ferritin tags

I received a reply to a post below that I was unable to approve because it mentioned someone by name. And the reply was not particularly friendly, and definitely not accurate. lol. But the reply brought up some good issues, which I have no problem addressing.

Namely, can I agree that there are some people who do well on T4-only treatment such as Synthroid or Levoxyl?? I can…sorta. I have a friend whose husband is one of those seemingly lucky individuals on T4, with no thyroid, who leads a fairly active and happy life. Considering how lousy I did, he amazes me. But I did notice something else about him: he has high and rising cholesterol and is on statins. That’s a classic symptom of a poor treatment and continuing hypothyroid, even if he does have much better energy that I ever did.

And by observing him, and knowing a few others who subjectively feel they do well on T4, I came to the following conclusion: though some may do better than others on T4, I have yet to find anyone on T4 who doesn’t have some kind of side-effect of a poor treatment, whether they are treating it with statins, treating it with antidepressants, or not treating it at all & denying it. Sure, some may do better than others, but the proof is in the pudding if you look deep enough. And, at the very least, I’m just plain suspicious that ANYONE on T4, even doing subjectively well, is going to have symptoms of a poor treatment creep up on them as they age. The body was not designed to live on conversion alone.

Can I agree that some people just canNOT tolerate desiccated thyroid like Armour and need to be on T4? Initially, that may be. The gal that wrote me stated she felt a lot better on T4, and that no matter what she did, she couldn’t tolerate Armour. I believe her. If Armour was that miserable, she should be on T4 for the time being, or even better, a synthetic T4/T3 combination. But I also believe that even if she feels she did everything to a “t” and still couldn’t tolerate it, there was more for her to learn that she didn’t get the first time around when it came to her adrenal fatigue treatment. I see it too many times. And perhaps, over time, it will become more clear.

Do some proponents of desiccated thyroid go overboard in their fervor? I don’t doubt it one bit. We’re human. And we hope you are forgiving. But once you get past however you view are communication shortcoming, do know that our fervor is based on the fact that a huge volume of individuals are having lives changed due to desiccated thyroid (and/or treatment of low ferritin, and/or treatment of adrenal fatigue). And it’s too widespread and global not to have fervor, besides common sense that a treatment that gives us back what our own thyroids would be giving us is just plain remarkable.

So, do know that if you are on T4, and feel well, I’m behind you. It’s your life, not mine, and I believe you. But neither can I stop my belief and too many observations that if you are truly hypothyroid and need treatment, desiccated thyroid is a superior choice, now or later, whether you are lucky enough to have escaped adrenal fatigue, or whether you have a challenging case of adrenal fatigue that can be adequately treated!

Six years ago, when I got involved in thyroid patient advocacy by starting the Natural Thyroid Hormone Users group on Yahoo, I did it because I was amazed and shocked what switching to desiccated natural thyroid did for me! There I was, on the brink of applying for Social Security Disability after YEARS of misery & lack of answers, and simply changing to a different thyroid treatment completely turned my life around. I owe some of that change on what I found out on Mary Shomon’s Thyroid group in early 2002.

And it dawned on me: if desiccated thyroid with its T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin did this for ME, what could it do for others?!I  A group was NEEDED with a direct focus on desiccated natural thyroid.

And over time, as NTH grew and other fine internet patient groups evolved and grew, other patients were just as amazed at what it was doing for them, as well.  This wasn’t coming across at ALL as a treatment only for “some”. It was coming across as a treatment that might just benefit quite a large body on individuals! We also learned by the seat of our collective pants about low ferritin, low cortisol, low B-12, Celiac and gluten intolerance–you name it.

From all the above came the STTM movement: a patient-to-patient compilation of all we have learned–and then the book with even more information.  The STTM movement was created because “internet groups” were NOT enough to get the word out about the efficacy of desiccated thyroid, nor were they enough to change the huge and rigid medical establishment. Change had to come from the bottom up–in other words, educate patients, who in turn can take the new information into their doctor’s offices.

But sadly, with the success of patient information about the amazing results of desiccated thyroid treatment has come veiled criticism and overblown misconceptions within our own ranks. And it’s a sad thing to behold!

