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Hypothyroidism, Insulin resistance and Metformin: read this brilliant information!

This interesting page has been updated to the present day and time. Enjoy!

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The following insightful post was written by UK hypothyroid patient Sarah Wilson. 

My daughter (25) has epilepsy. What’s that got to do with being hypothyroid and Natural Thyroid Hormones (NTH. also known as Natural Desiccated Thyroid or NDT)? Quite a lot, by the look of things.

My daughter’s epilepsy is triggered by unstable blood sugars. And since taking Metformin (medication to improve blood sugar control), she has significantly reduced the number of seizures. Being a good hypothyroid Tiger-mother, I have been doing mega amounts of research and we got to the Metformin approach through reading hundreds of academic medical journals. What I found along the way got me thinking about NTH and Hypothyroidism.

I have a strong hunch, backed up by some meaty academic evidence, that when patients develop hypothyroid symptoms, they are actually becoming insulin resistant. There are many symptoms in common between women with PCOS and hypothyroidism–the hair loss, the weight gain, et al. http://insulinhub.hubpages.com/hub/PCOS-and-Hypothyroidism A hypothyroid person’s body thinks it is going into starvation mode and so, to preserve resources and prolong life, the metabolism changes. If hypothyroid is prolonged or pronounced, then it is entirely feasible that even with the reintroduction of thyroid hormones, that chemical preservation mode becomes permanent. To get back to normal, they need a super “jump-start” to kick the metabolism back into action. The super-kick start is effected through something called AMPK, which is known as the “master metabolic regulating enzyme.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMP-activated_protein_kinase

Guess what? This is exactly what happens to Diabetes patients when Metformin is introduced. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin

If you are technically minded then you might want to read these articles. http://www.springerlink.com/content/r81606gl3r603167/ and http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2011.04029.x/pdf

They are a bit tough-going on the science but worth ploughing through. Why?  Note the following comments/partial statements:  “Hypothyroidism is characterized by decreased insulin responsiveness”; “the pivotal regulatory role of T3 in major metabolic pathways”; “The effect of thyroid hormone on basal metabolic rate was recognized more than a century ago”

The community knows that T3/NTH makes hypothyroid patients feel better – but the medical establishment is scared of T3/NTH – probably because they don’t understand how it really works. The medical establishment might find an alternative line of argument about impaired metabolism more palatable if we can show them this real proof that the old desiccated thryoid treatment **was/is** having the right result – the i.e. the T3 is jump-starting the metabolism by re-activating AMPK. If Metformin (or one of the other anti-diabetic meds) could actually also do the same thing for hypothyroidism without the “dangers” of NTH, they they should be jumping at the opportunity.

The great news is that Metformin is very cheap, stable and has very few serious side effects (and certainly none on the heart). To use the car engine metaphor, if glucose is our petrol, AMPK is the spark plug and both T3 and Metformin are both ignition switches. Sometimes if you have flat batteries in the car, it doesn’t matter how much you turn the ignition switch or pump the petrol pedal, all it does is flatten the battery and flood the engine. Dr. Skinner in the UK has been treating “pre-hypothyroidism” the way that some doctors treat “pre-diabetes”. Those hypothyroid patients who get treated early (before the wretched blood numbers get into the magical range) probably haven’t had their AMPK pathways altered and the T4-T3 conversion still works. The use of drugs as prophylactics is well understood by the medical establishment (e.g. baby aspirin for hearts), so there is no reason therefore why thyroid hormone replacement therapy shouldn’t logically be given to ward off a greater problem down the line.

It’s my belief that there is clear and abundant academic evidence that the AMPK/Metformin research should branch out to also look at thyroid disease.

As a supplementary on the history. I have PCOS; my female relatives have PCOS; my mother has just developed breast cancer which we are certain is related to the oestrogen dominance/insulin resistance. My daughter also has had Coeliac Disease since weaning (and oh boy, that was a fight to get a diagnosis but we got there). My daughter was showing lots of PCOS symptoms (some of which are of course hypothyroid symptoms) alongside the Estrogen, but because there were no cysts…no diagnosis, which is not correct by the Amsterdam criteria, but there we have it. So we moved “off topic” in PCOS terms, did a 9 month experiment of adding and subtracting one thing at a time to get to a (more) stable outcome. We never got the PCOS diagnosis but we did end up with T2DM Type 2 Diabetes) by the backdoor and the Metformin. We had two stupid consultants who reduced her to tears – their logic was unbelievably crass and at odds with long standing proof: “there isn’t a tap in your neck which stops the sugar getting to your brain you know” grrrrr. I have since found the links between people with T1DM (Type 1 Diabetes) who inject insulin and hypothyroidism too.

