I am taking levothroxine and I am wondering if there is any other way to avoid taking the medicine.... any suggestions?  I am on 0.75 mg once in the am.  My thyroid has leveled and in the normal range...any advice is welcome....thanks!

Why are you not wanting to take the thyroid?  It's not really medication, it's replacing the hormone that you don't have.  

Hi KImberly,Have you tried going off for a day? then maybe every other day? If you have changed your diet and or lifestyle, you may not need the medicine anymore but the only way to tell is to get a blood test and/or try going off and see how you feel. If you were hypothyroid before you started the meds you know what it fells like.
If you are cold, with no appetite, constantly sleepy (not just tired) gaining weight rapidly, totally despondent and having menstrual problems you are most likely hypo and still need the pill. If not, you are making your own thyroid and can get off the medication. The superhero plan is a great way to support your thyroid and will help the process. You could try an experiment three or four weeks into the diet.
Use caution when changing medication and be wary of a crash.
Good luck, Justin

    Real thyroid conditions are Autoimmune Diseases and they never go away. Without daily treatment of some type, Hypothyroid and Hyperthyroid, etc. patients can/will die. Going on and off of thyroid medication will put the thyroid in jeopardy and will put the thyroid in remission, can cause cancer, and/or complete thyroid failure and removal of the gland. (Edited* in comment below- no room here).

    If your thyroid is level, then that means the medication is working and you haven't gotten worse; that means you are on the correct dose for you for now. Hopefully, you will be lucky and it will never change, but usually after a few years it does. *Look up Mary Sharmon(?) on http://www.about.com and look under hypothyroid. There is tons of information and points that you can research from. The actual articles are approved by a board of top physicians before they're allowed to be shown, so they are reliable. I would avoid the commentary, b/c it has been reported that a lot of it is false and they do not go through to weed that information out. They also offer natural thyroid remedies and replacements if you are interested in that.

  Additionally I would look it up and search official sites on your thyroid condition, it may help you become more aware of the catastrophes you will face by avoiding the medication. If you choose more natural remedies or the medication you are on, please make sure you are getting your blood checked regularly still, to make sure it is working and you are on the correct dose.

My apologies for being blunt, but that is a condition too serious not to be informative about. Best Wishes in your journey.

Justin- looking again- I see you are a Doctor(?) and know a lot about the thyroid and understand you know way more than I do. However, I've never heard of patients who are actually diagnosed with hypothyroid going back of the meds. I know I cannot because I am almost at the highest level of synthroid, but I am still curious to learn more if you are willing to share. I will read more on the other spot you posted on. Thanks.

Hi Luce,Thank you for your post. I share your concern for Kimberly and would not want to risk her health in any way, so thank you for your post.
 I  have practiced acupuncture for over 10 years and have seen many cases of hypothyroid resolve with dietary regulation.

 Autoimmune disorders of which hypothyroidism may be the most common, do not present throughout the entire planet with the same frequency. Certain populations are prone, others are relatively immune. Immigration studies show that this difference is not due to a genetic predisposition but is environmental in nature.
 
The modern, Western diet is associated with an increase in autoimmune disease and especially thyroid disease. The difference between a hyperactive thyroid and a hypo active thyroid is very important. A hyperactive thyroid is a medical emergency. The heart muscle can be irreversibly damaged if appropriate action is not taken. Hypothyroidism is much less likely to be associated with any sort of permanent injury in the short term.
 It is common for patients  In the clinic that forgo dairy foods, to find their thyroid function stabilizes.  That etiology for this condition is complicated. The remnants of incompletely metabolized dairy protein stimulates the production of antibodies that can suppress or even destroy  thyroid tissue and/or function.

 Many patients could forget to take their thyroid medication for a day or two and I have never become aware of any negative consequences to such a mistake. If the patient experiences the symptoms of hypothyroidism, then they can easily resume medication, if no symptoms are apparent it would be prudent for the patient to wait a few weeks and then ask their physician for another blood test.

Auto immune disorders that are driven by dietary factors can resolve when the factors are no longer present.
Justin

Justin, I always look forward to your posts...you are very informative without talking over anyone's head and it would be nice if more docs were like that for sure!
Too bad you are not in my area, my family is looking for a reliable naturopath to switch over to.  As it is, we just avoid doctors visits unless absolutely necessary!  :o)

Thanks for your detailed and lovely response, Justin. I appreciate that you took the time to share your knowledge.

When I had forgotten to take my medicine before and/or switched medications I became ill and so weak I had no idea why and or what was going on, so I guess I'm someone who that wouldn't work for. :( But I guess mine isn't like you say, brought on by dietary circumstances. I've known others to have similar reactions and have read/heard from doctors that about those that have to take it, that theirs will quit functioning eventually and can die if nothing is resumed. Is that only for those that aren't healed by diet?

However, with regards to your comment, "Auto immune disorders that are driven by dietary factors can resolve when the factors are no longer present," Celiac is an Autoimmune Disease that technically is triggered and controlled by dietary factors. It will never go away, although the symptoms might, for the whole of the Celiac's life.

