Selenium

[Angie56]

Hi there ,

Please could someone please offer me some advice . I watched the thyroid secret and decided to supplement with Selenium as Doctor Issabella wentz said that it helps convery t4 cells to T3 and it's good for detox side efffects . I am on this three weeks and I honestly think my depression mood and every levels have got worse . Please has anyone experienced this or what else can I take ? Has anyone tried Amy Myers supplements as I was thinking of obtaining some of them.

Many thanks in advance

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

What are you taking? Is it L-selenomethionine?

[Angie56 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi SeasideSusie , thanks so much for replying - yes it's lambert Selenium one a day that I'm taking . Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Angie56]

Well, it contains the correct form of selenium but it also contains a lot of fillers/excipients. Could you be reacting to any of those? I would Google each one and see what adverse reactions are thrown up.

[Kalicocat]

1 to 3 brazil nuts per day will give you all of the selenium you need, advice from my health food store. And if you check the nutritiondata website they say one 5 gram nut per day is enough. My problem is I hate brazil nuts, but I eat one or two per day instead of taking a supplement.

[Silver_Fairy in reply to Kalicocat]

That only works if the brazil nuts grow where there's any selenium left in the soil!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Kalicocat]

I wouldn't take advice from a health food store. Did they tell you that to contain selenium the Brazil nuts need to be grown in selenium rich soil? If the packet doesn't state this fact there will be no selenium in the nuts.

The only sure way to know how much selenium you are getting is to supplement.

Angie56 1-3 Brazil nuts a day may not give you all the selenium you need.

[Kalicocat in reply to SeasideSusie]

I've gone low on copper twice (which causes neutropenia) from taking zinc supplements so I'm extra cautious with any type of supplement, I try to get my nutrition from food first. I wasn't overdosing either but maybe paired with my food intake I was getting too much zinc.

[Angie56 in reply to Kalicocat]

Thank you kalicocat I have never heard of neutropenia though maybe that's it as I'm taking B12 Thiamine B6 and fish oils also . Many thanks .

[Kalicocat in reply to Angie56]

Angie56, a neutrophil is a white blood cell which makes up the majority of your total WBC (white blood count), neutropenia is low neutrophils. My WBC got as low as 2.8 before I found a study on zinc induced sideroblastic anemia. My signs/symptoms were low WBC, low neutrophils, low hematocrit, low RBC, a belly button infection (which I've never had in my life) and increasing cholesterol. I stopped all supplements and my WBC bounced up to 5.1 within a month. Scary stuff, if it weren't for google, I think I'd be 6 feet under by now.

[LAHs in reply to SeasideSusie]

Eat the nuts, get a selenium blood test, if it is adequate or high then you have a good source of nuts. Easy!

Oh, and 1 - 3 is sufficient, don't exceed that amount you could have Se poisoning if you eat too many.

[Kalicocat]

Angie, here is a study that I found on brazil nuts and selenium:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/182...

Maybe eat 6 per day if you want to be really sure.

[LAHs in reply to Kalicocat]

6 far too many! Be careful.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

But make sure Angie56 that the pack says they are grown in selenium rich soil.

[Kalicocat]

Londinium, why do you think you are low on copper? Do you have some of the same blood count issues? And infections?

[Kalicocat]

wow that's not good, is your WBC count low? How is your blood sugar? Higher sugars can also cause infections. Is this a bacterial infection? Are you on antibiotics? Sorry for all of the questions, you don't have to answer them if you don't want to. Or you can pm me.

[amala57]

I asked my gp for a blood test to check my selenium. Having it next week. I am not happy taking too many supplements. It's a difficult balancing act. Apparently western diets are quite high in selenium.

[silverfox7]

I was always told, and do, to take Zinc with selenium as they work together.

[Kalicocat in reply to silverfox7]

Zinc and copper are absorbed through the same channel. If you take zinc without copper your body will produce more metallothionein, an antioxidant that will bind both metals but it has more of an affinity for copper which will eventually cause you to go low on copper. Please read up on this, I didn't know this until I got sick, and my doctor just kept saying, "we'll monitor it, I might eventually send you to a hematologist", but who knows when that would have happened. I'm very glad I found that study.

