help needed please

[Guest guest]

TSH 2.054 µU/ml 0.38 - 4.31

FT3 3.28 pmol/l 3.50 - 6.50

FT4 16.63 pmol/l 11.50 - 22.70

25-OH-calciferol (D-vitamin, ligand assay) 31.6 ng/ml 20.00 - 120.00

My husband has been taking 25mcg thyroxine for 3 weeks and then 50mcg for 3

weeks. He has put on more weight and he still feels tired and depressed. Is the

thyroxine causing him to put on more weight when he exercises regularly and

follows a low carb diet? Should he begin to take T 3 or switch to a NDT please?

Thank you

[Guest guest]

TSH 2.054 µU/ml 0.38 - 4.31FT3 3.28 pmol/l 3.50 - 6.50FT4 16.63 pmol/l 11.50 - 22.7025-OH-calciferol (D-vitamin, ligand assay) 31.6 ng/ml 20.00 - 120.00My husband has been taking 25mcg thyroxine for 3 weeks and then 50mcg for 3 weeks. He has put on more weight and he still feels tired and depressed. Is thethyroxine causing him to put on more weight when he exercises regularly and follows a low carb diet? Should he begin to take T 3 or switch to a NDT please?Hi Helen,

Your husband has only just started and it is a little early to draw conclusions; IMO he first should give the Levothyroxine a chance to work.... and it won't work unless and until his D3 levels are brought up PDQ. He needs to supplement with, say, 4000 iu Vit D3 per day and recheck after 6 months. This level should be around the 100 mark. Low Vit D3 levels will prevent thyroid hormone from getting utilized properly, as will any other mineral or vitamin deficiency.

Your husband has a long way to go yet and all along the way he needs to make sure that not only his D3 levels are optimal, but ALL the minerals & Vitamins listed below [Ferritin (in particular, as this is often too low), Magnesium, Folate, Zinc, Copper, and B12) are at optimal levels too (not just inside the ref range)]... not to forget to check all the other points listed below (adrenals, Candida, sex hormones, food allergies etc) . – please read the below.

When all that is wrong is rectified and your husband is still not improving after about 3 -4 months, then I would consider one of the other options – either adding T3 or (better still) switching to natural desiccated thyroid.

To regain normal health usually takes 8-12 months, but he should be getting better all along the way.

To help the whole process along, your husband should take ~3000 mg Vit C per day (start with 1000 and up slowly up to bowel tolerance), also 180 iu Selenium, a good high Vit B complex (make sure all B vits are 50 mg), Co-Q10 in as high concentration as you can afford (but at least 100 mg - 300 mg) [Q10 is quite pricey] plus whatever else he might need due to low levels.

Caution - if ferritin were low and he needed to supplement iron, please note that iron should always be taken with Vit C (to avoid constipation) and is MUST BE taken at least 4 hours either side away from any thyroid hormone.

With best wishes,

In case you have not already seen the information below, I am posting it again so you can check through all of this by way of a process of elimination in case you might have any of these associated conditions.

There are MANY reasons and many medical conditions associated with thyroid disease that stop thyroid hormone from getting into the cells, where it does its work. I mention these over and over and over again - ad nauseum - people must be bored with the same old, same old but as each new member joins us, they need to know. The main condition responsible for stopping thyroid hormone from working, is, quite simply, a patients thyroxine dose is too low because the doctor or consultant refuses to increase it, because the serum thyroid function test results appear OK. Sometimes, the thyroxine dose is too high, yet patients still don't feel well. They continue to suffer. Some reasons for this:

They may be suffering with low adrenal reserve. The production of T4, its conversion to T3, and the receptor uptake requires a normal amount of adrenal hormones, notably, of course, cortisone. (Excess cortisone can shut production down, however.) This is what happens if the adrenals are not responding properly, and provision of cortisone usually switches it on again. But sometimes it doesn't. If the illness has been going on for a long time, the enzyme seems to fail. This conversion failure (inexplicably denied by many endocrinologists) means the thyroxine builds up, unconverted. So it doesn't work, and T4 toxicosis results. This makes the patient feel quite unwell, toxic, often with palpitations and chest pain. If provision of adrenal support doesn't remedy the situation, the final solution is the use of the active thyroid hormone, already converted, T3 - either synthetic or natural

