I hope it's okay to post this since it's not Q related but I've seen similar posts so here goes. On my last bloodwork I had a slightly elevated Thyroid Stimulating Hormone level, indicating my thyroid is getting sluggish. I have no symptoms of hypothyroidism otherwise. The NP wrote me a prescription for levothyroxine but after doing my own research I found an NIH article about some studies that showed there is little benefit to starting levothyroxine for subclinical cases. So I didn't fill the prescription. But now I'm second-guessing myself. My question to you all is do you know of any supplements or natural treatments to promote thyroid function? I really don't want to be on another prescription. I appreciate your help.
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Iodine. When manufactured breads cakes etc started using bromine instead of iodine people started getting gissues w thyroid . The bromine clings to the thyroid a d inhibits iodine to be absorbed. Bake you're own goods take iodine.
I recently noticed that the salt I've been using (Morton) for baking is non-iodized. That was a surprise to me because I'm from an era where salt was always iodized. I usually use sea salt for cooking meat and stuff and I just looked it up and it's not iodized either. Again I just assumed all salt has iodine in it so shame on me. Thanks for the info!
Eat eggs (yolks) for iodine. Eliminate processed food and seed oils from your diet
Iodoral is iodine. Thyroid hormones are made from iodine.
Not all. Many people taking those meds are also given iodine tablets so apparently there usnt enough or its compromised by other compounds in the pills.
I've had mom buy the non iodized and I wont use it. I'm including a new article about the offending additive. Try eliminated manufactured breads. Soda pre made processed foods. Get a nutrininja and make smoothies w fruit ice and coconut milk. Helped me a lot. https://www.npr.org/2023/11/03/1210521705/fda-brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo-food-additive-california
I use goya olive oil to cook kosher salt iodized at the table. My thyroid was limping by and has improved a lot. Only by bread at stores w an instore bakery. Nothing that turns back into dough when you press it between your fingers. That's what they changed to in theb70s removing iodine. The bromide plugs up the thyroid receptors so it cant be absorbed by the thyroid. But it can be cleared from the system. By discontinuing the ingestion of any product with it. Lots of water......dehydration is an issue for so many people. And not to be gross but some colon cleansing helps remove it from your system also. Hope you feel better I know how much it sucks.
Thanks for the info.
Heard of plenty of people saying the carnivore diet got the off thyroid meds. I am on day 28. I’ll let you know! I can see my abs again even now!
My son is using the carnivore diet and completely off all diabetes medicines with stable blood sugars.
I am not a Dr but if you decide to go the Lugols Iodine route start with one drop in a glass of water and work your way up each week or however you feel comfortable https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/lugols-iodine-supplements.html Health Benefits -Natural antihistamine Antioxidant 1 Displaces fluoride Displaces bromide Displaces chlorine Mercury detox Promotes proper hormone balance Strengthens immune system Reduces cholesterol Increases metabolism Supports immune system Promotes growth of hair, skin, and nails Needed for the health of bones Protects from radiation Required for proper brain development Reduces hypothyroidism Hyperthyroidism Part of cancer prevention Necessary for the thyroid gland Kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi I am not giving advice just passing on information, please research this and all health benefits
I have thyroid issues and was on levothyroxine for quite awhile (decade-ish) and no longer use it, and haven't for approximately 4 years now (maybe more, time flies). There is a strong possibility that you have an autoimmune issue rather than a thyroid issue. Our diets are horrendous, destroying our digestive system. This causes "leaky gut", a thinning of the intestinal wall. The body goes into overdrive attacking the foreign matter and eventually causes an autoimmune issue. Look up Hashimoto Disease. The cure is to heal your intestinal wall. To do this, you need to eliminate almost everything in your diet for two months, called AIP. Then you slowly reintroduce foods, to see which your body react to. (For instance, I react to all milk products). Others have already noted iodine. Get the kind that has the red stain. Put it on your skin, if it absorbs immediately you need it, if it doesn't, you don't. (Apply to different areas of skin to avoid contact dermatitis-some people more sensitive than others) Later, whenever you notice thyroid swelling, cloudy thinking or lethargy, restrict your diet and apply iodine. L-Tyrosine can help with thyroid function, but diet and healing the digestive system is the most important thing.
Levothyyroxine disappeared from shelves quite a few years ago, then came back even less effective-the manufacturers must have changed the formulation idk like HCQ. Iodine on shelves also did a disappearing act and potassium iodide was put out there instead. Levothyroxine would seem to help but after a few months nothing, at which time the doctor would increase the dose which became a cycle. Didnt work for me and several members of the family experienced the same thing- as the dose increases, it seems to have a side effect of constipation and intestinal blockage (a condition my father had when he died while taking it).
What worked for me was I quit taking the levo and took i-throid ( has an elemental iodine component) and switching to increase fresh foods and juices and decrease or eliminate all processed foods and juices that have preservatives and chemicals added ..Then I got great lab results.
