THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE TREATED WITH T3 ALONE AND WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A BONE DENSITY SCAN? ONE OF THE STUDIES COPARING T4 WITH A COMBINATION OF T3 AND T3 IN HYPOTHYROIDISM FOUND THAT ONE OF THE MARKERS FOR OSTEROPOROSIS WAS INCREASED IN PATIENTS ON COMBINA...

DEAR CAZZ,

I DON’T THINK YOUR SWEATS ARE DUE TO THYROXINE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS POTENTIAL CAUSES AND SOMETIMES NO CAUSE CAN BE IDENTIFIED. THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE IS THE MENOPAUSE, BUT IF YOU HAVE NOT DISCUSSED IT WITH YOUR GP, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD.

DEAR CMICH, IF YOUR SYMPTOMS HAVE NOT GOT BETTER WITH THYROXINE, THE QUESTION THAT ARISES IS: IS THERE SOME OTHER CAUSE? THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER CONDITIONS THAT CAN CAUSE PEOPLE TO FEEL UNWELL APRT FROM AN UNDERACTIVE THYROID. YOUR DOCTOR AND THE NHS CAN HELP FIND OUT IF THAT IS SO AND TREAT IT. UN...

THE ABSORPTION OF THYROXINE CAN BE INFLUENCED BY FOOD AND SOME MEDICATIONS. THIS EFFECT IS HOWEVER MINOR. IF YOUR LEVELS HAVE BEEN STABEL FOR YEARS, CLEARLY THAT MEANS THAT IN YOUR CASE THERE IS NO PROBLEM AND MY INTERPRETATION IS THAT IT IS BEST TO CARRY ON WIHTOUT CHANGING WHAT YOU DO. THERE ARE G...

DEAR Taliesin, I AM SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOUR NHS EXPERIENCE WAS NOT GOOD. ESPECIALLY IT SEEMS THAT COMMUNICATION WAS NOT GREAT. ONE OF THE RECENT CHANGES IN THE NHS IS THAT DOCTORS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO COPY CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THEMSELVES TO PATIENTY, AND THIS IS NOW HAPPENING WIDELY WITHIN T...

DEAR JANETDMP, THE WELLBEING DESCRIBED BY SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE SEVERALM POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS: 1. AS YOU SUGGEST AN EFFECT ON MOOD (THE EVIDENCE FROM THE PSYCHIATRIC LIETERATURE IS NOT GREAT BUT THERE IS A SUGGESTION THAT THE ADDITION OF T3 ENHANCES THE EFFICACY OF SOME ANTIDEPRESSNT MEDICATIONS). 2...

DEAR LALADREW I THINK IT IS UNLIKLEY THAT THE THYROXINE IS CAUSING YOUR SYMPTOMS. THE LEVELS OF THYROID HORMONES VARY VERY LITTLE AFTER AN ORAL DOSE OF THYROXINE. THIS IS BECAUSE THERE ARE VARIOUS PROTEINS IN THE BLOOD THAT BIND TO THYROID HORMONES AND “BUFFER” THEM, ALSO ENZYMES IN THE LIVER AND EL...

BONNI, I PRESUME YOU HAVE HAD A DIAGNOSIS OF THYROID CANCER AND HAD A TOTLA THYROIDECTOMY. IF THE CALCIUM LEVEL IS LOW THEN YOU MAY HAVE HAD DAMAGE TO YOUR PARATHYROID GLANDS AS A RESULT OF THE OPERATION. IF THE OPERATION IS RECENT, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT THE PARATHRYOIDS WILL RECOVER WITH TIME...

levothyroxine is the mainstay of treatment. T3 is valuable in specific circumstances (in preparation for radioiodine treatment for thyroid cancer). Combination sof T3 and T4 have been disappointing and may be harmful. Animal thyroid extracts are not reecommended by professional organisations.

If one is screening for hypothyroidism and only relies on the serum TSH, patients with hypopituitarism (a very rare diagnosis) will be missed. It is for this reason that the BTF recommends that both teh serum TSH and FT4 should be measured if a diagnosis of hypothyroidism is suspected. Patiens who a...