Myxedema

[suzannai]

Me again....complaining about my myxedema and WHY it is not shifting. I recently saw a friend and they commented "wow, you look so different". Not a good sign. I am on 270 mcg T3 only now for five months. I thought perhaps it was not being absorbed so I tested RT3 and free T3 and of course T3 is high and RT3 is below range. I also have low ferretin (23) and low cortisol in the am and noon (saliva). Could this be why or is there another explanation that NOTHING is shifting this. I am getting desperate. Have read some people do respond well to NAC to break up the mucin deposits. Any thoughts? Much appreciated.

[humanbean]

My ferritin level was similar to yours and I felt awful. I have no idea whether it will be making your edema worse or not, but it needs fixing anyway because you will feel so much better.

Are you taking any iron supplements? If you aren't then buy yourself some ferrous fumarate from a pharmacy. Shop around - some pharmacies, including Boots, insist on a prescription, some don't. I buy from Lloyds. What you need is 210mg Ferrous Fumarate, a packet of 84 pills. This is enough for 3 doses per day for 28 days. Take each pill with 500mg - 1000mg of vitamin C to help absorption and to help counteract the constipation that often occurs with iron supplements. Note that each iron pill contains 69mg of elemental iron.

If you are already taking iron supplements then you need to find out how much elemental iron it contains - it may simply not be enough, and you either need to take more, or switch to something else, like the ferrous fumarate I mentioned.

The next paragraph is disgusting - so I'll apologise in advance...

With regard to NAC - I'm assuming you are referring to N-Acetyl-Cysteine? I've used it before. I gave up smoking several years ago and always felt that I had some gunge in the bottom of my lungs which I couldn't cough up - it was too far down and too thick. I was always aware that it would be a reservoir for future infection, and about a year or two after I gave up smoking I read about and started taking NAC. It was brilliant. The gunge I wanted to get rid of became a lot thinner and more watery and finally I was able to cough it up. My lungs felt clean for the first time in years. I still use NAC but only when needed, not all the time. I really believe it helps me avoid smoker's lung problems. (I've stayed off the fags, thank goodness!)

However, I am surprised to read that it might break up mucin in muscle tissue and in other bodily tissues. I would be interested in reading any links you had on the subject.

[suzannai in reply to humanbean]

Humanbean

Thanks, I am taking iron at 100mg iron bisglynate.

I don't have the study on NAC but a few people on another thyroid group have reported some improvement with 900 mg twice per day. I think it is referenced in the book the root cause"

I don't know why I don't get hyper or even respond to such a high dose of t3' could it simply be the iron?running pit of ideas

[winjy in reply to humanbean]

May I ask what brand of NAC you are taking? I have tried some but did not see difference. I was advised NAC is precursor of glutathione and is good for liver and also antioxidant. Glutathione also works for Parkinson's disease.

[jodyel]

I just ordered the NAC myself and see this is an old thread. But I hope it will def get rid of it for me. I noticed I was coughing up a little mucus since being on T3....not much but more than I ever did previously.

[jodyel]

womenshealthency.com/articl...

N-Acetyl Cysteine works wonders on excess mucus production particularly in the lungs. It has the ability to break disulfide bonds in mucus molecules effectively making the mucus molecules smaller and more fluid. This is important for individuals who have bronchitis, flu or pneumonia. This not only lessens symptoms of congestion but can also prevent recurrences of respiratory distress. Research demonstrates that larger doses of NAC up around 1200mg daily may prevent influenza but certainly with lessen symptoms and duration of infection.