The doctors I had at the time were amazed, but tried to convince me to still take the levo or desicated compounds which I had already tried and were ineffective. - I didnt and dumped them. I am no longer hypo, but still take iodine when I feel like I am sluggish because we are constantly under assault of heavy metals, radiation, chemicals in everything and your thyroid needs iodine to fight that and function.
Yes. They keep increasing it until they decide to zap the thyroid altogether, then you're 100% reliant on pharmaceuticals. Best to control it naturally and avoid the escalation.
Adding seafood/fish to your diet can help - between four to five servings per week. It’s the iodine in the seafood that is helpful. This advice was given to me by my chiropractor, who is the most knowledgeable person I know in regard to how the body functions.
Thanks!
but take care to avoid fish that may have high levels of mercury because that will sabotage your thyroid
I think the mercury scare IS the ploy to make everyone eat less seafood.
Much like the sun apparently causes skin cancer so everyone slops sunscreen all over. It IS the sunscreen that causes skin cancer.
The sun's vit D is your friend and Big Pharma don't like it. That why they put shade sails in school, playground etc. I digress.
Eric Berg offers some good info to get you started on thyroid journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm49uFWTYBI
https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/
Great site for info. Doctors in this country know very little about thyroid function. Don't trust them. My son was born with hypothyroidism and is now 14 and almost 6' tall.
This is a GREAT BOOK! i'm 18yrs into an "unspecified hypothyroidism." I have done everything under the sun to treat it- sadly, i'm stuck on T4 and T3 meds for life. Could be some genetic component- mom had Hashis, dad hypo, 2 bros hypo-- and the family dog! So my thought is genetics + environment = our family's hypo issues.
What helps: anti inflammatory diets= the least amount of steps from farm to belly (preservatives are our enemy), less dairy, little/no alcohol, lots of veggies, lots of GOOD FATS, keep a healthy weight (VERY hard with hypo), lifting weights and hard/short cardio sessions.
Taking meds at specified times -- T4 & T3 am dose at 530am, T3 2nd dose as 530pm-- and be aware that certain foods (calcium esp) interfere with the absorbtion of thyroid hormones.
Clive de Carle on iodine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L7iEbDnG2w
https://www.earthclinic.com/mobile/cures/thyroid.html
I've been taking nascent iodine(Global Healing Center) with a good selenium and Zinc supplement (Dr. Mercola) for years. Works for me.
iirc, selenium is needed for iodine absorption. both iodine and selenium are available in not-too-terrible-tasting dropper bottles. mercola.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Ug2ONxgYw
Dr. Sten Ekberg "#1 Absolute Best Way to HEAL Your THYROID"
I don't have a thyroid issue, but have been researching it for my cousin and a friend and this one has a lot of useful information.
We're in the same boat brother. I cannot trust anything anymore. I wish I could give you advice but keep doing your research before you put anything into you.
What research can we trust if we can't trust anything? Serious question.
Try and look for a functional medicine doctor and tell them up front you're leery about anything with side effects. I do like the suggestion someone else made to eat more fish, I eat at least two good sized pieces of salmon every week. You want wild caught not farm raised, they add other crap to anything caught in a "farm"
I plan on finding a local functional medicine doc for my issues when I get work and insurance again.
I heard that non alcoholic fatty liver disease can interfere with thyroid function. NAFLD is pretty common as it's associated with obesity and doesn't really have any clear symptoms of its own. If that's an issue for you then approaches to treat NAFLD might help, which is basically weight loss.
https://www.thyroid.org/patient-thyroid-information/ct-for-patients/january-2023/vol-16-issue-1-p-13/#:~:text=A%20possible%20link%20between%20this,wide%20range%20of%20metabolic%20complications.
Forefront Health. Go to their website.
I take t3 in liquid form from a lab. Keeps me warm and energized :D
Where do you get it and how much do you take?
Go to morgelons.com and order potassium iodide. Prepeare the solution according to the instructions and that could help . Potassium Iodide is the preferred way to take iodine internally.
I use Thyrovanz, natural desiccated thyroid from cows. It’s worked great for me for years. Some people do well on Armour, derived from pigs but it has a lot of bad stuff in it too. I found out you have to really do some deep digging to find what works best for you.
Get a blood test for hashimotos. Trust me. Meds for low thyroid are useless if the cause is hashi's. It's an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the thyroid and after a while results in hypothyrid. You have to treat the autoimmune to fix the thyroid. It's the number 1 cause of hypo in this country and doctors never test for it because there's no meds for it.
Unless you're symptomatic, a lot of docs don't prescribe Levothyroxine for TSH up to 10-12 (normal range 0.45 - 4.5). You may just be low or deficient in Iodine. Your thyroid cannot produce T4 without Iodine, so it may not truly be sluggish, just not able to meet your body's T4 needs. So increasing Iodine in your diet or taking supplements may help. Taurine and Turmeric can help, and increased exercise, especially rebounding on a mini-trampoline.