Gait, tremors with adverse medication vaccine reactions

Adverse Reactions, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Gait, Balance and Tremors

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One of the things I most love about social media and health research is the opportunity to identify patterns of illness across different patient groups. Here is an example of finding research from one patient group, ThyroidChange, that likely spans many others (Gardasil injured, post Lupron Hashimoto’s, and Fluoroquinolone reactions – to name but a few) and offers clues to a perplexing array of symptoms. The research, is about a little known association between movement and balance disorders and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: Ataxia associated with Hashimoto’s disease: progressive non-familial adult onset cerebellar degeneration with autoimmune thyroiditis.  Some background.

Hashimoto’s Disease

Hashimoto’s is the most common causes of hypothyroidism afflicting women at a rate of 10 to 1 compared to men. It is an autoimmune disorder in which antibodies attack the thyroid gland and destroy its ability to maintain normal thyroid hormone concentrations. The most common symptoms include: fatigue, muscle pain, weight gain, depression, cognitive difficulties, cold intolerance, leg swelling, constipation, dry skin. If left untreated, goiter – a swollen thyroid gland, appears. If left untreated for an extended period, cardiomyopathy (swelling of the heart muscle), pleural (lung) and pericardial (heart) effusion (fluid), coma and other dangerous conditions develop.

Hashimoto’s and Cerebellar Degeneration

A little known risk in Hashimoto’s is cerebellar degeneration. The cerebellum is the cauliflower looking section at the base of the brain that controls motor coordination – the ability to perform coordinated tasks such as walking, focusing on a visual stimuli and reaching for objects in space. The walking and balance disturbances associated with cerebellar damage or degeneration have a very distinct look, a wide gait, with an inability to walk heel to toe. Cerebellar ataxia looks like this:

In recent years, cerebellar involvement in attention and mood regulation have also been noted. The physicians reporting the Hashimoto’s – ataxia connection present case studies of six patients with Hashimoto’s disease, presumably controlled with medication and a progressive and striking shrinkage of the cerebellum (see report for MRI images) along with progressively debilitating ataxia (walking and balance difficulties) and tremors. Here’s where it becomes interesting.

Hashimoto’s: Medication Adverse Reaction and Misdiagnosis

Hashimoto’s disease is prevalent in our research into medication adverse reactions for Gardasil and Cervarix and Lupron, with some indications it may develop post Fluoroquinolone injury as well. The symptoms are difficult to distinguish from other neurological and neuromuscular diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and an array of psychiatric conditions, and so Hashimoto’s often goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed and mistreated for some time.

Hashimoto’s, Demyelination and Cerebellar Damage

In some of the more severe adverse reactions to medications and vaccines that would lead to Hashimoto’s, the tell tale cerebellar gait disturbances have been noted and documented, along with a specific type of tremor (discussed below).

Research from other groups shows a strong relationship between thyroid function and myelin/demylenation patterns in nerve fibers in animals. Specifically, insufficient T3 concentrations demyelinates nerve axons, while T3 supplementation elicits myelin regrowth. Myelin is the white sheathing, the insulation that protects nerves and improves the electrical conduction of messages in sensory, motor and other neurons. Like co-axial cable in electrical wiring, when the protective sheathing is lost, electrical conductance is disrupted. The early symptoms of a demyelinating disease neuromuscular pain, weakness, sometimes tremors. These can be misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, when in reality, the culprit is a diseased thyroid gland.

Back to the Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a focal point of white matter axons – myelinated sensory and motor nerves. The cerebellum is where input becomes coordinated into motor movements or movement patterns. White matter damage in the cerebellum causes cerebellar ataxia, the movement and balance disorders displayed above. Hashimoto’s elicits white matter disintegration. Adverse reactions to medications and vaccines can elicit autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease. See the connection?

The Thiamine – Gut Connection

It gets even more interesting when we add another component of systemic medication adverse reactions – nutritional malabsorption, specifically thiamine deficiency. Almost across the board, patients with medication or vaccine adverse reactions report gut disturbances, from leaky gut, to gastroparesis, constipation, pain and a myriad of other GI issues that make eating and then absorbing nutrients difficult. Gut issues are common in thyroid disease too.

