Your Best Supplements

I am curious to find out what others with thyroid disease take in terms of supplements. What are the best supplements that you've found? What didn't work? Do you find the suggested recommended amount was enough or did you alter the dosage? 

I have a list of supplements but I've been really bad at remembering to take them.  I'm supposed to take Iodine, Magnesium, Selenium, Iron, and my multi-vitamin along with my thyroid pills throughout the day but I never remember to take all of them.  Never. 

I'm lucky that I remember to put on my pants before I walk out of the house.  My memory is pretty shot.

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Quickie Update

I've maintained the initial weight loss. Now I just have to give it a push to get some more off to get over the next hump. I have a few humps to get over:)

I'm doing better this week with adding supplements (antioxidants, Iodine, Vitamin C & D) into the routine. I guess it's a habit I'll form eventually.

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Would Maca Root Help Thyroid?

I was researching natural ways to balance hormones in the body and came across a plant called Maca Root. It's been used for centuries by the people of the Andean Mountain region. It is considered as safe as any vegetable. There is some suggestion of goiter if you eat too much and have a low iodine diet according to Wiki. Seeing as how I have thyroid disease and a goiter on my thyroid, this is interesting to me. It does contain a good amount of natural iodine, which I am very interested in. Since I am researching the use of Iodine in the treatment of thyroid health, goiter, and nodules, this is very interesting.

This is definitely something I want to make note of and study more. I doubt I'll buy grow lights and grow them myself because I doubt I could reproduce the environment of the Andean Mountains for good growth, but this is something I've not heard of before and worth a closer look for thyroid health. Growing other organic vegetables to eliminate chemicals would be a definite plus for my health.

There are some other reported benefits, outside the thyroid, to its use as well if you're interested.

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Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson

I just finished reading Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. I was interested in reading this book because of the connection between stress and the adrenals (and thyroid disease).

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Questionnaire:

There was a questionnaire in the book to determine if a person has adrenal fatigue (hypoadrenia). You answer questions for a time in your past when you felt good and then "Now" questions.

The time I picked for "past" was early 2001, before I was diagnosed with thyroid disease. Even though I was in a constant state of stress back then (welcome to my life from the time I was a child on), my health wasn't showing the signs - or so I thought anyway.

Here's how I did on the questionnaire:

• For predisposing factors, my score was 10 (past) and 18 (now).
• For key signs and symptoms, my score was 18 (past) and 43 (now).
• For energy patterns, my score was 8 (past) and 14 (now).
• For frequently observed events, my score was 12 (past) and 22 (now).
• For food patterns, my score was 7 (past) and 10 (now).
• For aggravating factors, my score was 16 (past) and 15 (now) - I've learned to get some toxic mess (people) out of my life.
• For relieving factors, my score was 5 (past) and 6 (now).
  
  

Total Questions Answered: 50 (past) & 64 (now)

**This indicates I have some degree of adrenal fatigue.

Total Points: 76 PAST & 128 NOW

*This indicates that at that "past" point in 2001, before I was diagnosed with thyroid disease, I was showing mild adrenal fatigue. I've had a decline in adrenal health. At 128 points currently, I am showing a moderate adrenal fatigue at this time.

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Other notes from the book that pertain to me (there's a lot more to the book, but I only took note of things that struck a chord with me):

• People with adrenal fatigue many times have abnormal blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). Guess that explains why I get so nauseous if I don't eat by 9:00 a.m. It says I am better off with several small meals as opposed to a couple big meals.
• Adrenal fatigue is usually caused by stress. Welcome to my world!
• Chronic/severe infections can be a source of stress on the adrenals - asthma, sinusitis, bronchitis, etc. I have asthma. Boy, I'm not doing too well am I?
• Stress can mean a lot of things: physical/emotional stress, poor diet, respiratory infections.
• Blood pressure is "an important indicator of adrenal function." Low adrenal function is likely the most common indicator. I've had really low blood pressure for years. At one appointment, the nurse looked at me strangely when it was seriously low. I asked her if I was alive. She said, "I was wondering that myself."
• Increasing salt intake can benefit the adrenals (if you have high blood pressure, you should definitely read more in the book). Sea salt is a good source of salt with more trace minerals than regular table salt. Kelp is a good source of salt. (I use Celtic sea salt...tastes good too.)
• There's a recipe in the book for "adrenal recovery soup."
• The book talks about a person's craving for chocolate and how it may be your body's craving for magnesium. I crave chocolate frequently.
• There is an Elisa panel that can pinpoint food allergies with just one blood sample. It covers 90-100 foods and a more comprehensive panel covers 175.
• Ashwagandha: has multiple health benefits and can treat adrenal fatigue but in too high a dose, it can inhibit adrenal function (above 35 gms/day).
• Adrenal cortical extracts (adrenal cell extracts) support, fortify, and restore normal adrenal function.

