Thyroid stuff

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sari on April 15, 2008 at 8:14pm

Hi Jennifer,

There are natural supplements which support thyroid function. The formula I like is called "thyroid strength" by "traditional therapeutix." You can buy it at your favorite seller:
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&ned=&q=thyroid+strengt...

Here's my 2 cents, as a med student and pharmaphobe:
It is important to understand the cause of your hypothyroid. It is likely that it is causing your depression so I'd be pretty motivated. The most common cause in your demographic is Hashimoto's- an autoimmune disease in which the body's own antibodies attack the thyroid. If this is what you have, you may want to see how damaged the thyroid is to inform your decision whether to take "supportive supplements" or consider the more aggressive TH replacement.

Gabriel Cousens is a bit of a hero to me and I respect his assessment. However, he may have been examining the subtle energetic body. What your doc probably found a hypofunction in is the crude body. That's the level at which we're trained to treat. If it were me, I'd take the supplement for four weeks and get reevaluated. If there's no improvement, I'd consider the meds. I totally sympathize with your hesitation but I have seen people feel much better once their thyroid is working well. It's an insidious syndrome. You're cold, tired, achey, gain weight, depressed. Not fun. I know.

Hope you find healing! Please keep me posted!
Love,
Sari

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jef on April 16, 2008 at 11:50am

Sari, thanks. How would I see "how damaged the thyroid is"? Are there tests for that? My TSH is 3.89, my T3 is 3 and my T4 is 1.06. Can you tell by those numbers?

Is Hashimotos cureable, and how would I know if I have it? What do you mean by my demographic?
My mom had low thyroid, and was on medication to keep from having a miscarriage.
My cousin on her side is on medication, and thinks "all the Millers" are low in thyroid.
Anyway, I think I'm going to do the supplements, exercise and better raw diet and then retest.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sari on April 16, 2008 at 2:52pm

Hello Jennifer!
I'll try to answer some of your questions, though would definitely recommend you go to a great endocrinologist and be open about your hesitance to take drugs. Endocrins see tons of these cases a year and should be able to offer alternative approaches.
Your numbers do indicate decreased thyroid function (lo-normal T3, T4) with appropriate pituitary compensation (hi-normal TSH), but these numbers are not alarming, so that's good. What I mean by demographic is that considering you are an adult woman in the US, the most common cause is Hashimoto's. Other common causes are iodine deficiency and thryoid ablation, but these do not fit your description at all. That doesn't mean that this is what you have, but it is easy enough to find out. Request to check your levels of antibodies against thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin. Call the doc's office to see if they already tested this when they tested your TH levels. There's not a "cure," but since it is a disease that prevents the thyroid from producing enough thyroid hormone, the "standard" treatment is to give a synthetic version of this hormone.

I have read others' wonderful advice to you and I do agree that the whole body is connected. Any dis-ease can be a physical manifestation of an emotional or energetic imbalance. However, in my unifying view, the specific way the physical body expresses this disharmony is rooted in our DNA. Some people get migraines, some people get acne, it seems that "the Millers" get hypothyroidism. It is wonderful to do spiritual work toward healing, but I wouldn't dismiss the physical component.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sari on April 16, 2008 at 2:56pm

One more piece that may help as you heal yourself. I teach yoga and there are a couple postures I do when I need more energy and want to stimulate the thyroid. If you ever go to a class, ask the teacher to show you plow and shoulderstand. Until then, you can do this a couple times a day: press your chin into your chest as you exhale and squeeze for as long as is comfortable. Release, recover, and repeat a four more times.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Uti on April 15, 2008 at 11:55pm

IMO, The natural way of healing your low thyroid is to see the thyroid as part of a bigger, more complex picture. Addressing your emotional health issues is paramount. Your stress level is affecting your whole endrocrine network, not just the thyroid, your adrenal glands are probably overworked from the stress and when they go into deep fatigue other serious health issues may begin to manifest. Graham gives an excellent lay explanation of this in his 80-10-10 Diet book. Realize that this is an inside job and you will begin to address the underlying Root emotional causes and behaviors that are sabotaging your diet by eating junk. Relying on outside authority figures for your every move will not build inner strength. They are resources that can be used wisely to guide you, as long as you do not give your power away to them and make them responsible for your successes or failures.
Love From Uti

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jef on April 16, 2008 at 12:10am

Uti,
Can i hide nothing from you? How did you know I give my power away? How did you know I rely on outside authority figures? I've been realizing this, ...........
love,Jennifer

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Uti on April 16, 2008 at 12:29am

Sweet one, you don't have to hide anything---it all shows on you.