As we learn more, and as individuals are tested, severe nutrient deficiencies are noted, in vitamin D, Vitamin B1, B12, Vitamin A, sometimes magnesium, copper and zine. We’ve recently learned of the connections between Vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency and a set of conditions affecting the autonomic nervous system called dsyautonomia or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) linked to thiamine deficiency in the post Gardasil and Cervarix injury group. It may be linked to other injured groups as well, but we do not know yet.

Thiamine and Cell Survival

Thiamine or vitamin B1, is necessary for cellular energy. It is a required co-factor in several enzymatic processes, including glucose metabolism and interestingly enough, myelin production (the Hashimoto’s – cerebellar connection). We can get thiamine only from diet. When diet suffers as in the case of chronic alcoholism, where most of the research on this topic is focused, or when nutritional uptake is impaired, thiamine deficiency ensues. Thiamine deficiency can elicit cell death by three mechanisms:

  1. Mitochondrial dysfunction (reduced energy access) and cell death by necrosis
  2. Programmed cell death – apoptosis
  3. Oxidative stress – the increase in free radicals or decrease in ability to clear them

Thiamine deficiency in and of itself can elicit a host of serious health symptoms. The cell death and disruption of cellular energy balance can be significant and lead to a totally disrupted autonomic system.

Thiamine and Myelin Growth

Add to those symptoms, the fact that thiamine is involved in the growth myelin sheathing around nerves, and we have a whole host of additional neuromuscular symptoms masking as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue. Like with MS, limb and body tremors are noted in dysautonomic syndromes such as POTS. (Video of POTS tremors, note the uniqueness of the POTS tremor and the similarity between it and the foot tremor shown above along with cerebellar ataxia).

Let thiamine deficiency continue unchecked for period and we get brain damage, as white matter – the myelin disintegrates in the brainstem, the cerebellum and likely continues elsewhere. One of the most prominent areas of damage in thiamine deficiency, is the cerebellum, and hence, the cerebellar ataxia (movement disorders) noted in chronic alcoholics who are thiamine deficient, but also observed post medication or vaccine adverse reaction.

The Double Whammy on Myelin and Cerebellar Function

In the case medication or vaccine adverse reactions, particularly those that reach the systemic level, we have a double whammy on myelin disintegration: from a diseased thyroid gland and a diseased gut. Hashimoto’s and the reduction of thyroid hormones, particularly T3, impairs nerve conduction by shifting from a constant and healthy remyelinating pattern to one of demyelination, while the lack of thiamine further impairs myelin regrowth, because it is a needed co-factor. Both deficiencies affect peripheral nerves, but both also hit the brainstem, the cerebellum and likely other areas within the brain.

Take Home Points

The science of adverse reactions is new and evolving and much of what I am reporting here remains speculative. However, it has become abundantly clear through our research that to address medication adverse reactions or vaccine adverse reactions in a simplistic fashion, by region, or in an organ specific manner, is to miss the broader implications of the compensatory disease processes that ensue. Moreover, to look for symptoms of adverse reactions simply by the drug’s mechanism of action and/or by the standard outcome variables listed in adverse event reporting systems, again misses the complexity of the human physiological response to what the body is perceiving as a toxin. I believe that the entire framework for understanding the body’s negative response to a medication must be shifted to a much broader, multi-system, and indeed, multidisciplinary approach. In the mean time, we will continue to collect data on adverse reactions and offer our readers points of consideration in their quests for healing. I should note, that finding these connections is entirely contingent on the input our community of patients and health activists, both via the personal health stories that so many of you have been willing to share and the data we collect through our research. You know more about your health and illness than we do.

What we Know So Far – Tests to Consider

If you have had an adverse reaction to a medication or vaccine and neuromuscular difficulties, like pain, numbness, motor coordination problems, tremors etc., consider testing for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Also, consider thyroid testing when fatigue, depression, mood lability (switching moods), constipation, attentional and focus difficulties are present. In fact, I would consider thyroid testing, specifically for autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto’s, as one of the first disease processes to rule out.

If you have had an adverse reaction to a medication that includes gut disturbances, consider the possibility that you are deficient in key micronutrients such as Vitamin D, the B’s, Vitamin A, magnesium, copper, zinc. And given the modern diet, consider that you were probably borderline deficient even before experiencing the adverse reaction. These nutrients are critically important to health and healing (and no, I do not have an association with vitamin companies or testing companies). Some tests for these nutrients are more accurate than others, so be sure to do your homework first.

