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How Dawn healed her adrenals–an inspiring story everyone must read!

Screen Shot 2014-05-13 at 2.56.53 PMWhen I first had my thyroid removed in 2012 due to autoimmune destruction from Hashimoto’s disease since age 10 and Graves disease for 6 years, I did not know what to expect. And like most other post-thyroidectomy patients, I was reassured by my surgeon that all it would take is for me to take “a little pill every day and things will be much better” (i.e. my surgeon referring to the Synthroid she prescribed for my post-op thyroid replacement)

What ensued after that was a nightmare that has lasted the past two years!

I went into heart failure multiple times from the inadequate replacement with Synthroid (T4 only medication). I was MISERABLE! Dizzy, heart racing out of the blue, internal shaking as well as nausea, severe fatigue and extreme irritability! I became a monster that even my own family did not recognize!!

STTM was discovered

Fast forward 9 months, and a good friend of mine came across the Stop the Thyroid Madness website and sent it my way. I ordered the book after looking through the website and realized I knew NOTHING about thyroid disease and proper treatment for hypothyroidism, and apparently neither did my Doctor!!

I made the switch to a working Natural Desiccated Thyroid like Armour e in March 2013, and things DID improve some. But the fatigue, shakes, dizziness and irritability continued! I flew off the handle at my husband, my parents, even my dogs (poor babies did not deserve it, but I was just out of control emotionally!) I thought I must be going crazy and feared I had developed a psychiatric disorder. In fact, my Endocrinologist suggested I see a psychiatrist to “work out my frustration and anger!”

It was my adrenals!

I started reading Chapter 6 in the revised STTM book– All about ADRENALS!! I thought I was reading my life story all over again! I had 90% of the symptoms listed on the “symptoms of low cortisol” page on the STTM site. I tried Janie’s at home testing and failed them all miserably! I ordered a 24 hour adrenal saliva cortisol test, and there is where I found my answer! See the results below:

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Turns out I wasn’t crazy! My adrenals were not putting out adequate cortisol to handle the increased stress of low thyroid levels and all my other life issues! I was LOW, LOW, LOW, slightly HIGH.

“How do I fix it?” 

I considered using T3CM, but knowing that I was low Morning, Noon AND Evening meant that was not likely to help per other patient’s experiences.

So someone suggested I try Thorne ACE (Adrenal Cortex Extract) to replace my low cortisol at those three times of day! I got it all ordered, read through the chapters in the STTM book. I added in high doses of Vitamin C (3,000mg per day) and high doses of magnesium (800-1,200mg per day) and started supplementing with Celtic Sea Salt and the Adrenal Cocktail (salt in water, plus minerals). I started feeling better pretty quickly with the sea salt and nutritional support added.

It took me several weeks of trial and error to get my symptoms under control and get the dose of ACE correct. I had to learn to take DATs (Daily Average Temperatures) to gauge whether or not the dose was the right one. I tracked symptoms, doses and temps daily. I adjusted up every few days until my temps stabilized and my symptoms became more minimal. I was still without a good doctor at this point, so I was self-treating using the knowledge I got in the support groups and in the Stop the Thyroid Madness book.

A job change was necessary

I realized that I could not continue under the extreme stress of working the 12 hour nightshift in a busy hospital. I was burning the candle at both ends, and everything I read about adrenals said reducing stress and sleeping on a set schedule was a MUST. So, I spoke with my spouse, and we decided I would quit my job and look for something less physically and emotionally demanding, and something with day-time hours exclusively. I was off work for 3 months while searching for a new position, and though money was tight and things were stressful, changing to sleeping at night once again made a HUGE difference (I put myself on a strict 10 pm-7 am sleep schedule.) I cut caffeine, sugar and alcohol out completely — the caffeine was very tough to give up, but I did it! Being out of the high-stress work environment was extremely helpful in healing adrenals!

A saliva retest

I was feeling better little by little, but the fatigue remained, especially in the afternoons. I would just crash around 2 pm and couldn’t do much of anything until late in the evening! I would get periodic adrenaline reactions (especially late in the afternoons.) I would sweat profusely, get shaky inside, feeling like my heart would pound out of my chest! I finally got in to see my “good thyroid doctor” in November 2013. He immediately said he wanted to take me off ACE for two weeks and retest my adrenals to see if I had made progress. Here is what they showed: (the retest is the one that says “current” taken in November 2013:

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As you can see, my Morning was showing improvement, but the noon and evening levels slid to a lower level than when I started ACE.