Then, we have systemic candidiasis. This is where candida albicans, a yeast, which causes skin infections almost anywhere in the body, invades the lining of the lower part of the small intestine and the large intestine. Here, the candida sets up residence in the warmth and the dark, and demands to be fed. Loving sugars and starches, candida can make you suffer terrible sweet cravings. Candida can produce toxins which can cause very many symptoms of exhaustion, headache, general illness, and which interfere with the uptake of thyroid and adrenal treatment. Sometimes the levels - which we usually test for - can be very high, and make successful treatment difficult to achieve until adequately treated.

Then there is receptor resistance which could be a culprit. Being hypothyroid for some considerable time may mean the biochemical mechanisms which permit the binding of T3 to the receptors, is downgraded - so the T3 won't go in. With slow build up of T3, with full adrenal support and adequate vitamins and minerals, the receptors do come on line again. But this can be quite a slow process, and care has to be taken to build the dose up gradually.

And then there are Food allergies. The most common food allergy is allergy to gluten, the protein fraction of wheat. The antibody generated by the body, by a process of molecular mimicry, cross reacts with the thyroperoxidase enzyme, (which makes thyroxine) and shuts it down. So allergy to bread can make you hypothyroid. There may be other food allergies with this kind of effect, but information on these is scanty. Certainly allergic response to certain foods can affect adrenal function and imperil thyroid production and uptake.

Then we have hormone imbalances. The whole of the endocrine system is linked; each part of it needs the other parts to be operating normally to work properly. An example of this we have seen already, with cortisone. But another example is the operation of sex hormones. The imbalance that occurs at the menopause with progesterone running down, and a relative dominance of oestrogen is a further case in point – oestrogen dominance downgrades production, transportation and uptake of thyroid hormones. This is why hypothyroidism may first appear at the menopause; the symptoms ascribed to this alone, which is then treated – often with extra oestrogen, making the whole thing worse. Deficiency in progesterone most especially needs to be dealt with, since it reverses oestrogen dominance, improves many menopausal symptoms like sweats and mood swings, and reverses osteoporosis. Happily natural progesterone cream is easily obtained: when used it has the added benefit of helping to stabilise adrenal function.

Then, we must never forget the possibility of mercury poisoning (through amalgam fillings) - low levels of ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc - all of which, if low, stop the thyroid hormone from being utilised by the cells - these have to be treated. Should your GP or endocrinologist try to tell you that there is no association between low levels of these specific minerals and vitamins and low thyroid status, print off the information at the bottom of this message to show him just some of the references to research/studies to show that there is.***

As Dr Peatfield says "When you have been quite unwell for a long time, all these problems have to be dealt with; and since each may affect the other, it all has to be done rather carefully.

Contrary to cherished beliefs by much of the medical establishment, the correction of a thyroid deficiency state has a number of complexities and variables, which make the treatment usually quite specific for each person. The balancing of these variables is as much up to you as to me – which is why a check of morning, day and evening temperatures and pulse rates, together with symptoms, good and bad, can be so helpful.

Many of you have been ill for a long time, either because you have not been diagnosed, or the treatment leaves you still quite unwell. Those of you who have relatively mild hypothyroidism, and have been diagnosed relatively quickly, may well respond to synthetic thyroxine, the standard treatment. I am therefore unlikely to see you; since if the thyroxine proves satisfactory in use, it is merely a question of dosage.

For many of you, the outstanding problem is not that the diagnosis has not been made – although, extraordinarily, this is disgracefully common – but that is has, and the thyroxine treatment doesn't work. The dose has been altered up and down, and clinical improvement is variable and doesn't last, in spite of blood tests, which say you are perfectly all right (and therefore you are actually depressed and need this fine antidepressant).

The above problems must be eliminated if thyroid hormone isn't working for you.

Should your GP or endocrinologist tell you that there is no connection between these minerals or vitamin levels and hypothyroidism, then copy the following links out to show him/her

Good luck!

