Thyroid test results

[kdb2012]

Greetings Everyone,

I have been reading over the posts and would like to share my own results of thyroid testing. On April 3, 2014 my levels were as follows:

TSH -  4.088
T4 Free - 1.10
T3 Free - 2.7
Reverse T3 - 13
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab - 565.0
Thyroglobulin Antibody - 27.8

My new levels as of May 29 are:

TSH -  11.966
T4 Free - .87
T3 Free - 2.2
Reverse T3 - 9
I do not have new results for antibodies.

I am seeing an integrative/functional physician in NC. She prescribed several supplements for a detox protocol which included 12.5 mg of iodine daily (I also take 400 mcg of L-Selenomethionine daily).

I am maintaning a weight of around 123lbs. and eat primarily a real food diet, which includes meat protein and plenty of healthy fat, greens and chlorella. Am I tired? I really don't know because I guess I have always been an overachiever and probably don't recognize being "tired". My hair is the same as always; I shed a little but nothing I would consider abnormal and my skin is not dry. I do have ridges in a couple of my fingernails but have been taking Regenemax and it appears to be helping.  

I would like feedback concerning my test results from this particular community since it appears there is a wealth of knowledge and a willingness to help each other understand and take charge of our health and well-being.

Thanks in advance!  

[kdb2012]

Funny about vitamins and iodine...I am currently struggling with high TSH and high TPO. My functional medical practitioner wants to put me on tirosint (T4) because my thyroid readings practically doubled in a month as stated in an earlier post. Not sure why she is choosing that over natural desiccated thyroid.  

I have been taking 12.5 mg of iodine, 200 mcg selenium, vitamin A, E, B's, DHEA to name a few for about 2 months. My neck is starting to swell and my voice is getting lower. Prior to this I was taking nothing! I/m thinking it was all a coincidence but am very disappointed that I have been trying to live better, be kind to my body, tap into functional medicine and this is what happened. No one has said the word yet, but Hashimoto's comes to mind. I must say I am alarmed and hope she and I can come to an agreement on treatment-the consensus seems to be that T4 alone is insufficient treatment for thyroid issues.

Down the rabbit hole...

[Barb135]

There are only certain proteins that bind to thyroid hormones.  I'm not convinced anything that might escape from the gut would affect thyroid hormones.

In some countries, iodine is used to disinfect water for drinking.  It could be, in an emergency, and yes, the iodine that from the first aid section would work.  

[flyingfool]

I thik I brought up a lot of discussion about gut flora.  I didn't intend to infer that gut flora would stop autoimmune response.  What I have learned rather is that leaky gut can allow a lot of things into our blood stream that the immune system now has to combat.  Whereas with a proper gut flora, all those extra bugs or whatever won't even get into the blood so the body's immune system won't have to work so hard.  OUr processed food lifestyle has generally been very destructive to gut flora and as a result out immune systems have had to pick up extra workload.  It is possible I suppose to think that this has "trained" the immune system to be on extra alert to the point that now it may incorrectly start attacking things that it really shouldn't. like our thyroid gland.  But that is pure speculation but seems at least a bit plausible.

I also have read that leaky gut allows other proteins etc into the blood which can bind to thyroid thus rendering the thyroid in the blood to be wortless.  So again not having a leaky gut and proper gut flora could be a net positive from this standpoint alone.   And I agree with Barb. Eating right which would result in proper gut flora is going to be beneficial in many ways and not just soley related to thyroid health.

I too have really started questioning Iodine.  At home we primarily now use non-iodized sea salt.  And Iodine in bread has been replaced with Bromine for Bromide.  So it is possible that the common Iodine sources people once had by default in their diet is now no longer present.  So could we as a society begun to get iodine deficient again?  I don't know.

For me who have always tested within range for FT4 etc but still low, I wonder if a bit of Iodine would potentially be beneficial.  My wife who has Hashimoto's on the other hand I'm not sure it would be good and potentially bad.  Which is why we switched to noniodized sea salt for the most part in the first place.

