Desperation - Health took a nosedive, etc

PoisonedApple

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May 4, 2015
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So, I've been lurking (reading without registering/posting) these pages for quite awhile as I've been seeing doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist, and am getting more sick and more frustrated by the day.

Backstory: I'm 26 and female, I grew up in constant very high-stress (neglect, poverty, abuse) type situations, and have always had widespread pain in my joints and muscles. I always attributed this to the fact that I had Lyme Disease at age 4 (and was subsequently bombarded with antibiotics) and subsequently "cured." I didn't always have access to food or medical care, and basically existed on cheap, starchy, grain/carb-laden foods. I was up to something like ~265lbs at my heaviest, even though I was barely eating. No amount of calorie counting, eating the "right foods", exercising, whatever took any weight off me, and so in desperation I decided to try going low-carb. I had all the obvious symptoms of PCOS, and after losing over 100lbs, I was given an official diagnosis (of PCOS and of insulin resistance, as well as excess androgens) and a prescription for metformin, and lost a few more pounds. I had never felt better in my life - I had energy, I was an appropriate weight, etc. Granted, I was still depressed and less functional/energetic than most people, but it was the best I'd ever experienced, and was okay with that. I kept the weight off for ~5 years, because every time I started to increase my carb intake, the weight would come back on LIGHTNING fast - and it wasn't just water. Something that took a week or two to gain would take months to lose again, so it just wasn't worth it to me.

In the last year or so, my health took a nosedive. I graduated from my university and lost my insurance, found a job soonishly, and have insurance again elsewhere. But over the last year - no matter *what* I eat, no matter what macronutrient ratios, calorie counts, whatever - I've regained almost 50lbs. Again, this is after keeping the weight loss of ~120lbs off for five years. It's not because I don't know how to count or measure, it's not because I'm not willing to try all the different methods and styles of eating that I can. I had to unlearn and relearn how to eat before, and I've got no problems doing it again. Changing the style of my eating has had zero effect. Even eating *nothing*, I gain weight ... Some days I'm so exhausted that I collapse straight into bed after work, without even bothering to undress, let alone eat. Additionally, the muscle and joint pain has gotten unbearable. Worse than it's ever been - crippling. The fatigue is out of control. I'm sleeping way too much, not getting any rest. I don't have the energy to do anything, see anyone anymore. I've lost more than 50% of my hair. I used to constantly be hot, and now I'm always freezing. Friday, for example, it was 80 degrees and I was wearing a sweater, and my fingers were still bluish from how freaking cold I was. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, reynaud's, etc. There are ANAs in my blood (but no rheumatoid factor, so I "don't" have RA).

The circle of specialists all defer to one another: they all send me to each other to treat my symptoms but nobody wants to address the underlying problem. In the last 6 months, I've gone from 4 medications to 14 - and yet my quality of life isn't getting any better. The weight gain isn't slowing or stopping. The pain is getting worse every day.

I went to a naturopathic doctor outside my insurance to get some labs run that my rheumatologist, endocrinologist, etc wouldn't run. Here's what we found:

TSH 3.17
Reverse T3: 17.6 ng/dl (Ref Range 9.2 - 24.1)
Thyroxine (T4): 12.4 ug/dL "High" (4.5 - 12.0)
Triiodothyronine, Free: 3.3 pg/mL (2.0 - 4.4)
Both kinds of thyroid antibodies - negative
Cortisol: 30.1 ug/dL "High" (6.2 - 19.4)
Lyme tests - negative
HNK1 (CD57) Panel
% CD8-/CD57+ Lymphs: 2.0% (2.0 - 17.0)
Abs.CD8-CD57+ Lymphs 40 "Low" (60 - 360)
No HIV/AIDS
Epstein-Barr, Parvo, Cytomegalovirus, HHV-6 - all positive


________________________


To me, it's glaringly obvious that I have a thyroid problem - most likely some kind of thyroid hormone resistance. How can my TSH be over 3, with "high" T4, and "normal" T3, and yet I have almost *every* symptom of hypothyroidism? The only symptom I don't have is a low pulse (mine is elevated; more on that in a minute) but no doctor, not even the naturopath, will consider my request to let my try some T3 to see if it helps.

