Am I Forced To Take Thyroid For The Rest Of My Life?

[Amazoniac]

I have always been told by Endocrinologists that thyroid problems are not reversible. I await with interest your 'Positivity Thread' Good idea.

Thank you for not taking my comment so seriously! Otherwise I would be left with a slight ***hole feeling and it was not my intention..

@Amazoniac , @Louisa

There is the sub-forum Testimonials to post success stories. Quite a few are also in forum Meet & Greet, I can try to find those threads and move them.

To save your time, perhaps creating a single thread, linking posts with positive outcomes (and there are many small progresses on logs that also count) as you stumble upon them; and adding the links little by little; you already do so much for the forum, that otherwise you'd need to sacrifice the time that you separate for the solfèges..

 

[Louisa]

Thank you for not taking my comment so seriously! Otherwise I would be left with a slight ***hole feeling and it was not my intention..

That's the problem with forums, it can be difficult to explain/describe something. The English language is so complex too. Sometimes I say 'oh you stupid woman', (about myself when stressed etc) meaning it jokingly, and it can also be said in a serious manner.

 

[Vanced]

Unfortunately I think it is very rare for people to heal their thyroid once hypothyroid symptoms start, I'm also not convinced that diet has a large factor to play in compromising the thyroid function.

The general public and people who appear to have a healthy thyroid from the outside signs (vibrant, good skin, hair, low bodyfat etc) don't eat a peat diet, they mostly eat PUFA filled crap yet they appear to be doing just fine, I'm sure they could feel even better by eating a Peat diet though for sure.

I have tried a few times over the years to come off thyroid medication, the most I can last is 1 week before the symptoms become unbearable and I fully appreciate and am thankful for how good thyroid medication makes me feel. Just think of it like a food, you take the time to eat every day, what extra effort is it to take some medication? The hardest part is dialling things in, assuming you have done that are can source the actual medication then you are golden. Optimal thyroid + optimal diet and rest etc and you will feel better than the general population.

 

[lampofred]

Thanks so much for all the responses! So the consensus seems to be basically that it is very hard to do so, and even if it were possible, it would take loads of time and natural improvements would be gradual (as expected).

I think the root cause of my issues is chronic inflammation because my body tends to be sore and anti-inflammatory diets/medicines like aspirin help my symptoms a lot. The only issue is finding out why my body has so much inflammation.

 

[WestCoaster]

People fail to realize your metabolism (thyroid) will up and down regulate itself based on your activity (or lack thereof), and nutrition. Endocrinologists saying it's impossible to reverse Hypothryoidism is a load of crap IMO. This is exactly why many people now are staying away from Western mainstream doctors and leaning towards naturopaths or eastern style medicine. People need to remember, the medical field is a money making field, and it's a hell of a lot more profitable to keep someone on thyroid meds rather than telling them how to fix it themselves.

People need to remember, your body struggles to stay in balance all the time, 100% of the time and it's aiming to increase longevity. If whatever your lifestyle is at the given moment dictates a down-regulated metabolism, then so be it, that's what it will do. If you're shoveling thyroid medication into your system, yes your thyroid will allegedly stop producing. The same applies to Testosterone therapy, if your getting exogenous Testosterone, your body ceases to produces it. That doesn't mean it's forever, it means there is a period of adjustment until your body realizes "hey I need to start producing again".

Here is what you do OP, eat proper food, and be reasonable about it (moderation). That means include a little of everything in the diet but don't be neurotic about drinking copious amounts of OJ and milk and avoiding PUFA's like the plague, just have a little bit of everything. Start exercising if you're not, we are designed to move, not sit around scratching our heads. If you're not exercising, your body will view that as a means to down-regulate it's metabolism. That also doesn't mean start exercising 5,6, or 7 days a week, maybe aim for 3. Don't fear sugar, but that doesn't mean liberally ingest it in any form (remember moderation). Don't fear meat (red meat), it's one of the only realistic sources of B12 we've got, and a lack of that will cause a cascade of problems, including hypothyroidism.

