What if... your doctor prescribed years of pain killers and antidepressants for your Fibromyalgia... when what you needed was thyroid supplementation?
"Recovery from "Fibromyalgia" with T3
Therapy after T4 and Desiccated Thyroid Failed
Fifteen years ago, I published a case study in which a hypothyroid female dramatically recovered from her diagnosis of fibromyalgia by swithching to T3 after she had failed to benefit from both T4 and desiccated thyroid.
Fibromyalgia researchers who work with their heads buried in the sand of failure will dismiss the case, as they did all those years ago, because the report isn't about a blinded study. However, as Carlton Fredericks, PhD noted, such reports are controlled. After all, the woman recovered quickly and dramatically with T3 after extensive treatment with two other approaches to thyroid hormone therapy failed. It is a failure of intellect that dismissive fibromyalgia researchers saw (and undoubtedly will still see) the study as "uncontrolled." By the very unfolding of the woman's case, the trial was indeed controlled.
This highly illustrative case of recovery from "fibromyalgia" through thoughtful administered T3 therapy has for many years been unavailable except through my office. The reason is that the journal containing the report was sold in 1996 to Haworth Medical Press, which didn't make the issue containing the report available to subscribers.
Today, however, Thyroid Science makes the case report available for perpetuity through its open-access webpages. For those who are curious about T3 therapy and its proper use, and how so-called "fibromyalgia" can be relieved with hormone treatment, we republish this case report. "
Introduction to the Case Report at THYROID SCIENCE
Showing posts with label thyroid supplementation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thyroid supplementation. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Friday, October 16, 2009
DHEA, Adrenals and the Thyroid
DHEA is an endocrine hormone necessary for the function of adrenals. If thyroid is given without taking this into consideration, an adrenal crisis may result.
Does your endocrinologist know and understand DHEA?
Link
Link
Does your endocrinologist know and understand DHEA?
Link
Link
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Memory Loss and Thyroid Function
From Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratories
Link
On GDSL thyroid assessment
http://web.archive.org/web/20060328012531/www.gsdl.com/home/assessments/thyroid/index.html
The company has changed its name to Genova Diagnostics and the site is
here.
Memory Loss and Thyroid Function
Every cell in the body, including cells in the brain, contains receptors for thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones can stimulate and change the structure of particular regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus, the area primarily responsible for learning and memory.1,2 They also modulate enzymes that regulate the metabolic rate of brain cells.
Temporary memory loss is a classic symptom of hypothyroidism, a condition arising from inadequate production of hormones by the thyroid gland, or from decreased peripheral conversion of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) into triiodothyronine (T3) in the kidney or the liver.
Fortunately, memory loss caused by thyroid hormone imbalances can often be effectively treated. As a recent case study illustrates, proper diagnostic testing is crucial, because memory loss may be the only symptom of thyroid insufficiency, and may occur without any other physical signs of thyroid imbalance.3
Even sublinical thyroid imbalances can affect mental ability. Evidence indicates that as levels of thyroid hormone thyroxine decrease, cognitive function generally declines.4 Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden found that levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) correlate with episodic memory performance in healthy men and women over the age of 75.5 They speculated that TSH may actually help the brain encode and store memory. Another study reported that memory loss was the only cognitive symptom of subclinical hypothyroidism in a group of female patients with goiter, and was effectively alleviated with thyroid hormone treatment.6
For these reasons, optimizing thyroid function is considered an important tool for anti-aging therapies designed to safeguard memory and cognitive function.7
Link
On GDSL thyroid assessment
http://web.archive.org/web/20060328012531/www.gsdl.com/home/assessments/thyroid/index.html
The company has changed its name to Genova Diagnostics and the site is
here.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
"You may never need another thyroid test again"
Listening to the patient. Empirical medicine. Sir William Osler would approve....
From the page:
“These blood tests – they don’t work for you. They didn’t help you over the last 15 years you’ve been having problems, even when your problems became worse over the last two. It is because these thyroid antibodies variably bind up the hormones you have. There is no way to tell how much thyroid hormone you need based upon blood tests.”
Michelle’s eyes were rolling back into her head and her mouth was sagging open.
She obviously needed more of an explanation. “Let’s try another analogy. When a traffic helicopter flies overhead, it sees all the cars on the road – and says, ‘There’s plenty of transportation to take people around the city.’ But what if a meter maid noticed they didn’t pay their parking tickets and put a red parking boot on some of them. They wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. In order to have enough transportation for the city – you might need twice as many cars. Unfortunately – there is no way to know how vicious that meter maid is – we just know that she is there. There is no way to know how much of a negative effect those thyroid antibodies are having, we just know that they are there. The presence of thyroid antibodies throws off every thyroid test, including the TSH.”
Michelle was exasperated. Slumping back in her chair, “Then how will I ever know how much medicine to be on?”
“You forgot, there is one more type of testing that will be most effective for you.” Michelle became interested again and leaned forward. “We should test the effect that thyroid hormones have on your body. With hormone resistance, it is often easier and more effective to test the function of the hormone, not the actual level. This idea isn’t new. In Type II Diabetes, we know there is insulin hormone resistance. We don’t check insulin levels – we check what it does by monitoring your blood sugar levels. There are many different types of thyroid hormone resistance. In addition to the Reverse T3 phenomenon and Thyroid Antibodies, some people are deficient of essential fatty acids or other vitamins, limiting thyroid hormone’s ability to get into the brain or other cells to have its full effect.9,10 We just have to check what thyroid hormone does in your body.
