medication and natural supplement

[olsolo0]

I am wondering if anyone takes a medication (like Synthroid) and then supplements with Armor?  My doctor mentioned that at my last visit.  And after having my last baby, it seems as though my body is wacked out!  Thanks!

[Mo]

Hello Olsolo0,

Is your doctor open to giving you Armour alone or another natural thyroid supplement like Naturthroid? I say this because these natural supplements have other components to the thyroid like T2 along with the T3. It isn't really proven that the other components are necessary but because our natural thyroid is the object of being supplemented, it seems right that all the natural components of a thyroid might be beneficial.

Check my home page of my main website for information on the natural thyroid supplements.

Maybe someone else has done what you are suggesting though and will reply. Otherwise, it may be a great time to try a natural thyroid supplement being that you have a doctor who might be open to that option.

Mo

[CX]

Hi olsolo0:

I was diagnosed with Hashi's about 4 months ago and was given NatureThyroid to alleviate the symptoms. I certainly felt better, but every evening I would get heart palpitations for which I would need to take 10-50mg of beta-blockers.  It wasn't until I starting taking an Ayurvedic liquid supplement (herbs, etc) that the heart palps got better.  As long as I take 3-4oz of this herb mixture, I am doing better than on dessicated thyroid alone.

So, I certainly advise taking herbs WITH your thyroid medicine.  Email me if you want more information.

Blessings!

[olsolo0]

CX, How many palpatations were you having?  I have had them ever since March when my thryoid went hyper after the birth of my son.  They have definatety gotten better, but they still frighten me.  I have worn a holter monitor and they say they are PVC's and nothing to worry about.  I have cut all caffine, but the other day I had some decaf coffee, and noticed some palps.  So I think I can't even have decaf.  My palpatations are like feeling a skipped heart beat.  Was yours the same?  I know they are common, but it is comforting to know that other people have them too.  Also, did you go to a naturalist for the herbs?  What is the name of the herb?  Thanks so much!  P.s. I have had hashi's for about 7 years, but not until recently have I had so many problems.
 

[CX]

I sent you a more detailed response privately, but I wanted to leave one here in the forum to answer the question.

I was having palpitations every evening, about 1 for every 10 normal beats. This lasted for an hour or more, or until I took a beta-blocker.  Sometimes I had to take the maximum allowed dose for the beta-blocker to get any relief.  About 5 weeks ago I started taking Zrii, an Ayurvedic liquid nutritional drink.  I was pleasantly surprised when the heart palpitations stopped.  In the last 4 weeks, I have only taken one beta-blocker!  I am thrilled!! 

Because it can be controversial, I started a blog to track my progress and to test whether or not Zrii is actually the substance helping me.  In about a month or so, I will stop taking Zrii for a week and see what happens.  If the heart palpitations come back, then I know it was the ingredients in Zrii that helped me.

[orna]

Hi CX,
Thank you the info.
I checked out your blog and was very curious about the 'Iodine treatment' that you mentioned there. It would be great if you can update us on how it progressed since November.
Thanks. Orna

[Mo]

Hi Orna,

New research is definitely warning against Iodine supplements for Hashi's. Evidently, they are finding out that an increase of Iodine can precipitate an antibody attack. Please see the book I recommend on the first post of this forum. It is ground breaking information. There are a couple of links within the book post that will take you to a comprehensive interview with a doctor who has focused on Hashi's for many years and he specifically talks about how Iodine supplements now are known to be detrimental to our condition.

Crazy! I even got a round of Iodine last year and my antibodies did increase 3 times. I wonder if there was a connection!

Mo

[orna]

Thanks Mo.
I have also read about this in Dr. Kharrazian's book (Thanks you for introducing it to us!!!), and that is why I was curious to see what was CX's experience with this (supporting his findings or not).

Did anybody else have an experience with Iodine intake that can share it with us?

[Mo]

I agree - we should hear if anyone has had a positive experience with Iodine supplementation.

Now I look back and see that I may have made a lot of mistakes when I went gluten free. One might be my Iodine supplementation. So complicated, huh?