What do I do now? I'm miserable, and I'm in danger of losing my job (and therefore insurance) because of my exhaustion. I'm crippled by my anxiety - I've never even learned to drive a car, for example. My hands, feet, and face are swollen EVERY MORNING and I can hardly use my hands/wrists. My knees and hips were my worst joints before, and they've gotten SO. BAD. that I can barely walk around. I have a low temperature when I wake in the mornings, but it "normalizes" throughout the day.

________________
Medications BEFORE all of this:
Bupropion XL 300mg (NDRI; can raise heart rate) (antidepressant)
Adderall XR 30mg (stimulant; can raise heart rate) (ADHD)
Metformin 500mg 2x/day (insulin resistance)
NuvaRing (for the agonizingly painful periods from PCOS; settled on this because the pill exacerbated my symptoms)
________________
Medications now:
All of the above PLUS -
Acyclovir 800mg 3x/day (for all those 'opportunistic' viruses)
Prazosin 1mg before bed (recently stopped taking; it was for PTSD/nightmares but when I take it, the dreams are worse and I can't physically get out of bed the next morning, it's like I'm paralyzed)
Naproxen 500mg
Meloxicam 15mg
Methocarbomol 500mg (3x/day "as needed")
Vitamin D - 50,000 units 1x/week
Fluconazole 1x/week (because if I don't take it once weekly, I get a yeast infection that wont go away. Took a month to get rid of...)
Amitryptiline before bed (I also stopped taking this: I also couldn't get up after I took it)
Spironolactone 25mg 2x/day
...and holy crap, I can't remember the other one?
_________________

I want to be off almost all of this crap. I'm so desperate, at the end of my rope here, and I'm really sick of being told that it's all happening because I'm depressed instead of the fact that constantly being fatigued and in pain and not fitting in any of my damn clothes is depressing. I don't WANT to go on ANOTHER antidepressant. And I *know* it isn't all the medication CAUSING this to happen, because I'm only on these things BECAUSE it's happening. They're ALMOST ALL new medicines.

It seems to me like the writing is on the wall, that it's glaringly obvious that I NEED some T3...but I'm stuck.
Ask me anything if I've left anything of interest out - I'm an open book. A desperate open book.
 

peatypie

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First of all welcome PoisonedApple! You do sound desperate, sick and stressed. Could you tell us what your diet looks like and if you are taking any supplements in addition to all the medications? How much sleep are you able to get?
 

artemis

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Dec 19, 2014
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:bluewave Welcome! Glad to have you here. So sorry you're having such a hard time. You say you've been visiting the forum for awhile now. Just reading, or have you tried implementing any of the ideas yet?

You know we can't give medical advice here, but I think if I were you I'd have to consider starting over -- that is, I'd stay away from doctors except in the case of an emergency, stop all medications, and start from square one with a good diet. I've convinced my sister to do this (her situation was similar to yours), and she's making great progress. Even her cancer (bladder) is in remission.

Obviously you are running on stress hormones. Your cortisol reading confirms this. That should be your main focus, to get your cortisol and TSH down. Your weight shouldn't be your main concern right now. You might consider getting some thyroid from other avenues if your doctors refuse to prescribe it for you. Lots of info on that here.

Best of luck to you on your journey back to health. You will get there!
 
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PoisonedApple

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peatypie said:
First of all welcome PoisonedApple! You do sound desperate, sick and stressed. Could you tell us what your diet looks like and if you are taking any supplements in addition to all the medications? How much sleep are you able to get?

In addition to the medications, I take a multivitamin (to kinda cover my bases), but that's really it.

