cortisol tags

Michelle, 40-or-50-something, came over to my house today to go over some paperwork. I hadn’t taken my Armour yet, and I said “Excuse me, I need to pop my thyroid meds under my tongue.”

“Oh, I take thyroid meds, too.  Synthroid” she explained as she was writing on the papers with her pencil.

Now when I hear something like that, being who I am, I’m like a bear in a china cabinet who suddenly smells honey.  So as not to overwhelm,  I casually say “Oh, I used be on Synthroid.” And after a long pause while we are going over the paperwork, I say “Did you know there’s a worldwide patient revolution going on against medications like Synthroid?”

At the point, she raises her head in curiosity.

I then stick my paw in the honey: “You and I and millions have been put on meds like Synthroid and then told we are “normal” because the TSH says so. But all of us have continuing symptoms of hypothyroidism.  It’s a lousy medication. “

And when I laid out what those continuing symptoms were, her eyes got as big as saucers and she was shaking her head up and down in recognition. “Depression, rising cholesterol and blood pressure, easy weight gain, fatigue, less stamina than others, dry hair and skin, feeling cold, etc”, I told her.

And the most profound aspect of Michelle? She lives her life like the Energizer Bunny, going and going and going. She told me she often doesn’t get home until 6 pm doing her job, and she clearly has a lot of professional responsibilities.

But does an active Michelle mean that Synthroid works and is just as good a thyroid treatment as desiccated thyroid? You know the answer. She revealed that she’s quite tired when she comes home, wishes she had more energy, and still has issues with her weight, even though she lost some when she got on Synthroid.

And reading between the lines, it was clear that Michelle is probably on an anti-depressant, a statin, and a blood pressure medication.  And…she clearly has an adrenal problem that’s only going to get worse. She has a terrible time falling asleep at night (high cortisol), and is very sensitive to light and noise (high or low cortisol).

Suddenly it dawned on me. I am sitting across hundreds of millions of women, and some men. I am listening to how millions live their lives–making a living, maintaining a home, loving their spouses and children, interacting with people.  But underneath it all, it’s not a pretty picture. They cope, and they cope again.  And they dish out their money for more medications to treat the very symptoms caused by an inferior medication. And as they age, they’ll pay each of their millions of prices, just as my mother did, and as I was headed.  Energizer bunnies with faulty batteries.

P.S. Barack Obama has a health care reform plan. Will it change the lives of those 50 million with thyroid disease in the US, or will it only continue this T4-only travesty and health care scandal?  Are we headed in the same insane direction as the UK when it comes to T4-only?  Express your opinion.

Want to be notified of my blog posts? Curious what’s on my mind? Use Notifixious to be informed. Look on the bottom left of the links where you can sign up. )

Today I baked a chocolate cake for my son’s birthday. It was excellent. Why? Because it was the result of several important ingredients. Leaving any of them out would have resulted in a cake less than great.

And your health and feel-goods as a thyroid/adrenal patient, including your ability to successfully get off HC,  is like my son’s cake: a combination of ingredients that you have to get right. Below are ten “ingredients” to investigate and find out which may not be right in you for good health and feel-goods.

1) The right amount of cortisol: Too little cortisol or too much cortisol has its consequences. Too little results in thyroid hormone still pooling, continued hypo symptoms, plus hyper in some. Too much can mean easy bruising, rising blood pressure, fluid retention, a round face, etc.  And both can increase anxiety, feeling poorly, etc.  Watch for symptoms and compare your daily averaged temperatures. Also, have you checked your aldosterone?

2) The right amount of desiccated thyroid: I have a friend who was stuck on 3 grains Armour out of habit. But she continued to have hypothyroid symptoms out of habit. I finally convinced her to talk to her doctor. Labs showed her free T3 was just a few points over mid-range, and having a free T3 towards the top seems to work better for most. So she did raise, and it finally did the trick.

3) Optimal B12 levels: Since hypothyroid patients can have digestive/absorption issues, B12 levels can be lower than optimal. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, feeling faint, breathless, bruising, heart palps or others. Don’t take a chance. Get a B12 test. You want the result to be at the top of the range.