I spoke with my good thyroid doctor, and he suggested we lower ACE in the morning, add more at the noon/evening doses and slide the times a bit earlier than what I had been taking. Things continued to improve, and I got my afternoons back! By then I was back working full time up to 50 hours per week. The new job was emotionally stressful, but not physically so. I continued to get adrenaline reactions in the late afternoon, but they became less and less as time went on. I started feeling completely recovered by Feb 2014. I still had low thyroid levels due to hormone resistance, but adrenals symptoms had completely resolved. I weaned off ACE and did just fine. I kept up with the nutritional support of high dose Vitamin C and Magnesium and did the adrenal cocktail and celtic sea salt if I needed it, but it was rare for me to need those at this point.

Victory!

We waited three months of me being off of ACE and retested to see where I stand! Here are the new, post-treatment levels. Taken end of April, 2014:

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As you can see, my levels are now VERY close to optimal! I did notice that my nighttime level has gone up some, so my doctor had put me on Zinc to help reduce that, and Melatonin as needed (though I don’t really take it more than once per month.)

I discovered recently that I have Lyme disease and chronic infections which is the cause of my inflammation and continued low thyroid levels, despite taking Nature-Throid and Cytomel T3 at high doses. We hope that treatment for Lyme will finally help get inflammation down and improve my thyroid levels to liveable again!

I cannot be more thankful to Stop the Thyroid Madness for helping me get my life back! There IS life after Adrenal Fatigue!! I would say healing my adrenals has been the single most important thing I have done to feel better and function better on a daily basis. My family and my dogs no longer fear me and I have my laidback personality back once again, and my house is now at PEACE!! Don’t give up hope!! STTM will help you get better if you follow it!

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* Are your Ducks in a Row??https://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ducks-in-a-row

* Janie Bowthorpe has the first of a series of eBooks out, and the first one is on EBV:https://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/sttm-ebooks/

82 replies

Has Armour gone back to its pre-reformulation? And 5-HTP is pretty remarkable…

Though this page was originally written in 2012 about Armour and 5-htp, it’s been updated to the present day and time. 

It’s only a handful of comments here or there in patient groups, and I’ve gotten two emails as well. But there are reports that recent bottles of Armour desiccated thyroid have pills which are performing just like they did before the unappreciated reformulation of 2009. i.e. they are softer again and can be done sublingually, and may be back to more dextrose and less cellulose.

Said one patient who contacted me via email: “It’s interesting what I read in the thyroid group the other day that her pills were back to being soft. But typical condescending Forest Labs who never said a word in 2009 to the most informed group of patients in the world, and haven’t communicated to us directly once again if it really has changed.”

So, if it’s true, there may be a phase of figuring out what you get: the hard ones that patients found HAVE to be chewed up to be the most effective, or the return of the softer ones which could be done sublingually. I’d be curious to know which pharmacies and in which city/state are giving out Armour tablets that are softer.

UPDATE: Forest Labs, the former makers of Armour, was bought out by Activas in 2014, then the price of Armour became the highest priced NDT around. And for many, it wasn’t working like it used to. But some still do well on it, paying the highest price. Learn from this page: http://stopthethyroidmadness.com/options-for-thyroid-treatment

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5-HTP can be miraculous against depression, plus can help troubled sleep patterns

When I went into full menopause, one issue I noticed was out-of-the-blue was afternoon depression, in spite of being optimal on Natural Desiccated Thyroid.  Bottomed-out female hormones can be problematic until I can correct them. And I found something that worked to completely remove the afternoon depression with the FIRST day of use: 5-HTP.  I was shocked.

Turns out that menopause can also mean low levels of serotonin–a brain transmitter that affects your mood positively. Your over-the-counter 5-HTP supplement (which comes from the seeds of the African plant Griffonia simplicifolia) is a precursor of trytophan, the amino acid responsible for making serotonin and melatonin. And lo and behold, what do many prescription anti-depressives, such as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) meds, do?? They increase the bioavailability of serotonin! But why put up with the side-effects when 5-HTP is natural and has so few, I decided!!

How much? 100 mg did the trick for me, once a day. But others report needing 200 or 300 mg. I started on too much–had dizziness with starting on 200 mg. Found out the hard way that 100 mg was enough for the time being until I coud better treat my female hormonal issue. I’ve read where some only start on 50 mg.

