Friday, August 27, 2010

Thyroid Update: Weaning, Still Looking

I've been weaning myself off thyroid meds because I don't think they've made any appreciable difference.  I may be wrong, but I think I'm not cold and lethargic because it's summer and I got my iron up!  So, we'll see if I have any change.  I felt bad when I followed the naturopath's recommendation to increase my T3. Now I'm back to the starting dose and we'll see if I notice any change when I go lower.  There's always desiccated thyroid that I could try now that my low iron is addressed.  

I've come to the conclusion that temperature is just not a good basis for tweaking thyroid medication for me.  My temperature just varies too much and I wonder if it's related to a different hormonal issue.  My basal temperature did not change with taking T3, in continued to range all over.  (The naturopath recommended increasing T3 based on continued low normal free T3 levels and lack of consistent afternoon temperatures above 98.0.)  Anyway, we'll see how I stabilize on paleo diet and exercise.

I've found that decreasing the thyroid medication has led to some weight gain, but I'm hoping that's transient.  I saw some success with completing meals before 5pm, but then my weight plateaued again.  It definitely seems to be a trial to get past a certain point with just paleo eating and exercise.  The naturopath also recommended a trial of Low Dose Naltrexone which is supposed to help with autoimmune issues.  I haven't researched it yet, but they have a website www.lowdosenaltrexone.org and this book was published in 2009 The Promise Of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy: Potential Benefits in Cancer, Autoimmune, Neurological and Infectious Disorders

My plan for now is to finish this weaning process and just see how I'm feeling before considering other actions.  I have already weaned off the stomach acid, amino acids, and iron.  I've decreased the iodine to 1/3 tab of Iodoral.  I haven't been able to remove the Melatonin yet without sleep disturbances, but I wonder how much of that is thyroid related.  I'd like to get back to just taking a multivitamin with some fish oil and perhaps a week of iron/iodine each month.  We'll see how it goes... I'm still looking and figuring out but it's grand to not be getting sick every week!

1 comment:

  1. Thyroid natural supplements has benefits that conventional drugs can not provide. It provides a more natural solution, safe and with no side effects.

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