As for sleep, I sleep a lot. I go to bed between 7pm-10pm most nights, depending on how exhausted I am after work. I get up about 6:30 to go to work M-F, and on the weekends I sleep as much as I "need" (which is... a lot. Most of the weekend - I feel like I need to recover from the week.)

My diet is a little strange right now because I really don't have much of an appetite, and because nothing tried-and-true (for me) seems to "work" anymore. So, some days I'll eat a few sliced up apples with yogurt. Other days, just some cheeses or whatever meat I can force down (Like, a frozen burger patty or a chicken breast cooked in coconut oil). Hard boiled eggs now and then, too. Occasionally, canned soup or something similar. Some days, nothing at all because I just can't force any food in me. I'm just too tired to cook for myself anymore - and I [used to?] LOVE to cook. I tend to avoid grains and most sugars/starches. BUT, since low carbing "quit" working, I've been more lax about letting myself eat fruits but it doesn't seem to do much good for me (except be enjoyable sometimes).
 
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PoisonedApple

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artemis said:
Your weight shouldn't be your main concern right now.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I'm acutely aware of how none of my clothing fits me, and I'm really too broke to buy anything new. It puts a lot of psychological stress on me to have lost as much as I did and to be gaining it back, no matter what I do. I want to "care" less about it, but it's really, really upsetting to me.

Also, the fact that it's piling on is a definite sign that something is wrong. Additionally, I know the heavier I am, the more PAIN I'm in...so, aside from the obvious psychological misery of the weight gain, I'm aware of the fact that my back pain, knees, hips, shoulders, etc are all more stressed and will only get worse if I continue ballooning.

You might consider getting some thyroid from other avenues if your doctors refuse to prescribe it for you.

I've been looking for a few weeks but I can't find anyone that isn't totally sold out of T3-only type meds. I'm a little concerned about getting NDT when my T4 is already "high."

You say you've been visiting the forum for awhile now. Just reading, or have you tried implementing any of the ideas yet?
I've been trying to eat differently, be less afraid of sugar etc, but it only seems to make me worse (more tired, more inflamed, faster weight gain) when I let myself have it. I already avoid a lot of the things that are generally recommended to avoid in this "style" and whatnot. Not much else, except for doing massive amounts of research on a wide range of subjects - which is my LIFE by the way. I recreationally read medical literature - hah!
 
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PoisonedApple

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ravster02 said:
First, I'd recommend taking Cyrpoheptadine because your cortisol is high and it sounds like you're in stress a lot of the time so it will help.

Secondly, get these two tests done, it will help us get an idea of what's going on in your body:

- Basic panel for liver, lipid, kidney, etc, $59: http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/test/pid/14
- Prolactin $39.75: http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/test/pid/62

I'm pretty damn broke right now - copays, seeing doctors outside my insurance, etc, (and I barely make any money to begin with) but I've had all those things run recently - or at least within the last year. They all read "normal" (except my total cholesterol is a little high... not something I tend to worry about, but it IS new. Numbers used to be amazing.) but I may be able to dig up the actual lab values if I dig around.

a lot of exploratory tests may to have to wait because I've exhausted all my resources on what I've already tried and have been doing.
 

haidut

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PoisonedApple said:
ravster02 said:
First, I'd recommend taking Cyrpoheptadine because your cortisol is high and it sounds like you're in stress a lot of the time so it will help.

Secondly, get these two tests done, it will help us get an idea of what's going on in your body:

- Basic panel for liver, lipid, kidney, etc, $59: http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/test/pid/14
- Prolactin $39.75: http://www.healthonelabs.com/pub/tests/test/pid/62

I'm pretty damn broke right now - copays, seeing doctors outside my insurance, etc, (and I barely make any money to begin with) but I've had all those things run recently - or at least within the last year. They all read "normal" (except my total cholesterol is a little high... not something I tend to worry about, but it IS new. Numbers used to be amazing.) but I may be able to dig up the actual lab values if I dig around.

a lot of exploratory tests may to have to wait because I've exhausted all my resources on what I've already tried and have been doing.