So my idea is that we need to talk to the medical profession in a language they relate to. They think Natural Desiccated Thyroid is voodoo, so they switch off. YET the NDT is doing something very, very scientific: the direct T3 is kicking the closed -own metabolic process back into life, just like Metformin does for insulin resistance. Who says there isn’t more widespread T4 resistance? There is serotonin resistance!  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17250776

http://web.archive.org/web/20130426233947/http://www.hotthyroidology.com/editorial_79.html Take a look at page 63.

Disclaimer: I, Sarah, am not medically trained and I haven’t even got a University degree. My business, however, is researching complex financial data and since leaving school, I have probably graduated with a PhD in the University of Life. My daughter has two degrees and my husband is in IT so I’ve learned a lot about logic over the past 30 years. I think that to take this debate forward, we need someone with the credibility to do a piece of academic research and get it put into one of the highly ranked journals – even doing a relatively straightforward meta-analysis of all the published works on AMPK/T3 /metabolism would be a start. I know everyone feels desperately miserable about not being treated properly, and it is probably very sexist that us bunch of moaning women are not taken seriously. BUT perception is reality and we have to deal with that reality as best we can. And I think that our sisters in the chronic fatigue/ME camp should have reason to join us on our quest too. I wouldn’t know where to start to find out how to sponsor a university researcher but maybe we should think about that as our “big thing”.

Let’s talk.

119 replies

Taken off Armour; put on T4–heartwrenching! And young Australian’s plea

STTM emails

(This page was updated in July 2015! Enjoy!!)

I get a lot of emails, and some are quite heart-wrenching. And though I can’t get into email advice and still have time to do what I do, I so appreciate reading what I get.

Here is one from a gal who, after ten successful years of Natural Desiccated Thyroid, was put on Synthroid and went totally downhill! Mental health issues like bi-polar, excess weight gain and more. THIS is why patients have to become knowledgeable (which is what Stop the Thyroid Madness gives you), instead of putting all your eggs in the doctor’s basket. And yes, she agreed to let me post this.

Hi Janie,

I just found your website and I’m going to order some copies of your revised STTM book. I’m nearly forty-eight years old. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1985 shortly after the birth of my first son. My doctor put me on Armour, and for ten years I was fine. When my doctor retired, I transferred my medical records to his son’s newly opened practice. His son took me off of Armour and put me on Levothyroxine, although I was having no problems, because he said it’s “better”. He basically used the same wording you quote on your website, “Armour is ‘unreliable’, ‘inconsistent’, ‘dangerous’, ‘outdated’…”. Naively, I trusted him.

Since starting Levothyroxine and subsequently, the brand-name Synthroid, I have been diagnosed with the following:

– Morbid obesity (I have gained 100+ pounds in 15 years with no prior history)
– Menstrual problems (heavy, prolonged, painful periods)
– Uterine fibroids
– Bipolar Disorder
– Generalized Anxiety Disorder
– Sleep Apnea
– Posterior Tibial Tendonitis (plantar fascitis)
– Osteoarthritis

I was beginning to believe that I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome!

Without going into a lot more detail, I’m taking nine prescriptions for these health problems. Now I realize that most, if not all, of these “health problems” are actually symptoms of improperly-treated hypothyroidism.

All I can say is, THANK GOD FOR YOUR WEBSITE! I’m going to talk to my doctor and take a copy of your revised STTM book with me. I’m going to make him listen to me. If he won’t cooperate, I will transfer my medical records elsewhere. If I can’t get any satisfaction from any other doctor in my area, I’m going to take matters into my own hands with the help of your book and website. I talked to my psychiatrist today (to get refills for my meds) about my suspicions — he told me that he believes I could be correct (hmmm — that in itself is quite disturbing).

