T3 Therapy

I am still on T3 therapy and will be on it through December, then hopefully back to Armour. I am holding at 17.5 mgs - 22.5 mgs. of HC daily. I have done well on these, with the only setback being my severe Asthma attack one month ago. Very sick chick for a long time, but am almost back to normal, whatever that is, now. I haven't posted here for a long time because of that Asthma attack. Too much energy went into breathing for too long. Now I can get back to my regular things, like this blog, LOL.

I would also like to add that I am looking into EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, to add to my journey into wellness. It is a fascinating study.

My iodine experiment has ended. I have concluded that iodine is something I need in my protocol. I am now taking more than 50 mgs. of iodine per day in the form of Iodoral, a pill preparation of iodine/iodide.

I am still in the market for a doctor that will accept my insurance that is willing to think outside the box. They are few and far between. I would love to be able to work with a physician that actually thinks beyond what Big Pharma and the totally corrupt FDA says. I want a physician that doesn't condescend and doesn't have a know-it-all attitude. I wish to have a physician that is a true physcian and whose creed it "First, do no harm" and who is will to actually work WITH the patient, instead of dictating TO the patient. I do not do well with dictators. I have amassed a wealth of knowledge and wish to be the one to determine my own health destiny, with the help of a wise physician. That is the ideal relationship with a physician in my view. One who works with his/her patients for their well being, whatever it takes, whether allopathic or alternative. Both CAN mesh well together for a patients good. I have seen it, but not yet in conjunction with a knowledgeable and open-minded physician, which is a critical element. Still searching for that critical element.

Changing Course

As I mentioned in my last post, after doing much research, I have switched my therapy to T3 only, as I believe that the years of severe stress resulting in adrenal fatigue have also given me an RT3 problem, which I am attempting to reverse with a 3-5 month trial of T3 therapy, after which I will go back to Armour. It wasn't really a difficult decision, but it took a lot of research and deep thought in order to make the necessary change. I am still in my iodine experiment, but I anticipate re-introducing iodine to my regimen. I still wish I had a good doctor to help me out in this most difficult maze, but the medical profession is just not up to speed here and way too much influenced by the pharmaceutical companies and their reps. I no longer trust most doctors; I just got sicker and sicker and more and more miserable. Since I have been charting my own course I have finally started on the road to wellness. My story and the story of so many who are subclinically hypothyroid and/or have Hashi's is a condemnation of our medical system, which is woefully behind the true cutting edge of thyroid therapy and is mired in barbaric surgical practices that remove thyroid glands, when much safer alternatives exist to deal with nodules, both hot and cold. The only reason to remove a thyroid gland is cancer. Goiters and nodules can be dealt with on a much safer and far less life changing way. To remove the thyroid gland is to remove the body's thermostat and regulator of metabolism. Barbaric indeed, especially when these can be successfully dealt with WITHOUT surgery, if doctors wouldn't be in such a hurry to do the easy thing and more willing to look at other options, while taking more time, in the long run are much more successful at giving lives back. Surgery, while successful in the short term and easy for physicians and surgeons, leaves the patient with a whole new set of problems, which most doctors just do not deal with correctly. Barbaric and sad. So many lives lived in misery with their misery dismissed by their doctors. A sad commentary on our medical system.

Still in my iodine experiment and I have changed my protocol even more. I have switched from Armour to T3 only plus my HC to see if it will make any difference in how I am feeling, healthwise. I am also looking into Gilbert's Syndrome to see if this is part of my health puzzle. I am still sleeping very poorly and life is difficult, although not quite as difficult as it was two years ago. I still have a ways to go and still wanting to find a doctor that will be a partner with me in my health and won't fight me on tests that are needed. I would love to get some baselines on my female hormones now that I am post-meno, but the doc thought that since they would all be low as I am post meno it wouldn't be necessary! Gads, what is the problem with just getting a baseline to know how to proceed!?! So tired of fighting for what I need. It would be so nice to have a good doc, but they are far and few and about as scarce as hen's teeth to find one that isn't out to push drugs for every little thing! Most docs nowadays are just legal drug pushers. Yuck! Give me a good doc that will get to the bottom of an illness and treat the illness, not just a doc that wants to throw drugs at symptoms; one that is willing to look OUTSIDE the box and learn a thing or two. Patients can learn from docs, yes, but docs can sure learn a lot from patients if they would only choose to listen now and then and not dismiss symptoms.