I'd second the cypro recommendation if you can find a cheap source or convince your doctor you have allergies. Cypro will do a great job of lowering ACTH and cortisol, but it will also lower histamine and serotonin and will improve your overall health. If you can't find/afford cypro then theanine would be a second choice, or simply drinking more tea. Try to drink black tea if possible since green tea if VERY estrogenic.
As far as high TSH and normal T4/T3 values - this is very common and it is called subclinical hypothyroidism. Google it if you want. Unfortunately, most doctors prefer to do nothing about it unless T4 or T3 drop down.
Since cortisol is high this means estrogen and prolactin will also be high. So, maybe taking some aspirin could help. Btw, I just remembered that aspirin reduces cortisol as well so it could help via multiple pathways. You can also try some vitamin E. There are studies showing it reduces cortisol, and prolactin. And I am sure you are aware of vitamin E effects on lowering estrogen.
If you can get some additional tests for liver that would help make the recommendations more specific. I don't think there is a need to get a check for prolactin, even though it would be good to know the levels if you can afford the test. With cortisol that high, prolactin, estrogen and serotonin will likely be elevated. Also, cortisol raises TSH and vice versa so taking care of TSH may improve things quite a bit.
That's probably good for a start. Let me know if you have other questions.
 
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PoisonedApple

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Thanks, that was very informative. I'll start researching the cypro. And yes, I'm aware of subclinical hypothyroidism - but I don't think that high TSH and high T4 make a lot of sense and point to that. Also, everything I read about subclinical hypothyroidism seems to suggest that the subclinicals have mild or no symptoms.

I'm relatively convinced that I've got some kind of resistance. The few resources I could find online regarding resistance seem to describe me perfectly. Deeper research into things regarding T3 therapy for fibromyalgia, treatment-resistant depression, and even PCOS really seems like they all stem from the same source: that functionally, I'm actually very hypothyroid, because I'm not really making good use of what thyroid hormone is in my blood. And since I'm not utilizing it (or energy) efficiently, my TSH level is on the rise.
 

tara

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:welcome PoisonedApple

Sorry you are having a rough time.
My issues are a bit different from yours, and I haven't got them solved yet, but here are some thoughts anyway.
When I used low dose amitriptiline (10mg) several years ago, I could sleep 10-12 hours too. For a while after I stopped using it regularly, I used ~3mg if I had any trouble sleeping, and that would reliably get me 8 hrs sleep.

It looks to me as though fat gain is often a consequence of restrictive dieting - low carb or low cals - for weight loss. Your body may be defending itself as best it can from the recurring famines it has been subjected to.
While you may want to eventually see if you can get it down, I agree that focussing on getting your metabolism burning a bit hotter is likely to be the way forward.
If you've been chronically malnourished and stressed for a lot of your childhood, that could well have set things of course for you.


Have you used cronometer to roughly assess current nutrition?
Are you getting plenty of calcium (eg 1200-2000mg/day) and more calcium than phosphorus?
Do milk and orange juice agree with you? Have you tried making milk and OJ staples for a while, along with some eggs, gelatine, occasional liver, oysters, and other shell fish?
Are you salting your food to taste?
Does coffee agree with you?

On a couple of non-diet tactics, are you aware of how your breathing is? If you are sleeping a long time and not feeling rested, it is possible that chronic hyperventilation is part of the picture. If you are breathing with your mouth and/or chest at rest, these habits can often be retrained to improve CO2 levels, which can affect many systems, including digestion and circulation to extremities, along with general metabolism. Even hidden hyperventilation, when chronic, can reduce circulation and oxygen supply to tissues. Stress of all kinds tends to promote hyperventilation. I got improvements in my state by retraining to nasal diaphragmatic breathing, esp at night.