Here's his web site.

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My Biggest Obstacle in Thyroid Treatment

...well, besides finding a good, knowledgeable doctor who will treat with something other than synthetic from Big Pharma.

My biggest obstacle (other than the above): myself.

I need to get consistent and organized. Taking my medication twice a day instead of all in one morning dose is getting easier to remember as time goes on. I also need to get a schedule going for taking my temperature to help me monitor my thyroid needs (my period is a good indicator too - - painful and heavy when my thyroid is out of whack and normal when hormone levels are better). I also need to remember the Iodoral and look into when I should be taking supplements during the day since some are better taken in the morning, at night, with food, without food, etc. I need to get all that figured out.

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Finished "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" Today

I finished "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" this morning. One sentence in the book described how I've felt for the last eight years: "You began to feel less whole, not quite right, lost in a haze, a mere shadow of your former self."

I took a few notes from it that I want to look more into, such as:

• 500 mg Taurine with morning vitamin
• Digestive enzymes
• Ashwagandha
• Rosemary
• Padma Basic (Tibetan formula)
• Ten Mushroom formula
• Look into saliva tests for cortisol.
• Licorice for adrenal; IsoCort.

The book discussed a topic that I am seeing in a lot of different thyroid books: fluoride. The more I read, the more I begin to wonder why the hell it is in a lot of people's drinking water! Did you know that, according to this book, what they add to the water to artificially fluoridate public waters is "hydrofluosilicic acid, an industrial waste product of the fertilzer and aluminum industries." Huh...doesn't that make you want to go turn on your tap and drink a nice, cool drink of water now? The book also says that less than 5% of the world's population drinks artificially fluoridated water (in Europe, that number is 2%).

What countries have BANNED FLUORIDE? Japan, Denmark, Sweden, India and Holland.

To read more about fluoride, go to the Fluoride Action Network and Keepers of the Well.

The book had questionnaires for a self-evaluation. My total thyroid score was 55. My adrenal score was 48. My Women's Sex Gland evaluation score was 37. This was to determine what type of "endo type" I was. I had the most points for thyroid so that makes my primary type a "physical endo-type" or "feeling fat." Given that my adrenal score was so close to the other, it bears looking into as well. For adrenal, it is an "emotional endo-type" or "frazzled." Sex-hormone evaluation is said to be a "mental endo-type" aka "fuzzy thinking." I feel all of the above so I guess it's no surprise that each category had so many points for me.

Another web site to look into: Canary Club. It's a support web site about hormonal imbalance.

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Book on Bioidentical Hormones

I just finished Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones by Suzanne Somers. I really didn't understand what a "bioidentical hormone" was and wanted to find out more. "Bioidentical" means biologically identical to human hormones, to replicate human hormones, are not drugs. They are not like synthetic hormones, which are made from the urine of pregnant mares.





Since I have a disease that is hormone-related, I want to learn all I can and get different perspectives and find what feels right, and works, for me.

It was interesting reading and a different opinion than what you'd get from most mainstream doctors (including the endocrinologists I have been unhappy with for the treatment of my thyroid disease). I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this thought process being practiced down the road but it'll be a long road until then I think, if my own personal experience with mainstream doctors is any indication.


I've made a lot of notes from the book for my use and want to document them here for my future reading. My brain fog is bad enough that I have to make notes of pretty much everything or else it's forgotten in no time. These are some notes I've made from my reading from different information in the book:

• Cancer and synthetic hormone replacement (like Premarin, Provera, and Prempro) link: Study by Women's Health Initiative was supposed to last 8.5 years but was stopped after 5.2 years because risk of using synthetic hormones outweighed the benefits. Increased risk of breast cancer; also shows does not protect heart and bones like originally though.


• DHEA: most plentiful hormone in body, converted into other hormones (including estrogen and testosterone). Considered an antiaging and anti-disease hormone. Weight loss. Your DHEA levels can be checked via saliva or blood test. Female optimum level is 150-350 and males 250-450 according to this book. Available over the counter. There are side effects if you have too much so get tested before supplementing. DHEA may be better taken at night.