Mo

[kinshealth]

Mo- It was a mistake for you to go gluten free?? I'm curious about that. I guess mainly because from all my research gluten is problematic for so many. Wondering you thoughts


Also to the above poster with heart palps I to get those off and on mainly at night. My ND and herbalist say it's adrenal related. I'm not sure what the stance is here on adrenal fatigue but I think for many thyroid issues go hand and hand with adrenal fatigue. Are you supporting your adrenals in anyway? The mistake I might when I was first diagnosed was to take naturthroid and not support adrenals   Our adrenals go through a lot now days with out stressful lives and bad eating habits(not to say you eat bad).

[olsolo0]

I am pretty sure my heart palpatations were / are related to my hormones.  I tend to get a few right around my period.  I have a question about the adrenals.  How do you support your adrenals?

[Mo]

@ kinshealth- You must be talking about my blog post. You will see at the end of my post I commented that I thought I made some mistakes. Now I am SURE of this. Although I ate "organic" corn, I am quite sure corn caused me problems and Dr. K's book is confirming this. I also think there were other things happening like I was getting Iodine supplementation (at that time my doctor felt it was good and now I know it was probably bad) so the whole gluten free period was likely compromised by other bad choices.

So, again... gluten free can't be "bad" but what other things we are doing or not doing still come into play. What a crazy puzzle this can be. Too bad their aren't any easy answers!

@ olsolo0                        RE: Palpitations - there could be so many reasons for these. I have an article on them. Checking other components of your diet (caffeine, other meds, etc.) is a good, first thing to look at. I eliminated most of mine when I cut out a habit I had of a "coke a day" and realized there was a very obvious link there. But, your assessment of hormonal/cyclic palpitations are also likely right on. It seems we are very good about detecting their roots -now to figure out how to deal with it.

The book I posted (which you might already have) at the top of the forum discusses how to address your adrenals. I'll see if I can bring up more info on that soon. If anyone else has info, please post it.

Mo

[Kim]

Hi Orna,

New research is definitely warning against Iodine supplements for Hashi's. Evidently, they are finding out that an increase of Iodine can precipitate an antibody attack. Please see the book I recommend on the first post of this forum. It is ground breaking information. There are a couple of links within the book post that will take you to a comprehensive interview with a doctor who has focused on Hashi's for many years and he specifically talks about how Iodine supplements now are known to be detrimental to our condition.

Crazy! I even got a round of Iodine last year and my antibodies did increase 3 times. I wonder if there was a connection!

Mo

I have been taking Iodoral 15mg (Iodine/Iodide supplement by optimox), for about 2 yrs.  My tpo is >1000. Off the charts! wandering if iodine is the problem.  I now have nodule on lft side of thyroid (hurthle cell).  Drs going to wait another 6mo before removing. Hashimotos is so hard to deal with.

[Mo]

Hi Kim,

Definitely check out the book on my top post on this forum which has a link also to a discussion which you can stream that might be very helpful to listen to by the doctor that is suggesting a problem with Iodine supplementation.

Glad your doctor is waiting. Maybe you can go off of Iodine for a few months and see if any of your symptoms improve, especially the nodule.

Also, you might find changing other parts of your diet based on Nourishing Traditions by Sallon Fallon. You can find a link to that book on my home page. It is really my "food bible" and I always go back to that for guidance when it comes to food prep and correct ways to eat traditional foods based on research of traditional and historical cultures.

Mo

[alexy]

JUST MAKING A SUGGESTION:
    ANYONE STARTING ON ARMOUR OR OTHER MEDICATION THAT CONTAINS T3 SHOULD FIRST HAVE
A BLOOD TEST FOR ELECTROLYTES, WHICH WILL INCLUDE SODIUM, POTASSIUM, ETC.   
    POTASSIUM: TOO MUCH IS VERY BAD FOR THE HEART AS WELL AS TOO LITTLE.
DECAF COFFEE HAS A LOT OF POTASSIUM.   
    AN EKG SHOULD ALSO BE DONE PRIOR TO STARTING ON ARMOUR OR EQUIVALENT MEDICATION
CONTAINING T3.
    AVOID HERBALS THAT CONTAIN EPHEDRA (ADRENALINE LIKE)
    AVOID ALL STIMULANTS.   
ALEXY.