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my daughter is 35 yrs old and hypothyroid

by Deborah Reed
(Elkhart, In USA)

My daughter has been ill for over 5 years with her hypothyroidism. She currently takes natural dessicated thyroid pills. Recently she has tried to increase her thyroid medication and take adrenal support supplements. She also just stopped taking Cymbalta. Bad drug that Cymbalta.
She has terrible migraines and vision problems. Extreme pain in joints and fatigue.

In the past she used bio identical progesterone creme. She stopped taking progesterone a year ago. She thought she did not need it and it made her sleepy. I told her she failed to adjust her dosage down according to her symptoms and that is why she was tired. She still needs it according to her current symptoms I think.

To make a long story short, she is very sick now and can barely function. We visited her doctor 2 times in the last 3 weeks and he is seems to think she is just under stress about her job. He was not happy that she stopped taking Cymbalta without asking him. Even if she has stress from work she still has a medical condition that is not being addressed. She has stress due to not feeling well and not living her life !!! All the doctors want to do is load her up on the drugs! I said no more............
She has been to several doctors, taken every drug they have given her and she is a mess! I am extremely worried about her emotional state and physical health. It seems every day she is ill. She can not take care of her self or her child.

She started using compounded progesterone 1 ml of 100mg per day about 2 1/2 weeks ago. She is still not feeling better. Any suggestions ?

Comments for my daughter is 35 yrs old and hypothyroid

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Sep 12, 2013
 my daughter is 35 yrs old and hypothyroid
by: Wray

Hi Deborah Please get her to have a vitamin D test done, this is all that could be wrong with her. It's vital not only for every cell in the body, but the thyroid too, see here, here, here, here, here and here. I've found all too often TSH is checked, T4 too, but rarely T3, extremely rare to test rT3, they never check for adrenaline which increases levels of rT3, which in turn inhibits the production of T3. And they never test for the three essential nutrients from which the thyroid makes the two hormones T3 and T4. Without these three it doesn't matter how healthy a thyroid gland is, it will not be capable of making the hormones. I liken TSH, which is made in the pituitary, to a whip on a starving donkey, beating it to worker faster. But it can't as it has no fuel, the same with the thyroid. The three vital nutrients are the amino acid tyrosine, the minerals iodine and selenium. This last is an important co-factor without which the thyroid cannot convert iodine and tyrosine into T3. I doubt if you can get tested for tyrosine levels, iodine yes and occasionally selenium. I suggest she starts taking these three and see how she feels. It's best to start low on the tyrosine, about 100mg/day, too much can make one hyper. I'm being overly cautious here, as amounts up to 25g (25,000mg) have been given daily for weight loss. A normal dose for selenium is 200mcg/day. I suggested to one woman who wrote recently in that she try the three nutrients, she said selenium has made a remarkable difference to how she feels. Iodine varies hugely, it's best you read the papers I've given below before choosing what you think is correct for her. These are the papers on iodine here, here, here here and here. Continued below
Sep 12, 2013
 my daughter is 35 yrs old and hypothyroid Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Deborah This is a good supplement as it includes tyrosine too, see here. And this is another here. As I said, selenium is critical for the production of T3 (triiodothyronine). But excess adrenaline inhibits the production of T3 by metabolising iodine, in other words adrenaline is antagonistic to iodine. This is what one paper says "Consequently, when certain genetically susceptible individuals are subjected to allergens, stress, or too much sugar, they produce an excess of adrenaline, some of which is quickly oxidized to adrenochrome. As a result, the normal operation of the thyroid gland is disrupted and triiodothyronine levels depressed." This can result in mental/emotional disorders, including psychotic symptoms. Your daughter is very stressed so her adrenaline levels will be high. Stress drops both progesterone and vitamin D levels. It also causes dopamine to drop, this is our 'get up and go' neurotransmitter, a lack causes depression and an increase in Prolactin. Tyrosine is the precursor to both dopamine and adrenaline. So all her tyrosine is going to make adrenaline, leaving nothing for the thyroid or dopamine. Your daughter did such a good thing coming off the Cymbalta, no antidepressant is good. Besides which they only treat the symptom, not the cause. It's essential she eats no foods containing any of the sugars, that includes foods which convert to glucose in the body. i.e. all the grains, legumes, sweet starchy fruits and vegetables. And of course no drinks containing the sugars, including the synthetic sugars which are even more dangerous. Not only does sugar increase adrenaline levels, but a disturbed blood glucose leads to depression and Anxiety. She might consider going on a Ketogenic Diet. The Keto Diet reduces glucose levels to the barest minimum, and the body uses ketones for energy. It's a very high fat, moderate to low protein and very low carb diet. Only the good fats should be used, i.e. MCT oil, coconut oil, butter, olive oil or macadamia oil. The first three are saturated fats, the other two mono-unsaturated fats. The best is the MCT oil, an extract from coconut oil. The body converts the fatty acid into ketones, in fact the brain does better on these than glucose. Continued below
Sep 12, 2013
 my daughter is 35 yrs old and hypothyroid Part 3
by: Wray

Hi Deborah MCT oil forms ketones more efficiently than the other oils. The diet varies from a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein/carb down to a 1:1 ratio which is the easier to follow. It's also essential to eat enough protein. This is based on 0.9g to 1.0g of protein per kg per day of lean muscle mass. Contrary to what is generally believed a lack of protein leads to bone loss. Please try to get hold of "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It" by Gary Taubes, see here. Ignore the title, it's an excellent book which explains the role carbohydrates and insulin play in our body. And how damaging both are when in excess. Also ignore what he says about oestrogen! High oestrogen also slows the thyroid, so progesterone is a good option as it not only suppresses excess oestrogen, but does speed metabolism slightly. But with the state she's in I suggest she uses 400mg/day. It seems she's currently using about 100mg/day. A lack of vitamin D reduces the benefits of progesterone, it's essential she gets her level up high. But it's also essential to have a test done to find what her current level is. The pain she has could be due to either excess oestrogen, it's an inflammatory hormone. Or to a lack of magnesium, this is the most important co-factor for vitamin D. A lack of magnesium causes substance P to rise, see here and here. Substance P is a nociceptive, neuropeptide involved in causing pain and nausea. Oestrogen stimulates substance P, see here. Substance P inhibits progesterone, see here, but if enough is used, progesterone suppresses substance P, see here. "Accumulating evidence indicates that the neuropeptide substance P is predominantly involved in neurogenic inflammation and pain perception...... Intriguingly, decreased pain sensitivity is found to be associated with high plasma progesterone levels. We hypothesize that progesterone may attenuate nociception and associated inflammatory response." So I suggest she takes 800mg/day magnesium for a month or two, or until stable, and then reduces it to about 250mg/day. To recap, please have a vitamin D test done, consider taking tyrosine, iodine, selenium, magnesium, progesterone and of course vitamin D. Please let me know how she gets on. Take care Wray

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