I guess it's slightly different from what your body would naturally produce, but similar enough to be used by the body. I hear there's a natural product, too, I think derived from pigs. It's meant as a replacement, though, yes.

But I think Lynn was talking about other medications? I know I've done what I can to get rid of any other hormonal influences, myself, like switching to organic milk and (mostly) avoiding soy. I felt like my hormones had been monkeyed with enough!

Personally, I feel a whole lot better with the thyroid meds. Like I'm really awake and have energy for the first time in years. My hands and feet are also warmer, and I'm not catching every bug that comes around. My doctor told me I was "borderline," too, but with all the symptoms I was having she thought I should try the levothyroxine. (My TSH levels had declined from 3.4--where they said "no problem," to 3.8, where they said "borderline," over a year or so. Apparently there's controversy about the "normal" TSH range, though--used to be .5 to 5, but the endocrinologists have recently revised their normal range to .3 to 3. Not all labs and doctors are using the new standard, but I digress...) Plus, I have autoimmune thyroid disease, so it's only likely to get worse over time. There's some preliminary evidence that starting on the thyroid meds before thyroid levels decline into the "low" range can help stave off some of the autoimmune damage.

If you don't know the number, you might want to find out what your TSH levels are, Lynn, from whenever they were last tested. Or possibly ask to have them tested again. I've always had to prod my doctors a little to get the actual number and not just "normal," but I think it really helps me have a better handle on how I'm doing when I know how I feel at different levels.