graves disease

Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Thyroid Problems: Is There a Connection?

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One Fateful Day – And a Journey into the Enigmatic World of Thyroid Related Problems Begins

I remember the day of March 19, 2010 very well. That was the last day I ever went jogging. That was the last day I could have hopped on my bike and ridden 50 miles if I wanted to. That was the last day I ate my favorite breakfast of a 3-egg omelet topped with cheese and veggies, with 3 pieces of whole wheat toast slathered in butter and jam, 3 pancakes on the side, and at least a quart of milk. That was the last day I worked in my profession, brought home a paycheck, and was self sufficient financially. It was the day before I started taking Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotic, for a simple UTI. And it was the last day I was a normal person with a normal life.

By March 25, 2010 – six days later — I was completely bedridden with severe pain in what felt like every tendon in my body, along with peripheral and central neurological symptoms and other symptoms from the side effects of that drug. These adverse effects are collectively called “Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Syndrome” (FQT), or “floxed” for short. And although I didn’t realize it then, my physical, professional, financial, and personal life as I knew it was over. Within a few days and a few pills, I joined the ranks of the chronically disabled, those with “chronic invisible illnesses”, and “Romney’s 47%”.  It’s five long years later, and I still struggle with the aftermath of taking those few pills. I regret every single day since then that I ever even considered a fluoroquinolone antibiotic for a simple UTI.

So what does all this have to do with the thyroid gland? Well, like most victims of this toxicity, all my extensive traditional medical testing during the acute phase of the reaction, as well as for the first year and a half after, gave normal or negative results. Astoundingly enough, despite being severely disabled and feeling essentially non-functional, according to the medical profession, I was the picture of health on paper. Until I finally decided to do more than a TSH test to check my thyroid status. That’s when I discovered I had all the anti-thyroid antibodies. And that’s really when my journey into the enigmatic world of “thyroid problems” began in earnest.

Having the antibodies for both Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease and Grave’s Thyroid Disease makes for an astounding array of symptoms. Many of them appeared to mimic or overlap my symptoms of Fluoroquinolone Toxicity. Naturally, as a result of these observations, and my experiences with these conditions, I started questioning as to how much fluoroquinolone antibiotics caused severe endocrine disruptions, in particular of the thyroid axis.

The Thyroid Fluoroquinolone Epidemic: Where Is the Research?

There is a lot of published research available showing how damaging the FQ’s are too many different body systems and cellular processes, but almost none of it includes the thyroid system or the endocrine system in general. I suspect that someday, studies will be published showing the association between fluoroquinolones and thyroid abnormalities.  Until then, it will be up to patients themselves to try and figure out if this association exists for themselves. In my case, my suspicions were further strengthened when I found that thyroid hormone medications, both T4 and T3, dramatically and profoundly affected all my floxing symptoms. Even more interesting to me, iodine alone did the same. I also found it interesting that a significant number of flox victims reported hormonal disruptions of all types post flox, such as with sex hormones, adrenal hormones, thyroid hormones, dysglycemias presumably in association with insulin hormone, and Vitamin D, which is also considered a hormone. This was also true of me after I was floxed. Eventually, I created a website* summarizing my observations, experiences, interpretations, and hypotheses on these possible correlations.

I had several intentions in creating the website, and one of them is to start the conversation about this potential link between fluoroquinolones and thyroid related problems, hopefully leading to unbiased studies and research in this area. I believe it is sorely needed. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Clinical Guidelines:

“The annual number of dispensed prescriptions of levothyroxine sodium in the United States increased by 42% over a 5-year period, from 50 million in 2006 to 71 million in 2010.  In 2013, there were more than 23 million new prescriptions and refills for a single name brand of thyroid hormone in the United States, making it the most commonly prescribed drug in the country.”  

This implies there are a lot of “thyroid problems” out there. According to several news investigations airing across the country, the FQ antibiotics are one of the top five drugs prescribed in the US each year. In our current day and age, we are bombarded by many substances which are known or suspected endocrine disrupters, including affecting the thyroid system. Could the epidemic of FQ usage be contributing to the epidemic of thyroid-related problems resulting in patients receiving thyroid medication for life?  It would not surprise me if this were the case. I hope association studies, along with causation studies, will be done someday. Until then, those of us with thyroid disorders are on our own in looking at FQ antibiotic usage history and questioning this association for ourselves.

In my case, it was pretty clear cut that the acute symptoms I experienced right after starting the antibiotic were actually caused, or at a minimum, triggered by the antibiotic. My flox symptoms were pretty classic for these reactions all around, and there is plenty of research, as well as anecdotal stories, to substantiate this. But were my symptoms also “thyroid related”?  In other words, did the antibiotic affect my thyroid system, either primarily and directly, or secondarily through a “cascade effect”, and at least some of these floxing symptoms I experienced were actually “thyrotoxic” symptoms as well?  I think the answer is yes. These are the issues that I explore in my website, and I will briefly present here.

Tendon Pain and Ruptures: A Link between FQ Antibiotics and Endocrine Disorders?

One of the most well known adverse effects of FQ antibiotics are tendon problems. Most flox victims will experience some level of tendon pain at some point in time during their flox reaction. Regardless of what other symptoms occur with FQT, the severe tendon pain that can occur, sometimes with resultant ruptures, is distinctive, idiosyncratic, and unique to FQ antibiotic use alone. It is a hallmark of FQT. So much so, that an FDA  “Black Box Warning” about it exists for all fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

It turns out there just aren’t a whole lot of things in life, either natural or synthetic, that can cause sudden spontaneous tendon ruptures or severe tendon pain and tendinopathies –but all of the endocrine disorders can. This includes: hyperadrenocorticism (cortisol), diabetes (insulin), parathyroid disorders (calcium/PTH/Vitamin D), hyper and hypothyroidism (tyrosine/iodine/thyroid hormone), hyper/hypo sex hormones (estrogens/testosterone), and probably other steroid and sex hormones and their metabolites as well (see references). A specific genetic metabolism disorder of tyrosine, which is a major component of thyroid hormones, can also cause spontaneous tendon rupture later in life as a first manifestation of this disorder. Many rheumatic diseases also often have an associated, if not underlying, endocrine component (especially thyroid related).  Additionally, conditions that at first glance appear to be unrelated, such as chronic renal failure, often have a high association with endocrinopathies, in particular, parathyroid hormone abnormalities. The parathyroid glands are intimately associated with the thyroid gland via proximity alone; if thyroid gland architecture is destroyed, presumably these glands could be affected too.

