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Month: March 2012

Being in the “normal” range has nothing to do with it, plus three adrenal videos to see

Note: though this page was originally written in 2012, it has been updated to the current date and time. Enjoy!

The famous psychiatrist Carl Jung used to say “To be normal is the ideal aim of the unsuccessful”. 

And nothing is ever so unsuccessful when it comes to thinking that a lab result within the so-called “normal” range is ideal.

It’s not.

And unfortunately, when I do phone coaching sessions with thyroid patients, or watch comments made in discussion groups, I hear or see all too many say “My doctor/Nurse Practitioner/Physician’s Assistant/Naturopath says I’m normal”.

And I have to immediately back the conversation up and say “Can you share that lab result and range with me?”

Because as patients have learned:  “Optimal” and “problem-free” has nothing to do with just being anywhere is a range.  It has to do with “where” in the range one’s result is.  

B12:  This may not be true for all international ranges, but when it definitely came to the US range or those similarly broad, we found out that ‘mid-range’ still produces symptoms of low B12, and we can confuse them with hypothyroidism, including fatigue and pain.  We look for our result to be in the upper quarter, if not near the top.  Because there, we found out, is where our symptoms related to low B12 abated.

Vitamin D:  Several leaders and I had a private discussion about all the conflicting information on the net as what an ideal Vit. D result was. We decided to follow the Vitamin D Council, which states that 60-80 is the goal.  I then add that progressive doctors like to see 80-100, which can especially be cancer-protective.

Cortisol Saliva Results:  When you look at the results of someone with no symptoms of an adrenal problem, here’s what you note: 8 am, at the top of the range; Noon, about a quarter from the top; Afternoon, mid-range; Bedtime, at the very bottom.

Iron: Of the four labs we generally like to see as thyroid patients, we note that a good Serum iron level is closer to 110 (with men being higher and in the upper 130’s or 140’s); a good % Saturation is close to 35% for women and 40-45% for men; a good Ferritin will end up being 70-90 (though this can come last as one improves the others), and a good TIBC, if the range is 250 – 450, ends up being in the low 300’s, we noted, when the others are where they should be.

To read more about what patients have learned about lab results, go to the LAB VALUES page. Learn to understand your own lab results!! 

Three good videos about better adrenal function

I often feel I can’t rave enough about what Paul Robinson of the UK revealed to us about promoting better adrenal function without the use of adrenal meds. It’s a quite unique method of using T3-only (or natural desiccated thyroid) in the early morning hours when the adrenals need it the most. You can see several testimonies—some with more updates coming—on the STTM T3 Circadian page here: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/t3-circadian-method.

Has everyone succeeded with the CT3M? No, say some. It wasn’t enough to raise their low afternoon, but definitely helped their low morning!! Others absolutely love it. So it’s up to you.

Granted, if you have Addisons, hypopituitary, or untreated diabetes or blood sugar issues, and saliva reveals quite low cortisol, you may still need HC or adrenal cortex. Chapter 6 in the revised STTM book is your go-to chapter. But for some, this is a very workable solution.

Robinson has created three videos to explain it all, which he also links to from his recent blog:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97SOyEYwh54 

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t2wg9rr6F4

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkhcLPGCww

If your doctor prescribes synthetic T4 with synthetic T3

Progress appears to be one step at a time. And we are seeing more and more doctors prescribing T3 to their patients on T4. That’s good!! Doctors are FAMILIAR with the synthetics. So that’s what they will prescribe!

But many, many patients who have tried both synthetics, and who have tried natural desiccated thyroid, report even better results with the latter. So THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Teach your doctor!! Why just be on synthetic T4 and synthetic T3 when you might do even better with all five hormones from desiccated thyroid—i.e. the same five your own thyroid would be giving you! Consider sending the Revised STTM book to your doctor: //www.laughinggrapepublishing.com/ Or, there’s a STTM II book totally written by physicians (his colleagues) and one chapter is specifically about NDT: https://laughinggrapepublishing.com/stop-thyroid-madness-ii-book/

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

 

11 replies

Saliva testing while on HC? Maybe…if your doc understands what to look for…plus more!

For years, thyroid patients have shied away from using saliva testing while on HC, concerned about the false highs and false lows of cortisol  levels that occur with exogenous use of medications like hydrocortisone (HC) i.e.  that which you give yourself externally vs the natural release. Or, there might be an issue with the HC still left in your mouth,  and the saliva results would reflect this.

But thyroid patient and author Paul Robinson, as explained in his blog post,  has recently been in touch with Dr. Henry Lindner who has found a way to use saliva with his patients on HC.  Also, to avoid the residue of HC in one’s saliva, he instructs his patients to swallow their HC quickly with water.

For example, Lindner can tell if one isn’t on enough HC by looking at the saliva result done two hours after a patient took HC.  i.e. the reading might still look “normal” when in fact, it should be much higher due to the high peak after taking HC exogenously. It would only be “normal” (or low normal) looking four hours after one takes HC, not two hours after.  Conversely, if saliva is done right before the next dose of HC is due, which is often in four hours, it should be low normal, since exogenous use of HC should result in a fall after the peak.  Thus, it can mean one’s HC dose before that was too much.

You can read Dr. Lindner’s own words on his website here. I can’t guarantee this will work for you. In fact, we don’t recommend doing it this way at all. And your doctor probably won’t understand it yet.  So in the meantime, patients have been assessing their HC use with Daily Average Temps (DATS) and it’s still viable as well. It can be a way to avoid the cost of additional saliva testing.  To understand how to do your DATS, see Discovery Step Two, number four, here.  This is also explained in the revised STTM book in Chapter 5, which also has more details.

Want to order your own saliva test? Go here. Both My Med Lab and Healthcheck USA use ZRT, and Direct Labs uses a six times a day saliva testing if you’re curious about your nighttime levels.

DID HIS WIFE COMMIT SUICIDE DUE TO THE FAILURE TO TREAT HER THYROID CORRECTLY?

In one of STTM’s Facebook groups, I saw a posting about this article, and it broke my heart.

I cannot say one way or the other about this particular case, where his young wife had Hashimotos. But in the ten years I’ve been a Thyroid Patient Activist, I’ve seen SO many thyroid patients on T4-only, or those who haven’t received a correct diagnosis due to the lousy TSH lab test, suffer from depression, whether from continued thyroid problems or the effects of adrenal fatigue and low cortisol–the latter which a large body of thyroid patients can fall into. The brain and the adrenals NEED T3, we have learned personally, over and over.

My own mother was a classic example, having endured Electric Shock Treatment in the 1960’s for her poorly-treated, thyroid-induced depression, then needing to be on an anti-depressant her entire life from being on T4-only. That anti-depressant made her emotions flat.

You can see the article here.

DO YOU HAVE TO ENDLESSLY TAKE CERTAIN VITAMINS/MINERALS TO KEEP THEM UP??

I do. For me, it’s magnesium.  It’s like my body has a “magnesium hole” and I can never seem to keep my levels optimal without supplementing daily.  And I am very optimally treated for my hypothyroidism, and use Apple Cider Vinegar daily in a large glas of flavored water for a more acidic stomach environment. For others, it’s a “B12 hole”, and they have to inject or take supplements daily. Others might have an “iron hole” and need the maintain that.

What about you? What supplements do you have to take daily to keep your levels optimal??

 

4 replies