If you have symptoms associated with autonomic systems dysregulation such as those associated with POTS, dysautonomia and its various permutations, consider thiamine testing, especially, transkelotase testing.

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Image Source: Pixabay.

Postscript: This article was published originally on Hormones Matter on October 15, 2013. 

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Chandler Marrs MS, MA, PhD spent the last dozen years in women’s health research with a focus on steroid neuroendocrinology and mental health. She has published and presented several articles on her findings. As a graduate student, she founded and directed the UNLV Maternal Health Lab, mentoring dozens of students while directing clinical and Internet-based research. Post graduate, she continued at UNLV as an adjunct faculty member, teaching advanced undergraduate psychopharmacology and health psychology (stress endocrinology). Dr. Marrs received her BA in philosophy from the University of Redlands; MS in Clinical Psychology from California Lutheran University; and, MA and PhD in Experimental Psychology/ Neuroendocrinology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

32 Comments

  1. Hello! I am having trouble re-acclimating to my Armour Thyroid. I was on it for 5 years, and Endo put me on T4 only, due to heart palps, and long story there after (went hyper with severe horrific reactions, headaches, dizziness, severe shaking inside and out, nerve vibrations etc )and much damage to my body now, but back on my Armour. But having problems. Loss of balance is the largest. I believe the T3 is hitting my brain now and is causing me to lose balance. Still having massive nerve issues and heart palps. I believe all underlying due to B1 deficiency. I want to start using B1, while waiting on my SpectraCell results due back in 2 weeks. My question is, have you found anyone has had to lower their thyroid med while starting on B1 therapy? I do have an underlying heart condition, Cardiomyopathy and LBBB. Figured to be caused by prior viral damage. If I take even a quarter of a 150 Bentfomine capsule I can feel it make my heart beat stronger within 15 minutes. So I don’t want to whammy my heart too much. Thank you,

  2. My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech,degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 46 degree angle, things were tough for me, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure from ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he was having trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimate life clinic they walked us through the proper steps,i recommended this http://www.ultimatelifeclinic.com to anyone who also needs help.

  3. Crying and can’t get any answer……
    I have been diagnosed with Hashimotoes and low thyroid about 17 years ago. Slowley I started shaking,body involuntary body movement,slurring speech at times,right now it’s even hard to write this. My brain is confused and I’m fatique…….I’m on levothyroxin and cytomel now. Been to many neurological but I’m told nothing wrong it’s all in my head. Now I have Right foot drop and numbness ….I’m also taking a B complex and magnesium……had a mri there is white matter but dr was not concerned ?

  4. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 5 years ago and had very high TPOs, but normal TSH. My prior doctor only ever checked my TSH. I had so many symptoms of hypothyroidism, but they kept telling me my thyroid was fine. Functional medicine doctor ran a complete thyroid panel. She wanted me to start dedicated thyroid, but I started reading a lot about iodine through Dr David Brownstein and read his Iodine book. Started slow and worked up over 6 months to 50 mg and retested. My TPOs were just slightly above the range. They came down from 1200 to less than 60 in less than a year and my energy levels and overall health improved. But this was all before we learned about TTFD. So much to learn.

  5. Dr. Morris,

    I have Hashimotos Thyrioditis and take 112 mcg of Tirosint. I started losing my ability to walk prior to being diagnosed with Hashimotos, about 6 months before. In the last 5 years of my diagnosis, I went fron intermittent foot drop unilateral left side to permanent foot drop. I now have to use a KAFO to walk with a cane. I started having full body tremors, and even to the point where they get so bad they keep me up all night. I now am diagnosed with acrocyanosis, raynauds, and livedo reticularis. The three small blood vessel conditions are so bad in my left leg, my foot is always purple and my left leg has that constant cone look. My left leg even this last year started to deteriorate in size, quad muscle now 4 cm smaller then right. The severity of the situation is now traveling into my right leg, starting with my right hip. Doctors think I might need a full hip brace connected to left leg KAFO. My hands and arms also have the blood vessel issues, just more sporadic coming and going. My hands get the shakes, and sometimes I just start trembling throughout the day. My hands also went numb some years back so I cant feel temperature if something is hot or cold. When I was younger I had female problems, where I couldnt stop bleeding. And I even passed kidney stones for no reason. A year before my paralyzation I loss my gallbladder. Doctors dont know why, I am actually 18.2 BMI, I started losing weight randomly and cant gain it back. I had no gallstones or sludge it just stopped working. Which led to my inability to digest pretty much anything, giving me vitamin b deficiency. I obviously have vitamin d deficiency, allergic to the sun. I have never drink alcohol, I cant stomach it, never smoked or did drugs. But between feeling like the bubble girl, cause when I go somewhere I always get sick and all this other random stuff no one can figure out why. Could this be my hashimotos? My antibodies usually run in the high 2000s, and my thyriod stays inflamed, feeling like I am choking and hard to breath. Every endricrinologist tells me know, but I have this constant right side brain headache that never goes away. Its low in the center, feels like a pinching throbbing sensation. And I just cant get over the fact this all started at 18, now 36 and the last 5 years have been the worse. The time I was diagnosed I had swiss cheese thyriod. I am just curious. It just all seems so coincidental. I know the brain fog, memory loss, dizziness, and 2 second black out spells are part of the hashimoto package. Thank you!

