http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_17235.php

Allergy to thyroid medicine is most unusual

BY PAUL G. DONOHUE, M.D.
Jun 16, 2005

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am a 48-year-old female who has been diagnosed as having Hashimoto's disease. The medicine I take has caused itchy welts. Is this rare, and is the illness rare? Please clarify my condition. -- H.S.

ANSWER: Hashimoto's disease is anything but rare. It's the most common cause of adult hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is a thyroid gland that is not making enough thyroid hormone.

Thyroid hormone keeps the body perking along at optimum speed. Without enough of it, everything slows. The heartbeat drops. People complain of being tired all the time and of feeling weak. In warm rooms, they feel cold. Their skin dries. Hair becomes brittle and breaks. Constipation is common. Menstrual periods are thrown off-kilter. People gain weight even with a reduced calorie intake. Body metabolism grinds to a halt.

Many have an enlarged thyroid gland -- a goiter. The thyroid gland is in the lower part of the neck.

The cause of all this is an immune system that has mistakenly targeted the thyroid gland as being foreign tissue. Proof of the immune attack is established by finding in the blood antibodies against the gland. Antibodies are the immune system's bullets.

Even if you haven't experienced all the symptoms I listed, they would have appeared in time if you had not gotten treatment. Treatment is oral replacement of thyroid hormone, and the drug most often chosen is Synthroid.

Allergic reactions to Synthroid, such as itchy welts, are almost never due to the thyroid hormone it contains. However, inactive ingredients -- the stuff that holds the tablets together -- can cause reactions like the one you describe. You must report this to your doctor. There are other preparations of thyroid hormone you can take.

http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_17235.php

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