Quote:
Originally posted by Wonderingwhy:
Hey, if anyone can help me out here with some info, I'd appreciate it. I was wondering how thyroid medications work? do they supress TSH at the pituitary glan ( or increase it). Or do meds add T4 and or T3 directly to your body without affecting the TSH? and can taking a thyroid medication supress natural thyroid hormone production so that if you go off of it, you would be worse off then when you first started taking it?? |
Thyroid meds are actually T3 and/or T4 and replace what the thyroid gland should be making. Teh hypothalamuys and pituitary detect how much T3 and T4 is in your blood and adjusts the TSH level accordingly, so in effect, thyroid meds suppress TSH. Once you are on enough, they suppresse TSH enough to relieve the thyroid gland of much or all of its duty.
If you stop taking thyroid meds sudden;y, it depends on what you are taking and the condition of your thyroid gland whether you will be worse off than before taking the meds. If you don't have any thyroid antibodies attacking and destroying your thyroid gland, then you will probably take a turn for the worse, then get back to the way you were, but this is true of ANY hormone replacement, thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, etc will all have similar responses if you stop them suddenly.
If you are to stop any hormone therapy of any kind, the best bet is to wean yourself off of it slowly.
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Danny
I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV... 
How does Thyroid medication work? 
This has been going on for almost 15 years. Nobody ever thought about what this would be doing to my health....even though I am 55 and feel crummy. I look healthy....keep slim....and even though I am always tired and sore and actually have bone pain now....along with a deep heart pain on occasion. I have switched docs....due to the new pain.