  6. Could influenza and pneumonia vaccines cause similar issues as Gardasil concerning thiamine deficiency and dysautonomia? We are trying to sort out what has happened to my husband (now 82 yrs of age) since 2015 to present. Chronologically, earliest issues to present include: eye “flashers”, cataract surgery, tremor, Parkinson’s Dx, Sinemet Rx, (2016) flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, MRI w/Gadobutrol, (2017) then “the crash” hospitalized w/pneumonia 14 days, fever, urinary issues, ataxia, anxiety, psychosis, unintended weight loss of 30+ lbs in 4 mos, severe insomnia, voracious eating followed by large and numerous formed bowel movements and then bouts of constipation, debilitating fatigue, PETScan showing constancy with Lewy Body Dementia, violent behavior, hallucinations, paranoia, Depakote Rx, Aricept Rx, temporary improvements ie regained weight and lessened psychosis lasting about 6 mos, then descending back to agitation, paranoias, returning weight loss, high calcium coronary score, (2018) frequent UTIs, syncope w/orthostatic hypotension and dysautonomia, depression, Celexa Rx, Florinef Rx, (2019) severe atherosclerosis, Tardive Dyskinesia, serotonin syndrome, withdrawal of all meds except Plavix, improvement of anxiety and insomnia, increased Florinef Rx, Ciprofloxacin Rx for UTI, sudden loss of leg strength w/complete inability to walk, sudden loss of ability to pass urine (now intermittently cathing), partial ruptured tendon, continued debilitating fatigue.

    Needless to say, it’s been a nightmare. In reading Dr. Lonsdale and Dr. Marrs’ work on Thiamine Deficiency and Dysautonomia about a month ago, we are suspicious that TD may have been the problem all along, left undiagnosed. Current PCP is on board to investigate TD and serum test ordered, waiting for response from HDRI in New Jersey re: TDK and other tests.
    Are we on the right path?

    Most grateful for your work in TD&Dysautonomia. Any more light you can shed on direction to go is greatly appreciated!

    Thank you,
    Mary

    • Yes, absolutely. In fact, medications/vaccines/illnesses anything that is of sufficient stress to the mitochondria can induce these symptoms, especially when there are latent nutritional and/or mitochondrial issues. The meds/vaccines do damage by multiple mechanisms, some directly deplete thiamine and other vitamins/minerals, others damage the mitochondria thus necessitating additional thiamine and nutrients to withstand the insult. The number of medications that he was/is on would suggest significant mitochondrial damage and dysfunction, which will persist so long as he is on the medications and is thiamine deficient. You are on the right path. In the chapter 3 of the book, there is a graphic that shows all of the nutrients needed to heal mitochondria. Certainly, thiamine is top among them, but there are others. If I read this correctly, most of the medications have been withdrawn. If they have not, I must urge extreme caution when withdrawing from medications. It must be done very, very gradually, titrating doses down over an extended period of time to give the body time to re-acclimate chemically. Thiamine will help with this process.

      Since you have read the book, may I request that you write a review on Amazon? It is important to increase awareness.

      • Thank you, Dr Marrs! I lost track of which article I posted under and missed your kind response, but we have connected elsewhere. Yes, the medications were withdrawn slowly and with care and his condition began to improve. But then the UTI and Cipro Rx (combined with Florinef) completely debilitated him. He has not been able to walk since February 2019. His PCP ran the serum Thiamine and the result was >460! We were told to discontinue the Sulbutiamine, but we are holding out for his neurologist to order the proper TTP and ETKA testing.

