What can be taken as an alternative for Thyroxine if it does not help manage hyperthyroidism?

Question

Hi doctor,

My boyfriend has hyperthyroidism and is on Thyroxine. He is a twice-over-testicular cancer survivor and has suffered from thyroid issues for the last six years. It has gotten so bad that he can barely get out of bed. His blood pressure skyrocketed, and his GP put him on BP medicines for that. He is incoherent at times, and it is almost like he has dementia. He has tingling throughout his whole body. I have gotten a referral for an endocrinologist, but they are making him wait forever because of issues with the NHS. What home remedies can we do outside of diet and exercise, which he has been perfecting? Are there any OTC products that can help, as Thyroxine is not assisting him?

He has had the disorder for more than six years, and it is believed to be a complication of his cancer treatments. He suffers from migraines, sleep problems, incoherence, and neuropathy, where he is tingling all the time, has no energy, sweating, and has blood pressure issues (high). He has gone to his GP for over six years, complaining that the Thyroxine has not worked. His symptoms have gotten severely worse and are at their worst now, with him being bedridden some days. Blood work revealing blood levels is fine.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your question carefully and would explain that his symptoms could be related to chemotherapy and thyroxine treatment.

Unfortunately, there is no OTC (over-the-counter) drug that can help improve his situation. The most important thing is to find the cause of his situation. For this reason, the first thing to do is to measure TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) levels in order to make the proper dose adjustments to Levothyroxine.

Other tests to consider would be:

Vitamin E, vitamin B12 and vitamin D plasma levels.
A brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
Cortisol and aldosterone plasma levels.
Kidney and liver function tests.
Blood electrolytes.
Fasting glucose.

Hope you will find this answer helpful.

I remain at your disposal for any further questions whenever you need them.

Kind regards.