God bless you Janie — I will remain a “fan” forever and I promise to send you additional follow-up information.

And here’s another one from a 24 year old in Australia who badly needed what STTM gives her:

Thank You! As a person who was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was sixteen, I’ve been through the works. I used to be a dancer, singer and a gymnast. All of that has gone by the by, and I am now plagued with debilitating bone problems and white hairs. I have been so confused. Then I was angry. Then I was just depressed. I’m twenty-four. I was sitting around, waiting to die. Then I came across your website. I want to say thank you. Thank you so much for being angry and doing something about it. I can never do anything about my condition. I live in Australia, with one, stupid incompetent doctor at my disposal, which I get in to see every few months at the most. I’m poor, and I have never had a medical practitioner listen to me. So I want to say, please, on my behalf, continue to do what you’re doing. Please keep campaigning. So that one day people won’t have to suffer from this debilitating disease.

Sometimes being an Activist for the truth of better thyroid treatment is stressful. But emails like the above are what keep me going! So thank you to these two gals for communicating with me and agreeing to let others to see what I get to see. It’s all from their hearts.

Namaste Janie

* LAUGHING GRAPE PUBLISHING HAS A NEW FACE (in 2012) and a new book (in 2015). Check them out here: //www.laughinggrapepublishing.com

* Join the STTM Facebook page for tips and inspiration: https://www.facebook.com/StoptheThyroidMadness

 

5 replies

Ten years reveal what works with thyroid treatment, plus healing adrenals without HC!

This year, 2012, marks the tenth year I started working with and learning from patients after desiccated thyroid turned my life completely around. It all began with the creation of the Yahoo group Natural Thyroid Hormone users–a still-active group. And the next few years of “patients sharing with patients” provided incredible information. 

And when it comes to the variety of thyroid med treatments, here’s a general summary of ten years of patient experience:

  1. T4-ONLY MEDS: do not work well for a large body, if at all, leaving patients with continuing hypothyroid symptoms in their own degree and kind. Those who feel they are doing well on T4 end up seeing increasing symptoms of a poor treatment…eventually (or don’t recognize their symptoms of a poor treatment). By observation, more than 50% of those on T4-only end up with screwy or debilitating adrenal function, low iron, low Vit. D and more side effects of a poor treatment. Some put on T4 (because of a transient high TSH lab test result) probably never needed any thyroid treatment in the first place, like my sister-in-law.
  2. SYNTHETIC T3 WITH SYNTHETIC T4: a definite step up from T4-only in improvement of symptoms. Unfortunately, though, we see more and more doctors prescribing this rather than breaking through their ignorance and prescribing natural desiccated thyroid with its T4/T3/T2/T1/calcitonin, because all they know about is synthetics.
  3. T3-ONLY: another good step up from T4-only. Patients note they have to be diligent in taking their multi-dosed T3, having no T4 to rely upon for conversion. Also used temporarily by those who want to lower high RT3 while correcting the causes.
  4. NATURAL DESICCATED THYROID: gives the best results, say many patients over the past ten years who tried the synthetic T4/T3 route or others, since it gives exactly what a healthy thyroid would give (T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin).  There just appears to be something synergistically powerful when you give yourself exactly what your own thyroid would be giving you.  If you have issues, it’s usually due to a cortisol or iron problem, which need to be corrected. More info here.
  5. COMPOUNDED THYROID:  Be careful, say experienced patients, when your doctor prescribes this! It’s far more expensive, and the less expensive prescription pill forms of NDT work well anyway. Also, some patients have been shocked to find out that what they were taking was compounded synthetic T3 and synthetic T4. Beware, say informed patients, when your doc says “it’s specially formulated for your particular needs” (for most, this is a mute point. The prescription pills for fine.) or “time-released is good” (Not, say patients, who found it runs out far too quickly).
  6. OVER-THE-COUNTER THYROID SUPPLEMENTS:  Just a few years ago, patient experience found them to be weak substitutes for prescription desiccated thyroid meds. But the last few years saw the introduction of good OTC products which patients report have done them well! ThyroGold brought out by the late Dr. John C. Lowe is one, even if quite strong and the need to pour out the contents and divide.
Of course, there can be less common ways to use the above. For example, those with peripheral tissue resistance can be on high doses of desiccated thyroid (to get the benefits of all five hormones) along with added T3. And there are more.
READ the stories of two real people who found out the hard way that Synthroid can end up biting you in the butt later: DEANNE and GENE.

