RE: Re: SELF TREATING by Dr Peatfield

[Guest guest]

, you will learn that for the majority of the members here

joined this forum because they were getting nowhere with their GP or

endocrinologist and many are crying out for the help and support they need to

get back their normal good health and well-being. Sometimes, even though there

are lots of folk telling us 'Thou should not self treat….' have

absolutely no other option. And most of us do not have an option because there

is no alternative.

If ANY of your glands are not producing the hormone they should

be, there is absolutely NO alternative but to treat using the hormone that is

deficient - vitamin/mineral supplements won't do the job, so if your thyroid

hormone is deficient, it has to be replaced.

There are MANY reasons and many medical conditions associated

with thyroid disease that stop thyroid hormone from getting into the cells,

where it does its work. You will see over time that I mention these over and

over and over again - ad nauseum - people must be bored with the same old, same

old but as each new member joins us, they need to know about these. The

following apply to those whose own thyroid gland is not secreting sufficient

thyroid hormone (or they are suffering with resistance to thyroid hormone at

the cellular level, as well as to  those being prescribed thyroid hormone

replacement.

The main condition responsible for stopping thyroid hormone from

working, is, quite simply, a patients thyroxine dose is too low because the

doctor or consultant refuses to increase it, because the serum thyroid function

test results appear OK. Sometimes, the thyroxine dose is too high, yet patients

still don't feel well. They continue to suffer. Some reasons for this:

They may be suffering with low adrenal reserve. The production

of T4, its conversion to T3, and the receptor uptake requires a normal amount

of adrenal hormones, notably, of course, cortisone. (Excess cortisone can shut

production down, however.) This is what happens if the adrenals are not

responding properly, and provision of cortisone usually switches it on again.

But sometimes it doesn’t. If the illness has been going on for a

long time, the enzyme seems to fail. This conversion failure

(inexplicably denied by many endocrinologists) means the thyroxine builds up,

unconverted. So it doesn’t work, and T4 toxicosis results. This

makes the patient feel quite unwell, toxic, often with palpitations and chest

pain. If provision of adrenal support doesn’t remedy the situation, the

final solution is the use of the active thyroid hormone, already converted, T3

- either synthetic or natural.

Then, we have systemic candidiasis. This is where candida

albicans, a yeast, which causes skin infections almost anywhere in the body,

invades the lining of the lower part of the small intestine and the large

intestine. Here, the candida sets up residence in the warmth and the

dark, and demands to be fed. Loving sugars and starches, candida can make

you suffer terrible sweet cravings. Candida can produce toxins which can

cause very many symptoms of exhaustion, headache, general illness, and which

interfere with the uptake of thyroid and adrenal treatment. Sometimes the

levels - which we usually test for - can be very high, and make successful

treatment difficult to achieve until adequately treated.

Then there is receptor resistance which could be a culprit. Being

hypothyroid for some considerable time may mean the biochemical mechanisms

which permit the binding of T3 to the receptors, is downgraded - so the T3

won’t go in. With slow build up of T3, with full adrenal support

and adequate vitamins and minerals, the receptors do come on line again.

But this can be quite a slow process, and care has to be taken to build the

dose up gradually.

And then there are Food allergies. The most common food allergy

is allergy to gluten, the protein fraction of wheat. The antibody generated by

the body, by a process of molecular mimicry, cross reacts with the

thyroperoxidase enzyme, (which makes thyroxine) and shuts it down. So

allergy to bread can make you hypothyroid. There may be other food allergies

with this kind of effect, but information on these is scanty. Certainly

allergic response to certain foods can affect adrenal function and imperil

thyroid production and uptake.

Then we have hormone imbalances. The whole of the endocrine

system is linked; each part of it needs the other parts to be operating

normally to work properly. An example of this we have seen already, with

cortisone. But another example is the operation of sex hormones.

