I have been living with Hashimoto's for about 15 years now. Despite my TSH levels retrurning to about a 3 with meds, I still have many of the annoying symptoms. I have been to specialist after specialist, and the list of cortisone creams and lotions for the dry skin/scalp grow ever larger, the "tsk-tsk" over the hair loss, and the quizzical look at my general fatigue/weakness.
After one specialist suggested that I am one of "those" patients whose body knows the thyroid replacement IS a replacement and would likely always have mild symptoms, I decided to look into it on my own!

I started doing research on supplements, and have come up with a relatively new supplement (at least I hadn't heard of it before). I take a multi-vitamin, 1000 mg of C, 800 mg of E, 1mg of Folic, 2 Chromium already. But I just read that CLA (one before each meal)can provide a much needed fatty acid that our bodies don't make. The symptoms of deficiency are interestingly close to my "thyroid" symptoms. I had tried primrose oil, but didn't sense any difference in the dry skin and hair loss.

My question; does anyone else take this supplement and what are your experiences? Thanks!

Hi Christy,
What I found that did a world of good for me was to ask my Endocrinoligist to add some Cytomel to the Synthroid regimen. I found out about it on Mary Shoman's thyroid.about.com website. Some people don't produce enough T3 from the Synthroid and need a little extra.
Sandy

Thanks for the hint, Sandy! I'm going to look into Cytomel... I hadn't heard of that before either! I'm not sure of it's availability in Canada, but I'll ask my doctor about it. I know we talked about the T4 levels (he won't raise my Synthroid dose because he's afraid of the increased risk of osteoporosis). In the meantime, I've started the CLA and I'll let everyone know how it works.

You're welcome, Christy! Yes, I would like to hear about the CLA. About Cytomel. I did have one problem. My TSH stayed has been supressed since I started taking it, even though my T3 and T4 levels are normal. I have been reducing the Synthroid to try to get the TSH back to normal. My doctor has the same osteoporosis concern.