TRT and thyroid impairment

[saudades]

Here's something I've just found out, and it doesn't seem to be very mainstream knowledge, especially with those who go on TRT.

Some background: I've been increasingly over the last 4-5 years been having symptoms of dry skin, brittle nails/hair, fatigue, a little bit of weight gain around the middle, joint pain, and a few other symptoms. It has gotten to the point that it is starting to drive me nuts. From my research, everything points to hypothyroid symptoms. I went in to have my blood tested, and the doc will only test TSH and free T4. They come back in the normal range (although TSH may be on the higher side at 3.3). The doc won't treat my symptoms because of the lab values, doesn't care how I feel, he has to have lab values out of range for him to justify anything. He kept trying to cite how Harvard experts determined the ranges for TSH, etc. (really? Harvard? Like I give a care!)

I have just now come across Journal references that refer to thyroid problems when being on TRT or taking anabolic androgenic steroids in general.

Apparently, thyroid binding globulin is reduced in the liver which effectively reduces the half-life of T3 in the blood. The cells don't get what they need from the T3 so we end up with hypothyroid symptoms even though production of TSH and T4 are tested as "normal." The only other way to reveal some of what is actually happening is to test free T3 and Reverse-T3 because this change in half-life means the body will convert more T4 over to reverse-T3. T3 should be 20 times higher than reverse-T3. If the ratio is off, you get hypothyroid symptoms. Not too many docs know about this, but the good ones who know their stuff will adjust for thyroid as well and put you on a small dose of T3. If you are a bodybuilder, it's also a good idea then to have a small dose of T3 along with your cycle.

I'm curious to know if there is anyone else on TRT who has been having similar problems. I've been on TRT for almost 16 years straight, and these symptoms onset very gradually. I have only noticed them much more for the last 4-5 years, and they have continued to worsen steadily. I always thought it was just something I had to live with because I was getting older. Now I know differently.


**broken link removed**

Ingestion of androgenic-anabolic steroids induces mild thyroidal impairment in male body builders.
R Deyssig, and M Weissel

DOI: **broken link removed**
Published Online: July 01, 2013
ABSTRACT PDF
Abstract
Self-administration of very high doses of androgenic anabolic steroids is common use in power athletes because of their favorable effect on performance. Since androgenic steroids decrease serum T4-binding globulin (TBG) concentrations dramatically, we were interested in the effects of this procedure on thyroid function: we performed TRH tests (200 micrograms Relefact, i.v.), with blood withdrawal before and for 180 min after injection, for determination, using RIA kits, of serum concentrations of total and free T4, total T3, TSH, and TBG in 13 young (20-29 yr old) male body builders with clinically normal thyroid glands, who were all in the same state of training. Five of these athletes admitted taking androgenic anabolic steroids at an average total dose of 1.2 g/week for at least 6 weeks before the tests. TBG, total T4, and total T3 were significantly (P < 0.001) decreased, whereas basal TSH and free T4 were not significantly different from the values of the other 8 without androgenic steroids. The maximum TSH increase after TRH administration (mean +/- SE, 16 -/+ 6 vs. 9 -/+ 4 mU/L; P < 0.05) was relatively increased, whereas the T3 response to TRH (0.61 -/+ 0.10 vs. 1.13 -/+ 0.13 nmol/L; P < 0.05) was relatively decreased in the group receiving androgens. The 5 patients taking androgens had significantly greater weight (114 vs. 90 kg; P < 0.01) and higher total cholesterol levels (6.3 -/+ 1.3 vs. 3.8 -/+ 0.3 mmol/L; P < 0.05) together with very low high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (0.20 -/+ 0.03 vs. 1.03 -/+ 0.10; P < 0.001) than the controls. PRL levels were normal and similar in both groups. We conclude from our results that high dose androgenic anabolic steroid administration leads to a relative impairment (within the normal range) of thyroid function. Whether this is due to a direct thyroid hormone release (or synthesis?)-blocking effect of these steroids needs further investigation.

