Thought I would share with you ,something I thought was Very interesting. Because I am having a flare-up at the moment, I was looking for anything that would perhaps make me feel better, and was reading a book on my kindle by Dr R. J. Hammet, called Hypothyroidism, weight gain and Fibromyalgia. As you know, we can have tests for thyroid etc., but find that they usually come back normal, when really they are not. Well, I have thought for a long time this might be my problem, but couldn't get a diagnosis, so having read Dr Hammet`s book, he came up with 3 tests you can do for yourself, which can pretty well prove whether you have this problem or not.
TEST 1
In the morning on waking, for 3/4 mornings wait for 5 /10 mins, then take your pulse, if it is lower than 78/84 this can be an indication of hypothyroidism - mine was between 50/54
TEST 2
For 4 mornings in a row, on waking, wait 5/10 mins and take your temperature. It should be 98.6 = 37.4c if it is less, this is also quite a good test for Hypothyroidism - mime was
36- 36.5 - 36.5 - 35.2 I was not surprised it wasn't what it should have been.
TEST 3
Place one drop of iodine on your forearm , about the size of a 50p piece, then write down what time you did this test. If 24 hrs later the iodine has been completely absorbed, there could be an iodine deficiency indicating Hypothyroidism. Do NOT do this test 2 days in a row -Mine was absorbed within 5 hrs///. This is another test that is accurate at demonstrating low functioning thyroid.
Iodine is essential to produce thyroxin, which means eating salt water fish.
If this has interested you, please read this small book, it will explain a lot of things we all need to know, it is Very Informative. I am definately going to talk to my doctor Best wishes
Lyndia x
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I had a thyroid blood test a few weeks ago mine came back ok..so the DR said....I can remember my mum back in the 70s saying about her muscles and also she had an underactive thyroid..drs did not trouble with her..said she was imagining it, im so sure she had fibro but then nothing was mentioned...
I have had so many thyroid tests, and all have come back negative, however, I am going to go to my doc., armed with the info from this little book [ try and get it on the net if you can, or use your kindle if you have one, it really is worth reading ]and if he doesn`t help, I will holistic professional help, I like the rest of you, need to feel better, I am at the moment trying to eat things like, fruit, fish etc., and it has made a little difference, however, it is early days. best of luck
...your results may have been within the ranges - but possibly not negative. Often the doctors just test the TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - which comes from the Pituitary and tells the Thyroid to produce T4. So the FT4 needs to be tested and should be near the TOP of the range. In an ideal world the FT3 should be tested as the T4 converts into the ACTIVE T3 in the body. This is the hormone that makes every cell in your body work optimally - and when LOW creates so many problems. They often do not test it due to expense. So time to take control. Have a read of my other posts further down the page. Am afraid we have to learn as much as possible ourselves. Going to the Thyroid UK website would be an excellent start....
If you ask for your thyroid blood test results and post them on the Thyroid Health Unlocked someone will comment. You are entitled to your blood test results. OK is not good enough. The FT4 should be high in the range along with the FT3 and the TSH low in the range. Also the Auto-immune thyroid illness is the most common throughout the world - but the anti-bodies are rarely tested in the UK. Now that is really unfair - again down to costs. I am fortunate to live in Crete so no problems.
Maybe take a look at my other posts lower down the page ! I too was diagnosed with FM some 14 years ago - which eased considerably once diagnosed here with Hashimotos and started thyroid treatment. Improving all the time as I follow advice from others on Thyroid UK.
No such thing as normal - in the range maybe. What is normal for one is not normal for another. All my results were in range but the anti-bodies were high - and so I was diagnosed with Hashimotos and treated. Living in Crete helps - as they look at the whole body and medical history. See my posts further down - they may be helpful.....
