Best non-prescription thyroid supplement...

[OneGrassRoot]

you can recommend?

Something comparable to Armour Thyroid.

:)

[MorningGlow]

1. I'm not sure there is one, OGR

There are "thyroid booster" supplements out there, but if your body is lacking the thyroid hormones, the only thing that will put a thyroid back on course is the actual hormone in pill form.

Are you having difficulty getting Armour (or any prescription thyroid meds)?

[OneGrassRoot]

2. I haven't been to a doctor in years...no insurance...

but work with several, one of whom would probably prescribe it. However, I'm afraid he'd require regular lab tests -- no way I could afford that.

Until researching just now, I honestly didn't realize that Armour Thyroid is a natural product, not synthetic. This may be the only natural product that requires a prescription, huh?

Interesting.

Hopefully there are raw glandular alternatives for both T3 and T4. I'm self-diagnosing -- as usual -- but figure it's worth a shot to try to see if it will address the symptoms.

I'll keep searching, but thanks, MorningGlow. :)


:hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

3. I'm going to try Solaray (Neutraceuticals) "Thyroid Caps"...

I take their Adrenal Caps which are raw glandulars, and I definitely can tell a difference when I take that.

I feel I need to nourish the thyroid simultaneously and didn't realize they had a raw glandular product for the thyroid as well. But they do. :)

Whole Foods should carry it. :)

[MorningGlow]

8. Well...

I don't know your financial situation, nor what medical restrictions are in your neck of the woods, but you might be able to do what I do--I see a holistic m.d. for my thyroid problems. (She doesn't even take insurance, so I'm in your boat, although my lab tests are covered by my insurance.)

If you can swing about $100 for an office visit, and another $100 to $150 for lab tests (I'm guessing on that one), you can see a holistic m.d. I know that some states will allow you to do blood tests through the mail (also saliva tests and--er--tests on other "southbound" effluvia :rofl:), which might be fairly inexpensive and can also cover other lab tests that the doctor might want to run in case s/he suspects it isn't your thyroid. (We can't do tests by mail here in New York State, though. :( )

Start here--it's a holistic doctor lookup. http://www.holisticmedicine.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=49

There are others online as well--just google "holistic doctor directory"--or check your local alternative health magazines/flyers (you know--those newsprint freebie ones--likely to be found at a natural food store etc.)

Good luck, OGR. And keep fighting--your health is paramount. :hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

12. I was wondering about the mail-in lab tests....

Ayesha may have good info on that.

Even naturopaths and other holistic practitioners in this area are SO EXPENSIVE. Ughhhh.....

I got the Thyroid Caps. We'll see how that does.

Thanks again. :hug:

[catzies]

4. It's not exactly comparable, as it's a supplement blend & not a pharmaceutical, but

I've had good reults for years taking this:

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/smartbomb_2064_43192564

The best price I can find is through smartbomb.com

[mysticalchick]

5. Here's what my naturopath has me take

http://www.standardprocess.com/display/MediHerbCatalog.spi?ID=217

I use many of the standard process supps (esp MinChex which regulates mood) and it's been so beneficial.

PM me if you want more info.

[stellanoir]

6. Welp

Oriental Botanical Medicine has often worked well for me in the past and is far more affordable.

The Doctor of Oriental Medicine who saved the life of my only child, said, "if ever you supplement a synthetic hormone, the organ which would naturally produce that hormone atrophies even faster and further.

He said that in response to a query I had about my SIL taking synthroid (sp?.)

OTOH, he is deeply concerned about the purity of Chinese botanicals at this point due to some of the toxic conditions in the country, so much so, that he retired from practicing.

He wrote the Bible of Oriental Botanical medicine which is a requisite in most Acupuncture Schools. Funny curative stuff like copulating Geikos, and silk worm dung,

I could go on and on about this issue but have to go pick blueberries right now.

More later.

The upshot is that there are alternatives to Western allopathic medicine, (essentailly drugs & surgery) and I'm not sure that some of us are most thankfully uninsured.

Yikes

Hope you figure it out and find the alternative treatment that is best for you.

[Sanity Claws]

7. I second this

I use Traditional Chinese Medicine for my medical problems. No lab tests. The herbs are a lot less expensive than Western meds.
So instead of trying to figure out an alternative to Armour, try to use an entirely different medicinal practice that will approach the problem differently.

