This article was so informative and helpful. My daughters (20 & 23) have a complex history of Thyroid issues and now both are medically managed. I am 48 and my body and mind are changing. My girls think I should get my thyroid tested, but I wonder if it’s simply the natural changes of Peri-menopause. Could you talk more about the connection of thyroid issues as they relate to hormones as women age?
I would love any insight you have for those of us who had their thyroid removed. Mine was removed almost 30 years ago. I've been on levotyroxine ever since but I would love to find something natural instead. All I can ever find is stuff to help a not fully functional thyroid but I can find nothing for if you have no thyroid. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm honored you're here and that the article resonated with you. When it comes to thyroid removal, especially long-term, things shift significantly. In this case, the body no longer produces any thyroid hormone on its own, so replacement therapy like levothyroxine is essential to maintain basic metabolic function and overall health.
From an herbalist's perspective, and in alignment with my scope of practice, I don’t recommend stopping any prescribed medications or replacing them with herbs. That kind of decision should always be guided by your prescribing provider, ideally someone who understands your full history and lab work.
That said, there is still a role for herbal support alongside your current treatment. Depending on your constitution and needs, herbs can be used to support energy, digestion, nervous system tone, circulation, and the systems most impacted when someone is functionally hypothyroid, even when medication is in place. In these cases, it’s less about treating the thyroid and more about supporting the whole person.
If you're ever curious about what that could look like for someone in your situation, I’d be happy to explore those possibilities within an herbal framework during a consultation.
Thank you so much for the honest reply. You have shifted my thinking to supporting my whole person instead of just the thyroid. I'll definitely keep you in mind when I am ready for more info.
Thankyou so much for this article. My son was born with thyroid dysgenesis so has congenital hypothyroidism. He has been on Lethothyroxine since he was 5 days old. I’m always interested in how I can support his condition and I think the simplicity of extra orange and rosemary in his diet feels doable but he’s only 9 so not sure about other additions… guess I’ll speak to his endo. I do take ashwaganda in cycles myself and currently have some gummies so wondering if they would be safe for him? Would the herbs you given be the same for people with very little to no thyroid tissue? I’ve also heard a bit about bovine supplements that have t3 and t4 present, do you know anything about these? I’m resistant to coming off the synthetic hormone while he’s small but I’d like to create a document for him to have when he’s older with all the research and alternative therapies I can find. Who knows they might be able to lab grow him a functioning thyroid by then!
My mom, aunt and grandmother all have/had hypothyroidism and I’ve been told to expect the same… but so many of the symptoms are similar to perimenopause. My aunt and mom experienced perimenopause with out the help of hormones as they were in the unfortunate generation that was not given them due to the misunderstood/limited study. It is easy to assume there is some connection here with perimenopause, hypothyroidism - what is it? Can you shed any light?
👍🌹
This article was so informative and helpful. My daughters (20 & 23) have a complex history of Thyroid issues and now both are medically managed. I am 48 and my body and mind are changing. My girls think I should get my thyroid tested, but I wonder if it’s simply the natural changes of Peri-menopause. Could you talk more about the connection of thyroid issues as they relate to hormones as women age?
I absolutely can! I’ll add that topic into this series of posts. Thank you for the suggestion!
I would love any insight you have for those of us who had their thyroid removed. Mine was removed almost 30 years ago. I've been on levotyroxine ever since but I would love to find something natural instead. All I can ever find is stuff to help a not fully functional thyroid but I can find nothing for if you have no thyroid. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm honored you're here and that the article resonated with you. When it comes to thyroid removal, especially long-term, things shift significantly. In this case, the body no longer produces any thyroid hormone on its own, so replacement therapy like levothyroxine is essential to maintain basic metabolic function and overall health.
From an herbalist's perspective, and in alignment with my scope of practice, I don’t recommend stopping any prescribed medications or replacing them with herbs. That kind of decision should always be guided by your prescribing provider, ideally someone who understands your full history and lab work.
That said, there is still a role for herbal support alongside your current treatment. Depending on your constitution and needs, herbs can be used to support energy, digestion, nervous system tone, circulation, and the systems most impacted when someone is functionally hypothyroid, even when medication is in place. In these cases, it’s less about treating the thyroid and more about supporting the whole person.
If you're ever curious about what that could look like for someone in your situation, I’d be happy to explore those possibilities within an herbal framework during a consultation.
Thank you so much for the honest reply. You have shifted my thinking to supporting my whole person instead of just the thyroid. I'll definitely keep you in mind when I am ready for more info.
Thankyou so much for this article. My son was born with thyroid dysgenesis so has congenital hypothyroidism. He has been on Lethothyroxine since he was 5 days old. I’m always interested in how I can support his condition and I think the simplicity of extra orange and rosemary in his diet feels doable but he’s only 9 so not sure about other additions… guess I’ll speak to his endo. I do take ashwaganda in cycles myself and currently have some gummies so wondering if they would be safe for him? Would the herbs you given be the same for people with very little to no thyroid tissue? I’ve also heard a bit about bovine supplements that have t3 and t4 present, do you know anything about these? I’m resistant to coming off the synthetic hormone while he’s small but I’d like to create a document for him to have when he’s older with all the research and alternative therapies I can find. Who knows they might be able to lab grow him a functioning thyroid by then!
Excellent information! Thanks for sharing!
My mom, aunt and grandmother all have/had hypothyroidism and I’ve been told to expect the same… but so many of the symptoms are similar to perimenopause. My aunt and mom experienced perimenopause with out the help of hormones as they were in the unfortunate generation that was not given them due to the misunderstood/limited study. It is easy to assume there is some connection here with perimenopause, hypothyroidism - what is it? Can you shed any light?
There’s a menopause subreddit you may find useful. Reddit.com/menopause
Thanks 😊