Please do try this out, and also try and get this little book either off of the net, bookshop, or on your kindle if you have one, it is very informative. The T3 and T4 tests are notoriously inaccurate, and patients are told their tests are normal, and yet they have 75% of the symptoms { I have had these tests about 4/5 times, always with negative results }the problem being, that the thyroid hormone secretions happens throughout the day on an as needed basis, and depending on your stress levels, activity etc., you might need more or less, blood tests are accurate at the moment they are taken, and good for an overall picture of thyroid function. I am going to my doc., and if I don`t get any joy, I shall seek help from a holistic professional, which Dr Hammet suggests if no other help is available. Best of luck
Hi lyndia. Thank you for this. I have an underactive thyroid, which was diagnosed 8 years ago, My GP said when I started taking the tablets, I would loose weight and feel better, well I haven't and was then diagnosed with Fibro in 2010, thyroid test have come back normal with a few adjustments over the years, I will speak to him about this and see what he say, I will do the 3 tests before I go.
Thank you for that,Iam very interested in this ATM as I have had a flare for 3 months now and I have asked for all the thyroid tests but my g.p is only testing got TSH and TF4 as well as iron,ferritin,folates,vit B and D.Can you get the book from amazon?xxx
Same here I had all the symptoms incl fatigue and unexplainable weight gain as I was eating very little. I had blood tests which showed I was at the lower end of the "normal" range. " The GPS do not take into consideration that as we are all individuals so what would be considered normal is also different for each person. I strongly felt my gp was wrong and researched to find a private endocrinologist up in Birmingham, I live In Kent but it was worth the travel and costs. I have been on throxyine now for about six years and am a slim size ten. Just to know that it wasn't all in my mind immediately made me feel better. What I am trying to say is that you know your body better then anyone else can and if you feel that you have a thyroid problem don't let your gp fob you off. Be a pain in his neck keep insisting. Do research online and show it to him. Don't worry about being a nuisance or annoying him. He is paid very well to treat his patient. Maybe suggest to him that he tries thinking outside the box for a change. Good luck and I hope you can get this sorted out soon. Colleen.
Hi colleen. Just been on the internet and typed in amazon whisper et, when that came up I typed in hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, weight gain by dr. Randell Hammet and it came up at 82 pence to buy hope this works for you, if not let me know, and I will try something elsel
Hi colleen. The spelling didn't come out right so will try again, it is Amazon Whispernet, hoping you can find it, it is only a little book but well worth the read
Hi you are right about insisting the go listens, and I shall be back on my case tomorrow, because I have felt for a long time this has been my problem, however, when tests come back normal it's difficult to do much about it, however, now I have this info somebody is going to be made to listen to me, I am feeling very poorly at the moment and not in any mood to be fobbed off. Thanks for writing back, will let you know how I get on tomorrow. Best wishes
Found it, and just downloaded it. Will sit and have a read now as this sounds very much like what my problem could be. Thanks Lyndia for sharing this information. Hope your feeling better tomorrow x
Hi chrianne. So pleased you found it, as I actually rang Amazon to see if they could send it to me, but they told me it was only on kindle, so I then sent an email to Dr. Hammett in the US, but his email has changed and I couldn`t find anything for him, so, was getting a bit frustrated, if therefore you can perhaps write a blog explaining how to get this book, there are other people who I know are interested. Thank you for your kind thoughts, and I will certainly be making my point tomorrow, I know I`m 76, but I`m not a push over, and I came from a medical family, so I don`t put up with too much nonsense, especially when I`m feeling as bad as I am at the moment, I`ll let you know how I got on, Bless you
The book will help you to argue the situation with the GP. Knowledge is power. I wish you luck and don't leave the surgery till he helps you. You probably need thyroxine and will start on a low dose. Ask to be refer to an Endocrinologist. They are specialists in this and you need to be properly diagnosed and started on treatment. There is no need for you to be suffering when the problem can be helped. Thank you for the link I will upload that and have a read. XX
Thanks colleen for your kind thoughts. I will certainly be giving him hell tomorrow if I don`t get some decent answers, especially as I`m feeling so lousy at the moment, I don`t put up with too much nonsense, and as I come from a medical family, I do say what I think. I may be getting older [76] but I`m not stupid Anyway, thanks once again, and I hope the book will be good reading for you, it just made sense to me, and I hope it will to you. God bless
You could also look at the Thyroid UK website where there is all the information you will ever need to know about thyroid. There is a list of Signs and Symptoms which you can print off and take to your Doctor with the boxes ticked that apply to you. It also tells which tests to have done and how to understand the results. Always ask for copies to keep and monitor. It will tell you which vitamins to have tested which are crucial to enable the thyroid to work well.
