Feeling worse and am in the worst health I've been in a while. Need guidance. Can't figure out why.

[GreekGod]

The good news is you are very young at 18, your body can and will heal itself if you give it what it needs and are patient. I m guessing that your problems are the result of many lifestyle and diet decisions over the past 10 or 15 yrs. My guess is you do need liver support as your body is trying to detox all the time.

I d like to here about your regular dietary foods intake, beverages, otc and prescribed meds history, sleep practices, any major stressor s in your life past or present.

I have many many thoughts and ideas for you to try but need to know more about the big picture.

 

[chrstn4o]

I have been struggling with health issues for a minute now. I am an 18 yo male and am recovering from marijuana and tobacco addiction. I smoked for about 4 years chronically. My health has deteriorated since. I have eczema, seb derm, slight hypothyroidism, nutrient deficiencies, mental health issues, sleep issues, gut issues, hair loss, skin issues, liver issues...

Over the past 2-3 years, my health has gone down. And over the past 2 years my skin issues have worsened into full body eczema, before it was just dandruff then seb derm, then gut issues, etc... eczema... so many more issues.

My labs showed I had a high reverse t3 which was out of the range. My t3 was below the range and my t4 was barely within the upper range. So I had a t4 to t3 conversion issue. Maybe from a compromised liver from the chronic stress and drug and tobacco use. My TSH was 3.11 and my temps and pulse were low and I struggled with constipation. My mood and mental state has also been different and I struggle with what I believe to be a case of low grade ADD, or maybe it's just a lack of discipline and an abundance of laziness. I decided I wanted to fix my health since.

My family has a strong family history of thyroid disorders. My grandfather had hyper, while my grandmother and my uncle and aunts had hypo. My mother has hypo. My dads health is horrible as well, so genetics have not been kind to me. I need to get on top of this..... if it's even possible....Is it? To completely course correct?

Since the results of my labs. I have been trying to get into health and medicine. I found Ray's work from my research on thyroid. I have since supplemented t3. I think I dosed too high and had dirahhea so I lowered my dose and I'm pooping better. Still think I need to lower it just a bit. Maybe less than 25 mcg a day. Does anyone know the average dosage before the thyroid downregulates hormone production? I want to use t3 as a supplement, and not so much a medication. Accurately monitoring labs to dose properly is key, with the objective being to use as little t3 as possible to achieve hormone equilibrium.

My most recent labs look better now I think-

View attachment 54614

My free t3 improved but my free t4 tanked. I didn't do total t3 and t4 when I first did baselines so I don't have that. Anyways, I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than me can shed some light on the matter. I need to redo my trace minerals and b vitamins again because my hair mineral showed I was deficient in a lot of things. I had a b1 deficiency, which maybe could have even been the cause of everything but I'm not sure. I had a mercury filling removed. Now I just have a root canal left to take out, which is happening soon. And if you aren't familiar with why this relates, @mostlylurking knows a lot about it, thiamine deficiency could be caused by mercury.

I have been taking a probiotic and I have issues with probiotics for some reason. I took them before and it flares my eczema up even more. Could this be a clue? Histamine issues from the probiotic?


Also my bilirubin is elevated... another problem now... Anyone know why?

What you need to focus on is the gut and the liver. The other stuff will start falling into place after that. Multiple liver flushes would be extremely beneficial. If you can afford a gut test to see what is going on in there, that would really help guide the clinical process.. GI-MAP is a good one. Otherwise a gradual herbal cleanse would be what I would do in this situation if it was me.

 

[liam183]

This screams gut issues

 

[ALS]

TSH is too high which would in and of itself increase inflammation.

His recent labs state TSH is 0.43, which is just fine. Peat stated it should be <1.0

 

[ALS]

This screams gut issues

I agree. I have Hashimoto's and probably SIBO. I take charcoal caps and carrot salad for the gut. Without that, I wouldn't be able to tolerate dairy, and even still, I get eczema from it. The gut issues seem to be a major cause of problems in my case.

I have found probiotics to be problematic. The only one that wasn't was Megasporebiotic, which unlike the others, made me feel noticeably better. The only part of the gut that needs probiotics is the large intestine.

There was an engineer who figured his severe eczema came from vitamin A overload, They add it to dairy. Once he cut the Vit. A foods, his eczema disappeared.