I took a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and developed severe, systemic tendon pain, Type 2 Diabetes, and two Autoimmune Thyroid Disorders. A legitimate question could be:  Are fluoroquinolone antibiotics severe endocrine disrupters, which, among other symptoms, can result in tendon pain, tendinopathies, and tendon rupture?

I then found that the thyroid hormone medications T4 and T3, as well as iodine alone, profoundly affected my tendon pain and other symptoms, capable of making these symptoms dramatically better — or much worse. This, too, seemed to support the argument that the fluoroquinolones had somehow damaged my thyroid system, as supplying exogenous hormone in the form of medication now could make such dramatic differences in my symptoms.

One of my hypotheses is that people with healthy and normally functioning thyroid glands or other endocrine systems can probably withstand these dramatic changes in the hormonal axes that may be occurring while on the FQ  – at least, up to a point. For people who don’t react at all to these drugs, they probably never even feel the fluctuations, as their hormonal axes can automatically adjust rapidly. But I would suspect that anyone with any underlying genetic predisposition, or possibly harboring a subclinical, latent, or silent endocrinopathy might be “pushed over the edge” into full blown clinical pathology.  This is actually what I think may have happened with me, even though I had no overt indications of any kind of thyroid or endocrine disorder prior to taking the Cipro.

Additional Links To Consider Relating Fluoroquinolones to Thyroid System Damage

I don’t profess to even begin to know the millions of ways fluoroquinolones could possibly exert their damaging effects on the thyroid or endocrine system in general. However, that didn’t stop me from thinking about this problem. As I said, I hope research studies will be initiated in this area sooner than later. In the meantime, I came up with several mechanisms of FQ-Induced Thyroid Pathology to consider as possibilities, to narrow down the search. Additional unintentional targets of fluoroquinolones that I considered could have thyroid-related repercussions included targets such as mitochondria, acetylcholine, steroid receptors and hormone response elements and their common pathways, selenium dependent enzymes and proteins, halogenated peroxidase enzymes, iodine receptors located on most or all cells as well as on the thyroid gland, and more. I think one of the more interesting observations is the fact that new fluoroquinolone derivatives are now being considered for use as “tyrosine kinase inhibitors” (TKI’s).  TKI’s are relatively recent chemotherapy drugs developed to fight cancer – and one of their adverse effects appears to affect the thyroid system with some rather alarmingly high statistics. From my perspective, there appeared to be striking similarities between thyroid abnormalities occurring with TKI’s and the thyroid abnormalities I suspect may occur with the FQ’s.

Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics: Consider the Risks

Thyroid disorders, especially autoimmune based ones, are no joke. Autoimmune Thyroid Disorders are not simply disorders of the thyroid gland; in my opinion, they are systemic disorders, affecting many or all of the cells and tissues in the body, which is why there can be such widespread and potentially devastating symptoms. There are numerous environmental stressors that contribute to thyroid disease and endocrine disease, and the fluoroquinolone antibiotics may be one of them. Fluoroquinolones exert many damaging effects, and if they are damaging the thyroid axis directly or indirectly via a cascade effect, actually causing anti-thyroid antibody production, or even if they are triggering or unmasking a subclinical or silent condition in susceptible patients to an active pathological condition, this is of serious concern – or it should be. A “silent” condition means just that –  you don’t know you have that predisposition. I can say from my own experience that taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic is a hell of a way to find out. It is Pharma’s responsibility to provide adequate warnings and risks of this possibility, and the medical profession’s responsibility to make sure adequate testing rules out these antibodies along with other potential risk factors, before prescribing a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Sadly, neither of these things is happening right now. Until it does, I think anyone considering taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic for a simple infection, such as uncomplicated UTI or sinusitis, should be aware of the risk factors and possible alternatives.

Based on what I’ve learned in the past several years, I believe anyone with pre-existing endocrinopathies of any type (whether they’re known or not), to be at increased risk for these adverse reactions. I also believe that anyone who has experienced any kind of flox reaction has now gotten a warning sign, and is at increased risk of developing an overt or clinical endocrinopathy as a result of being floxed at any time after. One of the few supportive pieces of evidence for this hypothesis is buried in Table 3, Page 136 of a Mayo clinic paper here. Note the at risk population includes people with autoimmune or endocrine disorders (diabetes, thyroid, parathyroid) and steroid usage (ie, Prednisone, inhalers, anabolic steroids, etc.).

The best approach, of course, is to stay away from these drugs altogether if at all possible.  In my opinion based on my own experience, developing a lifelong severe thyroid disorder – or any other disorder — to solve a short term problem such as an uncomplicated infection with a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, isn’t worth the risk.

References and Resources

  1. Musculoskeletal Complications of Fluoroquinolones: Guidelines and Precautions for Usage in the Athletic Population 
  2. The Risk of Fluoroquinolone-Induced Tendinopathy and Tendon Rupture:  What Does The Clinician Need to Know?
  3. Spontaneous rupture of Achilles tendon: missed presentation of Cushing’s syndrome.
  4. Spontaneous rupture of Achilles tendon and Cushing’s disease. Case report.
  5. Incidence and predictors of hospitalization for tendon rupture in type 2 diabetes: the Fremantle diabetes study.
  6. Musculoskeletal Complications of Diabetes
  7. Biomechanical Properties of Achilles Tendon in Diabetic vs. Non-diabetic Patients.
  8. Spontaneous and serial rupture of both Achilles tendons associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism in a patient receiving long-term hemodialysis.
  9. Simultaneous chronic rupture of quadriceps tendon and contra-lateral patellar tendon in a patient affected by tertiary hyperparatiroidism.
  10. The level of vitamin D in the serum correlates with fatty degeneration of the muscles of the rotator cuff.
  11. Parathyroid disease.  
  12. Primary hyperparathyroidism due to atypical parathyroid adenoma presenting with peroneus brevis tendon rupture.
  13. Thyroid hormones and tendon: current views and future perspectives. Concise review.
  14. Thyroid hormones increase collagen I and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) expression in vitro human tenocytes.
  15. Suspected role of ofloxacin in a case of arthalgia, myalgia, and multiple tendinopathy. (Inhaled steroids and moderate hypothyroidism precipitating factors).
  16. Could Low Total and Free Testosterone Levels be risk factor for Achilles Tendon Ruptures in Males.
  17. Pathological rupture of the distal biceps tendon after long-term androgen substitution.
  18. Effect of estrogen on tendon collagen synthesis, tendon structural characteristics, and biomechanical properties in postmenopausal women.
  19. Female Athletes with Higher Estrogen Levels May Have Higher Injury Risk.
  20. Effect of administration of oral contraceptives in vivo on collagen synthesis in tendon and muscle connective tissue in young women.
  21. Successive ruptures of patellar and Achilles tendons. Anabolic steroids in competitive sports.
  22. Spontaneous rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament after anabolic steroids.
  23. Spontaneous rupture of the extensor pollicis longus tendon after anabolic steroids.
  24. Spontaneous tendon ruptures in alkaptonuria. 
  25. Rheumatic manifestations of endocrine disease.
  26. The endocrine system and connective tissue disorders.
  27. Same Disease, Different Symptoms: It’s all in the Mitochondria.
  28. Your Mighty Mitochondria.
  29. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology Pharmacovigilance Review. (References provided for mitochondrial toxicity within the document).