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YES VIRGINIA, YOU CAN HEAL YOUR ADRENALS WITHOUT USING HC!

And just as patient experience has revealed great information about a variety of thyroid treatments, the same patient experience is breaking ground with adrenal treatment as I write this! Namely, a small but growing body of patients have been doing the T3 CIRCADIAN PROTOCOL FOR ADRENALS, as first discovered by UK patient and author Paul Robinson, and it’s working!

And even more exciting? It’s working with natural desiccated thyroid, not just T3!

Now of course, Paul doesn’t feel that “healing” is the right word. He prefers that it’s “promoting better adrenal function”.  He’s right. But “healing” fits when one has gone from the misery of low cortisol, to the glee of better adrenal function….and achieved from just several weeks of doing the protocol correctly, as compared to a few years with the use of HC and its problematic side effects.

To read more about this exciting new discovery, go here.  You’ll also see the link to order Robinson’s book, of which Chapter 16 covers this use of T3 in promoting better adrenal function.

 

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Get ready to be blown away by the words of this doctor! He criticizes his OWN colleagues, and rightly so!

As mentioned in my previous blog post of November 10th, I frequently get emails from doctors all over the world who appreciate the message of patient experience as expressed on Stop the Thyroid Madness, both the revised book and website.  Here is just one more that absolutely blew my mind, as this MD, unlike his ostrich colleagues, keeps his head out of the sand and tells it LIKE IT IS.  Again, I will not be mentioning his name.  The below is exactly as he wrote it to me. Get ready to be both awed and disgusted!

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In the year 1847, a young Hungarian physician named Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis had a practice of Obstetrics which began to grow by leaps and bounds.  Even the Royalty of Hungary began to go to his practice. Why?  Because he had the best outcomes.

When he tried to show his collegues his techniques, they simply made fun of him. As his practice continued to flourish,  his peers brought him before the medical society and censured him for not adhering to the current practice guidelines. 

His crime? Washing his hands before delivering babies.  Physicians were offended to think they should wash their hands, and were especially incensed when he could offer no scientific explanation for his intuitive action.  Yet, this very simple antiseptic procedure meant that his OB patients did not contact puerpeal fever and die. Puerperal fever was common in mid-1800’s and often fatal.

The censureship did him in with depression and his practice ended when he was only 47 years old….not because he couldn’t practice,  but because he literally grieved himself to death watching so many women dying unnecessarily for the sake of  current practice guidelines.

It was not until the 1890’s that his methods were fully recognized,  even though Oliver Wendell Holmes of Boston, Mass. USA had confirmed the contagiousness of peurperal fever, and Louis Pasteur confirmed the theory about germs.

And today, established scientific and medical opinions continue the same ridiculous travesty. 

TSH levels have been set at 0.3-5.1 as normal. Therefore, if your physician screens for thyroid disease and you fall within that range, you are considered normal.  Yet, Gay, JC et. al.,  in the Arch Intern Med 2000: 160: 526-534,  showed that the TSH range was 0.45-2.5 for 95% of general population.

In the J Clin Endrocrino Metab Feb 2002 87:(2)489-499 “Serum TSH,T4, and Thyroid Antibodies”,  Hollowee JG et.al. found that a normal TSH was 0.05-3.0 and was different for Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks.The NHASANES lll study showed the normal TSH to be 0.3-2.5 (95% of normal reference subjects).

