hi, just been reading the great articles on this site about thyroid issues. i have me/cfs and have been diagnosed with hypothyroid by my naturopath/nutritionist. she has given me some nutritional supplements that include iodine and tyrosine and some other stuff but they haven't helped much so far. after reading the articles here i am wondering if i need something stronger and whether low doses of hormones (particularly T3) might be more helpful.

what has everyone else found to work best? should i try to get T3 medication or armour thyroid or do herbs such as guggul and ashwaganda help a lot?

thanks guys!<br /><br />Post edited by: Banksy, at: 2008/05/06 12:22

Hi Banksy,

It seems that this is a common problem in people like us who suffer from ME/CFS. Usually the normal thyroid tests (TSH, T4) are normal but ME/CFS patients often have low body temperature and various symptoms which suggest hypothyroidism.

Doctors specializing in ME/CFS and thyroid disorders including Drs. Teitelbaum, Myhill, Durrant-Peatfield and Lowe have found that the problem lies with lack of activity of T3, the active hormone, which the articles on this site discuss at length.

The two options to directly supplement T3 hormone levels are Armour Thyroid which is an extract taken from thyroid glands of pigs. It supplies both T4 and T3 hormones. Personally I didn't find this medication to be very effective. Many other people seem to swear by it however. The other option is synthetic T3 medication such as Cytomel or a timed-release version to make sure levels in the body remjain steady throughout the day (T3 is metabolized quickly). After failing to see any improvement with other approaches I found that Cytomel gave me very rapid increases in energy, mental clarity and mood even on very low doses. I hope to try the timed-release version as part of my overall treatment program once I have resolved my adrenal issues (improtant to have healthy adrenal function before treating the thyroid).

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with any of the herbal alternatives but friends and other site members have mentioned that some are very helpful.

As is usually the case with these conditions it is a case of trial and error (under the supervision of a doctor when using medications) but there are certainly things that do work.

Good luck

Maff wrote:
Oh my, I can see I am going to learn a lot here.

I was wondering, do you have a thyroid, or is just low?

I take Synthroid 125mcg, and Cytomel 5mg. I did not know there was a time released pill. What is the name of it please?

But now I find that my adrenals are very low.... so much going on with me. I must be careful what I do. I am hypothyroid, menopause, post benzodiazepine addiction and taper 17 mos ago, and I am must literally beat up now. I need help.

Thank you and I will read around and post some more and hope to learn much.

Hi Ave,

Hopefully we can all learn from each other

There isn't a widely available timed-release T3 available so you have to have it made up by a compounding pharmacy. Unless you have noticeable ups and downs in energy and other symptoms throughout the day on Cytomel it may not be worth the extra effort and expense.

I've replied to your adrenal questions on the other thread you started at http://www.ei-resource.org/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=6&func=view&catid=7&id=156#156

Don't get Armour the formulation has been changed and is causing adverse reactions for some people!
I am going to try Nature-throid Denise

PS if you want some real help on thyroid google Dr Lowe his site is a wealth of information on Hypothyroidism the best I have found. Denise