Also if you are not already, get yourself on a normal sleeping schedule 9pm/10pm to 6am/7am, and get real sunlight. I'm not so convinced red light therapy or whatever it is, is any good. It might be indirectly causing the body to not get it's benefits from actual sunlight.

The end goal here is basically people should not be having to take thyroid meds, Testosterone injections, aspirin, red light, bag breathing and the like. While it may be providing relief in the short term, it might be doing more damage long term if if it's shutting down the body's ability to deal with things naturally.

 

[tara]

The general public and people who appear to have a healthy thyroid from the outside signs (vibrant, good skin, hair, low bodyfat etc) don't eat a peat diet, they mostly eat PUFA filled crap yet they appear to be doing just fine, I'm sure they could feel even better by eating a Peat diet though for sure.

But unless they are in the subset prone to anorexia etc, they may never had spent extended periods in semistarvation - people who eat enough have an advantage over people who don't.

People need to remember, the medical field is a money making field, and it's a hell of a lot more profitable to keep someone on thyroid meds rather than telling them how to fix it themselves.

Keeping people on thyroid meds is a lot cheaper than not - keeping people hypothyroid is more likely to produce a bunch of related issues whose symptoms can all be separately treated with patented drugs. Keeping them poorly treated with T4 only meds might be a way to get the worst (best from profit PoV) of both.

 

[papaya]

Thanks so much for all the responses! So the consensus seems to be basically that it is very hard to do so, and even if it were possible, it would take loads of time and natural improvements would be gradual (as expected).

I think the root cause of my issues is chronic inflammation because my body tends to be sore and anti-inflammatory diets/medicines like aspirin help my symptoms a lot. The only issue is finding out why my body has so much inflammation.

i went off thyroid meds for a few yrs. i replaced them w/iodine. i felt much better(had way more energy) but still had brain fog. i went back on thyroid meds & regret not trying other stuff such as progesterone 1st. i'm trying to go off of them again.

 

[Louisa]

I tried progesterone cream - Sernity cream. It did nothing for me whatsoever. I have now switched to a paleo diet.

 

[James_001]

Yes, but it takes a long time. Also the eating "pretty good" stuff is garbage, commit one hundred percent or don't expect to have great results.

 

[Louisa]

Yes, but it takes a long time. Also the eating "pretty good" stuff is garbage, commit one hundred percent or don't expect to have great results.

I've tried Serenity cream for 6 months- nothing.

 

[dookie]

@lampofred , @Louisa

How do you know you are "hypothyroid"? I've managed to reduce my TSH from 5 to 2 just with dietary means. I heard other people having the same, or better, changes.

Louisa the thing you say about hypothyroidism in your first post on this thread is absolutely false. You don't need to be on "meds for life"; this is the classical mainstream medicine view of every disease. Even Peat disagrees with it - he says that in some cases, merely a few doses of thyroid will activate a person's own gland, so they are essentially "cured" in a few days, and don't need to keep supplementing.

 

[Orion]

Even Peat disagrees with it - he says that in some cases, merely a few doses of thyroid will activate a person's own gland, so they are essentially "cured" in a few days, and don't need to keep supplementing.

Exactly this, plus removing PUFA from diet(also using a temporary low fat approach to remove PUFA from the body) and at least 80grams of good protein (milk, cheese, shellfish).

Ray's audio interviews review these points over and over again, you can listen to them all in the Resources section directly from the Man!

 

[James_001]

I've tried Serenity cream for 6 months- nothing.

I don't know what that cream is but I mean years when I say a long time. Also the rest of your diet/lifestyle needs to be examined as well.

 

[tara]

I've managed to reduce my TSH from 5 to 2 just with dietary means.