[OneGrassRoot]

13. Thanks, Stella and Sanity....

I'm open to all approaches. Since I've responded to Solaray's Adrenal Caps (all natural, not synthetic), I'm giving their thyroid treatment a chance.

I've pretty much tried everything else except directly treating the thyroid (nervous about messing with it for some reason, even though it stands to reason that I most likely am at least slightly hypothyroid).

We'll see. :)

:grouphug:

[MorningGlow]

9. Synthroid is teh evil

Hiya, Stella! :hi:

[NJCher]

10. I have a solution for you OneGrassRoots

I can't write it out now (getting ready for work) but I will take the time later tonight or tomorrow.

You can get the tests and the medication for a year or so for under $125.


Cher

[OneGrassRoot]

14. Wow, when you have time....

please do share, NJCher. That sounds like a great alternative!

Thanks. :hug:

[NJCher]

18. OK, so here's my solution

First, you tell your doc that because you don't have insurance, you just want the one test that shows TSH level (s). That cuts the cost of the test. I think it's TSH4 but your doc will know.

Then you use a testing company that has a billing rate that cuts you a break if you don't have insurance. You can't find out about this online. You have to call. I will tell you the company I used, although this was years ago when I didn't have insurance. I don't think their policy has changed. I think the cost of the test will be around 65-75. Just PM me if you want to know the company--I am pretty sure it's national.

You will have to fill out a form which they will mail you. I can remember the form was on green paper but if I recall correctly, it was not onerous.

It was pretty simple. Then you get the prescription from your doc and get Levoxyl. Levoxyl is the generic form of Synthroid.

Did you know Levoxyl is a natural substance?

Take the prescription to one of those places that offers the $4 a month prescription. Better yet, see if your pharmacy has the 90-day supply for $10. Levoxyl is almost always on the list. Around here, there is enough choice that I don't have to patronize Wal-Mart for this but I know that Wal-Mart does offer the 4 rate on this prescription. Also the 10 for a 90-day supply.

So there you go--40 for a whole year's worth of the drug plus the cost of the test. Brings you in at around 125 or so.


Cher

[rosesaylavee]

11. Good question.

Kicking.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. I've taken Armour since I was eleven years old.

I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (autoimmune disease) which killed my thyroid.

If your thyroid is functioning but still low, maybe the precursors (non-prescription) would help.

If your thyroid is completely dead, like mine, you will have to either get Armour or bio-identical thyroid.

A doc took me off Armour once, and I almost went into a coma and died, after about four years off of the stuff.

Armour is a lot cheaper and more effective than Synthroid.

I've had doctors "accidentally" call in a refill on Armour and change it to Synthroid. I raised hell and made them change it back. They hate Armour b/c it's cheap and it works.

I once had an endocrinologist tell me Armour's dosage was not stabilized. I told him, "Well, on the label it says UNITED STATES PHARMACOPOEIA, BIOLOGICALLY ASSAYED." He shut up.

[MorningGlow]

17. Same here--most doctors I encountered touted Synthroid

and demonized Armour. Conversely, my beloved holistic m.d., who does her own research instead of allowing herself to be dictated to by pharmaceutical reps, was impressed when I requested Armour, and she happily wrote out the scrip.

When I had out and out arguments with other doctors (including one shouting match--fun! :D ) about thyroid meds, they used the ol' Repug projection tactic--they said Armour was unstable and had a short shelf life, when the opposite is true. That's Synthroid. :eyes:

Day-um, you've got to fight every minute of every day to get proper treatment.

[Shallah Kali]

21. My Grandmother has been on Armor for years w/good results, only bad with synthetic

when a doctor talked her into trying it saying it was better :grr: Her levelss went haywire so she couldn't sleep more than a couple of hrs a night.

[northernlights]

16. taking hormones is not the same as nourishing the gland...

I expect the reason a prescription and lab tests would be required is because mistakes could be deadly.

I just checked James Duke's "The Green Pharmacy." Duke is one of the world's leading experts on medicinal herbs. He says that in Europe, they've used Buglewood (Lycopus) and Lemon Balm (Melissa Oficionalis) to support the thyroid with both hyper and hypothyroidism in the early stages of the disease. He strongly suggests using them in concert with traditional meds, not in place of.

I don't know about Buglewood, but Lemon Balm is very easy to come by. Easy to grow (mine spreads like wildfire) and with a lovely lemon aroma and taste it's a nice addition to tea.

