient, you may have heard others mention that they have issues with thyroid conversion. Have you ever wondered how these people know? There are a few ways to find this information and today we are going to be talking about how to test for this problem. Before I do, let’s talk about some facts as it relates ..read more

Did you know that with the clever use of some over-the-counter supplements and one prescription medication you can re-create all of the benefits found in natural desiccated thyroid hormone formulas? Doing this allows you to make whatever thyroid medication you are using even more effective by mimicking what makes NDT so great. Why is this important? Because when Nature-throid and WP Thyroid were removed from the market, there were a ton of thyroid patients who started doing poorly when they were transitioned over. In addition, we have a ton of thyroid patients using levothyroxine who are still ..read more

Adthyza is a relatively new thyroid medication that was released within the last 1-2 years. I say new because that’s still pretty new in the grand scheme of things especially when it’s so rare to see a new thyroid medication. *note: I am not paid by Adthyza or any pharmaceutical company! I don’t even have a very favorable opinion of this medication and I’m just sharing what I think. How does Adthyza compare to other thyroid medications? Let’s discuss: First, you should know that Adthyza is a porcine derived thyroid medication which means it falls into the family of natural desiccated thyroid h ..read more

Can certain exercises help your thyroid gland function? Not in a direct way but perhaps in an indirect way! And that’s exactly what these neck exercises are designed to do. You can indirectly support thyroid function by exercising your neck which can help in a number of different ways: #1. Neck exercises can help improve blood flow to the area of your neck. Working out the muscles in your neck will increase blood flow to the musculature itself. Your thyroid will benefit due to its proximity to these muscles. #2. Neck exercises help improve venous outflow out of your thyroid gland. Bringing new ..read more

A new study of over 600,000 thyroid patients from Taiwan suggested that thyroid patients taking levothyroxine have a 50% increased risk of developing cancer at any site. While concerning, the results of this study certainly do not prove that levothyroxine causes cancer but every thyroid patient taking levothyroxine should be aware of this potential connection. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cas.14908 This information is not meant to cause fear or alarm but to simply break down this study, explain some of the issues with the study, and some of the key takeaways. Let’s start with th ..read more