Premarin and Estrogens Decrease Thyroid Hormone, women GAIN WEIGHT!

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http://www.mercola.com/2001/jun/16/premarin_estrogens.htmPremarin and Estrogens Decrease Thyroid Hormone in Women Older women who are on both estrogen replacement and thyroid replacement therapy may need a boost to the thyroid portion of their regimen, new research suggests. Increased estrogen, according to one investigator, can lower thyroid levels in some women being treated for already-low concentrations of the hormone.To be safe, women taking thyroid hormones should receive check-ups within a few months of starting estrogen replacement.The study was funded by Knoll Pharmaceutical, which manufactures Synthroid™.Thyroid hormone is used to treat hypothyroidism, a condition in which the body's levels of the hormone are too low. The thyroid gland acts like a barometer -- churning out, as needed, hormones that help regulate a range of vital functions includingheart rate blood pressure body temperature metabolism An underactive or non-functioning gland produces little or no thyroid hormone, triggering symptoms such as sluggishness chills constipation weight gain Increases in estrogen, such as those that occur in pregnancy, lead to dips in thyroid levels. Among women with normal thyroid function, the gland can compensate and produce more thyroid hormone. But this barometer does not work in women with hypothyroidism.The author recommends that women receiving both types of hormone replacement have their thyroid levels checked within 12 weeks of starting on estrogen -- particularly women who are on thyroid hormone as part of thyroid cancer treatment.The New England Journal of Medicine June 7, 2001; 344: 1743-1749, 1784-1785 Dr. Mercola's Comment:Several issues are relevant here. First off, traditional medicine has some serious issues with their understanding of thyroid glandular replacements. Their reliance on synthetic alternatives has caused unnecessary incredible grief and suffering for millions of women.So, even if the levels were monitored properly as suggested, most women would be given higher doses of an inferior hormone. Please note that the makers of Synthroid funded this article. They are currently in a heap of trouble as Synthroid may be pulled from the market in August.Secondly, most postmenopausal women do NOT need estrogen. In my view the only women who should be placed on estrogen are those who have their ovaries removed. If a woman still has functioning ovaries her body has the potential to produce estrogen in sufficient quantities if other factors are normalized.JAMA published a landmark article this week on this topic and I will post it next week.As I said last year, if you still believe that estrogen is good for you, you have been brain washed by the traditional media. I would encourage you to review Dr. John Lee's excellent books on the topic. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause : Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to FiftyThese companies will use every trick in the book to get women to take these drugs which actually cause cancer. They tried to say that estrogen reduced Alzheimer's, but a few years later the results showed that it does not. The long held notion that estrogen reduces heart disease is just plain untrue. One of the classic arguments that traditional medicine offers to convince women to begin or stay on estrogen therapy is osteoporosis prevention, heart disease prevention, and more recently the hope of prevention of Alzheimer's. With 4 huge studies already showing no benefit, this avenue does not seem promising, at least with the synthetic progestin and horse-derived estrogen used. Maybe a more appropriate regimen of natural hormone replacement would show better results.Related Articles:Estrogen Does Not Reduce Heart DiseaseNEJM Study Proves Armour Thyroid Better Than SynthroidHow To Monitor Your Treatment With Natural Hormone Therapy Return to Table of Contents #229Return to Table of Contents #229