There are many excellent books and again they are listed on the website of Thyroid UK. Another good website is - Stop The Thyroid Madness - and the book of the same name. Also consider you may have auto-immune disease of the thyroid - which means you will need anti-bodies testing and may well have other results that are in range - like the TSH FT4 FT3. All my results were in range but the anti-bodies were high.
Also remember there is no such thing as NORMAL - only results in range. We are all individuals and what is normal for one is not for another. Maybe go onto Healthunlocked for Thyroid UK and you can post your results and so may knowledgeable people will help you.
The Iodine test is controversial and there are many thoughts around - not conclusive. The temperature test is more reliable - known as the Broda Barnes Basal Temperature Test. Again there is a website of this clever doctor who is no longer with us.
Hi marz. Thanks for comments, very enlightening. Who is the doc.,you are referring to in the last bit of your reply, is it professor davies? once again thanks I am seeing the doc., today, that's if I can get there, as my back has suddenly given out on me, and I can barely walk at the moment, but I'm not a giver up, and I want some answers, so into the fray once more. Hugs. Lyndia x
Broda Barnes was a Doctor. He noticed that people he was treating with hypothyroidism had low body temperatures - hence low metabolism. Before the early 70's there was not a test for thyroid and doctors went by clinical signs and symptoms. Medicine used to be an art. Now they just look at blood test results and a computer screen in many cases.
I live In Crete having retired here in 2004. Here we are able to obtain blood tests easily and take care of our own records - so we are in control !
Do not write off the thyroid as being the cause of declining health - I could write a book about my own experiences - and remember GP's have very little training on the thyroid. Did you read the thyroid UK website ? - if you can - you will be more knowledgeable than your Doc. Avoiding and denying can be part of the problem I have noticed with lots of people. Especially if a doctor has given you a diagnosis of some other non specific condition. At least rule it out so you can move on.... As we age the thyroid - a gland - become less effective anyway - just as our ovaries stop working. For some reason some women can accept that but not accept that their thyroids are under par....and in need of help.
Low thyroid can affect every single cell in the body - cells of the heart, liver, gut, BRAIN, muscles, other glands and so on. It is the Master gland of Metabolism. Modern medicine would rather give you endless pills for the numerous symptoms - when possibly one little pill could cure all or at least many.
Good Luck with the doctor ! The anti-bodies that require testing are Anti-Tpo and Anti-Tg. Also your B12 will be low along with Iron Ferritin folates VitD - they all need testing and should be HIGH in their respective ranges - and not just in range - which seems to satisfy the Docs. If your Doc refuses to do the tests I have listed - then do consider doing them privately. Again the information is on the Thyroid UK website and you will receive a discount.
Hi Marz. Thanks for the info, I have just been on the Thyroid UK site, Very Interesting, and realize I have so many of the symptoms, which I thought was the fibro, although was doubting a bit, as they have changed slightly over the last 2/3 months but hadn`t considered low thyroid, as I have always been so active, but lately I have found I can`t go out for the day or away, without being knocked out for the next 3/4 days or more, my eyes have been playing me up really badly, I`m eating salt like it`s gone out of fashion, the tiredness and fog, is past exhaustive and so many other thing The trouble is, that you live with pain and God knows what else for so long, that it takes a bit of time to realise things have changed, and you are in denial, but, I now know there is definitely something else going on, so here`s hoping I get some help today, if not, I shall go privately. Once again, thanks. lots of hugs
Hi Marz. Forgot to tell you my temperature is low between 36 and 36.4, so, as you say, that is usually an indication something is wrong, we`ll wait and see what the doc., comes up with today, I don`t really hold out much hope
Have just read your post on Thyroid UK ! Congratulations. Regarding the Salt - buy PURE salt that is grey or pink that hasn't had all its nutrients stripped out of it. Salt is NOT meant to be white - so many valuable nutrients in Himalayan or Celtic Salt that are body needs. Take a look on-line and have a read ! so much to learn ! You only need a teaspoon of iodine in a lifetime !
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