What do I do now?

Lin

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Hi Everyone! I have been lurking here for about two weeks. Where to start... I am 70 years old, female, 117 lbs. Have had hypo symptoms all my life, been told it was all in my head. tried every diet in the book: Zone, Paleo, ketogenic, you name it... Just trying to have normal energy and focus--tired of being cold all the time. Found the site two weeks ago and started eating as Peatlike as possible (yes, I even threw out the avocados). I was afraid all the dairy would cause sinus problems (it has in the past) but only a little, at first, so maybe it was what the dairy was combined with... Anyway, tolerating the dairy well. I am entering my food intake in Fitday online and surprised how much nutrition I get without supplements! I do take Mg at bedtime (chelated! yikes!)
Started a week ago supplementing: 1 aspirin/day and vit K, vit D. Also taking enough calcium to balance the phosphorus. Feeling a little better.
Then, a few days ago, started taking temp: First thing in the AM: 97.8 fine. Midmorning: too low for the thermometer to detect! (I was using a fever thermometer! The lowest it can detect is 96. Ha!) This was very exciting!!!! After a lifetime of having "normal" TSH's, and being told it was all in my head, this was the first objective indication that something might really be wrong!!!
That was it! I got a thyroid panel through WellnessFx on the internet. just got my results today, and I'm hoping you guys can help me make sense of them (this is a problem when you have brain fog!) (I did stop the aspirin the day before the blood draw--hope it didn't affect the results)

TSH: 2.34
total T3: 60 (low)
free T3: 2.4
T-uptake: 36 (borderline low)
total T4: 7
free T4: 1.3
free thyroxine index: 2.5
reverse T3: 19

Hope to participate more in the forum... Thanks for reading this.
 

jaguar43

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Oct 10, 2012
Messages
1,310
Lin said:
Hi Everyone! I have been lurking here for about two weeks. Where to start... I am 70 years old, female, 117 lbs. Have had hypo symptoms all my life, been told it was all in my head. tried every diet in the book: Zone, Paleo, ketogenic, you name it... Just trying to have normal energy and focus--tired of being cold all the time. Found the site two weeks ago and started eating as Peatlike as possible (yes, I even threw out the avocados). I was afraid all the dairy would cause sinus problems (it has in the past) but only a little, at first, so maybe it was what the dairy was combined with... Anyway, tolerating the dairy well. I am entering my food intake in Fitday online and surprised how much nutrition I get without supplements! I do take Mg at bedtime (chelated! yikes!)
Started a week ago supplementing: 1 aspirin/day and vit K, vit D. Also taking enough calcium to balance the phosphorus. Feeling a little better.
Then, a few days ago, started taking temp: First thing in the AM: 97.8 fine. Midmorning: too low for the thermometer to detect! (I was using a fever thermometer! The lowest it can detect is 96. Ha!) This was very exciting!!!! After a lifetime of having "normal" TSH's, and being told it was all in my head, this was the first objective indication that something might really be wrong!!!
That was it! I got a thyroid panel through WellnessFx on the internet. just got my results today, and I'm hoping you guys can help me make sense of them (this is a problem when you have brain fog!) (I did stop the aspirin the day before the blood draw--hope it didn't affect the results)

TSH: 2.34
total T3: 60 (low)
free T3: 2.4
T-uptake: 36 (borderline low)
total T4: 7
free T4: 1.3
free thyroxine index: 2.5
reverse T3: 19

Hope to participate more in the forum... Thanks for reading this.

I had similar total t3. I would definitely recommend cynomel and cynoplus.
 
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L

Lin

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Thanks, jag. I have been researching those and will probably place an order. Thinking of adding more aspirin or starting progesterone because my low T-uptake suggests ??estrogen dominance? Wondering how you guys know what and how much to take, since often the effects are subtle. I can't tell any difference with the daily grated carrot, and some people say it does wonders.
 
J

j.

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I personally wouldn't take calcium supplements if I drank milk.

Calcium is important, but excess supplementation, especially when combined with vitamin D, can cause scary things like milk-alkali syndrome.
 

Blossom

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Peat's article progesterone summaries details various ways to use progest-e for your particular context. I would definitely use progest-e as a female in an estrogen dominant world! I think it is a wonderful supplement that has body wide positive effects. He also likes TSH to be close to 0 optimally which you can confirm by researching his various interviews. I'm sorry I do not yet know how to post links like most on the forum. I'm old school and now that I'm healthy I will need to learn. Hats off to you for taking charge of your health! I'm sure you will have great success. Some of this requires self experimentation and it's a bit of learning to really trust in yourself and listen to your body. That's part of why it works because you gain confidence in your ability to improve and maintain your own health.
 
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Lin

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Well, I look in FitDay, at how much phosphorus I've had for the day, and take enough calcium to at least equal the phosphorus. Sometimes I don't take any. Usually it is about 250mg. Sometimes 500, if I haven't had much milk that day. Doesn't Peat say we should do this? I'm not taking any baking soda.
The calcium is oyster shell, but I bought the calcium when I first started reading this forum, so I got OsCal, not realizing the additives might be a problem. It looked easier than grinding my own egg shells! Oh well, this is quite a learning curve!
Thank you, j, for your concern!
 
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Lin

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Thank you Blossom! Yes, this has been an amazing couple of days! All my life I have been told that it was all in my head, or that I was lazy, or slow. I remember when I was about 12 years old, my mother took me to a doctor about my constant lack of energy. He had me breathe into a mask for quite a while, then said there was nothing wrong with me, I just had a low basal metabolism. Duh.
And I just saw an endocrinologist a few months ago, all she ordered was a TSH. (Which was high, but not by her standards).
But now, there are things I can do! And it isn't just in my head!
I'll check out Peat's progesterone articles!
 

