Articles — t4

Most conventional doctors in the United States and in the world treat thyroid imbalance with T4 medication such as Synthroid, levothyroxine, Levoxyl, Unithroid or another preparation. Other ways to treat the thyroid imbalance are Armour thyroid or Naturethroid (medications that combines the two thyroid hormones, T4 and T3). While adding T3 to your thyroid treatment can improve some of your symptoms, it should be noted that treating hypothyroidism with Armour thyroid or Nature throid alone in high doses can result in thyroid hormone overmedication. Armour thyroid contains more T3 than the body needs when prescribed in high doses. Symptoms of...

Levothyroxine treatment alone may not resolve symptoms of hypothyroidism and the solution may be adding T3 medication to the treatment. Many people who continue to experience symptoms of low thyroid even though their blood tests have become normal while on T4 medication alone. One study looked at 397 hypothyroid individuals who were treated with T4 only and compared them to 397 people with normal thyroid function. The hypothyroid individuals reported more general health symptoms as well as thyroid-specific symptoms than those with normal thyroid function. Another study showed that cognitive testing scores and the overall well-being of hypothyroid individuals on T4 only were worse...

Thyroid issues can lead to many problems during pregnancy; which can be detrimental to the baby’s development. If you are about to become pregnant, or are already, you need to pay more attention to your thyroid. Hypothyroidism affects many aspects of women's reproductive system. It can cause irregular and heavy menstrual periods, miscarriages, and infertility. Hypothyroidism affects as many as 7 to 8% of women in their reproductive years. The incidence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy ranges from 0.3 to 5% and the most common cause is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Mild or subclinical hypothyroidism is common in pregnant women. It is diagnosed when...

Adequate amounts of iodine are essential for normal thyroid function. Your body requires iodine to properly produce enough thyroid hormone. When the thyroid doesn’t have enough iodine available for the production of T4 and T3, thyroid cells enlarge and begin to proliferate. If you are iodine deficient, your thyroid gland increases in size (goiter) and becomes unable to produce the right amounts of thyroid hormone, which leads to hypothyroidism. Deleterious Effects of Iodine Deficiency Approximately 200 million people in the world have iodine deficiency, which leads to goiters. Pregnant women required a higher intake of iodine to support their thyroid...