• Some reasons for sick thyroid: 1) Selenium necessary for T4 conversion to T3. 2) Estrogen dominance 3) Mercury 4) Stress


• You should support the adrenals when treating your thyroid (my endocrinologists and family doctors who treated my thyroid these last eight years never talked about it or obviously did this). I was finally recently tested, but the endocrinologist wouldn't even consider adrenal support.


• Chronically high levels of cortisol will degrade your immune system (like dealing with all the ex/step stress where I lived in a constant state of stress for about ten years?).


• The author gets regular injections of HGH (human growth hormone) because tests showed she was low. Have to be tested first. To read some studies, go to http://www.pubmed.com/ and type in "growth hormone".


• The "Seven Dwarfs of Menopause" (this I found funny even though I'm a few years away from menopause...I wanted to keep it): Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful, and All-Dried-Up. Menopause doesn't have to be miserable if your hormones are optimized (something for me to keep in mind for when I start to go through it).


• GI Bloat: There are foods that offend you and cause this. There is supposed to be a test you can take to find out what those foods are. You can find out more at Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/.


• Symptoms of low testosterone for men are low libido, decreased facial and body hair, enlarged breasts or no symptoms at all. Can cause osteoporosis in men.


• Calcium supplements: better as liquid because some in pill form do not dissolve and come out the next day.


• Iodine: Iodine is necessary and concentrates in the thyroid, breasts, and ovaries (I've read elsewhere that iodine is used in the treatment of breast cancer...it's worth looking into as I've been told (by other thyroid patients...not doctors) that Iodine would shrink my thyroid nodules and goiter.) Fluoride interferes in our body utilizing what Iodine we do get. Can get an iodine loading test to find out if you are deficient and by how much.
• Book mentions melatonin; 0.25 mg (tiny dose) or higher, depending on needs. Will look into.
• The book lists several doctors, specialists, clinics, and institutes for more information: http://www.bermansexualhealth.com/, http://www.ahealth.com/, http://www.drarvantely.com/, http://www.emotrics/, http://www.menopauseinstitute.com/, http://www.antiaging.com/, http://www.bornclinic.com/, http://www.drbrownstein.com/, http://www.juliecarmenyoga.com/.
  
  

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Thyroid Power: 10 Steps to Total Health

Last week, I read Thyroid Power: Ten Steps to Total Health. It was written by Richard L. Shames, M.D. and Karilee Halo Shames, R.N., PH.D. The book cover says:

The amazing program to help millions conquer fatigue, depression, overweight, and other chronic conditions.

If you have thyroid disease, you're likely familiar with many of those eh?

Some of the notes I made from my reading:

• Allergy is a common energy drain. There are allergy blood tests that you can take to determine if you have an allergy problem.
• We've all heard about the increased risk of osteoporosis with the wrong dosage of thyroid medication. I've heard it several times myself. It seems to be a great scare tactic doctors use when they don't want to deviate from the standard treatments. This books tells of research done that says that appropriate doses of thyroid medications is not harmful to bones and that the author thinks that you have a greater risk of osteoporosis by being undiagnosed or undertreated for hypothyroidism. The books states: "It is a medical fact that untreated low thyroid is a cause of osteoporosis."
• If you are considering estrogen therapy, you should read page 119 of this book and see what you think, talk to your doctor.

According to this book, here are some of their supplement recommendations:

• Vitamin A for low thyroid sufferers of 10,000-20,000 international units (IU). This is a supplement that can be toxic in high dosages so don't use more than what is recommended for you.
• Vitamin C for antioxidant properties (like Vitamin A). 1,000 milligrams a day is recommended.
• Vitamin E as an antioxidant in doses no larger than 400 US per day unless you are menopausal and having hot flashes (then it talks of increasing dosages...talk to your doctor).
• Adjust intake of B-complex to approx. 50 milligrams/day. B6 shouuld be about 100 milligrams a day.
• Bioflavonoids work with B vitamins and often are in fruits and vegetables. Can be very helpful for inflammation due to autoimmune thyroiditis (me). Recommendations in the book are 250-500 milligrams of quercetin and 100-150 milligrams phgnogenol.
• Minerals: This book says minerals are even more important than vitamins. Copper, zinc, selenium, chromium, manganese, calcium, magnesium. You can get these minerals with sea vegetables too.
• Ashwagandha is said to have a stimulatory effect on both T3 and T4 in laboratory animals. Also recommended is milk thistle of 300 milligrams daily.