**broken link removed**

Sex steroids and the thyroid

Rundsarah Tahboub, MD (Fellow in Endocrinology), Baha M. Arafah, MD (Professor of Medicine; Director of Clinical Program & Fellowship Training Program)correspondenceemail
Division of Clinical and Molecular Endocrinology, Case Western Reserve University, Case Medical Center, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2009.06.005

Thyroid function is modulated by genetic and environmental causes as well as other illnesses and medications such as gonadal or sex steroids. The latter class of drugs (sex steroids) modulates thyroid function. Gonadal steroids exert their influence on thyroid function primarily by altering the clearance of thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG). While oestrogen administration causes an increase in serum TBG concentration, androgen therapy results in a decrease in this binding protein. These effects of gonadal steroids on TBG clearance and concentration are modulated by the chemical structure of the steroid being used, its dose and the route of administration. Despite the gonadal steroids-induced changes in serum TBG concentrations, subjects with normal thyroid glands maintain clinical and biochemical euthyroidism without changes in their serum free thyroxine (T4) or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. In contrast, the administration of gonadal steroids to patients with thyroid diseases causes significant biochemical and clinical alterations requiring changes in the doses of thyroid medications. Similarly, gonadal steroid therapy might unmask thyroid illness in previously undiagnosed subjects. It would be prudent to assess thyroid function in subjects with thyroid disease 6–8 weeks after gonadal steroid administration or withdrawal.

References
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Ain, K.B., Mori, Y., Refetoff, S. Reduced clearance rate of thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) with increased sialylation: a mechanism for estrogen induced elevation of serum TBG concentration. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1987;65:689–696.
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[j2048b]

Im glad i read this! I was off trt from october 2014 until recently and my thyroid markers were off! Never had thyroid issues but both my mom and sis have and had to have theirs removed, so it runs in the family, while i was on trt my thyroid panels were always fine never had an issue, it was when i went off trt that my thyroid jacked up..... So i will be getting labs re ran so we can see if my thyroid is in fact messed up with out test and with it....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jrock00123]

My doc has me on supplemental thyroid based on less than optimal bloodwork. My vales are within range, but not as good as he would like to see. Maybe time to look into another doctor?

 

[hood_rat]

good article. could explain shedding on cycle then..? (not dht thinning)

 

[Stewie]

Very knowledgeable physicians in the field of proper hormone therapy, always access the individuals thyroid parameters. Not by numbers alone.

Some physicians just don't understand the downstream effects of other intertwined hormones that go amuck.

 

[saudades]

Very knowledgeable physicians in the field of proper hormone therapy, always access the individuals thyroid parameters. Not by numbers alone.

Some physicians just don't understand the downstream effects of other intertwined hormones that go amuck.

It amazes me that those docs who don't get it will try to tell you that they are the ones who went through medical school and that they 'know' what they are talking about. I could not convince my PCP one iota that he was making a mistake by not treating my symptoms. I'll be looking for a new doc.

 

[CHAPS]

I dealt with this and it was Dr Mariano in California of all places (I live in Canada), that was open minded enough to look at more then just blood work. I had achy joints, had put weight, mood was lower then usual, body temperature was about 1 1/2 degrees to low, I was also very anxious. My first dose of t3 and I felt myself calm right down and cool off, even though I was feeling hypo I felt very hot from all the adrenalin I was running off of while my body compensated for lack of thyroid hormone.

 

[G.I.Bro]

If blood work confirms less than optimal thyroid hormone levels or you just have a shitty metabolism and put on fat, you can't really go wrong with TRT level test dose and 2 grains of Armour thyroid (t3/t4 blend) or Nature-Throid which are equivalent to roughly 50mcg of plain T3. This is what I do, broken up in an AM and afternoon dose. 1 grain = 25mcg of T3. You can obviously tailor your dose, they make 1 and a half grain too.

That's sort of a generalized approach than should work for most people and definitely be body altering with good diet.

If you can't stay lean and fairly jacked on TRT dose test with 1 short blast a year, 2 grain of Armour and 2-3iu of pharma gh than you're fucking doing something WRONG in the diet and training department.

 

[chainheart]

It was explained to me a long time ago that we have to become amateur endocrinologists because doctors know less about TRT than just about anything else in medicine. Urologists are the same, and doctors often will defer or send you to the urologist.

Doctors are trained to deal with disease management, not health management. If you want to optimize your state of health, a doctor does not have any interest because you do not have a disease and associated diagnostic code that can be used for insurance billing.


Both hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue undermine your metabolic capacity. TRT often restores one's metabolism to a youthful state. However, if your adrenals and thyroid levels cannot support that restored metabolic state, you hit the wall, crash or whatever you want to call it. In these cases, guys go on TRT and do not do as well as they should, or simply feel unwell or worse than before they started TRT. So TRT finds these weak links, and surprise! Doctors do not get or understand this. Find a doctor who is not an idiot.

