Anyone taken herbal remedies for hypothyroid, please?

[AssignedSlytherinAtBirth]

Blood test last October and was started on 50mg Levothyroxine in November. It made me feel a bit spaced out. Went for another blood test in December and they upped it to 75mg. I felt so weird and miserable and immediately had such bad brain fog that DH thought I was going senile (his words!) and insisted I stop taking it after a few days, when I felt as before again. I've tried various herbal tablets bought online and am currently on 750mg of Ashwaghanda Complex (high strength, Ksm-66 if that means anything). Still feel tired and have slight memory problems but I'm not sure if that's still from long Covid, which I had previously. I've got another blood test soon but wondered if anyone has had success with any herbal prduct?

No, I take a really high dose of Levothyroxine, with no ill effects.

There are different treatment options other than levothyroxine, ask your gp if they can't help ask for a referral to an endocrinologist

Levothyroxine is just providing your body with what it should be producing naturally. They also have to find the right dosage so going back to the doctor to discuss the problems you were having would be sensible, rather than just stopping.

Thank you. I've got an appointment booked for June and will ask about alternatives.
I can't see how there can be a Levothyroxine dose for me that's right, when 50mg isn't enough but makes me feel spaced out, and increasing the dose makes me feel really spaced out, and worse. I've read that about 10 per cent of people can't take it. I was hoping that the herbal remedies would do the trick and await the blood test results with interest! But it's a long shot.

What brand was it, @AssignedSlytherinAtBirth ?

A lot of people can't tolerate Teva brand levothyroxine, which ironically is one of the most commonly dispensed. I have a note with my pharmacy not to give it to me as it makes me unwell. It's absolutely full of shit alongside the active ingredient.

No. Herbal remedies will not do the trick.

Talk to your GP. Regulating your thyroid function is really important for overall well-being.

Bluntly speaking you can die from an underactive thyroid, its rare only because its commonly treated in this country, at the very least speak with your doctor again.

It could be the fillers (other ingredients) that dont suit you in which case changing brands might help

Maybe T4 doesnt work for you, in which case you may be lucky enough to find a doctor who will treat you with T3

There is also NDT but i think you at least need to try a proper informed medical route with tests and monitoring first

If you have an underactive thyroid you need thyroid hormone replacement. Herbal remedies will not cut it. Ultimately it will kill you if you don't take a replacement, after you become increasingly unwell for years and years. Look up myxoedema coma and myxoedema madness.

As PPs have said it could be the fillers so try a different brand.

It is also very common to feel worse before you feel better when titrating up on levo. 75 mcg is unlikely to be enough and you may not feel better until you are on your optimal dose which is usually when your TSH is under 1.

Levothyroxine doesn't 'top up' a failing thyroid. You need to be on a proper replacement dose. Herbal supplements will not help your thyroid.

In reality it looks like this:

Taking an exogenous hormone will stop the body creating its own.

For example; if your thyroid has been outputting 100mcg worth of T4. And you've stopped your own natural output by taking thyroxine the if you're only taking 50mcg of thyroxine you're going to feel worse.

Guidelines say you can be started on a dose of (about) 1.8mcg per kilo of body weight.

Thyroid care is crap in the NHS. If you want to get well again you need to be your own advocate and learn everything you can about your condition.

NB the leading cause of an underactive thyroid is an autoimmune disease called hashimoto's or autoimmune thyroiditis. In this your thyroid is gradually being eaten away by your immune system. No amount of a herbal remedy is going to counteract that. You are not producing enough of an essential hormone needed for life. Thyroid hormone is used by every cell in your body. You need to replace what your body doesn't have or you are going to become very unwell.

OK thank you all. The herbal remedies are intended to stimulate the underactive thyroid to produce more. It's a good tip about the brand - I'll dig mine out and have a look.

@SpindleInTheWind the boxes say Wockhardt for the 25mg and Teva for the 50mg! The top -up Wockhardt was worse for me, symptom-wise, I think.

This will not work - please stop with the herbal remedies. Discuss with your GP. This is important.

Thank you all for your advice. I'm finding it hard to get my.head round it all. How long do you think it takes to settle down after you start taking Levothyroxine? You're saying I might well feel worse before I feel better - how long? I did feel really awful and it came on really quickly, but I'll ask for a different brand this time.

I have been taking Levo for around ten years and it does take a while to settle on a new dose - any change for me is incredibly disruptive and I have a few days of feeling like I'm on another planet.

I started on 25, am now on 100 with 20 of T3 (thybon) which is what your body metabolises T4 into (I think, not a scientist!). Sometimes a combination of T4 and T3 works best.

You can expect to feel spaced out at first, and it can be hard to find the right dose, but equally if you are hypothyroid then you need to supplement. What is maddening is that if you are under-medicated it can be harder to make decisions, think clearly and proactively find a doctor who will help you sort it all out.

Another thing I really recommend is to have your pill and water next to you at night, so as soon as you wake up in the morning you take it, then in half an hour or so have coffee/tea/breakfast. For me taking it on an empty stomach means it gives me the most benefit and at the right time of day for my energy levels - having it later can disrupt sleep.

It can take a few days for the first impact to wear off but it takes a minimum of 6 weeks to know if it is the correct dose - by a combination of a blood test and check how you're doing.

It's a total PITA because it can take a while to be correctly dosed.

It's also very sensitive so you need to try and stay on one type of medication and not stray from it. You need a large few variables as possible. Two types of medication complicated things. Also make sure you're taking it in the morning and not eating straight away.

As for the dose, I'm between doses so I take 100 Mon Thurs Fri and 125 the other days.

This is something you really can't play around with. And there are some medications you shouldn't take around the same time due to efficacy issues as well as some vitamins. I had a dr friend recommend (socially) some vitamins for my flaky nails. She had the same nail weakness and thought the vitamins worked, taken twice a day. I queried whether they could be taken with levothyroxine. She said of course they could. I mentioned that not everything can be. She went and checked and then told me they couldn't. Point here is that you really have to be on top of this because you can't rely on the doctors - they just aren't taught a lot about it. Endocronologists are different though - if they've specialised in it!

Usually until you are on your optimal dose which is usually when TSH is below 1.

Levothyroxine should be increased every 6-8 weeks at 25mcg a time until your dose is correct for you.

I believe most people are on 100-150mcg by the end.

Unfortunately this process can take a long time.

Some people find they never feel well on levo. I for instance have recently been put on a T4/T3 combo and feel the best I have done in 6 years. However lots of people feel well just on levo.

It has taken me over a year to titrate up to my current dose (I did have some blood test delays due to catching covid in that time - so not all tests were done at 6-8 weeks).

OK great. Thank you so much! This has been really helpful. You are right in that when you feel like shit itse really hard to make decisions and easier to just take herbal and vitamins and hope for the best. I really must get on.top of this. Blood test tomorrow! They could only fit me in at 4pm (the only appt available for weeks) but the recommendation is for early morning as T4 levels are at their highest then. But it's a start.

Just thought I should say I was told after blood tests i had a ‘slightly’ underactive thyroid so was prescribed thyroxine but I felt rather strange on it and went back and after more tests subsequently it revealed I had also gone through an early menopause and was prescribed hrt patches, feel much better now so in case there are other signs etc and your underactive stats translate as mild.

I live in France where there was a contamination problem with the tablet production. I had no treatment for 4 weeks. I developed hypothermia with a temperature of just above 34°C for several weeks.

Don't mess with it.