Fluoride:

Read the information on fluoride in this book. You might find it enlightening. It talks of fluoride's possible thyroid-lowering effect. There have been studies suspecting fluoride for cancer as well. Perhaps putting 100% confidence in our governmental agencies isn't such a good idea. Read this too. To see a video about this, click here.

The authors of this book also have a web site.

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The Cortisol Connection Diet

I recently finished reading The Cortisol Connection Diet: The Breakthrough Program to Control Stress and Lose Weight. It was written by Ph.D. Shawn Talbott.

I read it because I am concerned about cortisol levels and adrenal function. I'm concerned about the high level of stress I was in for years and if that caused or contributed to my current health problems today. It's the first book I've read on this topic (so far). I plan to read more.

The different chapters are:

1. Eating for Quality and Quantity
2. Cortisol Control
3. Blood-Sugar Control
4. Thermogenesis
5. General Metabolic Support
6. Putting It All Together

I made note of some things that I wanted to remember for myself:

• Chromium: essential trace mineral for glucose metabolism, insulin regulation, and appetite control. For overweight people, the book recommends 200-400 mcg per day. I haven't looked it up with other sources yet to see if that is in line with other recommendations.
• Vanadium: another trace mineral for normal insulin function. I've never heard of vanadium! The book says safe levels are 10-100 mcg/day. Never having heard of this, I am going to need to research it more. You have to be careful because some sources of this have it at possible toxic levels (body building supplements).
• Banaba Leaf: Again, never heard of this. The book says it is a medicinal plant and uses of it are for diabetes and hyperglycemia. Will have to research this more.
• We have all heard this many times but we should drink lots of water! The book says it is needed for proper fat burning, maintaining muscle mass, and boosting metabolism. It says if you are dehydrated, it can boost cortisol levels and reduce your metabolic rate.
• When looking for an antioxidant, look for one that includes Vitamin C, Vitamin E, thiols, carotenoids, and flavonoids.
• Green tea: We've seen the green tea diets out there. The book talks about how green tea catechins "improve several metabolic aspects". The book recommends 200-750 mg of green tea extract standardized for polyphenols/catechins.

Now onto some thyroid support information:

• Stress hormones (cortisol) can inhibit conversion of T4 to T3.
• The book recommends the following nutritional supplements to support healthy functions: iodine and bladderwack.
• To improve conversion of T4 to T3: selenium and zinc, Vitamin E

Those were some of the notes I made from the book.

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Thyroid Supplements

I was at a health food store today looking at what they offered in the way of thyroid support and came across these:

Of course, I paid a lot more than the price shown here since I bought it at a health food store, but I was wondering if anybody else has heard or tried these?

Here's what the site says:

Indications
Naturally Supports Healthy Thyroid and Glandular Activity.

Ingredients
Vitamin B6: 2 mg (pyridoxine HCI), Folate: 400 mcg (folic acid), Vitamin B12: 60 mcg (methylcobalamin), Iodine: 225 mcg (Irish Moss and kelp), Zinc: 25 mg (L-Optizinc® - Zinc L-Methionine Complex), Selenium: 50 mcg (l-selenomethionine and Yeast Free), Copper: 1 mg (copper amino acid chelate), L-Tyrosine: 1 g (free- form), Irish Moss: 200 mg (Chondius Crispus) (Thallus), Guggul: 75 mg Standardized Extract (Commiphora mukul) (Resinous Sap) - min. 10% Guggulsterones, Kelp: 60 mg Whole Plant

Directions
As a dietary supplement, take two vegetarian capsules two times daily, on an empty stomach or just before meals.


I haven't tried them yet. I'm wondering if I should run it by my endocrinologist first (who basically doesn't believe in any other thyroid treatment but synthetic and was talking about taking out my thyroid before he'd even examined me for the first time). Doesn't sound like I want to run it by him, huh? Maybe take a half or a quarter of a dose to start and see how I feel.

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Low Dose Naltrexone

I was given a link to Low Dose Naltrexone to look up as a thyroid resource. The claim is that it can boost the immune system. Originally used in a higher dose to treat certain addictions, in lower doses, it is thought to improve symptoms in autoimmune disorders (MS, Lupus, Thyroid Disease, HIV/AIDS, Crohn's Disease and more) and even cancer!

Sound too good to be true? As a person struggling with thyroid disease and doctors who don't treat it right, I am certainly interested in finding out more about LDN. If you'd like to find out what it is, click here.

If you've used LDN for autoimmune disorders, I'd love to hear from you! Let me know if it helped, what symptoms you had, would you recommend it to others?

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