Are you getting regular sunshine? Regular gentle movement? Are you able to keep your environment warm enough to keep from suffering freezing hands and feet? Wearing woolley socks etc can help. Letting them stay cold can be part of keeping the cycle going. Warming them up well and keeping them warm can help. I've been known to get out of bed at night to put my feet in a bucket of warm water.

I too think trying a little supplemental thyroid might be reasonable, though I think it is important to be getting the nutrition to support it. If you can't get any from other sources, chicken neck or fish head stock both apparently have some. I have a little chicken neck stock everyday, and I think it helps.
 

tara

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PS. Have you measured body temps and pulse, preferably first thing when you wake up and before you rise, and then again maybe an hour after breakfast? Can give more info about metabolism, and you can track it more easily than constant lab tests.
 

Peat's_Girl

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I'm so sorry Poisoned Apple...
I sympathise with 80% of your struggle (Can't afford to get tested tough, so just stumbling in the dark).
I had a brief honeymoon period with VLC and Paleo and now I'm, stuck unable to lose weight or eat anything without feeling pain. I also have PCOS, and I'm also 26...

I wish I had any advice for you (I'm new here myself), but I just wanna say you're not alone.
Have you read Peat's articles? It seems the only way is to read them and figure out what it means to you, slowly incorporating his suggestions.
No one can help you here, despite their best efforts... You have to figure out yourself which foods heal you and harm you.

i'm learning to eat without fear of gaining weight and you must too! You're malnourished, and you have to let go of the idea that losing weight equals becoming healthier.
Try to eat Peatish foods and concern yourself with how you feel and not how much you gain. I think a lot of the members here gain at first, but they end up losing it once they've repaired their thyroid a bit.
 

Nicholas

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i really do feel your pain. my first thought is that in these cases, often what needs to happen first is a drastic change in perception. it may take a little time to tap into what that would be for you. something analogous to visiting a foreign country. it could be finding a good practitioner that is not a MD. it could be learning a language that fascinates you. it could be learning an instrument. i say these things because they are not simply things to "get your mind off" your struggle - but moreso something that would challenge your brain to re-orient itself. in a word: hope. Hope is always the beginning when you are in these places. The big question is where will this hope come from?

the second thing that comes to mind, as abstract as it may seem....is to spend more time focusing on FUNCTION in the body rather than dysfunction. Stop any and all research that pertains to any of your dysfunctions and limit your research purely to bodily function. This, in itself, will be a source of hope. Do you realize how resilient the human body is?! And do you realize how things can turn another direction seemingly overnight no matter what you read or how you felt the night before? I'm sure you do. Focusing on function is the only thing that makes sense to do. Focusing on dysfunction does not enlighten you in any way. Instead, every day write down the ways in which your body functioned. Did you go to the bathroom? Did you feel tired? Did you feel hungry? Did your pulse raise while sitting or walking out in the sun? Did you eat something? Did you feel it digesting? Focusing on being in health and making positive choices sows seeds for healing....every little step. Focusing on dysfunction and giving into hopelessness (as hard as it is not to) is like birds coming to snatch away those seeds that you are actually already planting whether you realize it or not.

I understand there is more practical work to be done...i just consider these two things to be the introduction to healing. The only practical things i can recommend are the healing practices of East West Healing in California and/or possibly even getting a hold of Kate Deering's new book as she has been influenced by their healing philosophies as well. Following the peat forums or any of peat's research does good to educate you on food profiling as well as viewing the body on the cellular level....however much of the peat world does not focus as much on the practicalities of all of it - like, "how does one actually activate oxidative metabolism anyway?"

Please know that you have many others out there who understand what a difficult situation difficult situations like this can be. You are really just on a journey..which means you are getting there.
 

answersfound

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Amitriptyline will work similarly to cyproheptadine so you could take that in the meantime. It will make you tired but just know it's doing its job. You can drink coffee to deal wit the fatigue.
 

tara

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artemis said:
I've convinced my sister to do this (her situation was similar to yours), and she's making great progress. Even her cancer (bladder) is in remission.
Yay!
 