As a doctor, I wrote to my pathologist at the lab I use and asked why his lab had not changed the ‘normal’ values. I will give you his reply:

“I am aware of this idea to lower the reference range for TSH.  But there are mixed feelings about this in the medical community, especially with endocrinologists. If, for example,we lowered our reference range for TSH from its current 5.1 to 3.0,  we would go reporting about 7% of TSH results being too high to 30%. The last time I looked into this, which was about two years ago (note: this was written in June 24, 2005,  which puts the date of last looking in 2003), most endocrinologists that I spoke with were concerned that suddenly having many more patients would be considered “abnormal” and it would be difficult to manage. They felt it would be best to wait until the word spread in the general medical commmunity and literature so that most physicians would be prepared for the inevitable questions from patients and know how to deal with patients suddenly having high TSH’s. On an individual basis, we certainly could give a lower reference range for the TSH, but you should know that this is not the standard practice in the commnity at this time. It may become standard, but right now, it is not.

Thanks, and good luck,
xxx

So there is the problem. Even if TSH alone was used for screening,  the answer will be wrong. Many hypothyroid patients misdiagnosed as ‘normal’  are being done so because if the right change were made, the ‘medical establishment’ would be embarassed. This says to me that the ‘medical establishment’ does not care about the patient as much as they do themselves.

Recap: TSH levels were known to be wrong by 2000. Reconfirmed in 2006. Waited at least 5 years to make change and no change made. Something is wrong with the system. Review Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis story. Nothing has changed in approx. 160 years.

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From Janie:  ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!  And of course, informed thyroid patients also know another inane current practice guideline–the use of  Synthroid and other T4-only meds as the “gold standard” of thyroid treatment…in spite of the fact that a huge body of thyroid patients in internet groups ALL OVER THE WORLD report POOR outcomes when on T4-only meds, besides with the TSH, and do much better on natural desiccated thyroid, or even T3, and dosing by symptoms and the free T3.

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FIND THE ABOVE APPALLING??? FIGHT BACK!!!  A publicist has been hired to represent  Stop the Thyroid Madness in getting to the word out to millions who still linger on T4-only meds, or who are considered “normal” thanks to the lousy TSH lab test. But it can’t go on long without your help!! Read about it here.

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What does the production of a new generic desiccated thyroid by Acella mean??

Even tho I saw this mentioned by a patient here or there on patient groups, and later saw it mentioned elsewhere on the net, I have been very hesitant to talk about it on this very widely-read website called Stop the Thyroid Madness.

Namely, there is a new US-made natural desiccated thyroid product out there. It’s considered generic, and is being actively substituted for Armour when patients go to pick up their Armour at the pharmacy.  It’s made by Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC in Alpharetta, Georgia, which was formerly Brookstone Pharmaceuticals. And I just found out that the inactive ingredients are listed as calcium stearate, dextrose monohydrate, maltodextrin and mineral oil.  Anybody see cellulose in there?? Neither do I. Very nice.

It also contains the same T4/T3 amounts we are used to in the 60 mg, one grain tablet: 38/9. Oh, and it’s still called an “unapproved drug”.

Now before you get all ticked off at me for NOT wanting to talk about it here as it has been done elsewhere, understand this: last year, we saw the FDA shut down ALL generic production of desiccated thyroid. The implication was that ONLY ones around since the 1930’s (Armour and Naturethroid) were allowed to exist, being an unapproved drug.  So…I worried that by mentioning it, we might give TOO much attention to a new one and see THIS ONE shut down.

But right now, I am seeing information about it on certain medicine website, including this one connected to our government.

Don’t ya just love the way things happen with a medication that turns lives around and we know NOTHING as to whythey are happening or when from the FDA?? Pitiful, typical…and sad.

***If you want to talk about this new generic version, which some patients are accepting in place of Armour and trying, go to the NTH (Natural Thyroid Hormones) yahoo group here.  It’s so new that there’s not a lot of feedback yet from folks, but I suspect we’ll start to see more and more.

P.S. If you have been through any long-term stress, you need to know that your cortisol will go high to help you cope, and in turn, it can drive your potassium and magnesium levels low. That happened to me this year as I went through prolonged stress from the economy.  So be sure and get those tested, and specifically the RBC (red blood cell) rather than serum. The RBC tests will show what your cells have.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2011!

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As we enter another wonderful year, the Stop the Thyroid Madness website couldn’t exist without your donations to the hosting fees, which have grown substantially due to the popularity of this patient-to-patient informational website. If you have benefitted from STTM, please consider donating to the fees here.  And thank you, since your donation assures that other will benefit as you have.

47 replies