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Laboratoires Servier, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

*The website is no longer available. 

This post was published originally on Hormones Matter on May 7, 2015; links have been updated where appropriate. 

I’ll Sleep When I Am Dead: Connections Between Diet, Sleep, and Health

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My journey into discovering what it means to be well began over 60 years ago, when Coca Cola’s popularity burst on the scene back in the late 60’s early 70’s, when a McDonald’s big Mac could be purchased for 49 cents, and Wonder Bread’s claim to fame was “Helps build strong bodies 12 ways.” Instead of eating a nutritious lunch, we were snookered into believing that bologna, whose first name was Oscar and was sandwiched between two slices of white bread, a Tab soda, and a bag of Charles chips was considered a healthy meal. It was anything but healthy and it left us feeling empty, with grumbling stomachs and an unsteady blood sugar level. I lived on these types of foods for decades as my health declined. I did not learn until I was 44 years old that my poor food choices were not only affecting my health but my capacity to sleep. I never slept. When I cleaned up my diet, sleep improved. Unfortunately, the improvements were short-lived because my thyroid became overactive with onset of Graves’ disease. This too, I largely resolved with diet, supplements, and alternative therapies, as conventional medicine seemed to make me worse and all that was offered were drugs and/or surgery. Although I am not yet recovered, I am much better than I was. This is my story.

Early Childhood: Skinny, Unattractive, and Sickly

As a child, I was very thin and clumsy. Nowadays, I probably would have been considered anorexic. I did not have an appetite due to the postnasal drip running down the back of my throat like a sieve. All I could eat on our weekly trip to McDonald’s was half of a regular size hamburger with no condiments. I remember picking through my food with my fork to dig a hole, hoping somehow the food would fall into the hole and disappear, or wishing the dog was inside so that I could hand off my vegetables to him.

The food I consumed came from what is considered a SAD diet (Standard American diet). It originated from the fast-food industry, had no nutritional value whatsoever, and laid a poor foundation for what I believe was my general unwellness. I was never well as child or young adult. As a result of my poor eating habits, allergies, buck teeth, breathing problems, and fitful sleep were my constant companions. I was labeled skinny, unattractive, and sickly. The Weston A. Price Foundation would have had a field day reviewing my overall health relationships. From inadequate nutrition to underdeveloped and overcrowded dental health which then led to poor physical health. I looked like a raccoon with dark circles under my eyes. I was a mess – (spoken with a thick southern accent.)

My mother did her best by encouraging me, providing what she considered to be a balanced diet, general health, and sleep basics, but over time, my body developed poorly, and I suffered miserable allergies to everything. Allergy shots were the recommendation for all of my environmental conflicts. I was left battered and bruised and they did not even work. Eventually, to combat the allergies, they removed my tonsils. This is a barbaric answer to solving a health issue, just remove the organ. I found out much later that the tonsils are an important part of our immune system.

Young Adulthood: Bone Demineralization and Costochondritis

I managed to make it through high school unscathed except for mononucleosis and skin irritations that could be traced back to a poor diet. College brought about new challenges when it came time to eat. This was solved by the plethora of quick meals that provided little to no vitamins or minerals, and of course, my sleep habits continued to decline.

At age 27, I was diagnosed with costochondritis. This was brought about by a rigorous exercise routine at the gym, in the name of getting healthy. “Let’s Get Physical” was the song that sent everyone running to the clubs to get fit and trim, but my lack of essential nutrients caused extreme damage to my ribs. Looking back, I find it hard to believe that I had two relatively healthy children, but then, they received most of the nutrients that were being ingested and I was left with zero. I was eating healthy salads, but I had no clue that my bones were breaking down.

By the time I reached age 39, I could now add osteopenia, depression, sleep deprivation and menopause to my list of infirmities. Nine medications and 75 pounds later, I would also be able to add obesity to my list. It was almost as if this deterioration had catapulted me into a rapid aging process. This makes sense, as Matthew Walker sleep expert, author, and professor at UC Berkley says, ‘the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life’.

Connecting Poor Diet to Poor Sleep and Everything Else In Between

While I was struggling with my own health issues, my son developed his own. At age 12, he confessed to me and my husband that he wasn’t sure he wanted to live anymore. Around the same time, my mother died. This was enough to send anyone over the edge, but my son needed me, so it was time to put my big girl panties on and get answers to why this was happening. I began connecting the dots. We both had depression, allergies or asthma, symptoms of ADD and the “piece-de-resistance” we didn’t sleep! Upon further investigation, I learned that we were both anxious all the time. Could the poor diet and sleep deprivation be behind our illnesses? Turns out they were.

From that point forward, I cleaned up our diet. My husband came home one day to find me chucking all the processed food into the garbage. We began drinking water instead of soda or other flavored drinks and I began to research sleep, nutrition, and energy medicine. This was now my passion. I was determined to not only repair the damage I had caused with the decades long poor diet, but to give my son the gift of healing and create a reason for him to live.

