Thyroid Hormone
Therapy
Thyroid Hormone Therapy
The Thyroid Gland:
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the base of the neck. A functional thyroid is a critical part of the endocrine system and responsible for multiple metabolic functions all over the body such as:
- Body temperature control
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Central and peripheral nervous systems
- Body weight
- Sleep
- Muscle strength
- Menstrual cycles
- Sexual function
- Breakdown of fats and Cholesterol levels
- And many more…
The thyroid gland releases thyroid hormones such as thyroxine(T4) and triiodothyronine(T3) and calcitonin. A fasting blood test can measure these hormones and determine whether you have a thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid hormone therapy is necessary when the thyroid gland over produce (hyperthyroidism) or under produce (hypothyroidism) these hormones.
Compounded Thyroid Therapy
There are many reasons why some people may not respond to commercially available thyroid medications and may need a compounded thyroid medicine instead of a retail drug. Limited dosage forms or strengths: Compounded thyroid can be formulated in strength combinations that are not commercially available. Thyroid is considered a “narrow therapeutic drug”, which means that even the slightest increase/decrease in a dose, can enact big therapeutic changes in the body. A compounding pharmacist can prepare thyroid medicine in the exact amounts that the patient needs. Also, all the retail available products are immediate release. Some patients benefit from having a delayed release capsule (SR), available ONLY from a compounding pharmacy.
Shortages or discontinued products: Compounding a thyroid medicine maybe the only alternative when there’s a manufacturer backorder or in the case of a drug recall.
Allergies to lactose, gluten or other excipient: Many commercially available products contain common allergens such as lactose, gluten, corn and other ingredients. Compounding thyroid gives the patient the option of compounding it without these common excipients. It is our common business practice to not use gluten, wheat or lactose in ANY of our compounds.
Porcine allergy or lack of vegan options: Our thyroid products are porcine free (except for thyroid USP) and we offer the option of using a veggie cap and vegetable-derived excipients to meet all vegan requirements.
Accuracy: Did you know that it is “normal” for a commercially available product to have 10% error margin? Remember, thyroid is a “narrow therapeutic drug”, and these variations can potentially be significant for some people. At MayaScript Compounding Pharmacy, we hand make each capsule and verify its strength to a 1% error, below normal compounding practices.
The care and attention we pay to the preparation of all our compounded medications and especially thyroid, exceed market standards, and is the reason why health care professionals entrust their patients to us for formulating their medications. We only use high quality USP-grade bulk ingredients from FDA inspected and regulated companies and we follow strict US compounding standards.