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Puff. Puff. Puff. If you are a cigarette smoker & hypothyroid, you might want to read this!

Screen Shot 2015-05-15 at 11.01.08 AM(Though this post was originally written in 2008, it has been updated to the present day and time! Enjoy!)

Who, as a smoker, hasn’t heard how deleterious tobacco smoking is for your health. Not only will you acquire health problems directly related to smoking, but your life is shortened by 10-15 years average according to statistics. My own father died at age 63 directly related to his smoking i.e he got emphysema, then lung cancer. (Update: Discovered from doing my own genetics that I have inherited a mutation which can cause me not to break down Nicotine well. This may explain why my Dad died so young from smoking!)

But in spite of strong reasons to quit, most smokers will tell you it’s NOT easy. Why? Because the nicotine in tobacco is the addictive bogeyman. Nicotine stimulates those pleasure centers in your brain, besides being a substance which “gets you going” by releasing both blood sugar and adrenaline. The American Heart Association states that “Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.”

But for hypothyroid patients, tobacco smoking presents another whammy.

Namely, smoking may be stressing your adrenals over and over. And with adrenal problems being a common side effect of treating hypothyroidism with T4 meds like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Eltroxin, et al, as well as being dosed by the lousy TSH, you’ve got a third reason to fall into adrenal issues if you are a smoker.

Additionally, another factor in the difficulty of quitting is that cortisol decreases when you try to quit.

A 2006 research report found that the lowered cortisol after quitting is associated with smoking relapse and with reports of increased withdrawal severity and distress. So, when you already have adrenal stress, and you quit smoking–a double whammy against being successful.

Does being a smoker affect the TSH lab test?

Yes, in such a way that smoking will lower your TSH, which can hide the fact that you can be undiagnosed hypothyroid, or undertreated. See an interesting research study on smoking and your TSH here.

What’s the solution?

If you don’t have adrenal fatigue and want to quit, it may be wise to have a good adrenal support on hand, such as adrenal cortex or any quality OTC adrenal product at your health food store. If you DO have adrenal fatigue, staying away from cigs may require adding additional cortisol to your daily amount. Chapters 5 and 6 in the STTM book have good information to help you with cortisol support. Also be prepared that by quitting, your hypothyroid state may be revealed, or may get worse.

Are you a smoker with hypo? Don’t hesitate to respond to this post with your experience. We learn from each other!

READ DEBORAH’S STORY ABOUT HER ATTEMPT to STOP SMOKING.

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Have you Liked the STTM Facebook page? It gives you daily inspiration and information. 

91 replies

Endocrine society says T3 can be substituted for T4–WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!!!

Shock and amazement.

At the 90th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, it was announced that T3 can be an effective substitute for T4. And…the target TSH was .5 – 1.5.

DUHHHHHHH.

But it’s GOOD news.

OK, so…

1) it’s light years behind what patients had already figured out for a longgggg time
2) it’s not as effective as being on desiccated thyroid (which has exactly what your thyroid would be giving you: T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin)
3) the TSH needs be even LOWER when you are adequately treated.
4) NO THYROID TREATMENT SHOULD BE BY THE LOUSY TSH AT ALL….

….but it’s a GOOD STEP in the right direction!!

http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=28931

p.s. Maybe if some of those Endo’s would open their minds to what PATIENTS HAVE LEARNED on this site and the book, they might finally make the next great step!! TAKE THIS INFORMATION INTO YOUR DOCTOR’S OFFICE!! It’s the power YOU have to change this mess!

5 replies

What planet to do you live on, Oprah??

Cuz it ain’t the one WE live on, dah’ling.

For a few years now, patients have repeatedly written the Oprah show, begging her to address the thyroid scandal of decades of T4-only medication and the lousy TSH lab, both of which have left MILLIONS of patients with lingering hypo symptoms while our doctors proclaimed we were NORMAL…and about a FAR better treatment called natural desiccated thyroid and dosing by symptoms, NOT the TSH.