        • The high serum levels are only indicative of supplementing, not of what is actually getting into the cells. The high levels also are indicative that he may not be capable of using the thiamine that he is supplementing with. The transketolase and TPPE test would be more accurate. You may also consider switching to a different formulation, either the allithiamine or lipothiamine, both have the TTFD derivative and that is more easily taken into the cell even when there are transporter issues.

  7. Last June I started taking Buspar. I was also taking various things for sleep: Alteril, Sensoril ashwagandha, .25 mg xanax, 1 T Nyquil and l-theanine. I thought I couldn’t sleep without it all…anyways I started twitching and shaking after being on Buspar only 2 weeks at the lowest dose possible. I quit Buspar immediately but these vibration tremors were still there. I finally realized it was worse at night after taking my sleep meds. I got really hot, heart raced and I shook incredibly bad. (Internal tremors with occasional twitches)
    After that night I quit taking all supplements/ meds. A week later it was a bit better but I still react to many triggers. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s but T3/4 were normal. I KNOW the meds caused the Hashimoto’s and did something to my brain. What should I do? I changed my diet…gluten free, mostly dairy free and lots of veggies.

    • Good for you on the changes to diet. That is a great first start. You’ll probably need a host of supplements to repair the mitochondria and heal/support the thyroid. Thiamine (B1) is the most critical, but there will be others needed. We wrote a book thiamine/mitochondria. It’s listed in the side panel of the blog. This will help you navigate your recovery.

  8. When my TSH goes up, I start not sleeping and then I become anxious and depressed. I could feel my brain change. I finally got my TSH down to .6 with extra hormone and then tried Armour Thyroid for a month. It made my T3 and T4 normal, but raised my TSH to 6.6 in one month. I have been shaking for nearly 2 months. Was put on Zoloft 50 for 3 weeks with Mirtazapine for sleep. Zoloft was rasied to 100 and Trazadone for sleep since the Mirtazapine stopped working. I went from 100 to 112mcgs of Synthroid for a month and my TSH went to 8.2.
    For nearly 2 months I experienced a lot of anxiety, jumpiness and fearfulness, Is this common? Have been seeing a therapist and she says that most of her anxiety patients have thyroid issues. Is this a cycle of anxiety causing my thyroid to function less well? I’m going to look into the thiamone.

  9. After my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis 2 years ago, i stopped all the Multiple sclerosis medicines prescribed due to severe side effects, and decided to go on natural herbal approach. My primary care provider introduced me to Rich Herbs Foundation and i immediately started on their Multiple Sclerosis herbal formula treatment, this herbal treatment has made a tremendous difference for me. My symptoms including shaking, muscle weakness, fatigue, mood swings, numbness, double vision and urinary retention all disappeared after the 4 months treatment! Their website is ww w. richherbsfoundation. com. Its just just amazing!

  10. Hello, I’m glad I came Across this. I don’t know who to reach out too. My husband has hashimotos with raised antibodies. His struggle is with medication management. He’s been on all of them and naturthroid works the best for him, however lately it’s been in short supply. He still has ‘episodes’ of what you speak of in your article- neurological, mental, physical-seizure/stroke like- not remembering anything. I believe it happens when he is over medicated. I’m not sure how to help him- I feel we need to know his triggers. And any adverse interactions with his medication/food/biochemistry/chemicals …etc what would you suggest for next testing? We are at a loss and mainstream endocrinologist only focus on the tsh levels. So frustrating. Been to 5 different doctors. We’ve know the full thyroid panels and his nutrients and they are in range. How do dig deeper and find more about his system?

    • Diet is key. Carbs and sugars may trigger episodes because they dump vital nutrients, particularly thiamine. If he is borderline thiamine (B1) insufficient, a meal with high carbs could throw him in to deficiency for a period in which case he would experience periods of cerebellar dysfunction that then result in the problems with gait, balance, etc. as well as tremors and seizure like episodes. The thiamine insufficiency/deficiency would also make managing thyroid function difficult because they interact closely with each other.