[Angie56 in reply to Kalicocat]

Hi Kaliocat ,

I have never taken zinc though I do take vitamin c with thyroid tabs and probiotic . I take vitaminb12 b5 b6 midday and fish oils in the evening . I stopped selenium yest but feel worse today v dizzy . I have constant ear infections . My consultant lowered my meds in December which messed me up then I saw my usual consultant a month ago and he has increased my T3 it's so confusing. Are we meant to never feel well 😄

[Kalicocat in reply to Angie56]

Angie, it took me 7 months to feel better. My doctor inched my dose up by 12.5 mcg every two months. At first I was always exhausted and weak with bad hip pain and a host of other symptoms. Then I started feeling a little better but would completely crash after I exercised. And finally, after my last 12.5 mcg increase, I can now exercise and not crash afterwards and feel almost normal. So yes, it can happen it just takes a long time.

Plus I found each time my medication was adjusted I felt worse before I felt better. I also found taking the same amount of medication everyday was better than alternating different doses. My TSH is now 1.09 and Free T4 is 17 (9-19), so right now everything is perfect, but that can always change if you have active antibodies which I do.

You may be feeling bad because of your dose changes, it really does take a long time for your body to adjust each time things change. Also, T3 supplementation causes wide fluctuations in Free T3 and, depending on where in the range your free T3 is sitting, you could actually be going over the top end of the range for a few hours after taking your medication. So that could be causing you to feel bad.

I really only want to take T4 and would only consider T3 if they come out with a slow-release version of it as the way it is formulated now it is all absorbed into the blood stream too quickly, causing these big fluctuations and symptoms.

[Angie56 in reply to Kalicocat]

Hi Kaliocat ,

Thank you so much for your reply and sorry to hear that you have been feeling rough too though glad that you are feeling good now . I was feeling good after seeing consultant about a year ago had lots of energy no brain fog was great then since August just been getting worse . The mood swings are terrible - dizziness legs either heavy or feel like not holding me and a little weight gain . I have been doing pilates n walking . My endo decreased my tabs to alternate days then saw my usual one a month ago he has told me to take T3 three times a day . I could hardly split the doses so was talking crumbs . I now take them twice since weekend . I'm wondering is it the new T4 formulation as I'm taking teva . I thought selenium would help but it hasn't .

Many thanks

[Kalicocat in reply to Angie56]

There are a lot of people on this forum who have noticed a difference in how they feel when the doctor or pharmacy changes their T4 brand or the brand changes their formulation. My doctor writes my prescription out for Synthroid, I remember years ago my pharmacy switched me to generic, I won't let them do that this time.

What is your TSH, T4 and T3 right now?

[Angie56 in reply to Kalicocat]

I am not sure to be honest I did get tests done for all the thyroid tests and antibodies though was just told it was within range . I think I will ask to go back to actavis I have never tried Synthroid . I prob should keep a diary as I never know how long I am feeling sick I just go Day by day . I will put my results up tomorrow when I know them .

Do u take Selenium , magnesium zinc ? I'm not sure what to do , my B12 levels were high but I'm stlll on tabs .

Thanks so much for your advice I really appreciate it

[Kalicocat in reply to Angie56]

You're welcome Angie. I do take magnesium as I went low on magnesium and potassium when I was on proton pump inhibitors (I've been a mess in the health department for quite a few years now). I will NEVER take proton pump inhibitors again. I drink MagSmart before bed. I like the taste and it helps me sleep.

Zinc supplements are no good for me anymore as I seem to go low on copper each time I take a supplement with zinc in it, maybe I've never got my copper levels balanced since the first time I went low.

I don't take selenium, instead I eat 1 to 3 brazil nuts per day. I read a study on selenium content of brazil nuts and the selenium content can vary greatly but there is always some selenium in them. If you ate at least 3 you should get your recommended daily intake instead of using supplements. If you are supplementing with minerals you have to be careful on dosage and make sure you are getting the appropriate amounts for all of them as you can create an imbalance if you are taking just a few. Also, if you are supplementing with fat soluble vitamins you have to make sure you are not going over the RDA as you can overdose on them. Water soluble vitamins it's not as important as the kidneys will flush out what is not needed.

[silverfox7 in reply to Kalicocat]

Thank you for mentioning copper

[Silver_Fairy in reply to silverfox7]

I thought it was Zinc and Copper, and Iodine and Selenium?

[LAHs]

On the subject of nuts and essential minerals and metals its:

Brazils for Se and Mg

Cashews for Zn and Fe

Almonds for Cu

I think getting these things from natural sources is better than a supplement because your own body tells you when you have had enough. You don't inadvertently overdose due to one not very well research gulp of a pill.

[MissFG]

I can't take selenium every time I tried I felt so ill and had thyroiditis so I avoid it big time!