Re: MORE TSH AND FMS INFO

[Guest guest]

> Lyndi wrote:

> Thanks for the great information. I'm from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but I've

been in Indiana for the last 12 years. I'm really hoping to move home sooner

than later.

Hi Lyndi,

Thanks for the reply. If you go to page 3 of Dr. Wells document and look under

the title " What are the lab tests for thyroid function " you will find what the

various TSH/T3/T4 results mean when they appear in different ways on your

report.

I'm happy to hear that you felt much better once your doctor put you on the

proper meds. Yesterday I was truly in distress and called to see if my results

may have arrived early. Probably next Monday. I have a friend in Mexico and

she has recently started taking T4 (her T3 was normal) and she told me within

days she began to feel so much better and her energy level increased too. When

your hormones, be it thyroid, pituitary or hypothalamus are off balance then

your metabolism is affected, so it's no wonder people feel so much better once

treatment has begun.

I mentioned that " normal " TSH levels, as the standard reference scale varies in

every country. I have to ask a big WHY because we are all humans and it would

mean we are getting different results according to the country we live in!!

I have no idea how old or new this information is but I'd appreciate replies

from anyone who can tell me what the TSH " normal " range is according to where

they live. Also if they have the info, it would be interesting for us all to

see the free T3 and free T4 differences.

Here's what the article says:

" In UK, a TSH level between 0.5 to 5.5 is considered as normal. This same scale

was followed in the US until 2003, after which the American Academy of Clinical

Endocrinologists revised the scale. As per the new American standards, TSH

levels between 0.3 to 3.3 are considered as normal? Now THIS is very interesting

..... however, some labs in the US still follow the old reference scale, which

increases the ambiguity. This also results in non-uniformity in the treatment

throughout the country. To add to the confusion, the TSH levels vary

extensively throughout the day. The variation is about 2 points, which may

influence the test results. TSH levels are minimum at noon and go on increasing

after evening. High TSH levels are recorded at midnight, when the person is

sleeping. Below normal TSH level means a hyperactive thyroid gland or

hyperthyroidism, which means your doctor will actually lower your thyroid dose.

High TSH levels indicate the under-performance of thyroid gland or

hypothyroidism. "

**T3 should always be prescribed twice daily due to its shorter half life to T4.

This is typically after breakfast AND supper for compliance reasons. So if

anyone is put on medications this is something to ask about. From what I have

read most MD's seem to want to use T4 only!

Where my MD was afraid to give me a trial of T3, Dr. Lowe says in one of

his papers " For most patients, if no other disorder appears to be the cause,

it's reasonable to do a trial of thyroid hormone therapy anyway. Except for the

rarest patient, a trial is justified, for even if it doesn't relieve the

patient's signs, it's harmless when done with reasonable precaution. And, of

course, the trial may confirm the diagnosis by relieving the patient's signs.

The book he wrote " The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia contains 1260 pages

and it was written for patients, doctors and scientists. In it he provided all

the necessary information and paperwork that would have to be done to care for

the FMS patient and in detail he wrote his protocol that he had developed. I

would like to know why Endocrinologists especially, but the conventional

medical profession as a whole did not pay any attention to this. Instead we are

told you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, FMS and other illnesses! Then let's not

forget the difference in profits to BIG PHARMA if FMS patients (of which there

are millions in both the U.S.A. and Canada) were paying for hormone therapy

instead of Lyrica, Cymbalta, and all the other drugs we've been encouraged to

put into our body's.

One last bit of information for FMS people to know is that they have a very high

level of Substance P in the spinal cord; a chemical that amplifies perception of

pain so much that a patient perceives as painful something that ordinarily is

not. Example: the pressure of a mattress on a patient's back and buttocks, or

clothing touching their skin. Also, increased pain perception is experienced as

chronic wide spread aches and pain! THYROID hormone inhibits this production of

Substance P. When given T3 FMS patients pain dramatically decreased or stopped

altogether and the patient was cured! He (Dr. Lowe) found that fibromyalgia is

a disorder of abnormally slow metabolism. There is no difference between FMS

patients and hypothyroid and thyroid hormone resistant patients. Other

metabolism impairing factors that can come into play are:

1) A diet that contributes to impaired carbohydrate metabolism

2) B complex vitamin deficiencies

3) Use of beta-blocking drugs

4)Physical conditioning.

These symptoms impede the metabolism responsible for FMS and must be controlled

or eliminated before a patient can significantly improve.

******Most patients improve or recover ONLY when their thyroid hormone dosage is

adjusted according to the responses of their tissues to thyroid hormone.

Here's another great site " Understanding Thyroid Metabolism "

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/endocrine/understanding-thyro\

id-metabolism.htm

Lyndi, I can't recall how many MD's I've seen over the years. Few, if any, have

looked at symptoms, and only at the normal test ranges because to do otherwise

would be to go against the rules they are set by. My MD told me straight out if

he treated me as I asked, just a trial T3 and something happened to me, the

medical board would be after him asking why did he give it to me when my figures

where in the " normal " range and he'd have to say because the patient asked him

to! So, plain and simple obvious symptoms of a hormone problem mean nothing

compare to the range set by Endocrinologists! A naturopathic doctor is not bound

by those criteria, but will look at symptoms and whether your test results are

low, low normal, high, or high normal. More tests will be run, very extensive

and responsible treatment will be given.

BE SURE to research for a board certified naturopathic doctor. There will

probably be a College of Naturopathy in your area where you will be able to see

the training that these doctors get. Also be aware that many are also trained

in other fields also, so if you see ND it means Naturopathic Doctor and any

other letters following will be reference to other credentials they have. You

will also want a ND who has the ability to do prescriptions, not all of they do.

I hope you get your wish and can return to Canada in the near future.

Have a nice day,