Even if Iwanted to try to take iodine, I'm not even sure how to go about it. Do I just go to the first aid section in the pharmacy and buy a dropper bottle of Iodine and then just put a drop or two in a glass of water and drink it?  That is what my mother-in-law was told to do by a Dr a LONG time ago (like in the late 1960's or early 1970's). So much has changed since then.  And I don't even know if first aid "iodine" is really iodine at all and not some other solution like bedidine or something.

[Barb135]

I guess that's what I'm trying to tell you... There really is no management for the autoimmune disease, except to relieve symptoms as well as you can, in order to be comfortable... I'll always have Hashimoto's and so will you, because no diet or supplements can cure it and nothing can make your damaged thyroid start producing hormones again.. once the thyroid is completely destroyed, the antibody level drops, since there's no more healthy tissue to attack (or at least mine did), the fluctuation in hormone levels drops, because you aren't getting both the medication and spurts from your own thyroid; the thyroid swelling and inflammation is gone, but you still have Hashimoto's.

I know functional medicine doctors and naturopaths tell you that it all starts in the gut and that if you fix your gut you'll fix all your problems and I really wish it was that easy.  While your body does require healthy gut flora, simply fixing that, isn't going to get rid of the antibodies or make your autoimmune disease go away.  It'll make you healthier, and hopefully, you'll feel better, but you'll still have the disease.

And what's even worse is that once you have one autoimmune the chances of getting another are greater.  Autoimmunes tend to run in families, though not every member of the family will get the same disease.  For instance, I have Hashimoto's and Pernicious Anemia, my son has Type I diabetes and my daughter has Lupus.


There are vitamins/minerals that can help you, if your levels are low, such as vitamin D, selenium, iron, vitamin B-12, etc, but your levels are normal, they really aren't going to do a lot.  Vitamin D and iron are necessary for the proper synthesis of thyroid hormones.  I've read that selenium can help lower antibody counts, but I've never read that it can eliminate them completely and it's not the number that counts; it's the presence.  The good news is that selenium can also help with conversion of FT4 to the usable FT3 and I do find this to true for myself.  Vitamin B-12 is necessary for proper nerve function and for production of red blood cells and energy.

It's always a good idea to take the best care of ourselves that we can; we all have to decide for ourselves what's best for us.

[kdb2012]

Your meds help with the hormones but you still have the underlying cause of Hashimoto's. How do you manage your autoimmune disease? I would love a few tips!

[Barb135]

I don't necessarily agree with Dr Leigh about the use T4 - as some of us do have conversion issues and no matter how much T4 we take, our FT3 levels won't rise enough to alleviate symptoms.  As I noted, I do take a T3 med, but it's far from the amount present in a desiccated hormone, because I don't need that much, while others might.

T4 is basically a storage hormone, with 4 iodine molecules.  Most (90-95%) of the T4 produced is bound by protein and can't be used/converted.  The remainder (Free/unbound portion) is what's converted.  T3 has 3 iodine molecues and like T4 most is bound by protein and can't be used, which is why we look at the Free (unbound) portion.  Free T3 is what's actually used by the individual cells.

Don't feel badly for me... There are a lot of people just like me who have gone through the same process, and many more, including yourself, who are going through it and will end up just like me... it's not like it's life threatening or anything (unless I don't take my meds).  The only thing that's been destroyed is my thyroid and my medication takes care of that; the rest of my body is very much alive and as long as I take care of it, there's no reason I can't live a lot more years.  My thyroid will not be what I die from.  I should have been more clear -- end stage of Hashimoto's does not mean end stage of life.

In some ways, having the thyroid completely destroyed is easier than the process of destruction because I don't have the fluctuation of hormones that I had at one time.  I now rely 100% on my daily med

I don't know that it's necessary, or even advisable to discontinue all your supplements; the only one I would be concerned about would be the iodine.