Polypharmacy Induced Vertigo: Enough is Enough

In 2003, I would unlearn everything I thought I knew about wellness. It began with trip to the ER to investigate vertigo. I was sent home with no information as to why I had vertigo other then they could do an MRI if needed. Could the very medications I was taking (9 prescriptions) be behind this malady? My nurse practitioner helped me to slowly detox from the medication I was taking for depression, and this is when I began seeing a nutritionist and using something called magnet therapy. I had read a study on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) that showed promise as a novel antidepressant treatment. It was in 1831 that Michael Faraday discovered that electrical currents can be converted into magnetic fields and vice versa. How fortuitous I was introduced to a company that was utilizing magnets as wellness tools.

The nutritionist performed what is called microscopy. His assessment was dead on. He said, ‘I bet you’re tired all the time’. He also asked if I was on a statin, to which I replied ‘yes, but that I was trying to find a better alternative’. He suggested a liver/gallbladder cleanse and whole food supplements that would support these organs. If it were not for his intervention, I doubt that I would have my gallbladder today. I’m honored and humbled to have known Ted Aloisio and learn about how “Blood Never Lies” his book and his teachings that forever changed the quality of my life.

Thyroid Storm

Another pivotal time for me was September 2017. I wound up in the emergency room. My heart felt like it was about to be launched like a projectile right out of my chest. It was skipping beats too. I had lost a lot of weight with my new focus on nutrition. I thought I was just shedding the old me that was full of emotional discord, bad nutritional habits, and unearthing the real me that was hiding inside. I was in denial. In reality, I had not been feeling well for over a year. My sleep was horrible. I was lucky if I got 5 hours a night and there was a lump on my neck which scared the living hell out of me.

Here, I was a teacher of wellness, and yet was the poster child for being unhealthy. Surprise, surprise you have a problem with your thyroid Ms. Hazelgrove. The official diagnosis was thyrotoxicosis with nodule. My heart was reacting to a hyperactive thyroid, which was being fueled by an autoimmune condition called Graves’ disease. I was immediately put on propranolol for my heart. I asked if it was going to interfere with my sleep and was told that it would not. He lied. I was already having issues the very first night with melatonin production due to the influence of this particular beta-blocker. Beta blockers reduce melatonin release.

I was getting only 2 hours of sleep, so I started Hemp oil two days later. I was not about to go back into the depths of depression because of sleep deprivation. My visit to my primary physician 21 days later was short and sweet. After reviewing my blood lab results and the ultrasound, he had his office manager call me to tell me I was toxic and needed to find an endocrinologists immediately. My T3 was 13, which was extremely high. I agreed to go on methimazole in the meantime so I could look at options, but according to the endocrinologist, I had only the one option. “What am I going to do now?’ I thought to myself. My head was spinning. I knew I had to get away and think. ‘Can’t I just heal it by eating better, sleeping more, and eliminating stress?’

I am truly blessed to have such amazing friends and one in particular had offered to let me stay at her cottage for a weekend. This was about a month into my engorged thyroid, which was now causing me dreadful bouts of diarrhea. I had to wear a diaper on my trip down there, as my bowels were now in charge of my life. I got there and unpacked. This was not an easy task because my body was running “Mach 2 with my Hair on Fire.” Since the thyroid controls metabolism and mine was hyperactive, it felt like I was exercising 24/7. Maintaining energy was a continuous struggle, like a rollercoaster going up and down multiple times a day. I was in the fight or flight mode continuously and my body was in a constant state of catabolism, in order to fuel the persistently heightened metabolism.

Limited Options from Conventional Medicine

My visits with the endocrinologists started out cordial but didn’t end well. I stayed on methimazole for three months, to see if the numbers could be brought down – which they did eventually lower, but the liver enzymes went up and the level 10 pain was unbearable. The only option I was given was nuclear medicine, which meant using radioactive iodine to destroy my thyroid and test the nodule to see if it was cancer. I was told a needle biopsy would not be accurate. I didn’t like the side effects of radioactive iodine and the fact that it increased my chances of breast cancer, which was already an inherited trait in my family. The endocrinologist didn’t want to perform any tests or protocol to see if the nodule was cancerous until these numbers were in a more manageable range and scheduled a second appointment for 5 months later – 5 months!

This was not acceptable to me and so in the meantime, I began researching, and implementing other strategies. I had a friend who owned a wellness center, and I began using sound and infrared sauna therapy. I met with a colleague who recommended a liver cleanse and supplements to help with the healing process. When I had my lab tests done in January, all the numbers looked good, but the liver enzymes were still elevated. I remember the doctor telling me that I shouldn’t stay on the methimazole very long. When I questioned if the medicine had caused the increase in the liver enzymes, she became defensive and said that she didn’t think it was the medicine. Somehow, it was my fault that I didn’t want her to perform a test using radioactive iodine to see if I had cancer, which could inevitably cause cancer down the road.

When I saw her again in February, she asked about the methimazole. I told her that because my liver enzymes were high and so, I had stopped taking it and started taking Iodoral, a high potassium-based iodine supplement. There is much research on this form of treatment. She was not happy. She said that if the nodule was cancer, then it could have now spread to my liver and that could be the reason for the high liver enzymes. She continued to deny that the liver enzymes were elevated because of the methimazole. It was at this point, I mentioned that the nodule had receded. Her response was that nodules just doesn’t disappear. She then grabbed my throat with such force that it hurt. Needless to say, she was fired.

In March, I began seeing a practitioner that specialized in thyroid issues. He recommended running blood tests to see if there were any other autoimmune issues. Sure enough, I also had the Epstein-Barr Virus. I visited another practitioner that did thermographic imaging. The tests did not show any inflammation in the breasts or the thyroid area. March, I went back to my PCP and my blood tests looked good but continued with the propranolol because my heart rate was still elevated. It was also recommended that I keep a close watch on my eyes, so my eye doctor was enlisted to get his perspective on the pressure and strain the Graves’ disease can have on the eyes. In July, I went back to the PCP. He said that I shouldn’t do so much research into nutrition, that knowledge can be dangerous and referenced the Garden of Eden.

Discovering Energy Work

While all of this was going on, I finished my certification for the Emotion Code Technique (link to a reference The Emotion Code | Energy Healing Method | Discover Healing). In August, I started to learn how to meditate and in September started breast milk protocol (Milk Therapy: Unexpected Uses for Human Breast Milk (nih.gov)) to see if I could address a mitochondrial energy reboot and the autoimmune issue. I was gifted about a month’s supply of frozen milk from someone who owned an organic farm. Since breast milk has stem cells and T cells, maybe it could help increase neutrophils and help reverse the autoimmune disease. I read a blog by the medical medium that had talked about pregnancy and thyroid issues. It begged the question, what if my last pregnancy could have been the final straw to being so nutritiously energetically depleted that there was now collateral damage. Interestingly enough, my mom wasn’t able to breast feed me. So maybe this was another missing piece to my poor health.

