Yep, they're all the same. I happened to be in the UK a couple of weeks ago. While I was there I had a saliva test for cortisol. 3 of the results were below range; one, just struggled into the very bottom. Ha! I thought, I'll take that to my doctor when I get back to France.
'We don't do that here,' he said. 'I'll give you a blood test.'
'But that's not so accurate,' I said.
'French medicine is best,' he said.
Cobblers, I thought.
Anyway, blood test came back. I was within limits. Returned to the Quack - oops! I meant doctor.
'No treatment, I guess,' I said.
'Non.'
'But what about the saliva test?'
'I don't want to see that,' he said, sticking his head up his own bottom. 'I believe you are suffering from hypochondria - have you thought about hypnotherapy?'
'There is nothing wrong with my head,' I said. (Unlike you, I thought.)
'I will prescribe something,' he said.
'Beta blockers?' I said. (Who could have guessed?)
'Oui,' he said, ushering me from his rooms.
So there we are. This one sample, coupled with the experiences of others in this place, proves that doctors the world over need to extract their heads from their bottoms.
Now. Vitamin D. I haven't looked - there may be stuff about this somewhere here, but it is very important (so I read yesterday) that Magnesium is taken with Vit D if there is any suspicion of low levels - of magnesium that is. By all accounts, Vitamin D uses Magnesium in its transport. And it will hoover up any available magnesium, thereby leaving one short, so to speak. Low levels of magnesium are thought to be rife and can contribute to neurological, muscular and cardiovascular problems (palpitations!)
So there we have it - two for the price of one
Bestest, S.
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steviecat
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You live in France ? Oui ? Then surely you know everything French is the best in the world, especially French arrogance !
When we lived there I was very disappointed in a lot of French food, especially home cooked stuff. They bring it out all chuffed with themselves.. Thinking this English person will never have eaten so well 👍. Er NON ! some of the worst meals I've had ! And don't get me started on their supermarches !
Many thanks for heads up on magnesium 👍
Hope you get something sorted re cortisol / adrenals.
Oh, but, yes! I don't understand the French and their weird belief that everything is so much better here. Most of their food is, well, disgusting! I know exactly what you mean, Kitti. Not only that, what is it with their cack-handed way of holding eating irons? A friend of mine used to sit at the far table in a restaraunt with his back to the room so he didn't have to see their, er, curious eating methodologies. And they don't do vegetables either: it's meat and tatties. Our son's school meals near drive us to fits of despair and distraction. Also, the difference in choice between British and French supermarkets is extraordinary. The choice in the UK is sooo much greater, which is why come back loaded to the gunnels. (Our son has to travel on the roof of the car ;-))
I guess its because most of them never leave their country because they believe the hype that it is The Best ! I know what you mean lol ! And unless you have a large Auchan nearby your stuffed ! And then there's the cost ! It always baffled me how the French afford a lot of their specialitys. Rough looking workmen types with 3 tins of duck confit at €13 / tin and a load of Good red wine and few baguettes n that's your dinner !. Oh n do you get the ones near you that buy 10-14 baguettes at once and you think what the hell are you doing with it ? As its inedible the next day ! 😂😂
Hope your somewhere nice, it does help 👍
And poor child ! You could at least let him run behind !
It was too hot for us when we visited, Kitti. I know, I know, hot is desirable, but I couldn't imagine working in it. Oh, and the houses were sooo expensive.
Charente Maritime yeah but Vienne Charente & Deux Sevres are pretty cheap. We got a lovely pile of stones for €22,000 👍
If you went summer 2015, yes it was flamming roasting pardon the pun. But normally not too bad. I just loved the endless days of cloudless skies from March to November.
I did a search for magnesium on the Thyroid UK forum here. I got over 6000 results. It gets mentioned a lot. As does vitamin K2 which is also essential for anyone taking vitamin D.
The thing about magnesium is that every cell in the body needs it. And for some reason the body prioritises the blood stream. When magnesium gets low in the blood stream the body takes it from other cells in the body and puts it into the blood. As a result the body could be very deficient in magnesium but it won't show up in a blood test. So, many of us just supplement magnesium without testing.
"'I believe you are suffering from hypochondria - have you thought about hypnotherapy?'"
Really! Damn doctors are all the same, as you say. I won't bother moving overseas then, might as well be exasperated with them in English than struggle with another language! Then again, I wonder if 'b*ll***s" is universal like that four letter word seems to be??
Whenever I reply to a post about Vit D, I always link to the Vit D Council's website and their article about co-factors, which mentions magnesium, and advise it should be taken, along with K2-MK7. Hopefully members do read the links posted
Be aware if beta blockers ! I was prescribed propanolol ( beta blocker ) for anxiety last year. At the time didn't look into what they were. Too ill at the time perhaps. Recently found out that propanolol suppresses the thyroid ! ! Great med to give to a hypo patient. And surely counter productive ?
I don't think I'll be moving to France any time soon... My brother lived there for several years. He was a life long smoker and had COPD. Then last July they admitted him to hospital as an emergency, apparently suffering from TB and being subjected to the full barrier nursing thing... The tests all came back negative for that and he was allowed home. Two weeks later he was back in hospital with lung cancer... a very aggressive form which had already metastasised into his hip bones. By middle October he was dead. This was French medicine in action... At least over here they managed to diagnose my dad quite early on in the disease and gave him two extra years of life that he wouldn't have had in France! We may moan about the NHS from time to time, but from what I saw with my brother, paying for healthcare offers no guarantees that you'll be treated any better...