Namely, we can now read a September 10th internet blog “conversation” by so-called thyroid patient advocates who imply that it is “dogma and narrow-minded” if anyone dares state there just might be a thyroid treatment which JUST MIGHT BE better for most all thyroid patients. IMAGINE the audacity!! I guess it was just as “dogmatic and narrow-minded” when it was first suggested there were better ways to deal with certain health conditions than bloodletting. I can hear it now: “To deny bloodletting is just boxing people in!” “Offering bloodletting as a choice is helping people expand.”

And contrary to the self-righteous tone, condescending misrepresentations, and veiled criticisms towards certain patient groups, this patient movement is not a one size fits all movement.  Instead, it’s a “one size JUST MIGHT BE a better alternative” than the other available alternatives, and we strongly encourage that each patient consider finding a doctor to help them give it a try.  And, if something about desiccated thyroid isn’t working, we strongly encourage patients to look at particular reasons that can underlie problems.

If you think T4 is working for you, go for it! The same goes for the use of T3 only, or synthetic T4/T3, or certain ratios of T4 and T3.  Choice is a blessing we can all respect.  Just keep an eye out for depression, rising cholesterol, less stamina than others, adrenal issues and/or a myriad of other continuing hypo symptoms that just might creep up on you as you age on these treatments.  Or, consider that we’ve seen many people on these treatments, who, when they switched to desiccated thyroid like Armour, Naturethroid, Westhroid, etc, they reported even better results. (The use of T3-only for high RT3 is a different issue and is where T3-only may be absolutely needed and good. We also respect those who have ethical issues with animal products.)

Finally, I encourage others who consider themselves thyroid patient advocates to TAKE A BIG BREATH and TAKE THE TIME to be in open-minded dialogue with all patients, including me and all of us over here, instead of openly ignoring our existence or deciding what we promote is simply narrow-minded dogma.  You might find that direct communication and kindness is a far better method to help thyroid patients instead of the underhanded veiled bashings and misrepresentations within this recent blog conversation.

UPDATE: I am pleased to announce that the most gutsy, revolutionary, comprehensive and practical book on the subject of diagnosis, treatment, and medications for hypothyroid, as well as related conditions, including low ferritin, adrenal fatigue and other problems which befall hypothyroid patients…is out! This is YOUR book as a patient-to-patient book.

The link below will take you to the Publisher’s website. On the home page, you can read about the publisher. Then click on the PRODUCTS page to see the book and information. Click on the DOUBLE GREEN ARROWS to open up the entire text plus shipping information.

www.laughinggrapepublishing.com

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Yup, it’s done. It’s complete. And I can say without a doubt that there is NO book on hypothyroid as hands-on as this one. Why can I say that? Because the book is based on YOUR EXPERIENCE and thousands like you. Because this is THE patient-to-patient book. Yes, I wrote it, but YOU wrote it, too.

Where is the STTM book available? It will FIRST be available right here on the site in approximately two weeks. It’s about 300 pages and will sell for 19.95. So keep coming back here.

Is the STTM book a copy of the website? Not exactly. Yes, you will see some things in the book that ARE on the website. That was important. But….you will also find a chapter totally on T3. You will learn some history that’s not on the website. You will get more details on adrenal support. You will have new stories of others. You will read a chapter totally written for and about doctors. And there’s much more that is not right on the STTM site…little details inserted here and inserted there.

Why did I write it? Because though the STTM website has done WONDERS to reach people, MORE is needed. There are folks out there who are NOT coming to the web, or even know to look for answers, and this book will reach them. And….it can simply be more productive to have a BOOK to refer to and a BOOK to read when you are traveling in the airplane or waiting in the doctor’s office. AND…..FINALLY, we have something to HAND THE DOCTOR when he or she doesn’t get what we are talking about…or to our family or friends when they don’t get it, either.

Get ready. I’m excited. I hope you are too.

P.S. Guess what Oprah Winfrey may be drinking daily?? Soy milk. And since soy is a known thyroid inhibitor, guess what she’s doing to her thyroid? Quoted directly from her site: Thanks to all the yogurt and calcium-enriched soymilk she consumes, she’s getting an average of about 1,100 mg of calcium daily OOPS.