  11. Thank you so much. I have had progressive symptoms for 27 years. I have no antibodies and was just this year diagnosed with hashimotos when I went hypothyroid. Doctors have said throughout that too many systems were affected, so it had to be somatic. I have severe bit d deficiency always. Thyroid meds are helping, but I have orthostatic hypertension and possibly a more expansive heart dysregulation problem. My muscles not only become weak, but will fail entirely and require rest before I can use them again. I also get gait problems that come and go. And my eyes are having a lot of problems too. I have 36 snp mutations in the methylation chain and only 4 normal snps. I suspect my body isn’t properly converting/metabolizing vitamins. I’m high in arsenic too. It’s frustrating having to figure it out on my own. I’m going to check thiamin. Thanks again

      • Things have progressed a lot since my first post. I now know I have sinus tachycardia, low igg, high ige (even with treatment), some brain damage, low iron (down from high iron), lifethreatening idiopathic angioedema, idiopathic urticaria, oral allergy syndrome, oral laytex syndrome, and hypersomnolence. I have had adverse reactions to the flu shot, ranitidine, erythomyacin, tetrocycline and to latex as well.

          • Jennifer have you had a active vitamin b12 ( serum is useless both of us were misdiagnosed..) folate,ferritin,iron,MMA levels attended ? there is an epidemic occurring as symptons are not recognised as well medications eg antiacids,diabetic meds,steroids,hormones,ssome antibiotics,beta blockers cause malabsorption of vitamin b12.Low vitamin d can also be missed.For life changing facts view videos on b12awareness.org

  12. Having read the posts and the comments, perhaps I can add some information that links thiamin and thyroid. I am going to use a simple analogy.
    Gasoline + oxygen + spark plug = energy
    Glucose + oxygen + thiamin = energy
    What this simple equation illustrates is what we call oxidation, the combination of oxygen with fuel. The simplest example is an open fire where the heat energy is dispersed into the atmosphere. To be useful in carrying out work,that energy has to be controlled and the engine of a car guides the energy through a transmission to the wheels. A human body is made up of between 70 and 100 trillion cells, all of which require that energy to function. The brain consumes 20% of the oxygen with every breath because it has a high rate of metabolism. Oxidation takes place in the “fireplaces” within each cell and these are called mitochondria. They are so small that their structure can only be seen with an electron microscope. The principle that applies to a car applies to us. The energy generated by the mitochondria is used in a series of biochemical events which are really the equivalent of the transmission. In other words the energy is consumed in function. Some people may remember that old cars had flywheels. The flywheel kept the engine from running away from itself. Well, thyroid hormone is the equivalent of the flywheel. It modifies the rate at which metabolism proceeds and without it metabolism comes to a halt. By the same token too much will drive energy metabolism, thus wasting energy. We can now put these two facts together—–no thiamin, no energy—–no thyroid hormone, no transmission. The clinical effects are much the same but obviously require that their differences be recognized professionally. If the differences are not recognized and the patient is given thyroid when thiamin is really needed, you make things worse because you consume energy that you can ill afford in the first place.
    Now I must turn to the question on thiamin absorption. Dietary thiamin has to be linked to a protein molecule known as a transporter that conveys the vitamin into the tissues. This works very well in a healthy patient taking a healthy diet, but if the deficiency has been there for some time, this mechanism is insufficient. Therapeutic thiamin is best taken in the form of a disulfide derivative of the vitamin. The chemical name is thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD) it is sold in Japan under the trade name of Alinamin and is a prescription item. It is sold elsewhere as Fursultiamine and in the U.S. it is available as Allithiamine. Anybody reading this post should work through her(his) physician and I will provide a contact number for the vendor
    (Ecological Formulas 1-800-275-3495)

  13. Hi, I’m just wondering how – if gut absorption is problematic – how you get B1 into the system? I inject B12, but how could I get more B1 – I have all the symptoms you describe. Thanks

  14. Please help, I have been severly ill for 8 plus years now with chronic lymphatic thyroid itis aka Hashamotos. I have been to numerous doctors, 6 years ago I had an mri of my brain done in Fairbanks ak, it showed high peaks of white matter in the mylon sheath in my brain., the er doc was concerned but stumped, then my primary doc at the time sent me to a neurologist to rule out ms, since that time I have been to the er about 30 different times until i got it that they would not help me. I met a woman about a week ago (kinda a god thing) that had almost the some exact experience with her health and symptoms, she finally had her thyroid removed and is well today with no meds. I have a new dr, and and getting ran through the mill again, but indicated to her I wish to have a referral to the same surgeon the woman I had met had seen. In the mean time I can barely stand, ataxic gate, as seen above. Nashua vomiting diarrhea vertigo, pins and needles, infections, on and on and on. I could really use an advocate in this, as for some reason like twilight zone ish. The Doctors can not believe that the above mentioned is the cause, thanks so much for the information you have provided it helps me have hope, but if there is some way you could advocate for me I would be very grateful, n God bless am so ill now I fell as though I may not survive this much longer 🙁