Anywhoo- Thanks so much! Cheers ")

i Luce, Thank you for kind words. 
Without gluten in the diet, celiac is in permanent remission. For some patients that forgo dairy foods, their auto immune processes resolve themselves. If the patient resumes the dietary culprit, the disorder can return so I guess it is similar. 
If the thyroid is able to supply the bodies needs then is it a cure or remission based on the dietary change? 
Thyroid meds have many different forms. Some are more or less tolerated by any individual. When you take the hormone it replaces what your body makes having a small depressing effect on that production. I am unaware of the risk of not taking it for a day or two when the dosage is obviously a small portion of the thyroid her body is using.
For a patient in your position where your thyroid may not be producing any hormone, going off or forgetting a day would result in immediate symptoms. If those symptoms occurred so quickly and drastically that you couldn't recover enough to take the pill then I could see a risk there. 
If symptoms return then the medication is required and not taking it could be serious, if the patient is without the symptoms listed above, they should ask for another blood test., and maybe won't need it.
Justin

My goodness Justin...this is just about the most informative information I have seen written on this topic anywhere.  I was diagnosed with Graves Disease about 5 years ago and had to have a radio activie iodine treatment. This catapulted me into a hypo thyroid stage.  I am wondering what your thoughts are regarding soy  products and a thyroid condition.  I am off dairy, use rice/almond/coconut milk but am concerned about tofu and this type of product. I appreciate your time!  CarolAnn

Carol Ann,  your condition was what I referred to as absolutely requiring medical intervention. Graves syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that has the capacity of initiating an excessive production of thyroid. The most common treatments involve medicine to counteract thyroid or surgery. Since iodine is what the thyroid absorbs from the blood in order to make its hormone, radioactive iodine would be absorbed into the thyroid where it could destroy the malfunctioning tissue.
 It is entirely possible that you have very little or no functioning thyroid gland and would require medication regardless of your dietary habits.
 I have found conflicting research on the relationship between soy consumption and thyroid problems. This is not uncommon in nutritional research.  The research that I find most compelling is associated with cause and effect.
 Populations that consume traditional soy-based foods suffer less incidence of autoimmune disease including thyroid disease than those of us in the West. This salient fact informs me that traditional soy  foods make good dietary choices for human beings.
 Modern processed soy convenience foods that are commonly substituted by vegans for meat and cheese  have unknown health consequences and can be placed in the category with other processed foods.
 Epidemiology strongly implicates dairy  protein as the most potent instigator of these type of autoimmune disorders.

Thank you, Justin!  You are right, there are so many conflicting reports out there and I so appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help.  Carol Ann

Thanks again Justin- your time and response is very appreciated! 

Carol Ann- My thyroid deficiency is not as great as yours, but I found some foods help that you may or may not consume/know of, so I thought I'd share- I hope it may help somewhat. Coconut Oil, Flax seed Omega Three's, Sea Veggies and Iron rich, etc. dark green veggies like Kale. Make sure not to consume Sea Veggies, Greens- iron rich foods (including the soy) atleast until four hours after you've taken your medications as they make the medication inactive, like the supplements do, if taken before. Nuts (almonds and walnuts) help more, too. I've found I've been capable of eating tofu in moderation and mine has stayed under control, I don't consume any other soy products and use alternatives when I can help it for all of the reasons Justin mentioned. Mine has been under control the past few blood tests. I hope this helps. Best to you.

Thank you so much Luce!  I actually us coconut water in my smoothies and boy is THAT yummy.  I also add flax seeds to many things I cook....can one over dose on flax seeds??  I eat almonds and walnuts as a snack so maybe I am on the right track.  Boy, that soy is everywhere.  I've been under control for the last year...I go every 6 months to my endocrinologist.  She also recommended dark green veggies and those dark leafy greens.  It's a tricky navigation and finding recipes can be a bit challenging. Do you have any recipe links?  Thanks again, Luce....you are so kind.  xo

Sure thing Carol Ann! :) I'm glad I could be of some help. It sounds like you are doing great things for yourself all ready- I'm so glad your blood tests have shown that you are staying regulated, too. Yay! It sounds like you have a great endocrinologist and a helpful one at that! Those are so difficult to find. It's really great that you are focusing on the good proteins and fats. Those are what help a thyroid patient lose more than carbs do and stay on track- feel better. And yes, soy is everywhere! It's great and not so great, b/c a lot of them are putting casein and other pooey ingredients in their mix. As for the good clean soys, they are good, we just have to be more careful with them. We can handle more flax, but, as with everything, too much is too much. It's still fat, although healthy ones, so it doesn't need to be used in mass quantities for every meal. I like squeezing a little bit of flax seed oil over steamed veggies or into a soup once they are ready to serve (I drizzle it in my bowl). Adding them into your cooking as the ground seeds is a great egg replacement and very tasty to add some of that whole-grain- earthy feel to foods , too.

It's definitely a tricky navigation, but the great thing is, we get to eat better foods and be creative. Once you familiarize yourself with the tastes of some of the new veggies, etc.- you'll begin to figure out new ways to combine and eat them. I love cooking on the fly and mixing things up together. I have posted only a few soup recipe's that are GF, Vegan and follow the Candida diet, which in what foods you eat, pretty similar to the macrobiotic foods/ Superhero ones. I am slowly posting more and have another one to add now that I winged it and liked it. They're on glutenfreefaces.com under the Southern Comfort Group under the Lighter-Side. I love either steaming or making soups (that way you know all of the nutrients are in the liquids and veggies). (Continued below)