Symptoms: - there are others...
Dry skin
Brittle nails
Low body temperatures
General hair loss [not MPB]
Thinning of outer eyebrows
Hormone problems
Brain fog
Low energy





****************************************************
IMPORTANT: You must have selenium in your diet or vitamins to prevent possible auto immune thyroid damage
****************************************************


If one's thyroid hormones are low, or body temperature is low, one has hypothyroidism. If the problems are slight, it is called subclinical. Subclinical basically means that your doctor will not do anything.

So how does one interpret thyroid lab results? The range for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone [TSH] is 0.5 - 5. The range varies slightly from lab to lab. Fall in that range and many docs will say that you are normal and dismiss your concerns. So for those docs, a 10:1 range in this hormone is OK. In reality, you want to be somewhere close to 1.0. An endocrinologist professional group recommended that the range be changed to 0.5 - 3.0. However, labs have not change the ranges and effectively, hardly any doctors are aware of this change. You need to know that the normal range is from data fitting to a "normal" statistical variation which captures 95% of the sample group. So one normally finds 95% of the sample group falls within that "normal range". But that range captures a lot of people who are not well and the reason that their thyroid hormones not right.

We talk about optimal levels for hormones. But if you are in range, your doctor will probably tell you that you are normal. Those doctors have confused lab normal ranges with normal health function. This is the big problem. With thyroid hormones, optimal T3/T4 seems to be at the middle of the lab ranges.

TSH is released by the pituitary gland, the master gland. By varying TSH levels, the pituitary is able to control the output from the thyroid gland. The thyroid produces two thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. These hormones are a protein complex that includes 3 or 4 iodine atoms. Iodine is a trace element in nature, but it is so important for survival, that 1.0 to 1.5 grams can be stored in the human body. Evolution selected for that. Most iodine is stored in the thyroid gland. Women store more as iodine is also stored in breast tissue; with implications for increased breast cancer if one is iodine deficient and the obvious implication that breast milk can deliver iodine.

Hormones T3 and T4 are mostly carried in blood [serum is the medical term] bound to proteins and is not readily bio-available. T3 and T4 that are not bound are termed free and referred to as fT3 and fT4.

T4 is really a reservoir and it not so much bioactive. It is T3 that directs the metabolic rate of cells, and specifically fT3. T4 is converted to T3 [T4-->T3] inside the thyroid gland and also in other tissues [referred to as peripheral conversion. As we will see later, some people seem to have less ability for peripheral T4-->T3. If you give a T4 thyroid medication to those people, they will be T3 starved and they are still symptomatic. And surprise, most doctors are also clueless about that.

Your body has a feedback loop that compares T3/T4 in circulation with a "set point". If the serum levels are below the set point, more TSH is released to promote more action from the thyroid gland. If serum levels are above the set point, less TSH is produced and thyroid output falls. You can make an analogy with your home thermostat. Do you have a set-back furnace/heater thermostat that allows the temperature to drop at night during the heating season? Guess what, the same thing happens to your body temperature. The body temperature set point drops at night and your body cools down when you are sleeping.

Your pituitary gland is not fully in control. The hypothalamus monitors serum thyroid levels and it controls the pituitary gland by signaling with TRH.

You can read more here: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T"]T - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]...

So that is the quick and dirty introduction. Now we need the practical information.

We will focus on hypothyroidism: **broken link removed**

Hypothyroidism is a state of low thyroid hormone levels and in this sticky we will extend that broadly to include sub-optimal levels. We need to be more concerned with functional hypothyroidism as you will see later.

So what causes hypothyroidism? Things can go wrong, auto immune disease etc. But often there is not a disease state. We see that low testosterone levels, hypogonadism, often can create a degree of hypothyroidism and visa versa. So we often see guys who come here with hypogonadism issues having thyroid problems. And sometimes hypothyroidism causes hypogonadism.

It is also important to note that most of the symptoms of hypogonadism are also common to hypothyroidism. So you do not want either one, let alone the compound effects of both!"





**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**


This post for entertainment purposes only and not meant to derail or hijack thread. Post should not be mis-characterized with any sense of malice and includes no intent or is intended to incite heckling against anyone.

 

[CHAPS]

It was explained to me a long time ago that we have to become amateur endocrinologists because doctors know less about TRT than just about anything else in medicine. Urologists are the same, and doctors often will defer or send you to the urologist.

Doctors are trained to deal with disease management, not health management. If you want to optimize your state of health, a doctor does not have any interest because you do not have a disease and associated diagnostic code that can be used for insurance billing.