[kdb2012]

Thanks for the reminder about TSH and thanks so much for the Dr. Leigh article. I really enjoy varying viewpoints and welcome the literature. I have the samples of tirosint sitting in the kitchen and am trying to bring myself to use it. This artlcle helped. I am still focusing on understanding how the T4/T3 conversion takes place (as you say, mainly in the liver) and hope I can come to terms with the fact that I have an autoimmune disorder, although not formally diagnosed. Dr. Leigh presents his thesis well, especially as far as T3 is concerned.

At this point, I have discontinued all supplementation. The tirosint dosage is 25 mcg and it will be a very hard pill to swallow, but I am considering it. Barb, your own situation brought tears to my eyes and I am so sorry for your loss.      

[Barb135]

First off, TSH is a pituitary hormone and is not indicative of actual thyroid hormone status, in spite of the fact that it's considered to be the gold standard in thyroid testing.

Secondly, the consensus (among doctors, AACE, ATA, etc) is that T4 alone IS the best medication to treat hypothyroidism (we patients know better).  Tirosint is the newest of the T4 medications and because it contains only water, the active ingredient, levothyroxine, gelatin and glycerin, it's considered to be hypoallergenic (no fillers/binders/dyes).  

I know there are a lot of people who don't agree with me, but I, personally, don't see anything "natural" about desiccated thyroid hormones.  They come from pigs (nothing against pigs), which produce much more T3 than humans do.  The human body produces approximately 100 mcg of T4 daily and only 6 mcg of T3 daily. The remainder of T3 used by our cells is converted from the T4.  Most of the conversion is done in the liver, but some is done in other organs, including the cells.

Levothyroxine, on the other hand, is (supposed to be) identical to what our bodies would produce if they could.

I didn't put it in word for word, but here's a link (old though it maybe be and a prime example of "written by a doctor doesn't mean it's 100% correct"...lol):
http://drleigh.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/LT4-vs-Armor.pdf

Again, don't misunderstand... I don't totally agree with this... I have nothing against desiccated hormones; that's all many people get well on. Others don't need that much T3.  1 grain has 38 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3.  In comparison, I'm on 88 mcg T4 (getting ready to go to 100 mcg) and 10 mcg T3.   I, personally, have been on Tirosint since it came out in 2009, though I will be going off it next month, when I see my endo, because the cost has been steadily rising for the past year and I can no longer justify it, since it's not covered by my insurance.

Lest anyone misunderstand, my position on thyroid medications is that all options be open, because hypothyroidism isn't a one size fits all... we should all have access to whatever medication works best for us, whether it be synthetic or desiccated.

As for your own situation, as I noted in my first response on this thread, the TPOab you posted in your very first post is the basis for a diagnosis of Hashimoto's.  The antibodies are there, the destruction is in progress and while studies have shown that selenium may "reduce" the numbers, I've never seen anything saying it would eliminate the antibodies, so it won't prevent the ultimate the damage; it's not the raw numbers of antibodies, it's the simple presence of antibodies that counts.  Diet, of course, makes you healthier, but I have yet to see it cure Hashimoto's and you aren't the first person to be disappointed.  One thing is for sure: living/eating better and taking care of yourself is surely benefiting you in other ways, even if it might not save your thyroid.

Since, supposedly, iodine causes swelling/inflammation to be worse, with Hashimoto's, you might consider that as a cause for the swelling in your throat and suspend its use for a time and see it that improves?  In early stages, most of us have swelling/inflammation, which gradually, lessens as time goes on.

In my own case, in spite of 200 mcg selenium, daily, my antibody count began dropping when my thyroid was destroyed. Selenium does seem to help with the conversion of T4 to the usable T3.  My diagnosis is now "Primary Hypothyroidism", which is the end stage of Hashimoto's and means my thyroid no longer produces anything.  My endo can no longer even feel it when he tries to palpate it.