I just witnessed you giving your power away to an allopathic nurse practicioner who can' see the big picture of your whole being and immediately wanted to hook you in to drug therapy. For god's sake at least go to an endocrinologist, someone who knows the whole system, before you subject your body to drugs. You did it with Cousens. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, you also learned a lot about Raw at Tree of LIfe and saw that when you commit yourself to it your health gets better.

I've been there on a lot of issues you have posted about. I've been sitting for 10 years with people who are working on their healing and sharing their process with no secrets withheld in the room.

Everyone has the delusion that their circumstances are special and not like every one else's. That delusion justifies doing nothing to change their lot in life and move towards a higher level of consciousness instead of constantly reacting from our animal nature. "But I'm Different" or this one, "Everyone is Unique" are myths we try to pull over people's eyes. My reality is that at a core level we're all pretty much the same, some get a little more creative in their effort to keep up the delusion. But in the end, just like in the Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls the Wizard's curtain back, we get exposed for what we truly are, ordinary.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jef on April 16, 2008 at 1:32am

Dearest Uti,
I am not taking the drugs, and don't plan to. I am not that brainwashed, yet... :)
True, even after I told her about my Tree experience, she still just assumed I wanted drugs. She seemed interested, but ...............well, .............didn't seem to believe that green juice could taste that good.
You are right, as usual, but I haven't given ALL my power away yet, and I don't plan to....:) Have I/? QUick, don't answer, or I will be givingYOu my power...
But wait, are you saying I give my power away to Gabriel, by believing every word out of his mouth? He's like a dad. The kind I would love to have. I love to listen to him talk. but.........
Hmmmmmmmm well, that is interesting, .........
Thanks.
Sleep well.............while I process all this

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Fathom Panthere on April 16, 2008 at 1:31pm

I completely understand what you mean about wanting to believe every word out of Gabriel Cousen's mouth. He's wise - and adorable, to boot!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jef on April 16, 2008 at 3:14pm

Thanks LIly, yeah, its like, just hearing his voice calms me down, and its like "yod heh wah heh" if you know what I mean.....

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jef on April 16, 2008 at 12:13am

Hello, everyone, and thanks for your responses. After I posted this I realized there probably were posts on Thyroid already, so I will go there to see what has already been said, as well as what you've already shared, and facing my emotional issues...
I have some info from the Tree that can help too.
thanks again!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Wehavenoshame on April 16, 2008 at 12:18am

I am not an expert on nutrients and specific diets that would help your thyroid, but I do know that all through high school I had a sever case of Hypothyroidism and I was SOOOOO depressed! It's quite a vicious cycle, too...you are lethargic, gaining weight, and depressed....all of those things feed into one another to make the problem larger and larger.

My doctor told me that my thyroid was so erratic and underactive that I was going to have to have it removed. I had a .01% chance of it ever going away....

WELL....

When I turned 18 and went off my parents' insurance, I had to start paying for my (weekly) blood tests ($50!), AND my medication *faint*....that was too much for me, so I stopped taking my meds, stopped going to the doctor...started exercising regularly, and eating much healthier (not raw, but mostly vegetarian and organics)

I have not had even the slightest symptom of thyroid dysfunction since. Its like magic. I do have a slow metabolism, but I don't really notice anything else

Not that I am suggesting you ignore the problem, or go cold turkey on any meds...I just thought I would share my experience with the situation.

I have not had any blood tests done so I am not sure where my thyroid levels are...maybe I should do that...

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last