Both hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue undermine your metabolic capacity. TRT often restores one's metabolism to a youthful state. However, if your adrenals and thyroid levels cannot support that restored metabolic state, you hit the wall, crash or whatever you want to call it. In these cases, guys go on TRT and do not do as well as they should, or simply feel unwell or worse than before they started TRT. So TRT finds these weak links, and surprise! Doctors do not get or understand this. Find a doctor who is not an idiot.

Symptoms: - there are others...
Dry skin
Brittle nails
Low body temperatures
General hair loss [not MPB]
Thinning of outer eyebrows
Hormone problems
Brain fog
Low energy





****************************************************
IMPORTANT: You must have selenium in your diet or vitamins to prevent possible auto immune thyroid damage
****************************************************


If one's thyroid hormones are low, or body temperature is low, one has hypothyroidism. If the problems are slight, it is called subclinical. Subclinical basically means that your doctor will not do anything.

So how does one interpret thyroid lab results? The range for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone [TSH] is 0.5 - 5. The range varies slightly from lab to lab. Fall in that range and many docs will say that you are normal and dismiss your concerns. So for those docs, a 10:1 range in this hormone is OK. In reality, you want to be somewhere close to 1.0. An endocrinologist professional group recommended that the range be changed to 0.5 - 3.0. However, labs have not change the ranges and effectively, hardly any doctors are aware of this change. You need to know that the normal range is from data fitting to a "normal" statistical variation which captures 95% of the sample group. So one normally finds 95% of the sample group falls within that "normal range". But that range captures a lot of people who are not well and the reason that their thyroid hormones not right.

We talk about optimal levels for hormones. But if you are in range, your doctor will probably tell you that you are normal. Those doctors have confused lab normal ranges with normal health function. This is the big problem. With thyroid hormones, optimal T3/T4 seems to be at the middle of the lab ranges.

TSH is released by the pituitary gland, the master gland. By varying TSH levels, the pituitary is able to control the output from the thyroid gland. The thyroid produces two thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. These hormones are a protein complex that includes 3 or 4 iodine atoms. Iodine is a trace element in nature, but it is so important for survival, that 1.0 to 1.5 grams can be stored in the human body. Evolution selected for that. Most iodine is stored in the thyroid gland. Women store more as iodine is also stored in breast tissue; with implications for increased breast cancer if one is iodine deficient and the obvious implication that breast milk can deliver iodine.

Hormones T3 and T4 are mostly carried in blood [serum is the medical term] bound to proteins and is not readily bio-available. T3 and T4 that are not bound are termed free and referred to as fT3 and fT4.

T4 is really a reservoir and it not so much bioactive. It is T3 that directs the metabolic rate of cells, and specifically fT3. T4 is converted to T3 [T4-->T3] inside the thyroid gland and also in other tissues [referred to as peripheral conversion. As we will see later, some people seem to have less ability for peripheral T4-->T3. If you give a T4 thyroid medication to those people, they will be T3 starved and they are still symptomatic. And surprise, most doctors are also clueless about that.

Your body has a feedback loop that compares T3/T4 in circulation with a "set point". If the serum levels are below the set point, more TSH is released to promote more action from the thyroid gland. If serum levels are above the set point, less TSH is produced and thyroid output falls. You can make an analogy with your home thermostat. Do you have a set-back furnace/heater thermostat that allows the temperature to drop at night during the heating season? Guess what, the same thing happens to your body temperature. The body temperature set point drops at night and your body cools down when you are sleeping.

Your pituitary gland is not fully in control. The hypothalamus monitors serum thyroid levels and it controls the pituitary gland by signaling with TRH.

You can read more here: T - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

So that is the quick and dirty introduction. Now we need the practical information.

We will focus on hypothyroidism: **broken link removed**

Hypothyroidism is a state of low thyroid hormone levels and in this sticky we will extend that broadly to include sub-optimal levels. We need to be more concerned with functional hypothyroidism as you will see later.

So what causes hypothyroidism? Things can go wrong, auto immune disease etc. But often there is not a disease state. We see that low testosterone levels, hypogonadism, often can create a degree of hypothyroidism and visa versa. So we often see guys who come here with hypogonadism issues having thyroid problems. And sometimes hypothyroidism causes hypogonadism.

It is also important to note that most of the symptoms of hypogonadism are also common to hypothyroidism. So you do not want either one, let alone the compound effects of both!"





