Is anyone discontinuing meds for hypothyroidism?

Barbara2 · 03-09-2008, 05:21 PM

I'd like to revisit the thyroid/iodine concerns for a moment.

Some recent thoughts by TSund:

"Iodine, Why you Need it" by Dr. David Brownstein
Lani, it also addresses your comments above pretty specifically. pp 81-82 "Why would the TREATMENT of hypothyroidism result in an increased risk of breast cancer? Makes some sense of it....if a hypothyroid condition is treated with thyroid hormone and there is also iodine deficiency present, the use of thyroid hormone will exacerbate an iodine-deficient condition. ...When there is iodine deificiency, it can induce hyperplasia , precancerous lesions, which can set the stage for thyroid and breast diseases, including cancer of the thyroid and the breasts.

So I'm wondering, has anyone stopped your thyroid meds for hypothyroidism? I filled a perscription for synthroid, but haven't started it yet...I'm thinking it may not be worth the risk...if cancer returns I would wonder; was it the synthroid? I thought it might help with weight loss...

Also, what were your TSH numbers when you started the meds? Mine is 4.3; borderline treatment.

Mgarr · 03-09-2008, 06:49 PM

Barbara,

I know this won't help immediately but I am going to see Dr. Brownstein speak the first week of April and on the schedule are "Iodine- The Most Misunderstood Nutrient" "New Information about Breast Cancer & Nutrients" Be happy to share what I learn and if I am able to ask some questions I will ask this one.

Mary

Karen W · 03-09-2008, 08:30 PM

I have been on Synthroid since 1993 and I am not considering giving it up.

Karen

Mary Anne in TX · 03-10-2008, 01:20 AM

Not me Barbara! If I got into any slower mode, my family would really go nuts! I feel like a super turtle now! But I'm still going! ma

Hopeful · 03-10-2008, 06:52 AM

I find the quote very thought provoking, as I did Lani's post in this thread: http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...eferrerid=1173 wherein the authors of a study posited that the thyroid hormone and estrogen may share the same pathway.

In 2004, I was treated for subclinical hypothyroidism. Try as I might, I could not get on a low enough dose of synthorid to keep me from having hyperthyroid symptoms. My doctor had me taking a very low dose. After about 4 months, I developed horrible urticaria, causing me to cease treatment. That lasted for almost a year after I stopped the drug, finally requiring a steriod cream to break the itching cycle. In April 2006, I was dx with triple positive bc. I have thought ever since that the synthroid was a bad actor in this.

Hopeful

Barbara2 · 03-10-2008, 09:31 AM

Hopeful, the remarks from Lani fit this topic perfectly and offer a lot of food for thought. In regard to you having taken synthroid before breast cancer, I'm sure you will always wonder if that is what stirred up the trouble... as do I for having taken hormone replacement therapy before breast cancer. We will never know.

Mary, I will be very interested in knowing what you learn from Dr. Brownstein's message. It looks like this topic will be around for a while.

Thanks for the replies. I plan to give it more thought before diving into another medication....

Mary Anne in TX · 03-10-2008, 10:09 AM

You know what, Barbara? I was awake so much in the night thinking about your question. I take the thyroid meds to have any energy and feel human and I take blood pressure meds to keep my BP in the high normal range to protect myself from a stroke or heart attack and so that I can stay on herceptin. I had to laugh somewhere in the night as I thought about the insanity of all the crazy med problem solving I'm doing. I do believe the HRT and thyroid meds I took might have been a culprit, but I will also admit that I have never felt as good in all my years as I did that 2 years! Never!!! I felt sooooo great those 2 years. I do think it would be helpful to others for someone to figure this out. There are so many who struggle with the whys. I did! thanks for the question. ma

TSund · 03-10-2008, 10:37 AM

So glad to see someone else pick this thread up. If Brownstein is right, then iodine defieciency may be the culprit (i.e. thyroid meds make that deficiency go UP) and you would be fine to take the thyroid meds as long as also taking care of iodine levels. Have any of you had the iodine level test and/or pursued this path? Ruth has NOT had prior history with thyroid issues, however I've been pushing her to find a new GP who will test both thyroid and iodine levels.

Barbara2 · 03-10-2008, 03:15 PM

I have also wondered about the iodine level factor. It seems doctors should run a test for that if iodine levels are of possible concern when taking thyroid medication.

I know there are several tests that can be run when checking the thyroid, but I don't know the name of this particular test.

tdonnelly · 03-10-2008, 05:40 PM

Hi,
My concern is with the Radioactive Iodine Uptake Scan. After my diagnosis in 1992, I had three scans over 5 yr period. I remember reading that this test has its own cancer risk.
Tamara
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma 10/2006 HER2+
Partial thyroidectomy (3 nodules @ Hurtle cells) 1992
I have taken Synthroid and now Levothyroxine for 16+ years. During chemo my TSH levels were unbalanced and have had several dosage changes.
*Prior to bc diagnosis the dr/pharmacy switched me to a red thyroid pill that had a component for killing cancer ??? Three pills made me so constipated I brought it back to Osco and switched back to normal thyroid med. Strange coincidence just before dx of breast cancer. Anyone familar with that red pill new on the market ?

Barbara2 · 03-10-2008, 06:20 PM

Mary Anne, sorry my question caused you to lose some sleep! I, like you, take meds other than for breast cancer (bone, Cholesterol, 2 for blood pressure) and I need them more than I do the synthroid, so fortunately I have the option to take or not take the synthroid.

Tdonnelly, the Radioactive Iodine Uptake Scan could explain why doctors do not rush to check the iodine levels. I thought checking the levels might be as simple as a blood test.