See what works for you.
View: https://youtu.be/Pi0O_fzczYA

 

[GreekGod]

I would try to focus on a whole body approach rather than treating specific symptoms. I wouldn't waste much time w
Blood work, it's likely not going help you at all. Been there, done that. No help.

I d look at your diet. Eliminate foods w corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, no artificial sweeteners of any kind, no gmo ingredients. Cut out most stimulants like caffeine sodas.

For sleep, I d try about 500 to 700 MG of glycine before bed. Works great for most people that try it and calms the nervous system.

If it's a gut issue, and it sounds like it could be involved, what I d try is about 100 MG of borax in a glass of water in the mornings on an empty stomach. If candida overgrowth is involved, this will help clean things up. Drop the pro biotic and try some real refrigerated sauerkraut juice. Just drink a shot 2 or 3 times per day for a week. Another idea is lugols iodine drops, about 3 to 5 drops in a glass of water to start out.

I have many many more ideas but I d try those to start. Let me know if any questions.

 

[GreekGod]

For the liver issues, you could try a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice w a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil in warm water once per day. I find that taking some curry powder or turmeric helps also. Maybe 300 to 500 MG would be a starting dose.

 

[mostlylurking]

His recent labs state TSH is 0.43, which is just fine. Peat stated it should be <1.0

Sounds fine; maybe I misread it or just saw the first one....

 

[dervmai]

Sounds fine; maybe I misread it or just saw the first one....

Should I be trying to shift to NDT instead? Wanted your opinions on this? I read on here and from what I read I should be using the t3 to clear the rt3 in my system, then shift to NDT.

 

[dervmai]

I agree. I have Hashimoto's and probably SIBO. I take charcoal caps and carrot salad for the gut. Without that, I wouldn't be able to tolerate dairy, and even still, I get eczema from it. The gut issues seem to be a major cause of problems in my case.

I have found probiotics to be problematic. The only one that wasn't was Megasporebiotic, which unlike the others, made me feel noticeably better. The only part of the gut that needs probiotics is the large intestine.

There was an engineer who figured his severe eczema came from vitamin A overload, They add it to dairy. Once he cut the Vit. A foods, his eczema disappeared.

See what works for you.
View: https://youtu.be/Pi0O_fzczYA

Thinking it's gut and also the liver. I will start a liver cleanse and gut detox protocol tomorrow. I am done smoking and eating like crap.

 

[mostlylurking]

Should I be trying to shift to NDT instead? Wanted your opinions on this? I read on here and from what I read I should be using the t3 to clear the rt3 in my system, then shift to NDT.

If it was me, I'd switch to NDT. I use NP Thyroid made by Acella. I took Armour NDT for many years (15+), but in 2014, the company sold and the new owners decided to take the calcitonin out and sell it as a separate product which left the original NDT by Armour worthless. It nearly finished me off; I got rheumatoid arthritis. Switching to the Acella product resolved the rheumatoid arthritis quickly. So I'm a big fan of Acella's NP Thyroid.

You could do a little research into what exactly causes rt3. High estrogen? High stress? PUFA? High cortisol? I don't really know. High cortisol seems to be a popular culprit to blame it on.

Reverse T3 Treatment Guide + How to “Flush” it out of Your Body

Reverse T3 could be the missing link to finally explain why you still have hypothyroid symptoms despite taking thyroid medication. The crazy part is that most doctors don't even order reverse T3 and, even if

www.restartmed.com

"What causes elevated reverse T3 levels, and what should you look out for?

• Calorie-restricted dieting – Especially HCG -based diets or VLCD (very low-calorie diets). These diets (4) have been shown to reduce metabolism and increase reverse T3.
• Chronic illness and infections – This includes viral infections like infectious mononucleosis (5), bacterial overgrowth syndromes like SIBO, and even chronic illnesses like cancer, cardiac/heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and even obesity itself.
• Chronic Inflammation – Any cause of inflammation can result in decreased T4 to T3 conversion (6) and higher levels of reverse T3.
• Chronic untreated Gut infections – Up to 20% of T4 (7) is converted to T3 in the gut, which means if you have gut issues you may be missing out on up to 1/5th of your conversion power. Gut imbalances that thyroid patients deal with include SIBO, dysbiosis, reflux/GERD, yeast overgrowth, history of chronic antibiotic use, and inflammatory bowel disease.
• Emotional and physiological stressors (8) – This includes social issues like the death of a loved one, family problems, divorce, etc. It also includes psychological (PTSD) and physical trauma (motor vehicle accidents, TBI, or otherwise) (8).
• Some Prescription Medications – The most common medications causing elevated reverse T3 include blood pressure medications, diabetic medications, anti-seizure medications, narcotics, and antidepressants. A common example is the use of beta blockers which can be used to treat the symptoms of hyperthyroidism (9) in addition to elevated blood pressure (10)."