[Stevepol]

19. Edgar Cayce recommended a special form of iodine to use to stimulate the thyroid.

It was developed by an Indian (East Indian) after getting a reading and Cayce started recommending it whenever a patient needed to stimulate the thyroid.

It's called ATOMIDINE and is not very expensive. Probably if you go to the following site you can find out how to get it.

http://www.edgarcayce.org/health/database/chdata/data/thatomi1.html

Other sites can give some information about its effect and whether it would be what you want. It's actually a form of pure iodine that is more easily processed by the body, but the amount used should not be too great since pure iodine in too great amounts as I understand it can be very harmful.

[JanusAscending]

20. When I was a kid,

my Mom always swore by Morton's Iodized Salt. She said it was good for the thyroid. At the time, as far as we knew, none of us had a thyroid problem.
These past two years, both my daughter and myself and my Aunt have all had thyroid problems. For some reason, I don't trust the results from blood tests for thyroid. I'm feeling that they are missing something somehow. I had a bout with what they called "thyroiditis" or inflamed thyroid?? First it was too low, and with synthroid it became too high! I'm thinking in retrospect that my Mom was right. We are not getting enough Iodine in our diets now a days, because the powers that be keep telling us to cut down on the salt in our diets. Right now I'm using Morton's Lite Salt, been using it for a number of years now. Maybe we should all be taking an iodine supplement????

[Shallah Kali]

22. hmm. Don't know that it would equal Amour but have read selenium is vital for healthy thyroid

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=3ny&num=20&q=selenium+%2Bthyroid&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

ditto vitamin D www.vitamindcouncil.org

for some avoiding soy or at least large amounts helps thyroid function. My Grandmother is on Armour but after her heart attack the hopsital rehab program pushed tofu, soy chips, edamae, - soy everything and she is one of those who's thyroid goes off when eating lots of soy. Would have been better all around if they pushed her instead ot stop putting a 1/3" of butter on her sandwiches and stuff like that instead of teaching people to just switch to soy as a cure all :rolleyes:

[MorningGlow]

23. Soy

Same thing happened to me. I was gaining weight rapidly and exhibited all the symptoms of being hypothyroid, but because my TSH number was "normal" (in the 2.0 to 2.5 range), all the doctors said it couldn't POSSIBLY be my thyroid and to go off and exercise more and eat lots of soy. I went for a year like that and guess what? I gained weight like a mofo and felt worse and worse until I got to the point that I actually thought I was going to die. Yeah, thanks medical community. :eyes: Thank the gods for my holistic m.d. who diagnosed and treated me according to my symptoms, not my TSH number. It turned out that I was at my healthiest when my TSH was 1.0. Low on the scale, but normal for ME.

My TSH has gone even lower since I've been on prescription doses of vitamin D. I'm seeing my holistic m.d. in a few weeks and we'll see if it's going to cause me to lessen my Armour dose. (Yeah, TSH is lower but I'm STILL not losing any weight. Son of a... x( What's it gonna TAKE to lose this lard?! There is no justice...)
:rofl:

On edit: Many, MANY people, including those in the medical profession, have no idea that soy harms thyroid function. Not excusing them (they should know that) but there's so much we don't know about hormone functions, especially those in women.

[Shallah Kali]

25. What kind of Vitamin D are you taking? I have been taking D3 by Now 5,000 a couple times a week

for a couple of months now. First couple weeks I took it daily as I never get any sun, live in the north east where we don't get the right kind of rays to make vitamin d nearly half the year and don't eat any foods fortified with it. This non-prescription D is only $8.80 at iherb for a bottle of 120 tiny gelcaps in a base of olive oil http://www.iherb.com/Vitamin-D-3-Highest-Potency-5-000-IU-120-Softgels/10421?at=1&rw=8 & $6.83 fthe same Now bottle @ Swanson's http://www.swansonvitamins.com/NWF182/ItemDetail?n=4294967187 . Don't know if that makes a difference but one doctor's blog I read claimed his patients levels came up faster taking D3 in oil vs. dry tablets. I will get tested soon to see if I need more or less to get my D in the optimum range.

:hug: I hope your thyroid is getting happier on your and your body starts releasing the excess weight very very soon!

