Q: I would like to ask about my mother that she is a patient of hypothyroidism since last 8 years and she is taking eltroxin tablet continuously - 1.5 mcg daily in morning. For the last two years she is complaining of excessive bleeding and doctors said that you have to go for surgery for uterus and also said that this is due to hormone imbalance. But she is taking her dose properly so why this imbalance and if this tablet has some harmful effect then what is the alternative for this tablet? Finally my mother doesn't want to take this tablet. The doctor said that her gland is dead, meaning inactive; is there any way to get it active again?

A:Your mother has hypothyroidism i.e., deficiency of thyroid hormone. This usually happens when the thyroid gland looses its capacity to produce enough hormone and this is a permanent feature, so most patients need life long replacement. Get your mothers TSH, done in blood. If this is normal, then we can safely presume that her bleeding is not because of hypothyroidism and she needs specific treatment for this, surgery being one of the options (to be decided by gynaecologist). There is no substitute for thyroid hormone except that it comes under different trade names from different pharmaceuticals.