January 2019, I had to go back on propranolol. I continued with sound and infrared sauna therapy each week. I am forever grateful to my friend who offered this treatment. Some weeks were just hard to rally around with energy to do even the simplest of tasks. Mind you I’m still running my Wellness teaching and coaching business but on a much smaller scale. February through April I concentrated on being a grandmother, you never know how much time we have with family. Easter Sunday, I met with a practitioner to experienced Pranic healing for the first time. This was definitely the icing on the cake as far as energy work is concerned. I went home feeling better that I had felt in years, but this too was short lived. In June, I was able to get away to the beach, which always rejuvenated me. Meditation continued to also give me some peace in between the thyroid revolution I was enduring, and it gave me a chance to learn different approaches to this incredible way to connect to our inner spirit. In September, I began to learn how to incorporate medicinal cooking and more about Ayurveda herbs. In November, my friend closed her wellness center and I had to teach my class at the University of Richmond from a chair again. My daughter came through with some more of her frozen breast milk, which seemed to help somewhat, but again, I would plateau.

Searching For Healing Amid a Pandemic

The pandemic brought us all a year we will never forget. It started with a high note but then April we would all experience dare I say it the new normal. The best thing I can say about 2020 is I continued to search for healing. I figured I had tried all I could to modulate the physical, so now I would elevate the spiritual side of me. We are after all spirit mind and body why not explore how this can facilitate and streamline the healing process? I began to learn all I could about Pranic healing. Each day I would incorporate my spiritual practice of meditation and cleansing of dirty energy. This worked well with my emotion code technique of taking out the trash of old emotional baggage that doesn’t serve us and can even cause illness. I was still teaching my class and now doing online podcast educating others how to create wellness. I began doing a lot of blogging about my journey of healing encouraging others and planting seeds of hope. Being at home gave me the opportunity to also do research and take classes to learn what I could about healing the whole self; a time windfall that otherwise wouldn’t have presented itself if it weren’t for the pandemic.

Discovering Thiamine

In April of this year, the eye doctor noticed an increase in eye pressure, which he wasn’t sure if it was due to the Graves or if it could be glaucoma. When I went back in July and it was still there, I was referred to an eye specialist to investigate further.  I am now seeing more cross-eyed, and it appeared to be worsening. In October, I learned about thiamine – vitamin B1 and began taking 500-1,000 mg a day. Wow, immediately my neck felt cooler, and the headaches I had been suffering from subsided. When I saw the doctor again in November and questioned whether or not the eye problems could be related to a thiamine deficiency, he got agitated and said he was not a nutritionist. He wanted to know if I had been tested to see if I was deficient in the first place. I guess physical improvement is not a sign of progress or healing.

It was around the same time that I also learned about pyrroloquinoline quinone and added that to what I was already taking. This is what I am currently taking: Kenzen Mega Daily 4® , Kenzen Omegagreen  plus DHA®, Kenzen Immunity® (14 medicinal mushrooms), Jade GreenZymes® (Gluten Free barely grass which has SOD/Superoxide dismutase an antioxidant), Kenzen Vital Balance shake®,(® from Nikken), Lithium, Iordoral, Bilberry, Ginkgo Biloba, Resveratrol, L Carnitine, N Acetylcysteine, Siberian ginseng, Boswellia – Frankincense, Vitamin B1, Cal-mag-zinc, D3 & K2, Ubiquinol + Pyrroloquinoline quinone, Astragalus tincture, oil of oregano, tincture, Bugleweed tincture, Sarsaparilla tincture, Artichoke tincture and cod liver oil. I drink a tea everyday with elderberry, Chamomile, fennel, hibiscus, and green tea because of ECGC (epigallocatechin gallate); which inhibits cellular oxidation and prevents free radical damage to cells.

While I am not fully recovered, I am doing much better, in part because of dietary changes that have allowed me to sleep longer, and more soundly which has enabled me to achieve a parasympathetic or healing response. I am hopeful that 2022 will bring to light some interesting answers. I have an appointment with a doctor of Chinese Medicine soon and looking forward to improved health. Stay tuned to find out what happens next on my journey navigating the road less traveled.

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Thyroid Disease and Testing During Pregnancy

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One in five women of reproductive age suffers from some form of thyroid disease, mostly hypothyroidism (Gharib et al. 2005; Hollowell et al. 2002). In adult women, 95% of clinical hypothyroidism results from primary disease of the thyroid gland, generally, the autoimmune condition Hashimoto thyroiditis (Wartofsky et al., 2006). Autoimmune thyroid disease is also common among women with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Sjogren syndrome, Addison disease, or pernicious anemia. Up to 25% of patients with Type 1 diabetes will develop postpartum thyroid disease (Alvarez-Marfany et al., 1994).

Hypothyroidism During Pregnancy

What happens when a woman with untreated thyroid disease gets pregnant? Depending upon the diagnostic criteria, hypothyroidism affects 0.3% (Casey & Leveno, 2006) to 5% (Gharib et al. 2005) of pregnancies. The symptoms are vague and are similar to other pregnancy concerns making diagnoses based on clinical symptoms alone difficult. Hypothyroid symptoms include fatigue, constipation, cold intolerance, muscle cramps, insomnia, weight gain, carpal tunnel syndrome, hair loss, voice changes, and slowed thinking.

The consequences of undiagnosed hypothyroidism during pregnancy are significant. Hypothyroidism is associated with premature birth, pre-eclampsia, abruption, low birth weight (LBW), postpartum hemorrhage, and impaired neuropsychological development in childhood (Burman, 2009). Research found that fetal loss was higher in untreated hypothyroid women (29%) vs hypothyroid women taking levothyroxine (6%), highlighting the need for early detection (Hallengren 2009).

Hyperthyroidism During Pregnancy

Hyperthyroidism, the result of an excess of thyroid hormones, complicates less than 1% of pregnancies (ACOG Practice Bulletin, 2002). Symptoms of hyperthyroidism are uncommon in normal pregnancy and thus somewhat easier to identify clinically. Maternal symptoms include weight loss or failed weight gain despite increased dietary intake, resting tachycardia, hypertension, tremor, eye stare, eyelid lag, proptosis, and thyroid enlargement or nodule.

Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder occurring in 0.5% of the population, accounts for more than 90% of the hyperthyroidism associated with pregnancy. Complications associated with undiagnosed or poorly managed hyperthyroidism during pregnancy include pre-term labor, pre-eclampsia and maternal thyroid storm, fetal tachycardia, low birth weight, congenital abnormalities, and stillbirth.

Should Pregnant Women Be Tested for Thyroid Disease?

Yes, but there is little consensus among the major medical associations regarding who, when, and how to test for thyroid function during pregnancy. It is argued that by the time TSH (the gold standard in thyroid diagnostics) becomes hyper-elevated and the clinical symptoms emerge, the damage to fetal neurodevelopment related to insufficient maternal T4 stores, has already been done (Calvo et al. 2002).  Emerging evidence suggests that maternal T4 levels may not track directly with elevated TSH levels especially in the first trimester when the demands for maternal T4 are greatest (Morreale de Escobar et al. 2000), making the need for more advanced testing techniques even more important.

Iodine Deficiency and Hypothyroidism: One More Factor to Consider

Complicating matters even further, in iodine-deficient populations, neither TSH, T4 nor T3 denote the underlying deficiency, which as it progresses, inevitably elicits the range of fetal developmental issues and maternal complications associated with hypothyroidism. In the US, approximately 10% of the population is iodine deficient while 50% of Europe is iodine deficient (Zimmerman 2009). In recent years, iodine deficiency has increased in the US in women of reproductive age with 14.9% percent potentially iodine deficient (Hollowell et al. 1998). Similarly, the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in newborns has also increased in the US over the last two decades (Parks et al. 2010).

Iodine deficiency in women can lead to overt hypothyroidism and consequent anovulation, infertility, gestational hypertension, spontaneous first-trimester abortion, and stillbirth (DeLong et al., 1997). Iodine deficiency is also associated with an increased risk for thyroid carcinoma in animal models and humans (Mellemgaard et al., 1998). In the Bryansk region of Russia, an area of known radioactive I-131 exposure following the Chernobyl disaster, the risk of all types of thyroid cancer was inversely associated with urinary iodine excretion levels (WHO Health Risk Assessment).

What Constitutes Hypothyroidism in Pregnant Women?

In addition to the debate over whether to test pregnant moms routinely for thyroid disease, especially hypothyroid moms, there is much debate regarding what constitutes elevated TSH and whether to include subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) or mild hypothyroid cases in the testing matrix (Fatourechi 2009; Surks et al. 2004). SCH or mild hypothyroidism is suggested by only slightly elevated TSH concentrations without the normally accompanying changes in T4.  Arguments against testing for SCH include the enormous increase in cases; up to 28 million more people could be diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and the conflicting data regarding treatment benefits and disease progression. Moreover, recent evidence suggests significant age and race-based differences in TSH reference ranges across the non-pregnant population complicating diagnoses even further (Surks & Boucai 2010).

Given the dire consequences of untreated thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy, there is a need for more accurate, non-invasive and less expensive thyroid function tests with reference ranges specifically identified for this population of women. Screening for thyroid function in women of reproductive age and in pregnant women could reduce maternal and fetal complications.

Our view on thyroid disorders during pregnancy can be summarized as follows:

  • Thyroid disease is common in pregnancy.
  • Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, and treatment may improve these outcomes.
  • Untreated hypothyroidism during pregnancy is associated with impaired intellectual development in childhood.
  • Routine, universal screening for thyroid function in women of reproductive age and in pregnant women could reduce could reduce maternal and fetal complications
  • Normal reference ranges for thyroid function tests in pregnancy must be established

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Postscript: This article was originally published on February 21, 2012 and updated on July 11, 2014. If I were to rewrite this post now, I would attribute much of the thyroid dysfunction to nutrient deficiencies. 

Recovering From Medically Induced Chronic Illness

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Unexplained or Medically Induced Chronic Illness?

“Unexplained.”  That’s what doctors say about chronic illness. Conventional medicine says, ‘learn to live with it.’ Rather than offer a true treatment or cure for these debilitating conditions, they suppress the immune system and offer more drugs for depression and anxiety – none of which are effective. I’m here to tell you that common wisdom is wrong. I know, because my own lucky story proves we can heal from chronic illness. Pharmaceutical insults created my disabling illnesses  – Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, estrogen dominance, adrenal fatigue, POTS, Graves’ Disease, Hashimoto’s, Bell’s Palsy, infertility and more. I share my journey to offer hope. The doctors were wrong. I have recovered and am once again, healthy.

Early Clues and Pharmaceutical Insults

My childhood had some clues – things I now know predict chronic illness. My lymph glands swelled when I was otherwise healthy. Mosquito bites turned into angry 3” welts. Childhood bunions and hyper-mobile joints suggested leaky gut. All these issues correlate with chronic illness and, seen in hindsight, hint at the difficulties that awaited me in adulthood.

My immune system may have been awry from the start, but pharmaceuticals tipped the scale toward chronic illness. As a teen, I took birth control pills for heavy periods and cramps. When vague symptoms appeared in my early twenties, I asked about pill side effects. The gynecologist laughed at the idea, but I trusted my gut and finally stopped the pill. I felt better in some ways but developed new symptoms.  Sleep became difficult. I was hypersensitive to noise and light and struggled with unquenchable thirst.  The doctor suggested my extreme thirst stemmed from hot weather and salty foods. This explanation didn’t add up to me, but I was young and so was the internet. I had no resources to connect the dots. Today, I recognize that 10 years of hormonal birth control created nutrient deficiencies (folic acid, vitamins B2, B6, B12, C, and E, along with magnesium, selenium and zinc) while also raising my risk for future autoimmune disease.

Recurrent UTIs, Fluoroquinolones, and New Onset Graves’ Disease

A few years later, recurrent urinary tract infections led to many doses of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, Cipro. Cipro now carries a black box warning and is known to induce mitochondrial damage. My mid twenties also brought pre and post-menstrual spotting and bleeding for 10 days each month. Doctors did nothing for my hormonal imbalance but diagnosed Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism). Everything about me sped up. Food went right through my system. I was moody. My mind was manic at times. I was unable to rest and yet physically exhausted from a constantly racing heart.