And when she finally has a program which somewhat addresses the thyroid issue this week, she allows her hallowed guest, Dr. Christiane Northrup, to state “your symptoms are actually your soul’s way of bringing deeper issues to your attention.” Hogwash! And thyroid patient Mary Shoman has rightly proclaimed that “thyroid disease is NOT your fault, despite what Dr. Northrup says.”

But the issue goes even further. Oprah implies, by her own experience, that taking a month vacation and eating fresh foods is enough to make one well from thyroid disease?? Double hogwash! Thyroid patients seek to live some of the healthiest lifestyles there are. All you have to do is observe the conversations in most any internet thyroid patient talk group, and you will see daily posts on the best supplements to take, healthiest foods to eat, and best ways to de-stress our lives. We are overall a VERY educated group of patients about health, and we practice it. We HAVE to be in light of how poorly educated most of our doctors are about our thyroid disease. And in spite of all the above, our thyroid condition persists.

What has CHANGED our lives is leaving the scandal of T4-only treatment in the dust, and learning about desiccated thyroid like Armour, switching to it, and dosing according to the elimination of symptoms, NOT simply labs. We have also faced the fact that at least 50% of us have adrenal fatigue, which leaves us impatient and angry, with headaches and body aches, chronic back pain and body aches, a loss of passion, and sleep issues. And we have tread new ground in our knowledge on how to treat it, when many of our doctors pooh-pooh the reality of adrenal fatigue.

I love ya, Oprah, as do millions of women out there. But taking a month vacation and eating fresh foods does NOT cure our thyroid disease. So time will tell what went on with you! So now, all we can do is hope eternal that Oprah will get on the planet that the rest of us live on, and help us to spread the word as to why millions of thyroid patients have been suffering and about a far better treatment. If you can continue to have persistence, you can email her here. STOP the thyroid madness!

P.S. Go here to read thyroid patient Anna’s humorous experience with following the same kind of advice given on Oprah’s show.

11 replies

Patient experience in the doctor’s office makes you weep

I’m sick. I’m tired. I feel awful. I’ll go the my doc’s office for help.

We have all done it, filled with hope and promise. I have done it!! Why not, since our doctor has had at least four years of medical school training that we couldn’t fathom doing ourselves, including working with patients under the supervision of licensed doctors, and 1-3 years of residency following school. Oh and let’s not forget the continuing education, besides experience with thousands of patients before me.

I’m in good hands.

THUD. For thyroid patients, it couldn’t be FARTHER from the truth. The experience in the beloved doctor’s office has been nothing less than dismal, disgusting, and depressing….and nothing more than pure malpractice.

Why? Because there’s not a thyroid patient anywhere who hasn’t gone in with raging hypothyroid symptoms…and 1) was dismissed, 2) told they needed an anti-depressant/pain med/statin rather than better thyroid treatment and/or 3) were told they were “normal” simply because those ink spots called labs ‘said so.’ So we have left…sick, and for years.

Whatever happened to “clinical presentation”????

And if you think that I am barking up the wrong tree, take heed. The following true story, which was related to me two days ago, is exactly like THOUSANDS we hear on this site every week:

I walked into the Endo’s office, feeling awful. I had been told he was the best in the state and I knew he held a high position in the University. First, when I told him about my unrelenting brain fog, he dismissed it. When I told him my cholesterol keeps rising, he said I wasn’t eating correctly (I love veggies and eat fowl more than beef). When I told him my throat felt tight, he said it was a temporary inflammation, take tylenol and it would pass. When I told him that I wanted a treatment with T3 in it like Armour to help my depression, he laughed, saying there was no connection between T3 and mental health. I left with my normal script for 125 mcg Synthroid, a pronouncement that I’m “normal”, feeling crazy and stupid, moving to a sense of COMPLETE rage, and mostly, I felt like a complete fool for ever taking the time. What will happen to me? I can only get worse with my symptoms, which thanks to you site, I can now see are ALL hypo symptoms. Will ANY doctor LISTEN TO ME???

I WEEP.

17 replies