-end paste-

Please note that many of the things listed above are caused by a thiamine deficiency/functional blockage. I'm not saying that's what's wrong with you, I'm just making an observation. Thiamine deficiency blocks metabolic function (aka oxidative metabolism). Also note that magnesium deficiency is a cause of high cortisol and magnesium is known to lower cortisol. see here:

Magnesium Status and Stress: The Vicious Circle Concept Revisited

Magnesium deficiency and stress are both common conditions among the general population, which, over time, can increase the risk of health consequences. Numerous studies, both in pre-clinical and clinical settings, have investigated the interaction of ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

If you have a magnesium deficiency and you take thiamine, it can make you feel worse.

Although I don't remember having a problem with rt3 fall of 2020, I did have pretty severe symptoms of hypothyroidism even though I was taking my optimum dose of NP Thyroid (180mg=3grains). I thought I had gotten hold of a bad batch of the NDT. I also knew that I was having real problems with a thiamine deficiency/functional blockage and was taking a higher dose of thiamine hcl (around 1 gram/day) at that time. So I got my thyroid blood tests run 2 months early. The tests showed my t3 was dangerously high. The doctor told me that too much t3 (=hyperthyroidism) blocks thiamine function which blocks oxidative metabolism. So he lowered my NP Thyroid dose down to 135mg. And I continued to increase my thiamine hcl. And I got well.

I hope you find this helpful. Rt3 is pretty confusing, as are the symptom similarities of hypothyroidism and thiamine deficiency. Throw in a borderline magnesium deficiency and things could really get confusing.

-edit- I want to also point out that Ray Peat has said that hypothyroid people have trouble "holding onto" magnesium; I think that means they are more likely to have a magnesium deficiency. A magnesium deficiency would make inflammation more likely. Inflammation is said to be a cause of rt3.

 

[GreekGod]

Hey derv. I wouldn't take thyroid supplement. In many cases it's pufa s that cause thyroid dysfunction and fluoride which is in tap water, wine, beer and sprayed on many fruits and vegetables.

You can get the fluoride out w tamarind. Buy the paste and make a hot drink with it. It's proven to cause fluoride excretion. I ve been doing it on and off for 10 years. Some iodine drops can help also. Eating some lightly cooked beef like ribeye steak or hamburger meat w some fat in it seems to help also.

You sound like the typical 18 year old full of junk foods basically. I m wondering if you took any if the injections? Those are screwing up alot of health nowadays. Ì m hoping you did not.

 

[mostlylurking]

And over the past 2 years my skin issues have worsened into full body eczema, before it was just dandruff then seb derm, then gut issues, etc... eczema... so many more issues.

Consider taking small doses of riboflavin (less than 40mg)/day and niacinamide, around 90mg 3-4Xday.

I have since supplemented t3. I think I dosed too high and had dirahhea so I lowered my dose and I'm pooping better. Still think I need to lower it just a bit. Maybe less than 25 mcg a day. Does anyone know the average dosage before the thyroid downregulates hormone production? I want to use t3 as a supplement, and not so much a medication. Accurately monitoring labs to dose properly is key, with the objective being to use as little t3 as possible to achieve hormone equilibrium.

If you are going to take thyroid supplements you need to find a good endocrinologist to help you. Too much T3 blocks thiamine function. It can also give you heart palpitations.

My free t3 improved but my free t4 tanked. I didn't do total t3 and t4 when I first did baselines so I don't have that. Anyways, I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than me can shed some light on the matter

I've been taking NDT for over 25 years. I rely on a good endocrinologist to help me and I get blood tests every 6 months. I've found that it can be helpful to ask local pharmacists which doctors prescribe NDT to cut down on the time it takes to find a good doctor to help.

 

[mostlylurking]

Thinking it's gut and also the liver. I will start a liver cleanse and gut detox protocol tomorrow. I am done smoking and eating like crap.

The gut and the liver (actually, all of the digestive tract) benefit from thiamine.