NHS is the same. A friend of mine was diagnosed with asthma (pretty rare in someone that age). Two years later they found a massive tumour in his lung - they don't usually grow overnight. I'm thinking his adult onset drug resistant epilepsy (also rare at his age) is probably something a lot nastier.
For over 18 months my dad was repeatedly complaining to the docs about breathlessness in the UK. He was an ex smoker of 10 years, not COPD, but they just kept chopping and changing inhailers. No heart checks. First heart attacks August, in hospital for 8 weeks, during which he was assessed for the operation needed. him and his heart were now deemed too weak. he died at the age of 74 in that December, after a life of being fit and healthy. one of those people who never got ill.
In my thyroid treatment or rather lack of it was as poor as over here. But I did break my arm while in france ( I had a fight with our cockrel ! ) and found the treatment to be excellent. I also had friends who had friends that were treated for cancer and found their treatment excellent.
MP. Yep, cortisol blood test. And, no, I'm sure my doc has no idea about cortisol. I think we may have washed our collective hands of each other. I've written about my journey with palpitations elsewhere. I mentioned it to him again, hence the comment about 'hypochondria and hypnotherapy.' He's working on the basis that my cardio tests came back normal. He doesn't seem to be able to see beyond that eg. Vagus nerve, low cortisol, low magnesium etc. etc. I shall just keep trying stuff until I crack it
If you get artemisia - it's usually for cancer or malaria - be aware that it can give you horrendous headaches and generally shouldn't be taken for more than a few weeks without a break. Don't take near iron as it destroys iron-rich cells. no idea how it would help with low cortisol. I found meditation, plenty of rest, plus DHEA, adrenal glandulars and ashwaghanda got my low cortisol up a bit (I was already taking D3, K2 and magnesium when it was rock bottom), but it took years to get right.
Glad you noticed my sense of humour SeaSideSusie! Ahaha! Proper testing and interpretation of results on the NHS... indeed! "ALL NORMAL"....Sadly we know better and we suffer badly from such bad practice.... x
Hi, JG. Nope - saliva test courtesy of Blue Horizon. Had it sent there when I knew I'd be over. Can't imagine they'd 'service' me (so to speak) in France...
Quite... did not really think so for a minute Steviecat... You could have walked into any laboratory (laboratoire - you speak French I take it since you've lived in dreadful France for such a long time) and asked for the same test and it would have probably been cheaper or on par with BH or Medichecks... Perhaps you should have tried to get an appointment with a GP while you were over here and see what you would have been told about your results!!! that is if you have managed to get an appointment.. We who live here are badly looked after by GPs...
Incidentally I have experience of both cultures, over very long periods of time, and of both medical services.... and I know the one I'd give a great deal to have at the moment.... and be looked after by. The medical service that would look at prevention rather than waiting till one collapses...
Also did a Medichecks 'finger prick' blood test for my thyroid while I was there. What a game that was! The last few drops were so hard to get I thought I'd never reach the line in the container. A centimetre or more of blood by pricking one's finger with a pin? Sheesh, at one stage I was seriously contemplating a carving knife
I had lower cholesterol as a meat eater than I do now as a vegan, so the liver must be able to do it. But if the powers-that-be let on that cholesterol wasn't just produced by what we eat, they wouldn't be able to perpetuate the low fat diet myth.
The hypotherapy is for what our guys would call her "somatoform disorder" IE "Woman, you're barking, let's Derren Brown you out of it". We'd just get anti-depressants and possibly CBT.
If it'd been an NHS GP you'd have got the same spiel, but anti-depressants instead of beta blockers and, "But they don't have our resources and expertise in France; we are world leaders". It's doctors, not nationality.
Also just found the above, which also states all beta blockers are sometimes used in the treatment of hyper.
Although in the patient leaflet that accompanies propranolol there is no mention of hypo, but it does mention to use caution when prescribing to hyper ?
Take a look at the magnesium advocacy group on Facebook.
Really interesting, I have been following their protocol 2 years, never taken vitamin D and I don't even sunburn anymore. Suspended ostoporosis in its tracks too.
Many people on the group have reversed unresponsive aneamia by regulating copper (not iron) and reversed thyroid issues.
Have you found the vitamin d protocol? You should also take other supplements as well as Magnesium. K2. Calcium. Zinc. Worth researching the Vit d protocol.
Sircharles No, not calcium, unless you have been tested and have a known deficiency, and then a GP should keep an eye on calcium levels.
As D3 aids absorption of calcium from food, that extra calcium needs directing to bones and teeth where it's needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can cause problems. So we don't want to supplement calcium in addition unless we have a deficiency.
Very handy, your hint about vit D and magnesium. I was taking quite significant doses of D3 until a blood test indicated I was at top end of desirable range. This matters in the too much can cause vascular issues (hardening of the arteries due to deposition of calcium there rather than in bones). Wasn't taking magnesium then either. Am now, and have reduced D3 to 1000iu daily.
Hilary. Thanks for that - I am having a Vit D test in a few days. Has to be private as my doctor is a lemon. The medical equivalent of Eddie the Eagle.
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Of course he didn't! NHS don't do sensible things like proper testing 
UAT and vitamin D deficiency
Vit D & B12 Results
Vitamin D and Endocrinologist - I'm speechless!