The doctor said Graves’ disease was easy – just destroy the thyroid and take hormone replacement pills for the rest of my life. I didn’t have a medical degree, but this treatment (RAI, radiation to kill the thyroid) just didn’t make sense. Graves’ disease is not thyroid disease. It is autoimmune dysfunction, where antibodies overstimulate a helpless thyroid.

As I studied my options, I learned that RAI could exacerbate autoimmune illness and many patients feel worse after treatment. It was surprising to find that the US was the only Western country to recommend RAI for women of childbearing age. Armed with this knowledge, I declined RAI and opted for medication. The endocrinologist mocked my decision. I was in my 20s and standing up to him was hard, but it marked a turning point and spurred me to take responsibility for my own health, rather than blindly trusting doctors. Recent reports suggest RAI treatment increases future cancer risks. My Graves’ disease eventually stabilized on medication, although I never felt really well. I pushed for answers for my continued illness, but doctors refused to test my sex or adrenal hormones.

IVF and More Damage to My Health

Things turned south again when I was unable to conceive. The supposed best fertility clinic in Washington, DC could not find a cause for my infertility. I’ll save that story for another day, but the short version involved a few years of torment and four failed IVF attempts. The fertility drugs and the stress worsened my overall health considerably.

Our last try at pregnancy was with a specialist who practiced functional medicine. Labs and charting uncovered a clear progesterone imbalance, and also explained my spotting. This simple diagnosis was completely missed by the conventional fertility clinic. A brief trial of progesterone cream resulted in two naturally conceived, healthy pregnancies. Isn’t it remarkable that several years and over $100,000 failed to produce a baby with IVF and $20 of progesterone cream on my wrist did the trick? This could be a cautionary tale about profit motive in modern medicine, but that, too, is a topic for another day.

Years of Conventional Medicine: Thyroid Damage, Autonomic Dysfunction, and Profound Fatigue

I weaned off thyroid medications and felt fairly well after my babies, but my system took a big hit when life brought an international relocation. The move was intensely stressful and my health sunk after we landed half a world away. I had no energy, gained weight, and lived in a fog. The tropical heat and humidity of Southeast Asia felt like a personalized form of torture.

Perhaps the stress of our move left me vulnerable to the reappearance of autoimmune and adrenal dysfunction, as my next diagnosis was Hashimoto’s Disease and adrenal fatigue. Doctors ordered functional medicine tests (hair, organic acids, stool, saliva cortisol and hormones) that identified nutrient imbalances, but their treatment ideas fell short. Despite replacement hormones and supplements by the handful, I remained very sick, with profound exhaustion, brain fog, sleep disruption, pain, and terribly imbalanced sex hormones.

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

If setbacks have a bright side, it is in the drive to get better. I started studying when my doctors ran out of ideas to treat my illness. Fibromyalgia was the best description of my pain, but I knew conventional medicine offered no help for this condition. I dug into the topic and found the work of Dr. John C. Lowe, who used T3 thyroid hormone for fibromyalgia, and Paul Robinson, creator of CT3M, the circadian method for using T3. CT3M and high daily dose of progesterone cream improved my quality of life in the short term. Near daily bleeding eventually regulated back into a normal cycle and my adrenal function improved greatly.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) was the next bump, bringing a very high heart rate, very low blood pressure, heat intolerance, and extreme sweating on the lightest activity. By this time, I didn’t even ask the doctor for help. My research pointed to salt and potassium, and so I drank the adrenal cocktail and salt water daily. POTS symptoms vanished quickly with this easy strategy, as did the nocturnal polyuria that plagued me for many years.

I steadied after this time. I was not well but functional, despite some major life stressors, including another international move and a child’s health crisis. Even though I managed the daily basics, things like house guests, travel, or anything physically taxing required several days to a week of recuperation.

The Next Step: Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies

The next step in my recovery came thanks to a B12 protocol that includes co-factor nutrients, developed by Dr. Gregory Russell-Jones. Addressing the deficiencies connected to B12 helped and things progressed well until I had a disastrous reaction after eating mussels, which I hoped would raise iron levels. I vomited for hours and stayed in bed for days. I kept up the B12 protocol, but just couldn’t recover. Largely bedridden, and napping 4 hours at a stretch, I got up in the evening only to drive to a restaurant dinner, too exhausted to prepare food or deal with dishes.

Debilitating exhaustion lasted for a month, and then two, with no relief. It was an awful time, but hitting rock bottom proved a blessing in disguise, as desperation turned me back to research. Slowly, I pushed through brain fog and started to review studies on chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. This led me to a promising Italian study using thiamine for these conditions.

Studying thiamine, it seemed plausible that the allergic reaction to mussels drained my B1 reserves, making it impossible to recover. Inspired by the research, I started on plain B1 at very high doses. To my surprise, I felt better right away. The first dose boosted my energy and mental clarity.

I continued to learn about B1’s benefits, thanks to this website and the text by Drs. Marrs and Lonsdale.  Two weeks went by and thiamine HCL seemed less effective, so I switched to lipothiamine and allithiamine, the forms recommended in Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High Calorie Malnutrition. WOW. What a difference! Virtually overnight, my gears began to turn, and I felt better with each new day. In a single month, I went from bedridden to functioning well 2 out of every 3 days. I had ideas, I had energy, and I could DO things. The setback days were mild and disappeared entirely after 2 months on thiamine.

At the 2 month mark, I had to travel for a family emergency. My pre-thiamine self would have needed at least a week of rest following this kind of trip, and I expected pain and fatigue as I stepped off the plane. But to my great surprise, I felt well! I remember walking through the airport late that evening and thinking it felt amazing to stretch my legs. Maybe that sounds like an ordinary feeling, but years of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia conditioned my body to stop, to sit, whenever possible. It was entirely novel to FEEL GOOD while moving! The next day came and I did not collapse, I did not require days to recover and was able to carry on like a normal person. It was a remarkable change in an unbelievably short time.

Recovery From Conventional Medicine’s Ills Came Down to Thiamine

Getting better feels miraculous, but it’s not. The real credit for my recovery goes to experts like Dr. Marrs and Dr. Lonsdale who spread the word about thiamine. Despite years of illness and dead ends, I believed I could heal and I kept trying. Tenacity eventually paid off when posts on this site helped connect the dots between my symptoms and thiamine deficiency. More than anything, my recovery is a story of tremendous luck, as I finally landed upon the single nutrient my body needed most.