4) Plenty of Ferritin (storage iron): Low ferritin means you have no iron in storage to draw upon. And it also means you are probably anemic.  Additionally, low ferritin adversely affects the conversion of T4 to T3. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, weakness, achiness, breathlessness or others.  Have a ferritin test.  Optimal is 70-90.

5) Good digestion: Hypothyroid patients can have low hydrochloric (HCL) stomach acid levels. That not only contributes to acid reflux because of the overgrowth of bad bacteria, it means you don’t absorb nutrients well (including low B12 mentioned above). As a result, it’s crucial to give that acid back to yourself.  A tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed in water and taken twice day helps many. Or try taking Betaine, which is HCL in pill form, or any other quality HCL or digestive product.

6) Recognition and treatment of Gluten intolerance: Some thyroid patients lack a particular digestive enzyme, intestinal glutaminase, that helps digest gluten in various food products. As a result, they don’t absorb nutrients well. Symptoms include bloating & gas, aches, stiffness, fatigue, burning or numbness in arms or legs, rashs or hives, worsened allergies & others. Your chance of have a gluten problem is higher if you have Hashimotos disease. If you suspect a possible problem, eliminate all gluten from your diet. Also consider having your doctor run a Celiac antibodies blood test.

7) Controlled EBV: At least 90% of adults have the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) sitting dormant in their bodies. EBV is what causes mononucleosis, but you don’t have to have had mono to carry the virus.  Because hypothyroidism lowers your immune system, it’s not uncommon for thyroid patients to have activated EBV. I did, and my symptoms included extreme easy fatigue, ringing in my ears, achiness and some swelling of my lymph glands. Some may have a sore throat return and other symptoms.  Ask your doctor to test EBV. You’ll then need to ask about treatment options, which include beefing up your immune system.

8 ) Sex hormone balance: When your thyroid or adrenals get out of balance, your sex hormones can follow suit, from estrogen dominance to low testosterone.  When estrogen dominance occurs, you can feel depression, fatigue, and sore breasts.  Low testosterone can equal lower energy and mood. Ask your doctor to test all your sex hormones.

9) Taking plenty of supplements: There are a variety of good supplements everyone with thyroid or adrenal issues should take for good health. They include high potency B-vitamins, Vit. C (1000-3000 mg. or to tolerance), Selenium (around 200 mcg), minerals including magnesium, probiotics, Vitamin D (1000 iu), iodine, and others.  In addition to these, I also take CoQ10 (for heart and blood pressure health), and my favorite: a green powder which I stir in my orange juice.

10) Exercise: If you are a couch potato, you’re going to feel like one. Instead, do what it takes to get moving, which promotes all sorts of good health. If you have adrenal fatigue, keep it very light and easy.  If you just have hypothyroidism, get out and walk.

P.S. My chocolate cake: I think cake mixes are just as good as homemade. I use Devils Food Cake. But the icing is ALWAYS homemade: cream one stick butter, add about 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, then cream or half-n-half.  Shake some sea salt in. Add two tsp. vanilla.  Beat, beat.  Taste. Modify as needed. YUM.

An intriguing thought: what if there were lab packages specifically designed by Stop the Thyroid Madness and all its patient-to-patient wisdom.  Well, there are!

STTM has created lab profiles in partnership with MyMedLab, a direct-to-consumer lab facility which has expanded to provide services to nearly the entire United States

This lab facility promotes the empowerment of patients in their own care, similar to STTM’s focus on educating the patient and expecting a partnership when you walk into the doctor’s office. Empowerment!

You will find a combination of both in-home collected tests (saliva cortisol) and those performed at LabCorp collection sites across the US.   Take a Peak: STTM Lab packages (be sure and click on the green What’s Included icon on the lower right. You get a lot!)

With recent news of Oprah’s continuous weight gain (currently partially due to her failure to properly treat her hypothyroidism and probably Hashimotos (see post below this), it can make us all shudder as we deal with the holidays and all that great food!

