It is important for pregnant women to maintain appropriate levels of thyroid hormone in the body to provide the healthiest environment for fetal development. Propylthioracil PTU and methimazole Tapezole are medications used to treat overactive thyroid. They work by slowing down the production of thyroid hormone and do not cause permanent damage. When taken appropriately, these medications can control hyperthyroidism in just a few weeks; however, the main problem with anti-thyroid medications lies with the fact that the underlying problem returns once they are discontinued.
Therefore, many people are encouraged to seek more permanent treatments, such as radioactive iodine treatment or surgical removal. Side effects of anti-thyroid medications include skin rash, upset stomach, drowsiness, and a bitter aftertaste. Rare but serious side effects include sore throat, fever, chills, jaundice, decreased white blood cells, and liver disease. Your doctor may also prescribe a medication called a beta blocker a drug usually given for high blood pressure to block the action of thyroid hormone in your body.
While beta blockers will not change the levels of thyroid hormone in your blood, they will make you feel better by reducing some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, including increased heart rate, shakes, and nervousness. These drugs work within hours and may help to quell these symptoms before other drugs have a chance to take effect.
Patients who had unsuccessful T4 monotherapy were put on either Armour or Cytomel and levothyroxine; those who still didn't improve then switched groups if they didn't develop arrhythmia or hyperthyroidism. Tariq added that she and her colleagues hope to do a prospective study looking at the effectiveness and safety of long-term combination therapy for patients with hypothyroidism.
This article is a collaboration between MedPage Today and:. Action Points Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.
Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. If you been diagnosed with hypothyroidism , it's virtually certain that you've been prescribed the drug levothyroxine marketed under the brand names Synthroid, Levoxyl, and others —a synthetic hormone that replenishes the thyroid hormone thyroxine, also known as T4.
But if you are on levothyroxine and still not feeling well, another drug known as Cytomel liothyronine may help. Cytomel is the synthetic form of the hormone triiodothyronine, known as T3, which is equally important to healthy metabolic function. Some endocrinologists also endorse the use of natural desiccated thyroid NDT , a drug derived from dried glands of pigs or cows that has T3 and T4 along with other thyroid gland protein such as thyroglobulin.
Thyroxine T4 and triiodothyronine T3 are the two major hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Their role is to regulate metabolism the conversion of oxygen and calories into energy. T3 is considered the active form of thyroid hormone. It is derived from T4, the "storage hormone," through a process known as monodeiodination , in which T4 loses an atom of iodine to become T3.
That means if you don't have enough T4, your body can't make enough T3. Adding T4 through levothyroxine increases your levels and enables adequate production of T3. For many people with hypothyroidism, this is enough to get their thyroid hormone levels back in the ideal range. However, for some people, the standard therapy isn't enough to get rid of their symptoms.
While T3 drugs like Cytomel may seem the ideal choice for hormone replacement therapy, T3 is rapidly absorbed in the intestines and can build up quickly, leading to symptoms of hyperthyroidism overactive thyroid. After that spike, the level then drops quickly, along with your body's ability to create T4. Because of that, you have to take Cytomel several times a day, but even that doesn't level out your T3 levels in an ideal way.
By contrast, T4 drugs like levothyroxine are absorbed more gradually and can maintain a consistent level in the blood, providing the body with all the T4 it needs to synthesize T3.
Another concern is that T3 drugs can affect the T4 blood tests used to monitor the effectiveness of hormone replacement therapy. For these reasons, many healthcare providers consider T3 drugs unnecessary. Plus, therapy with both T4 and T3 makes it difficult to maintain a normal T4-to-T3 ratio, which is between and In fact, several clinical trials have compared T4 alone to T4 plus T3 and found that the combination also contributes to mild hyperthyroidism. Current guidelines from the American Thyroid Association recommend that people with hypothyroidism be treated initially with T4 alone.
Adding T3 should be considered in people who continue to have symptoms of hypothyroidism, and whose T3 levels remain in the low end of the normal range.
Some healthcare providers have found success in treating their thyroid patients with natural desiccated thyroid , also known as NDT.
NDT is derived from the dried desiccated thyroid glands of pigs or cows and provides T3, T4, and other thyroid hormones found in the human thyroid gland. NDT is marketed under various brand names in the United States, including:. In addition to hypothyroidism, Cytomel is used for:. The endocrinology community continues to debate the use of T3 for treating hypothyroidism. Despite resistance from many medical practitioners, a growing body of research is shedding light on the appropriate use of T3 drugs in people with hypothyroidism.
Among them:. With the exception of triggering hyperthyroid symptoms, side effects from Cytomel are rare and generally mild. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:. Other possible side effects include:. If any of these side effects become severe or don't go away over time, let your healthcare provider know.
0コメント