The imbalance that occurs at the menopause with progesterone running down, and

a relative dominance of oestrogen is a further case in point – oestrogen

dominance downgrades production, transportation and uptake of thyroid

hormones. This is why hypothyroidism may first appear at the menopause;

the symptoms ascribed to this alone, which is then treated – often with

extra oestrogen, making the whole thing worse. Deficiency in progesterone

most especially needs to be dealt with, since it reverses oestrogen dominance,

improves many menopausal symptoms like sweats and mood swings, and reverses

osteoporosis. Happily natural progesterone cream is easily obtained: when

used it has the added benefit of helping to stabilise adrenal function.

Then, we must never forget the possibility of mercury poisoning

(through amalgam fillings) - low levels of iron, transferrin%, ferritin,

vitamin B12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc - all of which, if

low, stop the thyroid hormone from being utilised by the cells - these have to

be treated. You need to ask your GP to test your serum levels of all of these.

If s/he tries to tell you there is no association between low levels of these

specific minerals/vitamins, then copy off the information given below to show him/her

just some of the references to the research/studies that have been done to show

that there is.(***)

As Dr Peatfield says " When you have been quite unwell for a

long time, all these problems have to be dealt with; and since each may affect

the other, it all has to be done rather carefully. Contrary

to cherished beliefs by much of the medical establishment, the correction of a

thyroid deficiency state has a number of complexities and variables, which make

the treatment usually quite specific for each person. The balancing of

these variables is as much up to you as to me – which is why a check of

morning, day and evening temperatures and pulse rates, together with symptoms,

good and bad, can be so helpful.

Many of you have been ill for a long time, either because you

have not been diagnosed, or the treatment leaves you still quite unwell.

Those of you who have relatively mild hypothyroidism, and have been diagnosed

relatively quickly, may well respond to synthetic thyroxine, the standard

treatment. I am therefore unlikely to see you; since if the thyroxine

proves satisfactory in use, it is merely a question of dosage.

For many of you, the outstanding problem is not that the

diagnosis has not been made – although, extraordinarily, this is

disgracefully common – but that is has, and the thyroxine treatment

doesn’t work. The dose has been altered up and down, and clinical

improvement is variable and doesn’t last, in spite of blood tests, which

say you are perfectly all right (and therefore you are actually depressed and

need this fine antidepressant).

The above problems must be eliminated if thyroid hormone isn't

working for you.

If you go to the Home Page of this Forum web site thyroid treatment

and click on FILES in the Menu, you will see a long list (alphabetical) of many

FOLDERS. Each folder has a subject heading and the contents of that folder

contain many documents that will help you. So, if you want to know about low

adrenal reserve, click 'Adrenals' and the info you need is there, including a

questionnaire that you should do to see whether this might be a problem. This

is just an example. We can talk you through the different stages you will need

to go through to find out what might be your problem and what you should sort

first.

(***)Low

iron/ferritin: Iron deficiency is shown to significantly reduce T4 to T3

conversion, increase reverse T3 levels, and block the thermogenic (metabolism

boosting) properties of thyroid hormone (1-4). Thus, iron deficiency, as indicated

by an iron saturation below 25 or a ferritin below 70, will result in

diminished intracellular T3 levels. Additionally, T4 should not be considered

adequate thyroid replacement if iron deficiency is present (1-4)).

1.

Dillman E, Gale C, Green W, et al.

Hypothermia in iron deficiency due to altered triiodithyroidine metabolism.

Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 1980;239(5):377-R381.

2.

SM, PE, Lukaski HC. In

vitro hepatic thyroid hormone deiodination in iron-deficient rats: effect of

dietary fat. Life Sci 1993;53(8):603-9.

3.

Zimmermann MB, Köhrle J. The Impact of

Iron and Selenium Deficiencies on Iodine and Thyroid Metabolism: Biochemistry

and Relevance to Public Health. Thyroid 2002;12(10): 867-78.

4.