    • Diana, I am so sorry for your difficulties. Research shows a close connection between thyroid function and thiamine (vitamin B1) levels. The two are integrally connected at the mitochondrial level. If either is disrupted, the other is also disrupted. Low T3 affects myelination – white matter both in the body/nerves and in the brain. Dysfunctioning mitochondria impair thyroid functioning and myelination and so it becomes a cycle that is difficult to stop unless both are treated. We have several papers on this blog on both thiamine deficiency, thyroid disease and the combination (as well as on thiamine deficiency and the factors that contribute to it). I would read and print and/or forward those to your physicians. Each of the links within our blog posts are to published, peer-reviewed articles. You might consider printing/forwarding those articles as well.

      A new report, just out, showed that thiamine supplementation improved Hashimoto’s. It was a small study, but important. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4060061/

      Several other studies showing high dose thiamine therapy for mitochondrial functioning are linked in the various blog articles. Treating the additional mitochondrial deficits have also been found to help with thyroid functioning.

  15. I read your article on the possible adverse reactions to Gardasil. My daughter was a very healthy, energetic, athletic 14 yr old, now 15 up until 6 months ago. She received two of the Gardasil shots, one in June & one in August 2013. In February of 2014 she was diagnosed with chronic lymphotic thyroiditis. Everything became worse from there. She has had extreme head pain constantly for the past 4 months, with no pain free days. She was diaganosed with a mild Chiari Malformation, Occipital Neuralgia,Gastritis, & POTS. She was hospitalized for 12 days, with 3 ER visits prior to that. Thus far, no medication has helped the severe head pain, or stomach pain she struggles with everyday. She was just tested for metals poisoning, we have no results as of yet. We need answers, & a resolution and we are not getting them. This has been such a difficult time for our entire family, because knowing what this has done to our daughter is so inconceivable. I honestly feel the Gardasil is a big part of her health problems. I continue to research this, and hope I can find the answers we need very soon, as I really don’t know how much more her poor little body can take!

    • Richelle, I am so sorry for your daughter’s health issues post Gardasil. Unfortunately, they are not uncommon. A couple things, would you consider writing and sharing her story on the blog, so that we might get a clearer case study together? The patient stories serve as cases studies for us and drive our research. Since each person responds to the vaccine a little differently, each story provides another clue for us to research and find ways to help these girls and boys. Second, please read our posts on thiamine. We have a dozen or more on the blog. We have case studies where treatment was effective and research reports explaining why. Also read the posts on mitochondrial damage and dysfunction. Our research is pointing toward mitochondrial damage and thiamine as well as several other supplements that are critical to proper mitochondrial functioning. Once those levels are replenished, we have seen significant improvement. Diet is also a huge component of recovery, including the elimination of all junk food, processed food and other inflammatory foods – gluten. We have articles on nutrition and mitochondrial functioning as well. We are learning a little bit more with each case.

      • Hello Dr Marrs I have a question about a comment you made somewhere and I can’t seem to find it. You had said something to the effect that magnesium threonate was largely a marketing ploy and a study done showed all the forms tested raised brain levels and citrate was something like only 8 percent lower. Do you remember? I was wondering if you remembered the study. My friend is insisting threonate is the only form any good to raise brain levels.
        Thank you very much

  16. Wow! Great article! Thank you very much for it! You put together a lot of the pieces of the drug AE puzzle. So much of what you wrote rings true for fluoroquinolone toxicity. It’s amazing how much all of us with drug AEs have in common. Though it is a shame that we need such a specialty, it would be nice to have medical professionals who specialized in treating drug AEs holistically. I really like that idea. Not only would our struggles gain acknowledgement, but they could be a specialty area of medicine. It’s a ways off, but perhaps your mention of the idea of shifting how we think about drug AEs will bring both a mind shift and a specialty closer to reality.

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To Bias is HumanWhen we think about bias, we tend to think only about the prejudicial