Hypothyroidism Treatment

• The health condition
• Treatment options

• Synthetic T4
• Synthetic T4 and T3 combination
• Desiccated thyroid

• Finding a good thyroid doctor
• Working with your doctor

The health condition

The thyroid gland, a small gland at the front of the neck, produces hormones that control the body's metabolism and other functions. T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine) are the main thyroid hormones. In a normally-functioning thyroid gland, some of the T4 is converted to T3, while the thyroid gland directly produces the remaining 20 percent of the T3. T2 and T1 are thyroid hormones that exist in smaller amounts in the body.

More details about hypothyroidism and thyroid function are on the Thyroid Function page.

When the thyroid gland produces too little or no thyroid hormone, the result is hypothyroidism. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, cold sensitivity, slow pulse rate, weight gain even when not eating a lot, constipation, menstrual irregularities, elevated cholesterol levels, muscle pain, hair loss, dry skin, brittle nails, poor memory and concentration, depression, low libido, anxiety, and many more. Depending on the severity of the condition, virtually all body systems slow down because the metabolic rate of all the cells in the body is lowered.

Links to lists of hypothyroidism symptoms are in our Fast Facts: Symptoms section.

Treatment options

Synthetic T4

Once a patient is diagnosed with hypothyroidism, the usual treatment is thyroid hormone replacement of synthetic T4 only. Common brand names are Synthroid, Unithroid, and Levoxyl. For details about synthetic medications and brand names, see Hypothyroidism Medication: Synthetic T4.

Synthetic T4 is a satisfactory treatment for many patients with hypothyroidism. They take the medication, they get better, and they don't need to go online looking for answers to their health problems. For the numerous other patients who find relief of only some symptoms — or none at all — with synthetic T4 alone, we've compiled information about treatment alternatives.

Synthetic T4 and T3 combination

The theory behind the use of synthetic T4 alone is that since the thyroid gland converts some T4 to T3, some of the synthetic T4 will be converted to T3 as well. A problem with this theory is that the thyroid gland of a hypothyroid person is already malfunctioning by not producing enough or any thyroid hormone, so its ability to convert T4 to T3 may be hampered too.

On our T3 References pages, we link to studies showing that many patients do much better when they take synthetic T3 in addition to T4. The Patients' Experiences pages have experiences in patients' own words about the difference T3 made to their health.

T3 can be taken as a separate medication (common brand names Cytomel and Tertroxin) in addition to synthetic T4, or in a combination T4/T3 synthetic medication (Thyrolar; available in the US only). For details about synthetic T3 and brand names, see Hypothyroidism Medication: Synthetic T3.

Natural desiccated thyroid

Although pharmaceutical company representatives tell doctors that synthetic T4 is superior to natural, desiccated thyroid from pigs' thyroids, many patients don't start to feel normal again until they switch from synthetic to natural thyroid hormone. Desiccated thyroid hormone replacement has been used since the late 1800s, and it is one of the safest drugs available. It contains both T4 and T3 and probably the thyroid hormones T2 and T1 as well. (The latter hormones aren't measured, but they aren't removed either.)

Our Desiccated Thyroid References pages have medical journal article excerpts, articles by doctors, quotes from interviews with doctors, and Patients' Experiences pages.

Armour is the most common brand name of desiccated thyroid, but there are others. For details about desiccated thyroid and brand names, see Hypothyroidism Medication: Desiccated Thyroid.

Finding a good thyroid doctor

See our How to Find a Good Thyroid Doctor page for tips on finding the best thyroid doctor for you.

Working with your doctor

With the right type and dose of medication for each person, everyone with hypothyroidism should be able to return to good health. Since medical students often learn only about synthetic T4 to treat hypothyroidism, many patients are doing their own research to find what might work for them.

One of the aims of this site is to help patients in this search. Doctors too may find the information compiled here to be of use to them.

While adequate treatment for hypothyroidism eliminates the symptoms of this condition, some other health conditions have similar symptoms. People may have more than one health problem at a time, and it's important to have all the problems diagnosed and treated. Committed doctors will work with patients to diagnose and treat all the conditions successfully.