Re: Peoples experiences of being on T4/T3 and then starting HC PLEASE?

[Guest guest]

Hi Ali,

Have you had any recent potassium and magnesium measurements?

(Looking for low potassium and/or low magnesium and/or other

electrolytes adrift)

That would be a useful starting point ~ to avoid making matters worse

going over to H/C.

The advice about five portions of fruits and/or vegetables a day

makes excellent sense in that respect.

Supplementary calcium needs to be supported with magnesium if you

have that as part of your regime, so's not to unbalance your

calcium/magnesium ratio.

Supplementing with [calcium:magnesium] needs something in the range

2:1 down to 1:1, depending on how your electrolytes look.

If the electrolytes are adrift (low potassium), low magnesium will

prevent the potassium getting back into the cells....but it seems the

usual cardiac emergency response is to give a sufficient amount of

magnesium sulphate (I/V) to forestall problems with low magnesium,

when adding an electrolyte(s) infusion to re-establish blood volume

and hydration status.

Missing out the magnesium during 'saline' infusion, whether or not

potassium is also being given, may impede recovery from abnormal

cardiac rhythm, and it's possible that an ECG will show which

electrolyte is high/low. p561 etc ~ of 21st Edn, Review of Medical

Physiology by WF Ganong (can be seen via Amazon if loggen in).

The logic to this regime is, that whilst sodium is controlled/

conserved by the kidneys, potassium and magnesium are both normally

lost on a daily basis and need to be maintained from the diet.

'Losalt' (2:1 K:Na) in moderation, is a good way to achieve some

balance, if the kidneys are not compromised or diuretics are being

used. This provides the equally essential amount of chloride to

balance (electrically) the sodium/potassium intake.

best wishes

Bob

>

> Hi Folks,

>

> I am on t4 100 mcg at night, t3 12.5 mcg am & Nutri Thyroid 1 am

> (cannot seem to tolerate any higher as I get palpitations etc) plus

> Vit C co q10. I have confirmed Adrenal fatigue via ASI test and DR

> P and he

[Guest guest]

Hi Ali

I was already on 225mcg T4 before starting HC. Not taking any T3

though. I started with 2.5mg HC once per day and gradually built up

to 5mg x 4 times/day.

In my case I was self treating and at first I started with Nutri

Adrenal Extra which made no difference. Thats why I decided to start

HC. First, I read up about all the side effects of HC and watched out

for those. When nothing happened, I continued with taking it.

I would say that it has helped with the total exhaustion and weakness

that I had before. And it definitely helped a bit with my frozen-cold

body temp, but it hasnt given me any huge boost in energy. Course,

I'm also hypo at the moment which isnt helping. I'm trying to be

patient; I recognise that 5 years of illness wont disappear overnight

and its only been 3 or 4 weeks, but at least I'm seeing some progress.

Hope this helps in some way.

Marie (also pretty dog tired )

[Guest guest]

Hi Marie,

Thanks for your reply, yes it does help. You are on quite a high dose

of t4, I could not cope with more than 100 mcg of the stuff. May I

ask did you stop the t4 at all before going onto the HC?

When you say you are still Hypo, are you going to try anything else

to help with this?

Patience is certainly important, I know I am not going to get better

overnight after being ill for 11 years with hypothyroidism and five

years hyper before that!

I don't think the NAX is really making much difference to me either,

in fact I am wondering if it is having a bad effect on my sleeping,

maybe too much B6 or something.

Glad you are seeing some progress

Ali

<mariebishop@...> wrote:

> Hi Ali

> I was already on 225mcg T4 before starting HC. Not taking any T3

> though. I started with 2.5mg HC once per day and gradually built up

> to 5mg x 4 times/day.

[Edit Abbrev mod]

[Guest guest]

Hi Ali

Yeah, I think the NAX just doesnt touch the more severe symptoms.

Maybe as we improve on HC, it will help? When you say its interfering

with your sleep, are you taking it late in the day?

