Hypothyroid, Sleep Apnea, DHEA,Throat (w/response)

[Guest guest]

['s response marked below by **.]

writes:

<<Hi ,

Thank you for the link to the thyroid website. According to what I've read

there, I believe I need to see a new doctor to evaluate my thyroid. I've been

doing worse in every regard except anxiety since I lowered Naturethroid dose

several months ago.

I read on that website about a relationship between sleep apnea and

hypothyroidism. My breathing is definitely worse since I'm taking less thyroid.

I used colloidal silver gargle for the last 3 days for sore throat and it is

improved but still burns and feels swollen especially at night. There is a

varying amount of thick stuff in the back of my throat that is apparently

draining from my sinuses. Probably allergies. Swelling and dryness in my

tongue, mouth, throat seems to be what's causing breathing problems at night.

My airway closes up when I exhale, even when I sleep on my side, but worse on my

back.

I have an appointment next Monday with a sleep specialist. What can I do to

address the sinus draining and swelling in throat and mouth? The last time I

saw a sleep doc, he wanted me to use nasal steroid to clear congestion for

better result with CPAP. I used to use Rhinocort and it did help but nose

doctor told me I should avoid it because of me being prone to nosebleeds and the

very thin skin covering blood vessels in my nose. I want to stay away from

steroids anyway.

I'm having trouble with the DHEA. I took 2.5mg yesterday and the day before.

I'm having increased anxiety, feeling panicky during the night, feeling hostile

and very irritable during the day. I didn't take any this morning because I was

so nervous and my head was a little twitchy, like it was going to shake back and

forth if I didn't make an effort to keep it still. I'm so discouraged. Is

there another way to treat my adrenals?

Thanks,

>>

** Hi ,

I'll be brief. Never take steroids when you have thyroid and/or adrenal

problems unless you are in a life-threatening situation. Your endocrine system

can't handle steroids.

The problem you're having with your throat is connected to other things. You

can't fix the throat. You need to fix the other things.

Yes, I agree that you need a different thyroid doc. I believe the website I

gave you has a database you can search for someone in your area.

If the DHEA is too much, stop it. But have you tries a lower dose? The most

common mistake people make when taking something new is judging it and stopping

it instead of tweaking the dose. Even if you begin at 0.25 mg. that is okay.

If you feel obviously worse regardless of the dose, then it is time to eliminate

this supplement.

Your biggest challenge is getting a doc to understand your heightened

sensitivity because of the psychotropic drug issue. You may want to leave the

cause out and just explain that you are worn down and your body seems to be

over-reacting to most substances. Let her/him know you've found that beginning

low and moving slowly up to what is considered a therapeutic dose. The exception

here may be thyroid treatment.

Once you have your thyroid more balanced you can see what is left to address.

Again, I strongly suggest you explore the CPAP issue again. A great deal of

what you're experiencing could be from sleep apnea. As I mentioned in a

previous email, many people who were intolerant of the CPAP were able to

tolerate it by working up to being able to use it for several hours. Begin at

5, 10, or 15 min. 2x a day. In other words, begin wherever you can.

Regards,

Thyroid dysfunction is often hgunder-diagnosed is due to the poor and outmoded

testing most doctors use. Physicians on the cutting edge of thyroid

diagnosis/treatment use the following blood tests:

> TSH

> Total T3

> Free T3

> Reverse T3

> Total T4

> Free T4

Accurate readings cannot be done using only Free T3/Free T4 and TSH.

A cutting edge, highly respected resource for thyroid diagnosis and treatment is

at About.com. http://thyroid.about.com .

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