[Barb135]

I have heard of Terry Wahls and I've listened to other videos.  She's a remarkable woman and deserves the utmost respect.

You could be right about the iodine issue and I've wondered about that, myself.  From what I've read - not quoting studies or anything - iodine, supposedly causes the antibodies to kick up activity, causing increased swelling/inflammation of the thyroid gland, causing it to be destroyed more quickly.  I would never take it when I had swelling/inflammation in my thyroid for that reason, because I was miserable enough; I wasn't about to take something that might make it worse.

I wonder, though about people whose thyroid gland is already destroyed, such as mine, now, from antibody activity or someone who has had RAI, or someone who doesn't have one, due to removal.  

Most of what we read says that the thyroid is the only organ in the body that uses iodine, but I've also read and Terry says in the video, it's needed for brain function and healthy breast tissue.  It's all food for thought.

As for the diet... I stand by what I've been saying... anything we do to improve our diet makes us more healthy and of course, healthy gut flora is necessary, but the jury is still out on the gut being the root cause of all autoimmune disease.  I have yet to see a scientific study to back up that statement.  I still have 2 of the ones you posted above to get through, so maybe there's something there.

While I don't discount what happened to Terry Wahls, I will say that I'm highly skeptical that it can happen to everyone who has an autoimmune disease.  I've known others diagnosed with MS, who have been wheelchair bound and have actually, been found to have something else wrong, or have overcome the disease in one way or another.

Ironically, I take all of the vitamins she mentioned, with the exception of vitamin B6, which causes me to have nightmares.

It's all food for thought, but we need to make sure that the solutions we settle on are based on solid science, rather than anecdotal information.  

[kdb2012]

thanks everyone for the comments and insight. I think a lot of what we are talking about takes us back to the iodine question as it relates to the thyroid-to take or not to take? Some research is not yet conclusive.

At this point I would like to bring into the discussion Terry Wahls and the Wahl's protocol. If you are familiar with her, great! If not, you can learn about her here:

http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxIowaCity-Dr-Terry-Wahls-Min
  

[Barb135]

I thought I'd start with reading the actual links posted above first, but since they're all blogs and/or opinions, they can't be considered scientific.  I did find the following interesting, though:

"Now, it’d be difficult to map out the precise relationships between myriad maladies and their nutritional triggers or risk factors. To do so definitively would produce a mostly unreadable mess. What we do instead is speculate. Make good guesses based on clinical, anecdotal, even anthropologic evidence. We look at what those people with chronic inflammation, obesity, autoimmune disease, diabetes, and celiac are eating, sleeping, and exercising, and we go from there. The precise physiological mechanisms behind some of these relationships have yet to be fully teased out, but the relationships exist and that’s usually enough to get results. Hence, simplicity."

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/gut-flora-inflammation/#ixzz36AYIg3Ry

[Barb135]

Lest anyone misunderstand, I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I'm not saying it's not necessary to have a healthy gut... it most certainly is.

I agree that there are a lot of environmental factors that are changing the way our foods are grown that are not in our best interest.

The only thing I'm disagreeing with is that all autoimmune diseases start in the gut, since that has not been definitively proven.  I'm aware that there are studies pointing that direction; however, I'm also aware that there are studies that disprove that theory.

While environmental factors may be causing them to be more prevalent, autoimmune diseases aren't something that just cropped up in the last few years.  They've been around a lot longer than white bread and processed food; it's just scientists/doctors didn't know that these diseases were actually they body attacking itself.  People used to die from things like diabetes and thyroid conditions, etc where now, we have the technology to diagnose and treat them.

As I always say in situations like this - any time we change our diet for the better, eating "real" food, as opposed to processed, boxed/canned food, we're doing ourselves a big favor.  Our bodies are designed to cleanse themselves, so long as we put the right products in, in the right combinations.  Do I always follow my own advice, to the letter?  Not on your life, but I give it my best shot.

