• Effectiveness

  Major (for Hashimoto's thyroiditis)
• Side effects

  Severe (idiopathic intracranial hypertension)
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  Somewhat hard to take

Advice & Tips: This is unusual, obviously, but my body ended up hoarding synthroid in an as-of-yet unknown way, causing me to overproduce/under-siphon cerebro-spinal fluid, giving me a condition that mimicked a moderate brain tumor (condition is called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension; i had it to such severity that I incurred brain damage which persists and was almost in a coma). IF YOU HAVE conditions such as high pressure headaches (headaches that get worse when you lie down), cognitive changes (for me: strategy, memory) weird graying of your vision, or loss of your periphereal sight while taking synthroid, please go to an opthalmologist (not an optometrist) just to check if your optic discs are swollen. They might not be! IIH as it is has only been the side-effect of synthroid in veeeery rare cases (and it's a veeery rare syndrome to start with), but honestly it's better safe than sorry. Blindness and coma are not fun, and semi-permanent brain damage isn't either to be honest. I switched to Cytomel, and my IIH disappeared slowly following the half-life cycle of Synthroid.

• Effectiveness

  Major (for hypothyroidism)
• Side effects

  None
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  A little hard to take

Dosage: 0.625 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a short time after being diagnosed with lupus. I started this drug on a small dosage, and my doctor gradually increased it according to blood work. The only burden of taking it is that you have to always have it when you wake up, then wait 30 minutes - 1 hour before eating. At one time, I was on too high of a dosage and I could feel it. I was jittery (my lips would actually tremble after I ate to a degree only I could notice, but still discomforting). I had swung to being hyperthyroid, and had to stop the drug cold turkey. Then a few months later after I was hypo again, I found a new thyroid doctor who encourages only small increments over a long time. It is an annoying method, because I want just a quick fix and to feel better instantly, but I understand his science and reasoning because being hyper can lead to thyroid disease.

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for Other)
• Side effects

  None
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 88 mg Daily

Cost: < $25 monthly