Thanks for that report. Nice to know it's possible.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

Unfortunately I think it is very rare for people to heal their thyroid once hypothyroid symptoms start, I'm also not convinced that diet has a large factor to play in compromising the thyroid function.

The general public and people who appear to have a healthy thyroid from the outside signs (vibrant, good skin, hair, low bodyfat etc) don't eat a peat diet, they mostly eat PUFA filled crap yet they appear to be doing just fine, I'm sure they could feel even better by eating a Peat diet though for sure.

I have tried a few times over the years to come off thyroid medication, the most I can last is 1 week before the symptoms become unbearable and I fully appreciate and am thankful for how good thyroid medication makes me feel. Just think of it like a food, you take the time to eat every day, what extra effort is it to take some medication? The hardest part is dialling things in, assuming you have done that are can source the actual medication then you are golden. Optimal thyroid + optimal diet and rest etc and you will feel better than the general population.

Here's the deal though. I'm 24. I've been diagnosed hypothyroid since 20 years old, I have a high TSH and numerous symptoms. My problem with this attitude is that there is just NO research as to what can cause hypothyroidism in a person as young as myself. To top it off, I'm male, so statistically I have an even lower risk of hypothyroidism.
I know what caused my hypothyroidism: fasting, and low calorie dieting. However, I take issue with the explanations for hypothyroidism. I think they are completely wrong. MY diagnosis is 'primary hypothyroidism', alluding to the fact something is wrong with the thyroid. However, there is no research done as to WHAT is wrong. My thyroid shows up fine on an echo scan. There is no visible damage. So, where is the damage? Why isn't it working? I don't have any kind of autoimmune disease. And it just 'doesn't work'. A 20 year old's thyroid just stops working like that, and nobody gives two tosses why. Here's some synthroid, see you in a few months. This is literally anti-science. Nobody is even researching this. Why would they? They don't have to. They have the most perfect treatment that they can keep people on for life.

I think most people like me who are hypothyroid without an autoimmune disease don't really have a problem with their thyroid, but rather with their pituitary, or even hypothalamus. These glands simply stop stimulating the thyroid with adequate amounts of hormones. What's that you say? "The pituitary is clearly making plenty of TSH that the thyroid is just not responding to. It's not the pituitary."
Well, my pituitary tops out at a TSH of 8 and I still don't have enough hormones. Why not 15? 30? Why stop at 8? The pituitary simply doesn't want to stimulate the thyroid any further, and the TSH that is there is not even the actual thing! Now you're wondering what I'm talking about. Read this:

http://press.endocrine.org/doi/pdf/10.1210/jcem-37-5-836
Excess of beta-subunit of thyrotropin (TSH) in patients with idiopathic central hypothyroidism due to the secretion of TSH with reduced biological ... - PubMed - NCBI
A circulating, biologically inactive thyrotropin caused by a mutation in the beta subunit gene.

Hypothyroid pituitaries are secreting large amounts of TSH-BETA. This is a completely biologically inactive form of TSH. Why does it do this? Probably according to directive from the hypothalamus which does not want to increase metabolism to a normal set point. Our thyroids are probably fine, our metabolic control centers and the higher glands in the brain simply do not prefer a higher operating mode. This ties in very well with Richfield's temperature resetting protocol, except that I don't know if resetting temperature would also override those glands to start secreting normal amounts of hormones. It's worth a try.

 

[tara]

Hypothyroid pituitaries are secreting large amounts of TSH-BETA. This is a completely biologically inactive form of TSH. Why does it do this? Probably according to directive from the hypothalamus which does not want to increase metabolism to a normal set point. Our thyroids are probably fine, our metabolic control centers and the higher glands in the brain simply do not prefer a higher operating mode.

Assuming you've thoroughly tried reversing the original suspected fuel-deficit cause of the ongoing low thyroid function by eating recovery amounts of nourishing food reliably everyday for a couple of years, ...

