or horrifying. can't decide yet.
"
WARNING: Thyroid hormones, including SYNTHROID, either alone or with other therapeutic agents, should not be used for the treatment of obesity or for weight loss. In euthyroid patients, doses within the range of daily hormonal requirements are ineffective for weight reduction. Larger doses may produce serious or even life threatening manifestations of toxicity, particularly when given in association with sympathomimetic amines such as those used for their anorectic effects.
for real?
they actually have to warn doctors that this is a drug to treat a clinical condition and that it should not be given to fatties to get them to drop some weight already?
color me shocked.
even worse, in case a doctor is tempted to give it to a fattie anyways, the warning continues to say that the drug doesn't 'help' if your thyroid is normal anyway.
there is, by the way, a long list of WARNINGS regarding the use of the drug, including increased risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, gastrointestinal problems, reproductive and cognitive functions, stunted growth in the young, etc.
…
but hey, it can lead to weight loss, so hook me up already!
Jockey Full of Bourbon 
i take a (natural) thyroid replacement tablet for my underactive thyroid. i prefer the natural alternative because it's closer to the real thing than anything they could cook up in a lab (although i may run out of choices soon, if they stop making the natural tab). i wish i didn't have to take the pill every day, but i do — if i stop taking it, my body slows down, i am lethargic to the point of laziness, and my organs take a vacation. i can't imagine taking this pill to lose weight! even my doc, when trying to find the right dosage for me, was hesitant to raise the mg too high b/c over-medicating has a terrible effect. docs who prescribe thyroid meds for fat patients (who don't have a thyroid disease) should have their licenses revoked.
I can't help but think that *some* doctors at some time have
prescribed thyroid drugs to normal-thyroid patients for the supposed weight loss.
otherwise there would'nt be such a strong-worded warning.I'm newly diagnosed so I'm reading all I can. but first person that says "ooo, lucky! you are going to lose so much weight" gets a punch in the mouth.
i sincerely hope that nobody makes a comment like that! there's nothing "oooh, you're so lucky!" about it. fortunately it *is* something that you can live with peacefully for many years, but there's nothing "lucky" about a thyroid that doesn't work the way it's intended.i hope you find the right medicine for you! it can take some time to settle on the correct dosage, but eventually you will find it.
I have hypothyroid. I was taking Armour until the pharmacist could no longer get it. They switched me to synthroid. I have not seen much difference, although. like you, I preferred the real thing. My doctor prefers synthroid because it is easier to get the dose right. It comes in many different strengths, evidently. I still don't think my does is quite right but at least it is being treated.
I hope they can get your dose right. It takes time and that is frustrating! Good luck!
i'm taking Armour right now. i had a problem last year when i needed a refill but the pharmacy said that the manufacturer was having production issues. i guess it's happened on more than one occasion, too. at the time, i was leaving the country on vacation and i didn't want to start taking anything new, so i was fortunately able to find a pharmacy that had it. i should really go back to my doc soon and come up with a contingency plan, in case i have another problem. i heard that they're going to stop making it completely.
The pharmacies here could no longer get it so I was forced to switch. Although I was sold on the fact that Armour is better, I have done OK on syntrhoid, if that give you any comfort. The big think with thyroid meds that I was told by more than one source is to never take the generic, since generics can be off by 20%.
Ooooooh the slippery slope of off-label usage. Pharmaceutical companies claim they'd NEVER want you to use a compound off-label, but tend to turn a blind eye whenever off-label usage increases sales. And physicians, who think they know best — and often know too little — will often experiment with a drug that worked for one patient — hey, maybe it will work for another. Especially if that patient is making a nuisance of him/herself.
generally speaking, i try not to take generics. when my doctor prescribes a brand name, i make sure that the pharmacy gives me the brand. having worked for a pharmaceutical company, i know that the generics are not the same as the brand and i don't want to take an alternative composition if my doc recommends a specific formula. i didn't know that thyroid meds can be off as much as 20%!! that's pretty scary.
My mother and her sister have thyroid problems and I know that mum was on synthroid at some point. She has never been overweight and I'm shocked that doctors would even try this. WTF?Why don't they go back to wiring peoples' jaws closed like they did Liz Taylor, already. This stuff makes baby bejeebers cry.
My doctor told me that generics, by law, can very 20%. They can have 20% less or more of the medication. That is crazy!! Especially for something as delicate to control as the thyroid. I am so angry because my insurance company just flat out has said that they will no longer cover a certain medication I use in my nebulizer. No matter to them that the alternative has not worked for me. I was told by a nurse to try to get a case manager at my insurance company because in my specific case, it is cheaper for the company to make an exception and let me use the medication I need for my lungs, rather than end up in the hospital. I am amazed that the insurance company can overrule my doctor, especially as my case is so complicated!!
Off-label drugs have made my life much much easier, but I wasn't taking them for a frivolous reason like vanity weight loss.
Roboco, I was being a bit facetious. I don't expect anybody to go ooo lucky!, but I'd like to be prepared just in casein my state of Kentucky the law requires pharmacies to dispense the generic equivalent if available. trying to get the brand name drug requires a lot of time and effort from your doctor and yourself – and can still get denied.
Freedom, that's a shame you can't get your proper nebulizer medication. it seems that pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are always making deals that we consumers never get to see.
steve that's interesting. I actually thought the use of drugs 'off-label' was increasing, but now I see it makes sense for doctors to be cautious against the possibility of lawsuits and thus adhere to label recommendations strictly
LT, it's good that 'off-label' use has helped you. it has been helpful for me too in re depression and pain. it's kind of a chicken vs egg as to whether pain causes depression or viceversa or both – and at least in my case a depression drug has helped in pain management.
There's off-label and then there's off-label, ya know? Esp. in the depression/pain conundrum, the stuff I have off-label is not necessarily designed for why I'm taking it (although I think one of 'em may have that listed by now, I haven't read the fine print in ages), but it's commonly used. Sort of an "everybody knows/does that, the company just hasn't ponied up the dough for the further tests".As opposed to the "what the hell, LET'S TRY THIS!" which I imagine is where the lawsuits are coming from.