Blossom

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It's a shame that so many people trust in the medical profession and have similar or worse experiences as you described. All we can do now is make the most of the healing knowledge we've discovered and support one another the best we can. When I discovered Peat I knew the search was finally over. Welcome to a new reality, one where you actually are see results from your efforts!
 
J

j.

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Lin said:
I'll check out Peat's progesterone articles!

I suggest becoming familiar with all three thyroid, pregnenolone and progesterone.

I think the most effective for overall health is thyroid. Pregnenolone is the safest. It doesn't have some of the effects of thyroid, but the experiments suggest and Peat came to the conclusion that any dose is safe, and that it won't increase one hormone too much at the expense of others. It will be used well. Progesterone is also safer in the sense that an overdose won't give you hyperthyroidism, and has maybe a more immediate relaxing effect than pregnenolone.

I used all three. First pregnenolone, 100 mg daily at first, and a few weeks after staring, lower doses by feel. I took some progesterone, but I'm a male, so then I thought it was better to use thyroid and that's what I'm doing now. Oh, and I'm also less than half your age.
 

himsahimsa

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Lin:
The vitamin K must be K2 which exists as menatetranone or menaquinone. It caboxilates osteocalcin.
Vitamin K(1) allows blood to clot.

Peat's method involves K2.

There is a book "The Calcium Paradox" (See: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/111806 ... UTF8&psc=1) that explains the distinction and has a lot of other useful information. I think it's well written, intelligent, not ghost written and bloated with smarmy anecdotes. Or see the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K.

If you use the menatetranone form, it is best dissolved (disbursed) in something fatty so it will be absorbed well and its period of absorption will be prolonged. Whipped cream always seems to work out well.

I get menatetranone from these guys, http://supplements.relentlessimprovemen ... -p285.aspx, quality seems good judging by a few years use for a specific purpose, and they supply it in the highest concentration at the lowest price per milligram (that I have found). (I got started menaquinone a few years ago as a component of an effort (successful) to recover from fuoroquinolone poisoning)
 
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Lin

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Thanks for the links, Himsahimsa. So much to study and think about...
I am taking Life Extension Super K. It has 1000 mcg phytonadione (K1), 1000 mcg menaquinone-4 (K2) and 200 mcg Menaquinone-7 (K2). The gelatin capsules contain olive oil. I just swallow them. Are you guys applying vit K to the skin?
Reading Peat, I had the feeling he wants us to take Vit K to counteract the anti-clotting effects of the aspirin. But you are right, we should think about calcium absorption too.
 

Blossom

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I also take the life extensions K and think it is a good one. I always take it with a meal that contains protien, fat and carbs.
 
J

j.

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I'd go with Thorne, or something that has vitamin K2 only of the type MK4. There aren't studies showing the safety of vitamin K2 on the type MK7 at high doses. So if you for whatever reason decide to increase your aspirin intake and of vitamin K, then there might be a risk of consuming too much MK7.
 
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Lin

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I'll consider Thorne next time I buy Vit K 2, j, Thanks. Do you take it orally or apply it to the skin?

I tried 100 mg of pregnolone yesterday, but woke up at 3am having hot flashes. I should have known better... I think as we get older, the kidneys don't clear things from the body as quickly, so we can't handle as large a dose as you young guys can! I'll go slower next time. Of course, it might have been some chocolate I had yesterday... I read somewhere that chocolate is estrogenic :cry:
 
J

j.

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Lin said:
I'll consider Thorne next time I buy Vit K 2, j, Thanks. Do you take it orally or apply it to the skin?

I tried 100 mg of pregnolone yesterday, but woke up at 3am having hot flashes. I should have known better... I think as we get older, the kidneys don't clear things from the body as quickly, so we can't handle as large a dose as you young guys can! I'll go slower next time. Of course, it might have been some chocolate I had yesterday... I read somewhere that chocolate is estrogenic :cry:

Chocolate is less estrogenic if you take it with milk or if it's milk chocolate.

Sorry about the hot flashes. Despite the experiments supporting its safety, there are lots of people who report bad effects from pregnenolone. I had such a good experience with it that it makes me want to recommend everybody. What brand did you take? Many recommend to take it in the morning.
 
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Lin

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Glad to hear that about the chocolate!

The pregnenolone is MRM brand. I hadn't heard of it--woman at the health food store recommended it. It has no other ingredients except the cellulose capsule. I took one 50 mg cap. around noon (because that is when I bought the bottle), and another in the evening.
 
J

j.

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Yeah, it doesn't seem to have anything dangerous. Silica is the frequent ingredient to avoid.

However, in iHerb, MRM has some bad reviews of awful effects, which I don't think other brands such as Life Extension 100 mg do. A smaller dose brand I took is Swanson 10 mg (10 mg was without silica when I bought it, 30 mg has silica).
 
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Lin

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Those reviews on iHerb are interesting. Maybe I took too much. But the reaction I had to it was estrogenic, so if it is being converted to estrogen, I should probably avoid it.
 
J

j.

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Yeah, I was just mentioning that last part as general information.

And this is just speculation: When pills have some bad ingredients, sometimes they too could have an estrogenic effect. Many things in our environment have an estrogenic effect, including water from plastic containers (due to the plastic). I'm not claiming it wasn't the pregnenolone itself.
 

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