The difference between my “before thiamine” and “after thiamine” self is beyond what I can describe.  Birth control, Cipro, and Lupron created nutrient imbalances and damaged my mitochondria, leading to multiple forms of chronic illness in the years between my 20s and 40s. Replacing thiamine made recovery possible by providing the fuel my damaged cells so badly needed. At this writing, I am 7 months into high dose thiamine and continue to improve. I have not experienced any form of setback, regardless the stressors. My energy feels close to normal, the pain is resolving, and brain fog is a thing of the past. My sense of humor, creativity and mental functioning are all on the upswing. I owe thanks to the real scientists who dare to challenge wrong-headed ideas of conventional medicine, and who provide hope for these so-called hopeless conditions. My wish is that this story will do the same for someone else.

We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter. 

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.

A Call for Improved Thyroid Treatment Options

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Did you know that there is a controversy regarding the treatment of thyroid disease? Harvard Health estimates that more than 12 million Americans have thyroid disease, many of whom don’t even realize it. Thyroid patients insist that current treatment standards leave too many patients suffering from a lack of diagnosis or ineffective treatment. Both patient populations are left with a diminished quality of life, yet there are few doctors willing to step outside of the current guidelines. In an effort to change this situation a team of patients created ThyroidChange, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the treatment of thyroid disease.

What is Thyroid Dysfunction?

The thyroid is a gland in your body which is located at the base of your neck. Go ahead, touch it! Just above your collar bone and just below your “Adam’s apple.” This gland is shaped like a butterfly with two lobes which stretch around your trachea – hence its nickname the butterfly gland. This gland is key to your body’s metabolism. The hormones it secretes kick-start the energy in every cell of your body like a spark plug in your engine or flint to a match. Without appropriate amounts of thyroid hormones, whether too high or too low, the function of your body is greatly impacted. There are over 300 symptoms of insufficient thyroid hormone and they represent dysfunction in every major organ. Thyroid dysfunction is so common that you or someone you know is probably impacted or will be in the future.

Thyroid hormone is a broad term. The thyroid secretes many hormones, but the two most important for this conversation are thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The pituitary gland located in your brain senses the level of hormones in that area of your brain, and sends out thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which excites your thyroid and causes it to release hormones. T3 is used immediately by various cells and T4 is called the storage hormone because it cannot be used by the cells. It is stored to later be converted to the useable and valuable T3. When a patient does not have sufficient levels of T3 in their blood stream, physicians expect a patient’s TSH level to increase, demonstrating the demand for more hormone by the pituitary gland. If a patient’s thyroid is producing too many hormones, the TSH lab value should decrease to tell it to “decelerate” its production.

An individual whose thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone is hyperthyroid. Some patients are rendered hyperthyroid due to an autoimmune disease called Graves’. One can also have cancer of the thyroid gland. Treatments for these can vary, but inevitably it leads to a lifetime of hypothyroidism.

One who has insufficient T3 available to their cells is called hypothyroid. The leading cause of insufficient thyroid hormone is the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. This disease causes one’s own body attacks their thyroid gland making it inefficient.

What is the Current Treatment standard? Why is it Flawed?

The flawed TSH test is used to diagnose and treat individuals. A physician will run the TSH and if the value is above a particular threshold, the physician will declare a patient hypothyroid. The physician will usually prescribe levothyroxine which is synthetic T4. The dosage will be determined by the TSH lab value. Once it hits a number determined by the physician, the patient will be determined as “euthyroid” or “good as new.”

How many disorders are you aware of that have one lab test and one prescribed treatment? Even though there is research demonstrating that the TSH lab test is flawed and that there are alternative treatments to effectively treat thyroid disease, thyroid patients have difficulty accessing these research-proven methods. We have not even begun to discuss that a majority of hypothyroidism is caused by an autoimmune disease that is seen as insignificant and is not necessarily tested for when a patient is being treated for the resulting hormone imbalance.

What is the Change Being Sought by Thyroid Patients?

One can plainly see that current treatments are solely based on T4 substitution and the ability of an individual’s body to convert the prescribed hormone to the active hormone T3. Patient experience shows that if a patient continues to complain about lingering symptoms, physicians focus on current guidelines which promote the flawed TSH lab value instead of drawing additional labs. This further testing may well demonstrate that a patient is lacking the necessary T3 to function properly, but as so few physicians are willing to perform this, many patients continue to suffer.

In a person with low Free T3, raising T4 doses will not alleviate symptoms. These patients are often prescribed drugs such as antidepressants and cholesterol-lowering drugs to mask the symptoms of insufficient T3. (If you are on one of these medications, have you had your thyroid tested? If you are on thyroid medication, have you had your Free T3 tested?). Adding medications increases side effects and does not restore balance to the patient’s hormones. Simple blood tests can demonstrate to a physician why symptoms persist after the employment of current treatment guidelines. Tests such as Free T4 and Free T3 can indicate how much Free and useable T4 and T3 are in a person’s bloodstream. These tests in combination with antibody testing can help to shed light on a patient’s persistent symptoms.

As per the current guidelines in the treatment of hypothyroidism, based on TSH testing most patients are sufficiently relieved of their symptoms by T4-only treatment. Those who are not in the majority are left to struggle for a doctor willing to listen and run extended lab tests. Complicating this further, many doctors and patients are not only unaware of additional lab work, but also of the many treatment options that one can use to treat thyroid disease.

Levothyroxine or synthetic T4 will restore health in some patients. There are also various T3-containing treatment options such as natural thyroid extract and synthetic T3 which can be used to supplement or substitute T4 treatment. Each patient is unique. We need to make sure that each patient has access to the treatment approach to best restore his or her health. ThyroidChange is about patients advocating for other patients.

Who is ThyroidChange?

ThyroidChange is a nonprofit organization advocating for the use of extended lab testing (Free T4, Free T3, TSH, Reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies) and access to various treatment options to suit the individual patient. We host a petition to appeal for such changes and this has garnered more than 16,000 signatures worldwide, demonstrating that there is indeed a genuine need for change in thyroid treatment. Our community unites patient advocacy groups in an effort to gain better care for thyroid patients and to raise awareness of this widespread problem. ThyroidChange also aims to work with medical oversight agencies in order to create a unified standard of care for thyroid patients to increase patient access to effective, modern treatment.

Please help this effort by visiting www.ThyroidChange.org to sign the petition and unite for better thyroid care, or contact ThyroidChange to discuss how you can support this initiative.