Being hypo has a bad impact on my sleep patterns; I often wake up

after 4 or 5 hours and cant get back to sleep again. I also find I

constantly wake up needing to pee and again, cant get back to sleep.

The other thing which interefered with my sleep was night-time dosing

of HC, even very small doses. Night time dosing of thyroid meds did

the same thing.

I was on a high T4 dose because I have no thyroid. I did wonder

whether I should stop taking it for a few days before adding HC, but

in the end I decided that since I didnt have any thyroid function, I'd

probably make myself more ill (ie more hypo, and since being hypo can

negatively impact the adrenals, it'd be like a double-whammy). I also

figured that if I experienced any problems when adding HC, then I

could stop taking T4 for a few days to sort it out.

The reason that I'm hypo now is because I've decided to try Armour, so

I stopped taking T4 one day and started 1/2 grain Armour the next.

That meant a huge drop in total thyroid replacment medication but I

didnt want to flood my body with T3 and cause problems.

However, having said that, when I started going really hypo, I

increased my dose of armour quite quickly (more quickly than I would

otherwise have done). At the moment I'm on 2 grains and I know I will

have to increase again.

The only thing I can do which helps is get plenty of lying-down rest,

but thats not always possible. I have also tried reflexology and that

definitely helps. In fact over the years i've tried a number of

alternative therapies and reflexology is the only one which does

anything. If you can find a good therapist near you, it might be

worth giving it a try. There is a professional body (Assoc of

Reflexologist - I think) which probably keeps lists of therapists

around the country.

Fingers crossed that you find it helps you; I'd love to hear how you

get on

Marie xx

[Guest guest]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for that info, I have been doing research into adrenal fatigue

and it mentions lack of magnesium. I don't know if that was tested

last time I had a blood test at the doctors. I cannot really afford

any more medical expenses to get the test at the moment. Also I

cannot cope with asking the GP for any more tests as I am sick to

death of their attitude - I am giving them a wide berth.

I am off fruit at the moment as on the Candida protocol; but probably

not been having enough portions of veg, for the meantime I think I

will look at supplementary magnesium through diet.

I am interested to know why you think the HC could make matters worse?

I was reluctant about it at first; but I have been that ill that I

have now kind of resigned myself to needing it, as I feel low

cortisol is holding me back. I have ordered some which arrived

yesterday, although I am still trying to get hold of Dr P to get his

advice before starting it.

Also considering the amount of stress I have had over the last

years - DH serious road traffic accident a couple of years back,

daughter was seriously ill in Hosp. in March with vasculitis, sister

severe mental health problems for the past 8 years and had a child in

August which has been taken into care. To top that my Mum has skin

cancer. Been on t4 since 1997, my adrenals have really taken the

brunt of it all and this makes me think I really need the HC.

Trying to be positive though and look on the bright side and have

refused anti deppressants.

I am trying to do all I can in other ways to support my adrenals, for

example in bed by 10 pm, up by 6am to catch first light. I am also

going to try to stick with the dietary advice for helping adrenals,

e.g. no sugar, no milk products, no alcohol, no wheat, no high sugar

fruit, protein snack every 3/ 4 hours, etc. De-stressing avoiding

watching TV as a way of relaxing!

Off to Whitby this weekend, so that should help, I read somewhere

once that being by the sea has a beneficial effect on people with

thyroid problems, sea air maybe?

Sorry to ramble on

Love Ali

<Bob.m9uk@...> wrote:

>

> Hi Ali,

>

> Have you had any recent potassium and magnesium measurements?

> (Looking for low potassium and/or low magnesium and/or other

> electrolytes adrift)That would be a useful starting point ~ to

> avoid making matters worse going over to H/C.