***Low iron/ferritin: Iron deficiency is shown to significantly reduce T4 to T3 conversion, increase reverse T3 levels, and block the thermogenic (metabolism boosting) properties of thyroid hormone (1-4). Thus, iron deficiency, as indicated by an iron saturation below 25 or a ferritin below 70, will result in diminished intracellular T3 levels. Additionally, T4 should not be considered adequate thyroid replacement if iron deficiency is present (1-4)).

1. Dillman E, Gale C, Green W, et al. Hypothermia in iron deficiency due to altered triiodithyroidine metabolism. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 1980;239(5):377-R381.

2. SM, PE, Lukaski HC. In vitro hepatic thyroid hormone deiodination in iron-deficient rats: effect of dietary fat. Life Sci 1993;53(8):603-9.

3. Zimmermann MB, Köhrle J. The Impact of Iron and Selenium Deficiencies on Iodine and Thyroid Metabolism: Biochemistry and Relevance to Public Health. Thyroid 2002;12(10): 867-78.

4. Beard J, tobin B, Green W. Evidence for Thyroid Hormone Deficiency in Iron-Deficient Anemic Rats. J. Nutr. 1989;119:772-778.

Low vitamin B12: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18655403

Low vitamin D3: http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/3/329 and http://www.goodhormonehealth.com/VitaminD.pdf

Low magnesium: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC292768/pdf/jcinvest00264-0105.pdf

Low folate: http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/47/9/1738 and http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/thy.1999.9.1163

Low copper http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/copper_toxicity_syndrome.htm

http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.rjpbcs.com/pdf/2011_2(2)/68.pdf

http://ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/171/3/652.extract

Low zinc:http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/ffdbiyo/current4/07%20Iham%20AM%C4%B0R.pdf and http://articles.webraydian.com/article1648-Role_of_Zinc_and_Copper_in_Effective_Thyroid_Function.html

Ferritin levels for women need to be between 100 and 130 for women (for men around between 150 and 170)

Vitamin B12 needs to be at the top of the range.

D3 levels need to be top of the range.

Magnesium levels need to be at the top of the range, it's one thing that often gets missed.

[Guest guest]

Hi Lee, thank goodness you have found TPA and we will do

everything that we can to help you. I have sent you my list of doctors who will

prescribe T3 either synthetic, in combination with T4, T3 alone, or natural

thyroid extract. Hope you find one who can help - so it makes sense that these

doctors know quite a bit more about thyroid disease than the average NHS doctor.

What options have you been offered, or haven't you received any?

Do you have any recent thyroid function test results? If so, let

us have the numbers and the reference ranges. No doctor can withhold such

information that is in your medical notes.

Ask your GP to test your levels of iron, transferrin

saturation%, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and

zinc. Again, when you have these results, let us have them and we will help

with their interpretation.

Luv - Sheila

I am now ready to face this very serious issue (finally ~ phew) and dump the

cancer hospital advise and lead myself to someone who can help me, through your

help here... In comes my question....

(I live in Cardiff)

Can anyone PLEASE recommend a good specialist/Dr who can help me understand my

issues and guide me towards armour medication..

I

[Guest guest]

Hi Sheila,

Why don't you tell me what you want to say and I will post it for you!!!

RE: HELP NEEDED PLEASE

Hi Lee, thank goodness you have found TPA and we will do everything that we can to help you. I have sent you my list of doctors who will prescribe T3 either synthetic, in combination with T4, T3 alone, or natural thyroid extract. Hope you find one who can help - so it makes sense that these doctors know quite a bit more about thyroid disease than the average NHS doctor. What options have you been offered, or haven't you received any?

Do you have any recent thyroid function test results? If so, let us have the numbers and the reference ranges. No doctor can withhold such information that is in your medical notes.

Ask your GP to test your levels of iron, transferrin saturation%, ferritin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc. Again, when you have these results, let us have them and we will help with their interpretation.

Luv - Sheila

I am now ready to face this very serious issue (finally ~ phew) and dump the cancer hospital advise and lead myself to someone who can help me, through your help here... In comes my question....(I live in Cardiff)Can anyone PLEASE recommend a good specialist/Dr who can help me understand my issues and guide me towards armour medication..I