I should mention that I am still in my iodine experiment also. Still not taking any extra iodine; whatever is in my excellent multi, but no iodoral right now. I am going to do this for at least six months and then re-assess the situation.

Because I am not progressing as I had hoped and am still dealing with a lot of fatigue and sleep issues, plus brain fog, I am going to try some T3 to see if RT3 is affecting me because of the long time I have been ill. I am my own science experiment, LOL. I do know that I am much better than I have been for many, many years, so my progress is ever upwards, although it seems to be stalled right now. I have been researching RT3 (Reverse T3) issues and feel in my gut that a temporary trial of T3 might be a good thing. Well, we will see what we will see. I look forward to this trial. I have had a lot of ups and downs, but I feel that I am on the right track. The adrenal fatigue is so much better; I am gradually ramping down on the HC and am on a much smaller dose now; close to 12-15 mgs per day, if that. Sometimes I forget a dose, which tells me that I am finally healing from the years of terrible stress. Hooray!

I am into week four of my iodine experiment. No changes that can be observed, one way or another. I will continue to omit iodine from my daily regimen for the next few months, and then re-evaluate to see if further iodine supplementation is necessary. I do wish that this wasn't so difficult and that there were doctors out there sufficiently competent and not at the beck and call of the pharmaceutical industry and whom are capable of thinking not only independently, but outside the neat little hypothyroid box so that those who are subclinically hypothyroid might get the help they desperately need. The thyroid affects the whole body in so many ways; many of them subtle. You would think a doctor with a supposedly high level of education would know more than I do about this! Instead I, and others are met with this wall of resistance and reliance on a test (TSH) that has missed so many cases of hypothryoidism! So many are miserable and don't know why, are on AD's and don't need to be; all they need is proper diagnosis and proper treatment of their hypothyroidism. It is a pathetic window on how degraded our medical system is, that so many are miserable and so many doctors don't really seem to care as long as blood tests are "normal." This notion needs to be pitched and doctors need to follow their counterparts of a century ago, who looked at the patient and listened to the patient and checked their cholesterol levels also, as this can be an indicator of hypothyroidism. Instead they put patients on dangerous cholesterol drugs they don't need. A sad commentary indeed on the state of our medical system here in the USA. It could be the best in the world, and it settles for medication over diagnosis and attention to detail; detail that could tell a story in and of itself. Get to the root cause of a problem and stop medicating symptoms! Often only one medication is needed, thyroid hormone, preferably Armour thyroid, an approved medication by the FDA, plus sometimes a little adrenal help so that it works better! You don't need a lot; often a physiological dose of cortisol can make a huge difference, but balancing things is so difficult, which is why I wish there was more competence out there, and less ignorance and reliance on drug manufacturers.

Hypothyroid Children and Infants

Parents, if you have a child that seems lethargic, with very dry skin and hair that is also very dry or sparse, if your child doesn't sleep well at night (reads in bed with a flashlight like I did because I couldn't sleep!), is too tired to play outside, has trouble concentrating, seems depressed, or has weight problems on a healthy diet, or has trouble losing weight on any diet, then have this child checked out for hypothryoidism - and have your doctor run several tests, not just the stupid TSH, which is a pituitary test; TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone. The tests that MUST be run at FreeT3, FreeT4 and both antibody tests, to rule out Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is autoimmune thyroid disease. I was suicidal in high school, lethargic, gained weight easily, insomniac, puffy, too tired to play outside, and had lots of brain fog, plus concentrating was very difficult. Now that I am being treated properly for my Hashi's and Hypothyroidism, it is much easier to concentrate and good things are starting to happen, but I am now almost 54 years old! It shouldn't take that long! Don't relegate your child to a lifetime of misery - I urge any parent with a child that answers the above description to see a GOOD doctor who is very knowledgeable on thyroid issues and don't take the word "normal" for an answer - get a copy of the test results with the lab ranges. Be proactive so that your children have a better shot at a much better future than the one I had; I wasn't really a good mom because I was sick. Even as a toddler I wasn't normal, per se; I gained weight very rapidly even though I was on 6 lbs. 3.5 ounces at birth, by the time I was 3 months I was larger than I should have been and puffy looking. As my problems weren't caught and diagnosed until well into adulthood, I feel it is critical for parents not to be complacent; I was nagged by both my mom and the doctor about my weight, but if my hypothyroid problems had been addressed I wouldn't have had such a big problem with it. Don't let your child's childhood be miserable as mine was; be watchful and be proactive!