Some of us are going to get Hashimoto's, Graves Disease, Pernicious Anemia, MS, Lupus, Heart trouble and any number of illnesses, no matter what we, because we're predisposed.

[flyingfool]

I am reading a LOT on gut flora and its imprortance to a lot of things.

Poor gut flora can lead to leaky gut which can let things through that binds to thyroid making thyroid unusable. So it would appear that good proper balance of gut bacteria can improve thyroid metabolism.  Also with a leaky gut it would make sense that a lot of germs etc are allowed to go into the blood stream that would otherwise not be there and thus the first line of defense for the immune system.  This makes sense as the evolution of mankind had to eat a whole bunch of "dirty" stuff so the gut has worked out to not let the bad stuff into our blood system.

I too hear a lot about K2. I even took supplments for K2 because of that. But now I have been making fermented veggies and the process of fermentation creates a lot of K2. So I am assuming I am now getting source of K2 via eating the fermented veggies rather than having to buy a pill.

the commercial manufacture of bread many years ago switched from using iodine to using Bromine.  So the American population lost a huge source of iodine from this change alone.

I also am a believer and I know many disagree, but I believe that Fluroide in the water of the western world is a primary reason why Hashimoto's and thyroid diseas just happen to be highly prevelent in those same countries were the vast portion of the population drink water with Fluoride in it.  Also Fluroride is also a base chemical in many other prescriptions and other drugs.  So the average person is taking in a lot more Fluoride than I think is really measured.  The fact that Fluoride was used to treat hyperthyroidism to shut down thyroid gland production should seem like a pretty clear reason why an entire population may have low thyroid issues.  But that is just my opinion of anecdotal information.

I have other theory's as to why we are seeing more autoimmune and allergies in our population than we ever have in the past.  But ultimately it is because I think we have overwhelmed our bodies immune system and it is going bonkers.  Whe I grew up as a kid not more than 30 years agon I never knew or even heard of a child who was allergic to peanuts.  Now peanut allergy is extremely common.  WHY?  SOMETHING has changed.  I'm not 100% sure what it is, but something has dramatically changed.  And one of the things that has changed is the number of vaccines a child gets.  When I grew up a total and complete vaccine regimine was something like 8 or maybe 10 vaccines. Now I think it is upwards of 38 by the time the child is I think six years old.  I don't necessarily think it is due to a single ingrediant in the vaccines, I just thing it overwhelms the immune system in an immature child.  Any one vacine is or may not be a problem, but the combination of many of them and many of them mixed into one potion that has never been tested in combination is frightning.

All I'm saying is that health his extremely complex. And I am getting to believe more and more that diet and gut flora play a larger role than I had previously thought.  I'm also learning that the whole "low fat" thing is a huge contributer to a lot of the problems we have in America at least.  It promoted high carb diet which results in overpopulation of yeast in our gut, causes leaky gut, and further causes easy conversion to surgar which results in insulin to be produced until you become either insulin resistent or your pancreas givesout and either way you get diabetes.  Furthermore when they take the fat out of food the food tastes bad, so in place of the fat they put in sugar/high fructose corn syrup.  Which feeds yeast which continues to encourage over population of yeast and also is a direct supply of sugar which cause continued leaky gut and diabetes and extra calories. and the cycle continues.

And we wonder why so many people are obese and many have what used to be commonly referrred to as a "beer belly' (Which beer is made with yeast or "liquid bread"). So that a beer belly is really just a physical lcharacteristic of an over populated yeast in the gut.  Hummm.

All I know is that I didn't change much of anything else, but when I started eating the fermented veggies I have lost about 5 lbs that I have been struggling with losing for YEARS.  I also tried to stay away from gluten but not ridgedly enough for it to really matter.  So there may be something to this whole gut flora thing.  I can't point to any other thing that would cause this change.

