This subject is very complex...and there are two camps for
thyroid treatment:

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/01/2...ur-thyroid.htm

About.com has the best thyroid discussions on the net. There are several posts on that site in fact.

I am hypo, and have thought about dessicated, but since my symptoms are gone for the most part, and my TSH remains below 2.0, I don't seek other treatments.

Autoimmune illness can be triggered by gluten intolerance. So I'd try gluten free for a while and see if you feel better.
Also vaccines are problematic in some people with tendencies for autoimmune disease.

Many people do well on levothyroxine treatments.
And also Hashimoto's patients tend to have changing needs, and changing test results. Those with the most aggressive
Hashimoto's have the most trouble.


This year, using more supplements, I've had NO cold intolerance at all.

I think the bottom line is the T3 content. T3 is made in normal thyroids and to a much lesser extent than T4. T3 has a very short half life in the body and stimulates tissue immediately...whereas T4 has to be activated.

The dessicated forms come from pigs, and T3 content is going to be different from each pig, because stress and other factors,
determine how much is actually produced.

I know from myself, that illness (infection) and sudden weather changes, do affect me but only briefly. This I think is the heart of the T3 issue.

Zinc and selenium are cofactors in the tissues to convert T4 effectively. So being low in either is not good.

I don't have Hashimoto's, I've been tested 3 times for it.
I did have a right sided goiter, and that receded on the hormone therapy. My left lobe is not working properly-- had a radio uptake scan showing that.
No one knows why my gland is not working properly, but I think it may be due to previous infections, or the abuse I endured as a child.

I still do not have any nodules either.