Nicholas

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also, a free and easy way of reducing cortisol without any ill-effects is walking barefoot in the grass or on the beach for half an hour a day.
 

aguilaroja

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PoisonedApple said:
... have always had widespread pain in my joints and muscles.

I don't have the energy to do anything,...lost more than 50% of my hair...now I'm always freezing.

To me, it's glaringly obvious that I have a thyroid problem - most likely some kind of thyroid hormone resistance. How can my TSH be over 3, with "high" T4, and "normal" T3, and yet I have almost *every* symptom of hypothyroidism?...

The post mentions cold intolerance, fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, muscle pain, hair loss, elevated cholesterol, and PCOS. Probably in a longer symptom inventory, there will be other common low thyroid issue (digestion, elimination, skin, lack of mental clarity or reduced attention, etc.)

Low thyroid function is a very primary thought.

Despite the "lab reference" ranges, even some orthodox groups regards TSH above 2.5 or 3 as a border for hypothyroidism diagnosis. Mary Shomon has mentioned this in her blogs for years:

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2008/08/14/t ... nfused.htm

I recall Dr. Peat observing that many people have symptoms with TSH values above 1. I have met more than a few people with TSH below 1 with a long list of low thyroid symptoms, who were relieved quickly and for the long term through thyroid supplementation. So the lab tests are only a guide, not the whole story.

From what's been said, things are very difficult, not just inconvenient. It would be good start boosting thyroid through supplementation promptly. RP forum has posts about food preliminaries, including adequate protein and cholesterol.

Your nation and region are not mentioned, and things vary depending on location. The most convenient thing is a physician/provider who collaborates with you. I wonder what the naturopath proposes, if not thyroid support.

If it is slow to get thyroid supplementing from clinicians, you might see if you can get one of the nutrients products that are said to contain dessicated thyroid without the thyroxine removed, like Allergy Research Group Thyroid, Nutri Meds or ThyroGold. Ordering thyroid supplements internationally, if necessary, may take longer. You can read on the RP forum about people using chicken neck soup etc as a direct source.

While concern about conversion from T4 to T3 is a worthy thought, it appears far more important to get some thyroid on board, even in the usual 4 to 1 ratios of "natural" dessicated thyroid. It is much easier to fine tune once you start feeling better. In similar situations, I know people who improved noticeably even with modest amounts of an available product. It is useful to be able to adjust proportions of T3 to T4, but starting some helpful product is a priority.

Tracking symptoms, pulse & temperature is always good for monitoring response to supplementation. Lab values can be supportive information. Here, the T4 level is just above the high limit of normal-less extreme than many T3 conversion situations.

Also, you appear to be using two medications from the same (NSAID) category-meloxicam and naproxen. Please be especially careful about side effects of two pills with similar actions.

While not the only factor, muscle pain with pronounced low thyroid function may be related to difficulty retaining sodium (salt) and magnesium, so using salt generously in cooking and as a condiment, and getting food sources of magnesium may be relieving.
 
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PoisonedApple

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aguilaroja said:
PoisonedApple said:
... have always had widespread pain in my joints and muscles.

I don't have the energy to do anything,...lost more than 50% of my hair...now I'm always freezing.

To me, it's glaringly obvious that I have a thyroid problem - most likely some kind of thyroid hormone resistance. How can my TSH be over 3, with "high" T4, and "normal" T3, and yet I have almost *every* symptom of hypothyroidism?...

The post mentions cold intolerance, fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, muscle pain, hair loss, elevated cholesterol, and PCOS. Probably in a longer symptom inventory, there will be other common low thyroid issue (digestion, elimination, skin, lack of mental clarity or reduced attention, etc.)

Low thyroid function is a very primary thought.