Lani · 03-11-2008, 09:02 AM

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007 Dec 7 [Epub ahead of print]

Effects of thyroid hormones on human breast cancer cell proliferation.

Hall LC, Salazar EP, Kane SR, Liu N.
Safety and Environmental Protection Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
The involvement of estrogens in breast cancer development and growth has been well established. However, the effects of thyroid hormones and their combined effects with estrogens are not well studied. We investigated the response of human breast cancer cells to thyroid hormone, particularly the role of T3 in mediating cell proliferation and gene expression. We demonstrated that 17beta-estradiol (E2) or triiodothyronine (T3) promoted cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in both MCF-7 and T47-D cell lines. The E2- or T3-dependent cell proliferation was suppressed by co-administration of the ER antagonist ICI. We also demonstrated that T3 could enhance the effect of E2 on cell proliferation in T47-D cells. Using an estrogen response element (ERE)-mediated luciferase assay, we determined that T3 was able to induce the activation of ERE-mediated gene expression in MCF-7 cells, although the effects were much weaker than that induced by E2. These results suggest that T3 can promote breast cancer cell proliferation and increase the effect of E2 on cell proliferation in some breast cancer cell lines and thus that T3 may play a role in breast cancer development and progression.
PMID: 18328691 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

TSund · 03-11-2008, 11:12 AM

Thanks for being on top of this Lani!!!

Barbara, etc., I am NO expert, but acc. to Brownstein the radioactive iodine and the regular iodine are completely different in their affect and effect.

My GP who originally brought up said that the iodine test is not covered by BCBS insurance, so it's obviously not a test routinely done. Some work has been done on the thyroid issue before, but I think the "regular" iodine issue (if there is indeed a link) is still very much "outside the box" for most dr.'s.

TRS

Barbara2 · 03-11-2008, 08:00 PM

You all have been very helpful and informative. Lani, the article you found was very good. Although it is not in English...(just kidding!) I get the idea. Thank you much for posting it...

For now, the thyroid medications will stay in the cupboard; it is not worth the risk. For those of you who are currently taking these meds, the waters are still too muddy to know anything for certain. Both my family physician and oncologist gave me the green light to take a synthroid, even when I questioned how it might affect the breast cancer.

swimangel72 · 07-24-2008, 10:52 PM

I'm glad I found this thread.........my family physician ran routine blood work and said my thyroid levels were low, so he prescribed synthorid. He never mentioned any connection with this medication and breast cancer - nor did the nurse at my oncologist office. They acted like it was no big deal........but now I have to wonder. How strange that my thyroid numbers got low, the same year I was dx with BC........or could it be the thyroid was affected by all the chemo drugs I've been on (as well as all the antibiotics). All I know is I've been extremely tired and blaming it on the chemo - but my doctor said I'll feel much better once I'm on the thyroid meds. I do believe him because I know many women on thyroid meds who do NOT have breast cancer.......so ladies, I'll be taking my very first pill tomorrow morning. I hope I won't regret it!

Hopeful · 07-25-2008, 06:59 AM

Here is an abstract from the most recent ASCO on this topic: http://www.asco.org/ASCO/Abstracts+%...stractID=31728

Hopeful

swimangel72 · 07-25-2008, 11:33 AM

Thanks for posting that info Hopeful! After staying up till 3am last night researching information on the internet, I decided NOT to take my Thyroid medication until I first talk to my oncologist and breast cancer surgeon. I've printed out the abstract above, and some others, to bring with me. I've also located a thyroid specialist in my health plan and I may make an appointment with him - perhaps he'll just recommend a "watch and wait" period while also increasing my iodine levels. It's exhausting all this research - but I can never again be non-chalant about medical treatment and since I'm definitely not a "pill-popper" I need to know everything before I being this treatment.

Barbara2 · 07-25-2008, 09:24 PM

I am glad to see this topic surface again, also. As I stated above, both my family physician and oncologist told me it was OK to take the Synthroid. Both said they knew of no problems with the synthroid and breast cancer.

The family physician explained, though, how importnat it is to keep the thyroid numbers in check; that the thyroid is like the master controller for other organs of the body, so big time problems could surface if this isn't kept in check. In my case, though, I am borderline as to needing the meds, so he suggested just running the thyroid tests when I'm getting bloodwork done at my oncs office every 3 months.

Before I was aware of the issues regarding the synthroid, I had filled a perscription for it, but I still have not taken it. The family physician told me that taking the drug would make me feel better, but outside of a sluggish day now and then, I thankfully can't complain about energy.

I also stuggle terribly with trying to lose weight; it seems I can hardly eat much at all, and still the pounds stay with me. I decided though, that I'd rather be pudgy than take a chance with Synthroid and breast cancer. At least for now, until more definate answers come forth, I am planning to hold off on the Synthroid. The abstract posted by Hopeful, convinced me even more. I will take the article to my docs the next time I see them.

Thanks for the information.

AlaskaAngel · 07-26-2008, 12:39 PM

I loved your edit, Barbara2! Your post also hit home with me because I too am eating far, far less than a normal diet -- all of it healthy food, no "treats" at all -- and even with exercise daily, having no weight loss.

The only weight loss I have achieved has been by eating one meal a day of healthy food with portions about 1/4 of what is served in a restaurant, PLUS exercising daily. The constant hunger with this diet is to say the least, difficult.

My TSH test for thyroid has been normal.

Oncologists and PCPs have a basic knowledge of the endocrine system but no training specifically applicable to the endocrine system of those treated for breast cancer. Breast cancer is an endocrine disease. That is why I believe that we would do much better if we had an endocrinologist who is specifically trained about breast cancer to sit on every tumor board and whose opinion would carry at least as much weight as the other specialists on the board.

AlaskaAngel