Can anynone help, please?

[Guest guest]

Hi my name is and live in England. I am writing this email in the hope

that someone in here can offer me some help, kind words, advice, etc.

I have been hypothyroid since the age of 35. I am now 53. At the age of 35 I

started to take synthroid and I took it for about 7 years and then I discontiued

it with the help of some homeopathic remedies and kelp. However, about 8 years

ago I had to go back on it because my TSH and T3 and T4 levels were abnormal. I

have never been well since on synthroid, always with infections, low metabolism

and other problems and as a result I have always wanted to stop it. So when a

neighbour who was taking Armour Thyroid and following Dr Brownstein

Orthoidosupplementation spoke to me about it, I started to take Lugol's iodine

and to cut down the amount of Synthroid I was taking. I was self-medicating

myself with no supervision of any kind. Because I started to notice that the

Lugol's would increase my basal temperature, I started to think that perhaps my

thyroid gland was beginning to work again. I was however wrong. Within a period

of 7 months I cut down synthroid from 112 mcg to 75 mcg, but then a month an a

half ago I forgot to take my daily dose and decided not take it any more. What

happened next was that I went into a crisis and ended up in ER as my TSH became

295 and my T3 and T4 almost negligible. I have been put back on synthroid and

I am currently taking 50 mcg and trying to build it up again. I feel awful. I

have no energy, lots of anxiety, imsomnia, diarrhoea, loose bowels, etc. Part

of it could be due to the lack of thyroid hormones but there is also a genetic

predisposition in my family to general anxiety disorder when things scare us and

I have had two episodes of this in the past.

I went to see my General Practitioner, who obviously told me I was crazy by

taking iodine and discontinuing synthroid. I also went to see a Dr Peatfield

here in England who knows of Dr Brownstein's work and agrees with him in many

issues, but who does not practice as a doctor any more in England but as a

nutritionist and who told me I may have Hashimoto's and adrenal insufficiency

(this is possible because I have had other auto-immune problems in the past

although no symptoms at present)and prescribed a treatment plan for which I have

to monitor myself at home but without proper tests. The problem is that in my

state of mind all of this is very difficult. Dr Peatfield has 7000 patients all

over England and is a very busy man and I do not think he can give me the level

of care I need right now.

What I would like is to find and endocrinolist who can carry out tests, and

advice me on what to do and also perhaps reassure me. I have not had any tests

done apart of the ususual blood tests. No one has had a look at my thyroid

gland or thyroid anti-bodies etc. The usual course of action here in England is

that if you are hypothyroid they just put you on synthroid without any further

investigation.

Even though I live in England, in desperation, I even phone Dr Brownstein's

clinic to see if he could see me but they told me he was not seeing any more

patients at present.

I am feeling really desperate, so I would appreciate any ideas, input, kind

words, advice, names of endocrinologists in England or US. I would also

appreciate it if anyone with Hashimoto's and taking iodine could get in touch

with me as my MD said that if I had Hashimoto's taking iodine was the most

stupid thing I could have done as that would destroy my thyroid gland further.

So I do not know what to think anymore or who to turn to.

Many thanks