Despite the "lab reference" ranges, even some orthodox groups regards TSH above 2.5 or 3 as a border for hypothyroidism diagnosis. Mary Shomon has mentioned this in her blogs for years:

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2008/08/14/t ... nfused.htm

I recall Dr. Peat observing that many people have symptoms with TSH values above 1. I have met more than a few people with TSH below 1 with a long list of low thyroid symptoms, who were relieved quickly and for the long term through thyroid supplementation. So the lab tests are only a guide, not the whole story.

From what's been said, things are very difficult, not just inconvenient. It would be good start boosting thyroid through supplementation promptly. RP forum has posts about food preliminaries, including adequate protein and cholesterol.

Your nation and region are not mentioned, and things vary depending on location. The most convenient thing is a physician/provider who collaborates with you. I wonder what the naturopath proposes, if not thyroid support.

If it is slow to get thyroid supplementing from clinicians, you might see if you can get one of the nutrients products that are said to contain dessicated thyroid without the thyroxine removed, like Allergy Research Group Thyroid, Nutri Meds or ThyroGold. Ordering thyroid supplements internationally, if necessary, may take longer. You can read on the RP forum about people using chicken neck soup etc as a direct source.

While concern about conversion from T4 to T3 is a worthy thought, it appears far more important to get some thyroid on board, even in the usual 4 to 1 ratios of "natural" dessicated thyroid. It is much easier to fine tune once you start feeling better. In similar situations, I know people who improved noticeably even with modest amounts of an available product. It is useful to be able to adjust proportions of T3 to T4, but starting some helpful product is a priority.

Tracking symptoms, pulse & temperature is always good for monitoring response to supplementation. Lab values can be supportive information. Here, the T4 level is just above the high limit of normal-less extreme than many T3 conversion situations.

Also, you appear to be using two medications from the same (NSAID) category-meloxicam and naproxen. Please be especially careful about side effects of two pills with similar actions.

While not the only factor, muscle pain with pronounced low thyroid function may be related to difficulty retaining sodium (salt) and magnesium, so using salt generously in cooking and as a condiment, and getting food sources of magnesium may be relieving.

I'm in the USA, and I can't even get my naturopath to prescribe me anything for it, despite the fact that she thinks my theory of thyroid resistance is "reasonable." She did put me on 800mgs of acyclovir 3x/daily to help me with all of the opportunistic viruses I have. I ordered some T3 the same night I first posted here, and it came. My only real worry is that it's fake. HOWEVER...

I took it for the first time today (25 mcg) and I know it's too early to rule out the placebo effect, but it feels like someone put new batteries in me! My body aches are SO reduced, my hands are still cold but not BLUE ice cubes, my mind is clearer (like the first time I took my adderall RX for ADHD) and I don't feel depressed. Like, at all. Like, I didn't even know that this state of being EXISTED, I've been depressed since I was a child.

I hope that it's working, and it isn't a temporary placebo effect. And I hope it keeps working! I really don't want to get my hopes up, but this is VERY encouraging. I have a psychiatrist appointment next week and I plan on disclosing my theory and what I've done (checked the law, they can't "tell" on me), and (if this actually works for longer than just today) ask if I can have a "legit" RX for it since it's often given for treatment-resistant depression - which I have - anyway.

Regarding the NSAIDs: yes, I'm aware of this, and even occasionally take OTC ibuprofen as well. My rheumatologist seems okay with this because she *really* doesn't want to give me painkillers...for some reason.
 

pboy

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rather than take thyroid, why not just eat adequate carb calories, with enough iodine and selenium and protein (not that much needed) to allow your body to produce it? its actually really simple...the body responds immediately
 
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PoisonedApple

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pboy said:
rather than take thyroid, why not just eat adequate carb calories, with enough iodine and selenium and protein (not that much needed) to allow your body to produce it? its actually really simple...the body responds immediately

Well, because doing that, I still felt like complete crap (on top of being nauseated from eating when not hungry), and the only thing that actually happened was that I gained weight. A lot of it. Even when I hung on and really waited for things to work and even out. So, no, it doesn't seem to be that simple.
 

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