I admit it: At Christmastime, I LOVE the easy Gingerbread Boy Cookies recipe I used when the boys were little, the Microwave Fudge recipe to die for, my world famous Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies which I color red and green, my mother’s wonderful Pralines which I occasionally try to make myself,  and Grandma’s Fruit Cake–yeah an actual fruit cake I LOVE, which I order EVERY SINGLE YEAR at this time.

And it’s hard not to gain weight! Is that you, too?? So let’s go over 6 HOLIDAY FACTS about thyroid treatment with desiccated thyroid:

1) Armour, Naturethyroid, Westhroid, or any other desiccated thyroid medication is not meant to be a Christmas weight loss pill. Desiccated thyroid medications consist of thyroid hormones: T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. They simply give you back what your own thyroid is not giving you…the same five hormones which give you back a stronger immune system, a normal body temperature & improved metabolism, better energy, healthier hair and skin, less aches & pains, emotional happiness, better lipid profiles like cholesterol, stronger bones…and on and on.  But even with all that benefit, and even though it does improve your metabolism, desiccated thyroid is not meant to be a weight loss pill.

2) Armour et. al. can only do its holiday job if you have strong adrenals or adequate cortisol treatment. Because cortisol is needed for thyroid hormones to move from your blood to your cells, you can only benefit optimally from desiccated thyroid during the holidays if you are lucky enough to have strong adrenals, or if you are giving yourself back the cortisol you need based on stable temps, blood pressure, and removal of most low cortisol symptoms.  So don’t forget that cortisol right now, and definitely consider adding a stress dose of cortisol if things get rough with the in-laws. (See Chapter 6 in the STTM book for even more details about stable temps, blood pressure, and stress dosing)

3) Don’t drink that Armour down with Egg Nog! Calcium is a known binder of thyroid hormones in your stomach, keeping you from benefiting from some of those health-giving thyroid hormones.  So if you swallow your desiccated thyroid, get the water.  Or even better, do it sublingually.

4) Don’t expect Armour to keep you from looking like Santa Claus: you still gotta exercise & watch what you eat! It’s true: the optimal use of desiccated thyroid does raise your metabolism and eats those extra calories up like PacMan.  But if you’re like me, you can still have a tendency to put on those love handle butter pounds if you eat your fill of holiday foods.  ho ho ho. To curtail the gain, add exercise to your holiday regime, or increase what you already do. I try to aerobically walk a LOT during the holidays. And when I’ve eaten a Christmas stocking full of goodies, my next meal will be nothing but high protein, like  turkey, cheeses and nuts. Or, you can also balance your intake by choosing one meal a day to be low glycemic to somewhat balance out the high glycemics you know you are going to eat later. For example, I make my breakfasts only eggs and nitrate-free bacon, or plain yogurt with berries, nuts, and Stevia.

5) Building a holiday snowman outside?  Consider an extra 1/4 grain of Armour. It’s a fact that prolonged exposure to cold increases your demand for energy, which in turn can increase your demand for more thyroid hormones. As a result, many patients find that adding an extra 1/4 grain of desiccated thyroid to one’s daily amount helps meet the demands of Frosty the Snowman or that holiday sprinkling of lights all over your house in the cold air.  Talk to your doctor.

6) Give a gift of the STTM book to a loved one. There are other good thyroid books on the market, but unlike all of them, this is the bible of patient experience on successful thyroid treatment. You’ll find volumes of information that patients all around the world have learned. A true patient-to-patient guide to feeling wonderful again.  Go here to order.  And the publishing company is extending the time you can order a book to be sent DIRECTLY to your loved one.

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.

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, it stresses your adrenals over and over. And with adrenal fatigue being a common side effect of treating hypo with T4 meds like Synthroid, Levoxyl, Eltroxin, et all, as well as being dosed by the lousy TSH, you’ve got a third reason to fall into adrenal fatigue 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 fatigue, and you quit smoking–a double whammy against being successful.

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 Isocort 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.

Are you a smoker with hypo? Don’t hesitate to respond to this post with your experience. (Please note that replies are not for questions.)

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