[Barb135]

Thank you for the list of studies and web sites; I will check them out at the first opportunity.  The problem I have is that there aren't enough studies that settle on one consensus.  For every study that says autoimmune disease starts in the gut, there's one that says it doesn't.

You're right, there's a host of information out there to be sifted through and just because a doctor has written a paper doesn't mean they've hit on the answer.  

I agree - I'm not surprised your mother's doctor wouldn't know about the relationship between Vitamin D and K, either.  I also don't attribute heart disease to getting old and I have yet to run across a doctor that does, either, since heart disease, like so many others, knows no age.  When I come across that doctor who attributes it to getting old. I'll run as fast as my old legs will carry me...

[kdb2012]

Hi Barb, thanks for your comments. Dr. Brownstein is but one of many examples of the confusing info available to folks like me who are just beginning to understand thyroid issues. While I do agree that Hashimoto's can be triggered by the factors you list, I do not agree that "Hashimoto's is the root of the problem". Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease. Research posits that 80-85% of the immune system is in the gut and the percentage could be higher. This is critical information for all of us!

The Second Opinion Series hosted by Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness solicited the expert opinions of several renowned nutritionists and functional practioners on the subject of the thyroid and how the gut plays a major role (as well as the liver): Nora Gedgaudas, Kelly Brogan, Chris Kresser, Andrea Nakayama, Dr. Loscalzo, Reid Davis, Dr. Kalish and many more. These folks focus on treating the root cause and not the symptom(s) of any disease.

Recently my mother was diagnosed with aortic stenosis. Unknown to me, she had been taking a daily dose of vitamin D3. When I asked the cardiologist about the adverse effects of vitamin D without sufficient amounts of vitamin K2, he dismissed my inquiry. I was not surprised since medical doctors receive little to no nutritional education in medical school. I later provided the doctor with ample research concerning the D/K relationship-and this from someone who has no formal training, just a computer and an ipod.

I don't attribute heart disease to "getting old" as this doctor and many like him do. I believe we can teach ourselves if we are willing to take the time to sift through and evaluate the information available to us. To that end I have included some research on gut health and inflammation as you requested. The information covers several types of disease as it relates to leaky gut and inflammation. Hopefully you and your family will find it useful in your own struggles with autoimmune disease.

1. Zachos M, Tondeur M, Griffiths AM; Enteral nutritional therapy for induction of remission in Crohn's disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jan 24;(1):CD000542.

2. Fasano A. Leaky gut and autoimmune diseases. Clinic Rev Allerg Immunol. 2012;42(1):71-78.

3. Zonulin and its regulation of intestinal barrier function: the biological door to inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer.Fasano A.
Physiol Rev. 2011 Jan;91(1):151-75. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00003.2008

4. The "perfect storm" for type 1 diabetes: the complex interplay between intestinal microbiota, gut permeability, and mucosal immunity.Vaarala O, Atkinson MA, Neu J. Diabetes. 2008 Oct;57(10):2555-62. doi: 10.2337/db08-0331

5. Mechanisms of disease: the role of intestinal barrier function in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases.Fasano A, Shea-Donohue T. Nat Clin Pract Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005 Sep;2(9):416-22

6. The intestinal microbiota, a leaky gut, and abnormal immunity in kidney disease.Anders HJ, Andersen K, Stecher B.Kidney Int. 2013 Jun;83(6):1010-6. doi: 10.1038/ki.2012.440. Epub 2013 Jan 16

7. http://www.optimalhealthisyours.com/the-good-and-very-bad-regarding-inflammation/

8. http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/2013/12/antibiotics-gluten-hashimotos.html

9. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/gut-flora-inflammation/#axzz367hXi3mJ

10. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/021313p38.shtml

February 2013 Issue
Gut Health and Autoimmune Disease — Research Suggests Digestive Abnormalities May Be the Underlying Cause
By Aglaée Jacob, MS, RD
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 15 No. 2 P. 38

[Barb135]

While I have great respect for Dr Brownstein as a thyroidologist, I totally disagree, as do other, with his stance on Hashimoto's and the fact that only those deficient in Iodine can get it.