**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**


This post for entertainment purposes only and not meant to derail or hijack thread. Post should not be mis-characterized with any sense of malice and includes no intent or is intended to incite heckling against anyone.

This is incredibly true, I've spent the past 2 years seeking out the best treatment for myself and it's disheartening to see what most doctors consider medicine. Treating bloodwork as opposed to the patient.

This is from Dr Mariano:

"Usually, when I start testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), I also have to be ready to adjust thyroid hormone because exogenous testosterone can reduce thyroid signaling.

Changing one signal (as in testosterone) causes multiple downstream signaling changes in other systems. As long as one is ready to make the adjustments to thyroid hormone signaling and other signaling systems with TRT (such as estrogen signaling, adrenal signaling, nervous system, immune system, metabolism, nutrition, etc.), then one can avoid some complications with TRT, such as anxiety, fatigue, hypertension, insomnia, body aches, etc.

Off the top of my head, there are several possible ways TRT can reduce thyroid hormone signaling, including the following:

1. Exogenous testosterone suppresses testicular testosterone production AND testicular thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) production. This reduces brain TSH production, lowering thyroid hormone production from the thyroid gland.

2. Exogenous testosterone may reduce liver production of thyroid binding globulin. This reduces the half-life of thyroid hormone. This leads to a reduction in available thyroid hormone.

3. Exogenous testosterone can lead to a simultaneous conversion of testosterone to estradiol. The increase in estradiol can increase liver production of thyroid binding globulin. This can lead to a reduction in free thyroid hormone levels (Free T3, Free T4). This then reduces thyroid signaling.

4. Exogenous HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) not only increases testicular production of testosterone and sperm but also increases aromatase enzyme production. The increase in aromatase enzyme can then lead to an increase in estradiol production from testosterone. This (as noted above) can lead to a reduction in thyroid signaling.

5. Exogenous testosterone can suppress ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) production from the brain. And it can directly suppress adrenal cortical activity, including cortisol production. This can then lead to an increase in norepinephrine production, then immune system inflammatory signaling. This can then shift thyroid metabolism so that T4 is converted to reverse T3 (the waste product pathway) instead of being converted to T3 (the active thyroid hormone). This can reduce both T4 levels and T3 levels, leading to a reduction in thyroid signaling.

When possible, I usually prefer to consider first optimizing thyroid signaling, adrenal function, immune system function, nervous system function, metabolism and nutrition, to allow a smoother transition to testosterone replacement therapy.

There are times when adding testosterone simultaneously while addressing the other systems is important to help break some positive feedback loops between systems that contribute to illness. For example, high insulin/insulin resistance/diabetes, obesity, inflammatory signaling, stress/norepinephrine signaling, and lower testosterone production can be involved in multiple positive feedback loops which can cause significant illness. Adding testosterone when it is low in such a person can help unravel the self-perpetuating signaling loops that keep a person ill."

 

[saudades]

Very true. I even showed my doc that exact text from Dr. Mariano, and he didn't care in the least. He said if my TSH wasn't out of whack, there was nothing he could do.

 

[loot]

Yes, I have this too. Just diagnosed last week as "probable hypothyroidism".

My Naturopath figured it out. He had me record my waking temperature for a week. I took my wife's temp. as well, as a control.

I had low temps in the AM.

My ND says that standard labs will show normal thyroid levels but that isn't the whole story. This must be what he was talking about. He's working on a solution. I should print this out for him.

 

[CHAPS]

Yes, I have this too. Just diagnosed last week as "probable hypothyroidism".

My Naturopath figured it out. He had me record my waking temperature for a week. I took my wife's temp. as well, as a control.

I had low temps in the AM.

My ND says that standard labs will show normal thyroid levels but that isn't the whole story. This must be what he was talking about. He's working on a solution. I should print this out for him.

Make sure to get either saliva testing for cortisol or a 24 comprehensive hormonal urine panel. Adrenal issues and hypothyroidism go hand in hand, i'd also look at sleep as well. I had adrenal fatigue that need to be addressed which bumped up temperature, added in thyroid meds still not enough of an increase even with thyroid in optimal range, added in a cpap machine as I have sleep apnea and my temperature normalized.

If cortisol levels are not optimal then T3 will not be able to entire the cells, this is why it's important to not just look at the thyroid in isolation. Cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, dhea/pregnenolone need to be optimized.