[OneGrassRoot]

26. Thanks for this, Shallah. You're amazing.

:)

:hug:

[Shallah Kali]

29. you are very welcome

btw if you have the time I sometimes find very interesting & useful things just googling around. So many nutrients are involved in multitudes of body processes it is hard to find a vitamin that isn't linked with helping a disorder. So sometimes just for the heck of it I will google an issue I or a family member has and a basic food or supplement like b12 to see what comes up. Have yet to find a cure all but have stumbled across neat-o thinks like methycobalamin aka coenzymated methy b12 which does not wire me or give me headaches like regular b12.

Just in case you don't know use quotes around an exact phrase you want to use such as "b complex" then use a plus sign right next to the other keyword or phrase you want to find near it such as b12 +thyroid selenium +thyroid or Methylselenocysteine +Thyroid. Using the plus sign ensures the second word is near they first keyword instead of in totally unrelated parts of an article.

[MorningGlow]

28. I was on 1.25mg prescription gelcaps once a week

Just finished the scrip, and now that my D is up somewhat (from 17 to 40), my doc put me on OTC D3--2,000 IUs daily. I bought NatureMade...but now I'm not sure if they're tabs or gelcaps! Better go check!

Thanks for the good wishes, Shallah. :hug:

[Shallah Kali]

30. Hi I can't guarentee gelcaps are best but if all things are at least nearly equal I figure why not

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-vitamin-d-form.html

I go for Now Foods, Jarrow or Country Life as they list allergens so I don't have to play email or phone tag with a company trying to find out if something is safe for me. Also I get emails from Swansons so every a couple or 3 times a year I get 5% to 10% an order so i round up folks I know who I know will pay up when the order comes and do a batch of whatever is needed. $4.99 s&H split 2 or more ways keeps it from eating up the savings if I was just ordering a couple of things for me.

Have you read this on the VitaminDCouncil site? It might be something you want to show your doctor next visit-
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health/deficiency/am-i-vitamin-d-deficient.shtml

Am I Vitamin D Deficient?

Vitamin D Test Kit Good Question! There is no way to know for certain until you get a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, also called a 25(OH)D. Levels should be above 50 ng/ml year-round, in both children and adults. Thanks to Bruce Hollis, Robert Heaney, Neil Binkley, and others, we now know the minimal acceptable level. It is 50 ng/ml. In a recent study, Heaney, et al expanded on Bruce Hollis's seminal work by analyzing five studies in which both the parent compound (cholecalciferol) and 25(OH)D levels were measured. They found that the body does not reliably begin storing cholecalciferol in fat and muscle tissue until 25(OH)D levels get above 50 ng/ml. The average person starts to store cholecalciferol at 40 ng/ml, but at 50 ng/ml virtually everyone begins to store it for future use. That is, at levels below 50 ng/ml, the body uses up vitamin D as fast as you can make it, or take it, indicating chronic substrate starvation—not a good thing. 25(OH)D levels should be between 50–80 ng/ml, year-round.

AGain best of luck and good {{{ViBeS}} for returning to healthy weight. I have been overweight most of my life and only last year started budging the blasted scale so I know how frustrating can be. Take care and :hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

24. Wow, Shallah and MG.....

I NEVER heard that about soy. That's interesting. Being vegetarian...well, I eat a lot of soy!!!

I'm with you on the weight thing, MG. :( :hug:

I know vitamin D is getting a lot of attention. The one doc I work with really pushes it (he's an MD but open to and follows alternative treatment), HUGE doses. I've been trying to get 10 minutes of sun a few times a week (I had melanoma removed in the early 90's, so I avoided the sun altogether for a long time).

When you say high-dose vitamin D, what is the dosage you're taking, MG?

I know the recommended dosages are usually low and, as we all know, every person is so different. Same with lab test results; it can't have a blanket interpretation.

Thanks, you guys.

:grouphug:

[Shallah Kali]

27. Current daily minium rec. by the gov is 400 IU of D. Some docs are pushing to up it to 1,000 or mor

Current max daily dosage w/out prescription 2,000 units. From what I have read most mds like to get people on 50,000 units once per week for 3 months then retest the levels. VitaminDCouncil.org has lots of info including links to studies arranged by disorder and info on toxicity of Vitamin D so it is an excellent place to start. I am a bit of an info junkie so I like to read around from both mainstream and good alt med sites (like Dr. Weil, Prevention Mag) discounting those that don't have studies to back up their claims.