I normally don’t write about me here, but more on thyroid advocacy issues. But this time…it’s going to be ME, because YOU need to be aware of what happened to me…because it can happen to you.

I appear to have adrenal fatigue.

Now understand this: I didn’t have it when I got on Armour over 4 years ago. I raised my Armour without a hitch, except for low Ferritin twice that I had to correct. And for approx. 3 1/2 years, I’ve been optimal with Armour with a perfect mid-afternoon temp of 98.6

So why adrenal fatigue now?? It helps to explain it this way: Two years ago, in Dec. of 2004, I entered serious peri-menopause. My progesterone fell rock bottom while I still had a youthfully high estrogen. And I’ve had to deal with the misery of severe estrogen dominance for two years. I’ve used compounded progesterone cream for those two years, but it was often never enough to stop the symptoms of estrogen dominance.

Also, Dr. Lam states the following and it explains me to a T: In early stages of adrenal fatigue, cortisol output is high as the body attempts to neutralize the stress by producing more of it. However, when too much cortisol is produced, it will have multiple undesirable effects. For example, cortisol blocks progesterone receptors, making them less responsive to progesterone. Progesterone normally produced by the adrenals comes to a halt in favor of cortisol. Insufficient progesterone production leads to an imbalance of estrogen to progesterone…(aka estrogen dominance). And voila–I did have high cortisol in the morning and noon. I had done the saliva adrenal test just a month after my progesterone had dropped.

Finally, this past October, I noticed the estrogen dominance FINALLY stopped, as did my periods. A huge victory. But in early December, after a particularly busy day on a Saturday, I majorly crashed………and haven’t recovered since.

And ALL my symptoms point to adrenal fatigue. First, my temps fell. And they were all over the place. My highest would only be 98.3, and one night, I was 97.1. That was VERY wrong for me.

Next, I started waking up EVERY night between 3-5 am. A typical adrenal symptom. Also, if I felt emotional about something, my body would get VERY hot. At first I thought it was a hot flash…but it was different.

And I was achy for 1 1/2 weeks. That stopped when I raised my Armour and got my temps back up. But even without the achiness, I have felt fatigued all over, and just bad.

Also, I fail the blood pressure test in the mornings. The other day, my supine blood pressure was 135/84. Standing, it was 115/84. A good sign of adrenal fatigue. I also have a faster and a pounding heartrate.

I have sent off my saliva samples…but have no doubt what the results are going to be. So….I am going to start the very adrenal support that I have written about in so much detail here on STTM. Because there is simply too much stress in my life to think that practicing all the other adrenal support methods are going to help my adrenals recover, or even help me feel better.

And by the way, for the past year and more, I have always given myself 5000 mgs of Vit. C and high dose B-vitamins, plus E. I have exercised regularly by walking. But it wasn’t enough to stop what a huge female hormonal change has done to me. I now am using Licorice Root daily (which stops some of the breakdown of cortisol in your liver) and 1/2 tsp sea salt, stirred in orange juice and my morning yogurt. And I’ll have to start on cortisol.

What can you do to not find yourself in my shoes? For one, if you enter peri-meno, even without the presence of adrenal fatigue, I would start on some mild OTC adrenal support now, which I was never on. Also, do whatever you can to counter excessive emotional stress in your life during this time by finding times to laugh and doing what you enjoy. I have been stuck with a job that wore me down, and family issues that stressed me terribly, and I’m sure that played a part.

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE WELCOME (I could use pats on the back because this makes me SICK), but if you have questions, this is not the place for them. Go to our forums here: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/community And by the way, I will update this particular blog post when I get my adrenal saliva test results back…and as I progress in my treatment. My fingers are crossed.

Click here to see the continuation of my comments on my own Adrenal Fatigue.

UPDATE as of Feb. 2009: for those still reading all the way down here, I became fully meno by 2008 and remarkably, require no progesterone or estrogen to feel good.  I did start having constant nighttime waking up and probably could use a little progesterone at bedtime. I do use testosterone gel to keep my muscles healthy and stronger.  And my adrenals are still fine.  I’m on 4 grains Armour plus a slew of good supplements.