For better sleep, studies have shown that 5-HTP outright will improve your sleep due to increasing melatonin. Research has reported a lengthening and deepening of their REM period of sleep–the deep sleep–and without increasing the amount of time they sleep. It also seems to smooth any ups and downs with sleeping.  Some research shows it can take several weeks, but I figure that can be individual.

There’s even anecdotal evidence that taking 5-HTP has helped drinkers avoid the bottle. i.e. if someone drinks to self-medicate against depression, 5-HTP could help.

There are definite cautions with 5-HTP! i.e. it’s NOT recommended to take it with anti-depressants or any seratonin-raising drug, as together one could raise their serotonin levels too high. A lot of different experiences with 5-HTP can be found here. As always, talk to your doctor about using it or not. It may be for only short-term use.

NOTE ABOUT DEPRESSION: For hypothyroid patients, especially those still stuck on T4-only like Synthroid, depression is pretty common due to inadequate levels of T3.  Once you get on Natural Desiccated Thyroid, as well as correct any potential low iron or low cortisol issues, you may find that depression is kicked to the wind!

As intellectually stated by Eric Fliers from the Department of Endocrinology in Amsterdam, “triiodothyronine (T3) is also capable of increasing serotonergic neurotransmission by desensitization of inhibitory 5-HT1a autoreceptors in the raphe nucleus, thus disinhibiting cortical and hippocampal serotonin release, and by increasing cortical 5-HT2 receptor sensitivity, further increasing 5-HT neurotransmission.”  

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Two newer pages on STTM as of 2012, and updated to today:

  1. Adaptogens:  read how certain plant and root substances can help you cope better with stress, here.
  2. Graves Disease: never thought I’d have a page on STTM about it, but enough patients have asked that it’s now here. Besides, since many Graves patients become hypothyroid, it’s good for them be included on a site that teaches what patients have learned about far better thyroid treatment, which is NOT T4-only.
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New to this website? Read about:
  1. Desiccated Natural Thyroid as the treatment with the best results
  2. Why T4-only meds like Synthroid aren’t doing the job for all too many
  3. How many thyroid patients fall into sluggish adrenal function aka adrenal fatigue
  4. How you can treat low cortisol without the use of HC
  5. What patients have learned
  6. Mistakes patients make in their treatment
And get the REVISED STTM BOOK for more details and ease of learning about what patients have learned.

 

 

62 replies

An Endocrinologist peeks through, RAI disaster, and why synthetic T4 is only a mirror image

The clueless Cuckoo’s Nest of Endocrinology just goes on and on, according to repeated negative comments by thyroid patients in groups after they have visited with an Endocrinologist.  i.e. you will be put on T4-only and dosed by the TSH, then told you are just fine and only need an antidepressant or statin or BP med.

But in a recent issue of the Clinical Thyroidology For Patients (A Publication of the American Thyroid Association), Volume 5, Issue, 5, 2012, there comes the question: Should patients with no functional thyroid gland be treated with both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)? 

Of course, the question is like asking “Should those starving be given food? ”  The article starts out stupid, stating (in bold):

  1. “…the absence of T3 production by the thyroid can be overcome by maintaining higher circulating T4 levels, resulting in normal circulating levels of T3. This is why T4 in the form of levothyroxine is the main treatment for hypothyroid patients”.  Patients all too well know how ludicrous this is.
  2. “Recent studies have generally found that there is no clinical advantage in adding T3 to the usual T4 replacement regimen.”  What about this study which reveals that there can be inadequacy of peripheral deiodination of T4 to T3 in some, or this study which found no support for the hypothesis that people with symptoms of hypothyroidism but thyroid function tests within the reference range benefit from treatment with 100 µg thyroxine daily, or this study which found that triiodothyronine added to thyroxine improved mood and neuropsychological function, and more.

But then comes the little peek from the door by the MD author after mentioning the 2011 study titled “Levothyroxine monotherapy cannot guarantee euthyroidism in all athyreotic patients.”  The concluding paragraph has this in it:

The present study identifies a subgroup of hypothyroid patients, namely those whose thyroid was surgically removed who do not have normal FT4 and F3  levels despite normal TSH levels on T4 alone. What is not shown by this study is whether or not combination therapy (T4 plus T3) is beneficial in these patients. Further studies are needed to sort this out.

Further studies are needed?? They are already out there! Besides, if 99% of Endocrinologists would use the proverbial toothpick to open up the eyelids of their minds, they just might notice all the continuing hypothyroid symptoms their patients have while on T4-only meds whether STUDIES prove anything or not. WAKE UP!!