“Though active thyroid hormone is needed to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, to raise blood sugar when hypoglycemic, and to convert beta-carotene into Vitamin A, there is no specific blood test to show whether thyroid hormone is working properly or not. Dr. Broda Barnes, MD, PhD, who wrote one of the first books on hypothyroidism, ‘Hypothyroidism: the unsuspected illness,' described a simple temperature test using a mercury thermometer.11 Mercury thermometers are more accurate than digital ones, and because they are hard to find nowadays, I’ll sell one to you for a dollar (that’s all they cost me). Here is a handout to describe how to do the test.
“Lastly, I want you to take this sheet of paper that has ten, 10-point scales on it. I want you to write down the ten things most important to you. For the first line, fill in ‘Energy Level.' Zero will be where you can’t get out of bed, ten being where you are excited about travel and are planning a fun trip. If you are spending money you don’t have, you might be at a twelve. Please call me before they take away your credit cards.” Michelle smiled. “Fill in the other nine items with the things most important to you: weight, skin, and mood are three things you’ve already mentioned. Many people also put down constipation, hair growth/loss, nail quality, and cold/heat intolerance, menstrual periods, and libido. Lastly, there are checkboxes at the bottom for ‘Palpitations’ (sensations of your heartbeat) and ‘Anxiety.' If you feel like you have too much coffee or caffeine in your system, you might be getting too much medication. Every so often, scale yourself. If you are getting better – then we know you are on the right track.”
“I think I finally understand these tests, so what do we do now? You said I would have options in choosing my own care.”
Link
Sir William Osler tailored treatment for optimum patient wellness.
From the page:
“These blood tests – they don’t work for you. They didn’t help you over the last 15 years you’ve been having problems, even when your problems became worse over the last two. It is because these thyroid antibodies variably bind up the hormones you have. There is no way to tell how much thyroid hormone you need based upon blood tests.”
Michelle’s eyes were rolling back into her head and her mouth was sagging open.
She obviously needed more of an explanation. “Let’s try another analogy. When a traffic helicopter flies overhead, it sees all the cars on the road – and says, ‘There’s plenty of transportation to take people around the city.’ But what if a meter maid noticed they didn’t pay their parking tickets and put a red parking boot on some of them. They wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. In order to have enough transportation for the city – you might need twice as many cars. Unfortunately – there is no way to know how vicious that meter maid is – we just know that she is there. There is no way to know how much of a negative effect those thyroid antibodies are having, we just know that they are there. The presence of thyroid antibodies throws off every thyroid test, including the TSH.”
Michelle was exasperated. Slumping back in her chair, “Then how will I ever know how much medicine to be on?”
“You forgot, there is one more type of testing that will be most effective for you.” Michelle became interested again and leaned forward. “We should test the effect that thyroid hormones have on your body. With hormone resistance, it is often easier and more effective to test the function of the hormone, not the actual level. This idea isn’t new. In Type II Diabetes, we know there is insulin hormone resistance. We don’t check insulin levels – we check what it does by monitoring your blood sugar levels. There are many different types of thyroid hormone resistance. In addition to the Reverse T3 phenomenon and Thyroid Antibodies, some people are deficient of essential fatty acids or other vitamins, limiting thyroid hormone’s ability to get into the brain or other cells to have its full effect.9,10 We just have to check what thyroid hormone does in your body.
“Though active thyroid hormone is needed to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, to raise blood sugar when hypoglycemic, and to convert beta-carotene into Vitamin A, there is no specific blood test to show whether thyroid hormone is working properly or not. Dr. Broda Barnes, MD, PhD, who wrote one of the first books on hypothyroidism, ‘Hypothyroidism: the unsuspected illness,' described a simple temperature test using a mercury thermometer.11 Mercury thermometers are more accurate than digital ones, and because they are hard to find nowadays, I’ll sell one to you for a dollar (that’s all they cost me). Here is a handout to describe how to do the test.
“Lastly, I want you to take this sheet of paper that has ten, 10-point scales on it. I want you to write down the ten things most important to you. For the first line, fill in ‘Energy Level.' Zero will be where you can’t get out of bed, ten being where you are excited about travel and are planning a fun trip. If you are spending money you don’t have, you might be at a twelve. Please call me before they take away your credit cards.” Michelle smiled. “Fill in the other nine items with the things most important to you: weight, skin, and mood are three things you’ve already mentioned. Many people also put down constipation, hair growth/loss, nail quality, and cold/heat intolerance, menstrual periods, and libido. Lastly, there are checkboxes at the bottom for ‘Palpitations’ (sensations of your heartbeat) and ‘Anxiety.' If you feel like you have too much coffee or caffeine in your system, you might be getting too much medication. Every so often, scale yourself. If you are getting better – then we know you are on the right track.”
“I think I finally understand these tests, so what do we do now? You said I would have options in choosing my own care.”
Link
Sir William Osler tailored treatment for optimum patient wellness.
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