Can taking thyroid hormones cause me to have a greater chance of getting osteoporosis?
Having an underactive thyroid, a condition called hypothyroidism, does not increase your risk for bone loss and osteoporosis. Taking the amount of thyroid hormone medicine needed to replace what your body’s thyroid is not making does not hurt your bones. However, taking more thyroid hormone medicine than you need can cause bone loss. An excess of thyroid hormone is harmful to your bones. This can be caused by an overactive thyroid, a condition called hyperthyroidism. It can also be caused by taking too much thyroid hormone medicine as a replacement for an underactive thyroid. When you take a thyroid hormone medicine, your doctor or other healthcare provider will check your thyroid function with a blood test called a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). If the results of the blood test show that you are taking too much or too little thyroid hormone, your doctor will adjust your dosage. Most doctors do a TSH lab test at least once a year for patients taking thyroid hormones.