SIBO, IBS, and Constipation: Unrecognized Thiamine Deficiency? - Hormones Matter

Is it possible that small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is simply a symptom of an underlying vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency?

www.hormonesmatter.com

Thiamine and the Microbiome - Hormones Matter

Health depends on the 70-100 trillion single-celled organisms that live in our intestines.

www.hormonesmatter.com

How Can Something As Simple as Thiamine Cause So Many Problems? - Hormones Matter

Is thiamine deficiency too simple to explain the devastating nature of the systemic adverse reactions to some vaccines and medications?

www.hormonesmatter.com

 

[dervmai]

Hey derv. I wouldn't take thyroid supplement. In many cases it's pufa s that cause thyroid dysfunction and fluoride which is in tap water, wine, beer and sprayed on many fruits and vegetables.

You can get the fluoride out w tamarind. Buy the paste and make a hot drink with it. It's proven to cause fluoride excretion. I ve been doing it on and off for 10 years. Some iodine drops can help also. Eating some lightly cooked beef like ribeye steak or hamburger meat w some fat in it seems to help also.

You sound like the typical 18 year old full of junk foods basically. I m wondering if you took any if the injections? Those are screwing up alot of health nowadays. Ì m hoping you did not.

No nothing like that, the worst thing I took was LSD. I mean I could have gotten laced from the weed but I hope not. I'll try your tamarind recommendation, I'm a bit scared to try Iodine though. I am very neurotic, and I am always stressed, ever since a kid. Not sure if it means anything but I just feel I stress more than your average Joe. Your the 2nd person telling me to hop off thyroid, I'm still not understanding why. Isn't t3 supplementation a main part of Ray's philosophies? To use t3 to counteract natural aging and the inevitable triggers that we will face in this modern era like EMFs, bad air quality, pollution etc... all of which is surely done by the greedy elites to control population, and to weaken the people so that we can be distracted and divided. Sorry if I sound like a conspiracy theorist, I guess I'm just mad I didn't know this earlier in life, I guess I'm just looking for someone to blame.

Is it because of my age? I am only 18, I'm not aware of when your body starts to deteriorate in terms of optimal hormone production, I think I read like 20-25? Not sure at the time of writing this.

 

[Doublecapricorn]

This is anti peat, but maybe you are consuming too much Vitamin A? Have you ever taken accutane?

 

[GreekGod]

I don't think that there is any reason to ever need thyroid supplements. Your thyroid will be fine, but a cleanse is likely in order. The fluoride takes the place of iodine in your thyroid and you end up with thyroid dysfunction. I can only say I ve taken iodine drops for almost 20 years now. There are different forms, the nascent works well, I use the lugols 2 pcnt.

Relative to feeling high stress, try the glycine before bed. It has a calming effect. Gaba can help also. I m wondering how many vaccine injections you ve had both as a youngster as well as the covid injections. ?

 

[mostlylurking]

Isn't t3 supplementation a main part of Ray's philosophies?

Ray Peat was focused on optimizing oxidative metabolism because this would provide the energy the body needs to repair itself and function optimally. Multiple things affect oxidative metabolism, not just t3. Nutrition is really important. If you try to fire up the metabolism but are missing key nutrients (vitamins/minerals) then your body won't be able to respond to the t3 and things get more out of whack.

Is it because of my age? I am only 18, I'm not aware of when your body starts to deteriorate in terms of optimal hormone production, I think I read like 20-25? Not sure at the time of writing this.

Deterioration of the body (and health) is facilitated by the amount and type of toxins, including heavy metals, that your body accumulates. Toxin load disrupts oxidative metabolism.

So, 2 things: #1 improve oxidative metabolism (and nutrition) to optimize the body's ability to become and stay healthy; #2 improve toxin status by optimizing the detox system and avoiding more toxins. If the body can lower its toxin load it can heal itself.

 

[mostlylurking]

I don't think that there is any reason to ever need thyroid supplements.

If your thyroid has been damaged by toxins (i.e. heavy metals, radiation), then you will need thyroid hormone supplementation.

 

[HeyThere]

I have been taking a probiotic and I have issues with probiotics for some reason. I took them before and it flares my eczema up even more. Could this be a clue? Histamine issues from the probiotic?

For some this is 100% true. I am one of them. Some probiotics are higher in histamine/trigger histamine than others.