 

[loot]

Make sure to get either saliva testing for cortisol or a 24 comprehensive hormonal urine panel. Adrenal issues and hypothyroidism go hand in hand, i'd also look at sleep as well. I had adrenal fatigue that need to be addressed which bumped up temperature, added in thyroid meds still not enough of an increase even with thyroid in optimal range, added in a cpap machine as I have sleep apnea and my temperature normalized.

If cortisol levels are not optimal then T3 will not be able to entire the cells, this is why it's important to not just look at the thyroid in isolation. Cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, dhea/pregnenolone need to be optimized.

Yep! I have the ZRT Labs 4-part 24 hr cortisol test on my nightstand. I want to do it on a normal stress level day. My ND had me on it- good tip, thanks CHAPS.

I had been studying the adrenal cortex but got sidetracked on ATP production in the mitochondria. I don't feel bad, just not optimal anymore and knew something was off.

I'm cutting back on coffee to reduce cortisol - should I stop?

 

[CHAPS]

Yep! I have the ZRT Labs 4-part 24 hr cortisol test on my nightstand. I want to do it on a normal stress level day. My ND had me on it- good tip, thanks CHAPS.

I had been studying the adrenal cortex but got sidetracked on ATP production in the mitochondria. I don't feel bad, just not optimal anymore and knew something was off.

I'm cutting back on coffee to reduce cortisol - should I stop?

I would take a break from the coffee. I would also try 1/4/tsp pink himalayian salt in water morning and afternoon, this helps your adrenals quite a bit. All this is doing is raising blood pressure and relieving your adrenals of that stress, I find a noticeable difference in how I feel from this as has others I have suggested it to.

ZRT test, perfect. I went ot a naturopath and they can be quite useful but personally I found pregnenolone/dhea to be most helpful for adrenals more so then any adaptogen. If you did want to run an adaptogen in conjunction though I highly recommend Red Reishi mushroom , Purica makes a very high quality one.

 

[Homeslice]

TRT/Thyroid meds

I have off the $hit for some time. I was having health issues and wasn't sure what was going on with my body so I didn't want to push my luck. After about a year of being off and following my PCT my test was a little more than 400 at 40 y/o. Then all of a sudden it started to drop drastically. At first they thought I has tumor on my pituitary gland. That wasn't it. Turns out I have an auto immune disease hashimoto's disease and it Fuc#'s up all my hormones bigtime!! Hashimoto's is my own body producing anti bodies that are killing my thyroid. The same way your body fights a cold or a virus. I am not sure the exact relationship between hypothyroidism and low T but in my case they are related. I am on both test and synthroid. ( I am told it is similar to T3. Not sure if it is or isn't). What I can tell you is since I have been on hormone/thyroid therapy I feel so much better. No health issues but since on thyroid meds I have been loosing weight. Not really a bad thing, loosing muscle as well as fat.

 

[loot]

I have off the $hit for some time. I was having health issues and wasn't sure what was going on with my body so I didn't want to push my luck. After about a year of being off and following my PCT my test was a little more than 400 at 40 y/o. Then all of a sudden it started to drop drastically. At first they thought I has tumor on my pituitary gland. That wasn't it. Turns out I have an auto immune disease hashimoto's disease and it Fuc#'s up all my hormones bigtime!! Hashimoto's is my own body producing anti bodies that are killing my thyroid. The same way your body fights a cold or a virus. I am not sure the exact relationship between hypothyroidism and low T but in my case they are related. I am on both test and synthroid. ( I am told it is similar to T3. Not sure if it is or isn't). What I can tell you is since I have been on hormone/thyroid therapy I feel so much better. No health issues but since on thyroid meds I have been loosing weight. Not really a bad thing, loosing muscle as well as fat.

Are you taking natural porceine thyroid - dessicated thyroid from a pig? If not, is there a sound reason to go synthetic? I'm just now starting my research into this stuff...

 

[Homeslice]

Are you taking natural porceine thyroid - dessicated thyroid from a pig? If not, is there a sound reason to go synthetic? I'm just now starting my research into this stuff...

This is probably not the answer your looking for but, I basically just take the advice of my Endo Dr. I have seen a couple different Dr.s before finding him. I can't tell you how much better I feel now. So until something changes I'm sticking with it.

 

[loot]

This is probably not the answer your looking for but, I basically just take the advice of my Endo Dr. I have seen a couple different Dr.s before finding him. I can't tell you how much better I feel now. So until something changes I'm sticking with it.

That's great! Good results is what counts. I just want info because Docs often have stale info and just treat disease, not optimal health.

 

[lift4life]

my thyroid is f'd from all the juice