I just wanted to chime in and share with you all some of my experiences. I have had a long history of hypothyroid symptoms since I was in my teen years and it came to a head about a year ago now. Experiencing bigtime depression, hair loss, digestive inability, etc. I implemented some of Ray's dietary advice about 8 months ago and it has made a big difference, especially over the summer when I took some time off work. (I work doing computer work, so it is very sedentary and not much sunlight). I got my vitamin D tested 8 months back and it was a miserable 19. However, over the summer, I had an almost complete reverse of symptoms and some of them have come back recently and I have been trying to find out what was the cause of the good health.
The worst symptoms I have dealt with is terrible edema of the face, tongue, etc. It is definitely water retention and big doses of salt would usually lessen the symptoms dramatically, but I hated taking that much salt. I recently contacted Ray and told him what was going on and he asked me if I was getting enough light. I knew I wasn't, especially since going back home for vacation, my parent's house is always very dark, which kind of explains why my symptoms got worse.
My recent test results are:
Serotonin - 216
Prolactin - 12.7
Vitamin D - 35
High Calcium and Low Phosphate which suggests parathyroid hormone activity
TSH - .007
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms. Edema has gone way down, mood elevation, depression has lifted, more color in my face (probably better circulation), no hair loss, hair looks very shiny and lots of body, etc.
EDIT: This is after 3 days of using the lights. And supplements I take are thyroid, niacinamide, vitamin A, D, E. The point of this post however is that no matter what supplement/dietary thing I took, symptoms would often remain the same.
Hopefully this helps somebody.
The worst symptoms I have dealt with is terrible edema of the face, tongue, etc. It is definitely water retention and big doses of salt would usually lessen the symptoms dramatically, but I hated taking that much salt. I recently contacted Ray and told him what was going on and he asked me if I was getting enough light. I knew I wasn't, especially since going back home for vacation, my parent's house is always very dark, which kind of explains why my symptoms got worse.
My recent test results are:
Serotonin - 216
Prolactin - 12.7
Vitamin D - 35
High Calcium and Low Phosphate which suggests parathyroid hormone activity
TSH - .007
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms. Edema has gone way down, mood elevation, depression has lifted, more color in my face (probably better circulation), no hair loss, hair looks very shiny and lots of body, etc.
EDIT: This is after 3 days of using the lights. And supplements I take are thyroid, niacinamide, vitamin A, D, E. The point of this post however is that no matter what supplement/dietary thing I took, symptoms would often remain the same.
Hopefully this helps somebody.