MAN-MADE SYNTHETICS ARE ONLY A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE REAL THING

Scientists have always been able to synthetically duplicate substances by creating the same mix of molecules, aka a synthetic copy of the original compound. That’s what levothyroxine (l-Thyroxine) is a man-made copy of T4 (Thyroxine). Synthroid is an example. But it’s a mix of the left handed nature-made combination of molecules, aka L-(Laevorotary), along with the synthetic, man-made right handed version, aka D-(Dextrorotary), i.e. the latter is a mirror-image, not a direct image, according to this article.

The author feels it doesn’t act like a hormone.  So though your blood will show you have an increased level of levothyroxine, it’s not the same as having an increased level of the natural t4.  And of course, we as thyroid patients also know that the body is NOT meant to live on a storage hormone alone, even if it was pure. We also need direct T3 added to that T4. Even  natural desiccated thyroid provides direct T3. So with natural desiccated thyroid, we get T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin.

REFLECTION ON WHY RAI WAS THE WORST THING SHE EVER DID

Read thyroid patient Robyn Thompson’s story on why she so regrets doing RAI (Radioactive Iodine), and how her Graves TSI antibodies are now worse than ever before, here:  //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/robyns-experience-with-rai-graves/

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ADRENALS IN THE FACE OF STRESS

I loved what thyroid patient Joy McHargue said to someone on the STTM Facebook group when asked what to do about high stress. Her answer:  Pray, salt, magnesium, rest, adaptogens of your choice, Vitamin C, talk about the stress to a calming person, take time away from the stress doing something fun regularly, epsom salt baths, fresh air?

THE STOP THE THYROID MADNESS BOOK IS NOW EVEN MORE REVISED! 

I added info about the T3 Circadian Method for Adrenal fatigue, refined information throughout, and cleaned up misspellings.  You can order the book at the bottom of any page on STTM, or via the tiny photo.

JANIE’S LATEST INTERVIEW: http://podroom.a2zen.fm/podcasts/krystalya-marie-energy-healing/stop-the-thyroid-madness-with-janie-bowthorpe-on-e

P.S. If you are receiving this via the Email Notification, DO NOT reply to the email to comment on this post. Click on the title of this, which will take you to the actual blog post, and Comment there!

3 replies

Important information about Cytomel, Dr. Skinner in the UK, and Missy Elliott

ARE YOU ON CYTOMEL? If you haven’t gotten a refill of your Cytomel lately (a synthetic T3-only medication), it’s important that you know that the former makers, King Pharmaceuticals, was bought out by Pfizer Canada, Inc last October 2010. Why is this important? Because as thyroid patient Mare found out the hard way recently, your local pharmacy may think it’s not made anymore, and scare the pants off of you by saying so.

In reality, your local pharmacy needs to contact Pfizer Canada about getting re-stocked.  Says Mare, “The pharmacy’s inaccurate data caused me a great deal of angst this weekend as I was now totally out of the only thing (Cytomel) that’s even remotely made a bit of difference and now they were telling me I couldn’t get it anymore (do we patients always have to do everything ourselves??!!!)”

***Have you had any problems filling your T3? Comment on this blog post and tell us your experience.

WHY WOULD ANYONE BE ON T3-ONLY?? Did you know that if you have too high or too low cortisol levels, and/or low ferritin/low iron, there’s a good chance you may need to be on T3-only for awhile?  Yes, when you have ongoing chronic issues as a thyroid patient, your body will respond by converting the T4 you have to excess Reverse T3.  And excess RT3 will hog-and-clog the very cell receptors that would be receiving T3. Thus, you become hypo all over again.  You can read more about it here. But if you want even more good detail about T3, how this active thyroid hormone helps you,  the causes of RT3, and how to dose T3-only meds, get the Revised STTM book. It’s VERY worth it.

***What brands of T3 you have tried,  what works for you, and what hasn’t worked as well?? Comment on this blog post.

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF DR. SKINNER IN THE UK: If you aren’t aware of the incredibly shocking story of beloved Dr. Gordon Skinner in the UK—a man who dared to prescribe thyroid treatment in lieu of a “normal” TSH lab result (which is a lab test that informed thyroid patient worldwide know is completely bogus)—you can read my 2006 blog post about him here, followed by the 2007 post here.  Also, Sheila of TPA-UK gives detailed information here.