"What causes Hashimoto's disease?

Many factors are thought to play a role in getting Hashimoto’s disease. These include:

    *Genes. Some people are prone to Hashimoto’s disease because of their genes. Researchers are working to find the gene or genes involved.
  
   *Gender. Sex hormones also might play a role. This may help to explain why Hashimoto’s disease affects more women than men.

   *Pregnancy. Pregnancy affects the thyroid. Some women have thyroid problems after having a baby, which usually go away. But about 20 percent of these women develop Hashimoto’s disease in later years. This suggests that pregnancy might trigger thyroid disease in some women.
  
*Too much iodine and some drugs may trigger the onset of thyroid disease in people prone to getting it.
    
   *Radiation exposure has been shown to bring on autoimmune thyroid disease. This includes radiation from the atomic bomb in Japan, the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, and radiation treatment of Hodgkin’s disease (a type of blood cancer).

https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/hashimoto-disease.html

Hashimoto's is the root of the problem and while I'm a firm believer in doing everything we can be healthy, I don't believe in cleanses and detoxes, which are not natural to our bodies.  

The chances of getting Hashimoto's are greater if one happens to have another autoimmune disease and autoimmunes, typically, run in families, though each member of the family won't necessarily get the same disease.  For instance, I have Hashimoto's and Pernicious Anemia, my son has Type I Diabetes and my daughter has Lupus - all autoimmune.

There are a variety of protocols, depending on the doctor and only some doctors believe it all starts in the gut; I haven't seen the actual scientific studies on that, so if you have links to them it would be great if you could post them.

[kdb2012]

thank you so much for your comments. It is so weird that I am developing a thyroid issue; I just listened to the Thyroid Sessions on Underground Wellness last month and was astounded to know how many people have thyroid issues such as Hashimoto"s. I learned a great deal and am thankful to have forums like this one to share ideas, knowledge and support.

It seems a recurring theme that all illness/disease has a root cause of inflammation. The protocol is to heal the gut, so my doctor wants to treat my thyroid while simultaneously detoxing/cleansing my gut. I think there are also environmental pathogens that are affecting all of us since most of us have compromised immune systems. Why are we all developing thyroid issues??

Dr. Brownstein (http://www.drbrownstein.com/) feels "Iodine deficiency coupled with the increasing exposure to toxins like bromide and fluoride are negatively affecting the thyroid gland. Animal studies show that you cannot cause Hashimoto’s disease in an animal unless they are iodine deficient and they are given a goitrogen.  That is what is happening to our human population;  we are iodine deficient and we are exposed to an ever-increasing amount of goitrogens like bromide and fluoride." He also points out that about 40% of the population suffers from thyroid disorder.

As for your comment about iodine having an adverse effect on someone with Hashimoto's, Dr. Brownstein has this to say, " Most doctors are under the impression that iodine is toxic to the thyroid gland. They believe that iodine will precipitate a thyroid problem or if one already has a thyroid problem, make it worse.  This just isn’t true.  The NHANES and other data clearly show iodine level have been falling over the last 30-40 years and thyroid illnesses have  been increasing. If iodine were a toxic agent to the thyroid, we would see iodine levels falling during this time period, not rising. That goes for hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Graves’ and Hashimoto’s disease."

I want to treat the root cause of my thyroid problem and not the symptoms. My doctor believes, as do I, that a deep cleansing may help determine that root cause. I already use chlorella and cilantro tincture. She wants me to use a couple of Xymogen products for a 28 day cleanse to bring me to a baseline, along with the Tirosint. We shall see...