Beard J, tobin B, Green W. Evidence for

Thyroid Hormone Deficiency in Iron-Deficient Anemic Rats. J. Nutr.

1989;119:772-778.

Low

vitamin B12: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18655403

Low

vitamin D3: http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/3/329

and http://www.goodhormonehealth.com/VitaminD.pdf

Low

magnesium: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC292768/pdf/jcinvest00264-0105.pdf

Low

folate: http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/47/9/1738

and http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/thy.1999.9.1163

Low 

copper http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/copper_toxicity_syndrome.htm

http://www.ithyroid.com/copper.htm

http://www.rjpbcs.com/pdf/2011_2(2)/68.pdf

http://ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/171/3/652.extract

Low

zinc:http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/ffdbiyo/current4/07%20Iham%20AM%C4%B0R.pdf

and http://articles.webraydian.com/article1648-Role_of_Zinc_and_Copper_in_Effective_Thyroid_Function.html

When

these results have come back, get these from your GP together with the

reference range for each test done and we will help with their interpretation.

Always remember that doctors cannot withhold any information that is in your

medical notes under The Data Protection Act 1998.

You

can always decide to wear a Medic Alert bracelet with whatever medication you

were taking if this is a real worry to you, which those members often do who

are taking such medication as Cortisol.

Luv

- Sheila

So, if you know enough about the thyroid, how it works and how it goes wrong,

then how is self-treatment any more dangerous than taking paracetamol for aches

and pains? If you take too much medication, you'll know soon enough. If you

aren't taking enough, you will also know. If you are taking tiny amounts and it

still feels like too much, then hypothyroidism is likely not the problem.

It is something that I am actively thinking about.

My only concern would be emergency medical treatment - if you were rushed into

hospital after a car accident, or if you needed medical treatment for another

condition, would not disclosing your self-treatment present a problem? Or maybe

I'd be best off disclosing my self treatment and putting up with the

disapproving lectures?

[Guest guest]

".....in the old days people asked their Docs for advice but they did not depend on them entirely. They made their own concoctions and treated accordingly..."

I think it is necessary to self treat because the medical profession and national health services are not delivering the goods. It is important to remember that when you have to consult a doctor for a non-thyroid related complaint, don't hide what you are doing because you may have a bad reaction to the medicine s/he prescribes you. Do not be ashamed of the fact you are self treating.

Do also remember that state health systems are paid out of your taxes and you are not being immoral taking advantage of this to get as much medicine and drugs that you need. It's your right. You don't have to choose between a state system and self treatment. You are entitled to help yourself to as much as the state health system as you can get.

My Mum rarely used to take us to the doctor when we were little because she knew what to do. She occasionally took me to get confirmation of a notifiable disease so that I didn't give the whole school chicken pox, or something anti-social like that, but throats, ears and upset tummies were mostly dealt with by my Mum. We also spent as a family a large part of my teenage years in the middle east where dealing with infections, tummy upsets and tropical diseases was a lot more complicated than UK. My Mum dealt with most of this herself. Going to see a doctor was culturally and linguistically complicated and only used in emergencies. We have gotten out of the habit of being responbsible for ourselves and our families. Indeed now most people are convinced that they are incapable of looking after themselves and their kids nowadays and that they have no right

to!!!

MacG.

[Guest guest]

I would certainly agree with Miriam's comments. For those of us on

disability benefits - and with the government trying to force people off

benefits - we literally cannot afford to make things difficult with our GPs

by writing letters, requesting lots of tests, etc. It's obviously not an

ideal situation - but needs must.

Hazel.

www.oneagleswings.me.uk

http://oneagleswingsme.blogspot.com/

They may find it hard to sit up at the computer for long, or to read from a

screen, or they may find reading a book beyond them. Many people find it

takes all their energy just to visit the GP, let alone fight for their

rights. If you need the GP onside to back up claims for benefits that makes

it an even more difficult situation.

Miriam

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