And everyone should know that his General Medical Council (GMC) hearing is coming up:  July 28th and 29th, plus August 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  This is to assess whether further action is needed after his 3 years of conditional practice are now up (as of late last year).  Says a strong supporter of Dr. Skinner (and there are MANY): “Please  let people know that their support is extremely valuable. Dr Skinner has asked for the hearing to be public and the GMC should accommodate everyone.”

***Are you in the UK? Keep us informed by commenting below.

HIP HOP MISSY ELLIOTT HAD RAI FOR HER GRAVES DISEASE: How many informed thyroid patients groan when they hear news like this concerning the use of RAI (radioactive iodine)! Thyroid patients worldwide bemoan the use of Radioactive Iodine treatment because of its potential for immense side effects. And all over the net, we read that’s just what was done to Missy Elliott in her battle with Graves disease aka hyperthyroidism.  See the People Magazine article here.

Says the Atomic Women website:

Rheumatoid arthritis is also an autoimmune disease. But, fortunately, limbs are not being amputated nor radiated.

Diabetes mellitus is also an autoimmune disease. And, fortunately, the pancreas is not being removed or radiated.

What is the point of irradiating and killing thyroid glands, which are fundamental for life?

We, as thyroid patients worldwide, wish the best for Missy. And we hope that if she is like many who eventually become hypothyroid, she will discover and learn from Stop the Thyroid Madness!

***What was your experience with RAI? Post side effects? Let us know by commenting on this blog post!

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Suffering on Synthroid: imagine how horrific it was before the internet

Elizabeth Alexander 1959(Though this post was originally written in 2009, it has been updated to the current day and time and still applies!)

I think back about my mother.

At age twenty-one in 1939, she had most of her thyroid removed due to Graves disease and hyperthyroidism. Because a small part remained, hyper set in once again by 1960 complete with bugged eyes.

So Radioactive Iodine I-131 was the next step to once-and-for-all annihilate the thyroid and hyperthyroid symptoms.  Not long after, as her thyroid hormone levels fell, she was one of the early victims of the “new and modern” T4-only medication called Synthroid.

And all hell broke loose.

Depression enveloped her everyday life—one of her worst lingering symptoms of hypothyroidism due to the shoddy treatment of a T4-only med. I remember her moods, her frequent anger and lack of patience, and her constant counseling appointments.

Why all the counseling appointments? You can imagine that the doctor had no clue that her problems was being on Synthroid with nothing more than T4-only. No direct T3….something which a brain needs.

The last resort–Electric Shock Treatment

By 1963, and right before President Kennedy was shot, she submitted herself to Electric Shock Treatment in a futile effort to control her depression.  What a crock.  She was never again the bright and quick-witted woman I remembered as a younger child. Her brain was fried and she had a new dull flat reaction to life.

And for the rest of her life, she lived on her antidepressant/anti-anxiety med Elavil and had daily constant naps, weight gain, rising cholesterol, dry hair, heart surgery, stiff joints, brain fog and inability to stand on her feet long–her own manifestation of lingering symptoms while on the lousy thyroxine.  Additionally, her long-term use of antidepressants made her emotions completely flat…..

And she did the T4-only horror show…all…by…herself. No internet,  no patient groups and forums, no Stop the Thyroid Madness website, blog or book,  no good doc, no thyroid Facebook or Twitter groups, no other good thyroid books or websites. Nada. I came along as a Thyroid Patient Activist too late for my mother, who died in 2003.

It makes me shudder thinking of that lonely hell.

But then again, it’s not just in the far past: it happened to her only daughter, me, for nearly 20 years. Complete lonely hell of my own with intense and disabling Dysautonomia (an overreaction of my autonomic nervous system) induced by my continued hypo state while on Synthroid and later Levoxyl.

And today, because the mass media or any media personality refuses to speak the truth of the 55 year scandal of T4-only meds like Synthroid, Levoxyl, levothyroxine, Eltroxin, Oroxine, or the cuckoo’s nest of the TSH lab test and range, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of individuals still suffer. How stupid can they get.

This is a scandal that has effected a huge mass of individuals globally, past and present,  including those today who STILL linger with undiagnosed hypothyroidism thanks to the worthless TSH lab test or lingering hypo on the lousy T4-only medications. And all the above when we, as patients, have learned a far better way to treat our thyroid problems

Did you have relatives like my own Mom (who died in 2003) who lived the T4-only scandal alone?  Use the Comment form to tell us about them.  Have YOU suffered from a T4 med? Report it to the FDA here.

24 replies