[flyingfool]

You appear to have Hashimoto's which is an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks your thyroid gland. This is determined by your elevation of the antibodies.  You happen to be elevated for BOTH of them, and for Hashi's to be present you only need one or the other at a minimum to normally be diagnosed.  Hasi's Progressively reduces the amount of hormone your thyroid glan produces.  Eventually your gland will produce nothing.  For some this happens quickly and for others it is a slow long ride taking years.

Hasi's is the #1 cause for Hypo or low thyroid in the modern world.

Iodine is usually counter indicated for Hashi's patients.  meaning that taking Iodine is NOT the thing to do.  I'm not 100% sure why. But that is what I have read here over the years.

25 mcg is a typical starting dose of a synthetic T4 medication.  Triosint is supposed to be hyperallergenic in that it is a liquid cap that has no dyes or powder filler that some people are sensitive to.  However I also understand that it is pretty dang expensive compared to the other synthetics out there on the market.  So if costs are an issue, you may want to try some of the other generics out there.  Some if not most people have no problems with the generics but everyone is different.

Understand that this is a long term sort of trial and error process.  T4 takes 6 weeks to stabilize in your blood. So don't expect to feel well "overnight".  in fact the initial dose is almost never the optimized dose.  And you have to work up in small increments.

Also understand that often people who initially start taking Thyroid hormone will feel WORSE for a period of time. As the body which was going through extraordinary things to make up for the lack of thyroid now all of a sudden have thyroid again. So the body needs time to adjust to that and start shutting down those other extraordinary things.  but until that happens you may be geting both the extra measures and thyroid which is a bit overwhelming to some people and the body.  This is another reason why you want to work up in slow gradual increments of dosages.  So your body can adjust.

[kdb2012]

Just got a call from my doctor and she is suggesting 25 mcg of Tirosint and a 28 day cleanse. I am already on a detox protocol. I did get the new numbers concerning my antibodies:

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab - 1510.0 <35.0
Thyroglobulin Antibody - 92.2 <40.0

  

[Barb135]

No need to be sorry.

Your TSH is way too high and your FT3 and FT4 are way too low in the ranges.  Your FT4 is only at 7% of its range and as you can see your FT3 is actually below range.

The thyroid makes 2 main hormones... mostly T4, but some T3, as well.  Of the Total T4 most is bound by protein and is unusable, which is why we measure the Free (unbound) portion.  Free T4 is a storage hormone that must be converted to T3 prior to use. Like T4, most of the Total T3 in your system is bound by protein and can't be used, so we measure the Free T3, which is the hormone actually used by individual cells.

It doesn't sound like you have much in the line of symptoms of hypothyroidism - at least not the main ones.  What about constipation, cold intolerance, muscle aches/pains, depression, brittle fingernails, heavy or irregular periods, hoarseness, puffiness in your face, hands, feet, thinning eyebrows?  There can be others, as well.

Your TPOab of 565 would be the basis for a diagnosis of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it.  In most cases, iodine is contraindicated in Hashimoto's.

I'm not sure what other supplements would be prescribed for "detox".  Typically, the body is built to detox itself.

Some studies have shown that selenium can lower antibody counts; I didn't find that to be the case, but I do find that it helps with the conversion of FT4 to FT3.   Your problem is that you have so little FT4, there is none to be converted to FT3.  

Looking at the difference in your labs from April to May, it appears that your thyroid function is declining quite quickly.  Has your doctor not prescribed thyroid replacement hormones for you?  That should be the very first thing she does.  No amount of detox will make your thyroid start working again and the antibodies will continue to destroy it, until eventually, it produces nothing.  We must have thyroid hormones in order to stay alive.

[kdb2012]

oops, so sorry!

TSH - 0.35 - 4.5
T4 Free - 0.80 - 1.80
T3 Free - 2.3 - 4.2
Reverse T3 - 8 - 25
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab - <35.0
Thyroglobulin Antibody - <40.0

[Barb135]

We need the reference ranges for the lab results.  Ranges vary lab to lab and have to come from your own lab report.