Have you found much in the way of approaches to addressing the low thyroid function via pituitary and hypothalamus? I think I've come across something along the ways saying that spending enough time each day with the appropriate rest and recover brainwaves happening is one key to helping the hypothalamus to support recovery from various ailments. I have not investigated, and do not know how substantial is the scientific support for that approach. I wish I could remember the site and more details - it had other advice too about restoring health, but this was the bit that stuck in my mind because it was a new idea for me. IIRC, the recommended approach involved practicing relaxation - eg via meditation or whatever works for you, and then monitoring to assess whether you are reaching the desired state. And then ensuring that one spends a certain amount of time each day in that brainwave state. I think it might have been in the order of 30 -40 mins a day.

 

[arien]

A friend of mine who normally does not supplement thyroid was very busy with work, developed a craving for thyroid, took it (cynomel and cynoplus) for a few weeks and then lost the craving and stopped the supplement. This illustrates what is possible if you catch a degenerative trajectory early, before it becomes so deeply ingrained. I think probably the intensity, duration and haphazardness of whatever induced a hypothyroid state would altogether correlate with the care and patience required for recovery.

One's basic disposition toward reality, other people and so on can either be in tension or harmony, the former producing anxiety, isolation, fear and despair in the psyche and correlated physiological degeneration, the latter producing calm, optimism and stable differentiation. The calm and coherence of emotions is a useful guide to how our ideas and related dispositions restrain or facilitate optimal metabolism. This, I think, is a necessary element in comprehending how the brain and thyroid relate.

"The peace of all things is the tranquility of order." - St. Augustine

 

[Louisa]

@lampofred , @Louisa

How do you know you are "hypothyroid"? I've managed to reduce my TSH from 5 to 2 just with dietary means. I heard other people having the same, or better, changes.

Louisa the thing you say about hypothyroidism in your first post on this thread is absolutely false. You don't need to be on "meds for life"; this is the classical mainstream medicine view of every disease. Even Peat disagrees with it - he says that in some cases, merely a few doses of thyroid will activate a person's own gland, so they are essentially "cured" in a few days, and don't need to keep supplementing.

I know I am hypothyroid because of blood tests at the hospital.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

Assuming you've thoroughly tried reversing the original suspected fuel-deficit cause of the ongoing low thyroid function by eating recovery amounts of nourishing food reliably everyday for a couple of years, ...

Have you found much in the way of approaches to addressing the low thyroid function via pituitary and hypothalamus? I think I've come across something along the ways saying that spending enough time each day with the appropriate rest and recover brainwaves happening is one key to helping the hypothalamus to support recovery from various ailments. I have not investigated, and do not know how substantial is the scientific support for that approach. I wish I could remember the site and more details - it had other advice too about restoring health, but this was the bit that stuck in my mind because it was a new idea for me. IIRC, the recommended approach involved practicing relaxation - eg via meditation or whatever works for you, and then monitoring to assess whether you are reaching the desired state. And then ensuring that one spends a certain amount of time each day in that brainwave state. I think it might have been in the order of 30 -40 mins a day.

The one thing that I found that legitimately made me feel like my own thyroid status was improved was eating a LOT of carbs and keeping fat low. The day when I didn't take cynomel and ate something like 400+ grams of carbs I felt almost exactly as if I were on cynomel the whole day, so it definitely boosts my T4->T3 conversion. The only issue with that is that it leads to weight gain pretty quickly in my case.

 

[Luckytype]

I have posed this question to a few members privately as I am considering a small trial of haiduts tyromix.

I have classic hypo symptoms - low temps, pulse that rarely breaks 60-65, hair shedding, general fatigue and malaise.

My tsh was 1.36 down from 1.9ish. T3 of 3.2 and a t4 of 1.5. These are better part of the range. So i suspect maybe cortisol is high for some reason

This was a question I had as well. I do fear natural suppression but I am considering this as way to maybe buffer some cortisol production