[Edit Abbrev Mod]

[Guest guest]

Hi Ali

Being a high profile Carer and suffering adrenal problems yourself

seems familiar. Your Caring Load has been quite high this last few

years; you've probably minimised the caring costs that health

services would otherwise have picked up......and all too many Carers

have been fobbed off with disparaging and dismissive support for

themselves.

I just had a request for the local Carers support group to be

permitted access to my medical records (notification) for the purpose

of alerting them (GP Surgery) to the existence of a carer on their

patient list, ie formalising the process.

Formally, a doctor doesn't know if you are a carer.

Most mothers have a Caring Load that can include the entire gamut of

what a hospital nurse would be well-paid for doing ~ except that

nurses get holidays and days off and not a 24/7 commitment.

If you feel 'overworked', then that's probably what has happened.

I got suspected 'over-drive' some years ago doing recurring twelve

hour shifts amounting to more than 60 hours per week.

I got euphoric from high levels of cortisol, working in constant high

intensity ( mercury vapour lamps) lighting conditions. So, it's

possible that vitamin D levels were elevated during that period too.

In addition, I have a risk of LOCAH from my family background (mother

had PCOS). It adds up that my adrenals would have grown to cope with

the extra work-load (appears to be a 16 hour day to the

adrenals ) ....and also accounts for what looks like a pre-

disposition to bipolar disorder.

(What the Post Office euphemistically refers to as their 'greyhounds')

ie fast workers who respond to a rapidly varying and often continuous

work-load during the day.

It took me 6months 'not to recover' from the constant euphoria and,

after a brief return to work, to try and re-establish a stable

circadian pattern, I quit the job ~ too damn risky.

Too low pay, too many hours, too risky for me.

Often, Carers don't get any choice.

best wishes

Bob

next time your doctor gives you grief, tell 'em, in no uncertain

terms, that your job is unpaid, full-time and you expect their co-

operation to keep you going. If you say it firmly and politely,

they'll get the message.

> Hi Bob,

> Thanks for that info, I have been doing research into adrenal

> fatigue and it mentions lack of magnesium. I don't know if that was

> tested last time I had a blood test at the doctors. I cannot

> really afford any more medical expenses to get the test at the

> moment.

[Guest guest]

Hi Marie,

I normally take the NAX at about 6:30 am; but I have been taking the

T4 at night thinking that was helping; but maybe it isn't.

I have quite similar problems to you with sleeping, my mind just seem

to race thinking about one thing after another, nothing that I am

worrying about, just rubbish!! I just bought some deep sleep oil

today with chamomile, clary sage, sweet marjoram, sandalwood and

valerian (it smells lovely!) So hopefully that may help.

I wonder if the needing to get up to pee quite a lot is to do with

the adrenal fatigue??

Yes, I agree about the reflexology, I know a great woman who does

that. I like nothing more than getting my feet done, I am sure it

makes me sleep better.

It sounds like you are doing it very wisely with the Armour, and

avoiding flooding your body with the T3. The private doc never

mentioned Armour when I saw him; but anything is better than just the

T4.

My thyroid was ablated with Radio Iodine because of overactivity of

the thyroid.

I am trying to look after myself as well as I possibly can in this

situation, to bed by 10 pm up at 6 am, avoiding certain foods like

sugar, milk products, wheat etc which are bad for the old adrenals.

Take care,

Ali xx

<mariebishop@...> wrote:

> Hi Ali

> Yeah, I think the NAX just doesnt touch the more severe symptoms.

> Maybe as we improve on HC, it will help? When you say its

> interfering with your sleep, are you taking it late in the day?

[Edit Abbrev Mod]

[Guest guest]

Hi

Ali

Carry

on taking your levothyroxine at night. It does help and you get a better sleep

and feel better throughout the day. You can more of the potency of T4 taking it

at night. I hope you are taking your NAX with food - this should be taken with

your breakfast and with your lunch.

luv -

Sheila

Hi Marie,

I normally take the NAX at about 6:30 am; but I have been taking the

T4 at night thinking that was helping; but maybe it isn't.