Treatment Options For Hypothyroidism

If you have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, you might be curious what the treatment options are. The following includes a combination of medical and home treatments to consider.

Levothyroxine Replacement Drugs

The primary treatment your doctor will recommend for hypothyroidism is to take a medication that helps to replace the thyroid hormone that is missing. The hormone you are missing with an underactive thyroid is called thyroxine. While you can’t replace it directly since it is produced naturally by the thyroid gland, there is a synthetic hormone that is similar, called lexothyroxine. There are medications under names like Synthroid and Levothroid that contain this hormone. You will get bloodwork done first to determine what strength you need for the oral medication. You will then need to take one pill a day, and repeat the bloodwork every few months to determine if the prescription needs to be adjusted.

Lifestyle Changes

In addition to taking your levothyroxine medication, your doctor may also recommend some lifestyle changes. These are needed in order to get proper nutrition and also to help with some of the side effects of an underactive thyroid, such as low energy, weight gain, and slow metabolism. This includes eating right, watching your calories and portion, drinking more water, adding more fruits and veggies to your diet, and getting regular exercise. All of these lifestyle changes can help exceptionally with your weight gain and low energy, as well as help to give your metabolism a little natural boost.

Treating Your Symptoms

Part of treating hypothyroidism is just finding a treatment that works for your worse symptoms. For example, if you experience a lot of thinning hair from an underactive thyroid, your doctor might have a remedy that helps with that. They might recommend going to a dermatologist because of your dry skin, or offer some alternative medicine options if you have headaches or menstrual cycle problems. If you have infertility because of your thyroid condition, you may need to go on the medication for a few months, then see a fertility specialist instead of conceiving naturally.

With hypothyroidism, there is no magical cure. You may still have some of your symptoms even after going on the medication. However, you will keep returning to your doctor every three months to get your bloodwork tested and find out if you need more or less of the oral medication to keep treating your underactive thyroid.

