Manuka Honey : Hi there , Please could someone... - Thyroid UK

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Manuka Honey

Soprano67 profile image
31 Replies

Hi there ,

Please could someone tell me is it ok to take Manuka Honey to help fatigue and dizziness ? I have been feeling awful this last month . I took a very bad ear infection and was given three antibiotics though I am so exhausted and weak . I am taking iron b1 b12 b5 and vitamin c and liothyronine 20 mg , levothyroxine 100 mg .

I think I had the flu though doctor says it was ear infection . I am so dizzy I have had chiropractic treatment which hasn’t helped .

I have also heard ginkgo biloba is good for dizziness please can someone help advise me what to do ..

Many thanks :-)

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Clutter profile image
Clutter

Soprano57,

What are your recent TSH, FT4 and FT3 results and ranges? If you are undermedicated you will feel fatigued.

The ear infection will have caused fatigue and dizziness and it make take a while for the dizziness to resolve after the infection clears.

There's certainly no reason not to take Manuka honey but I doubt it will improve fatigue and dizziness.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Clutter

Hi Clutter ,

Thanks so much for your kind reply . I have had the ear infection a month on Friday though the doctor says it has cleared up though still fluid in both ears . I am not sure what my results are as all they would say was iron ferritin was border line and t3 was high which I didn’t think made sense as I’m exhausted feel so weak . I heard that manuka Honey helps the fluid in the ears or ginkgo biloba .

I will ring surgery tomorrow and ask them to please give me my ranges for test results .

Thanks Clutter :-)

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Clutter

Hi Clutter ,

I have put my results in my last post the t3 is quite high though I’m not sure thanks :-)

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to Soprano67

Soprano67,

You weren't undermedicated. You are slightly overmedicated to have FT3 6.5 24 hours after last dose.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Clutter

Hi Clutter ,

Sorry T3 is 7.3

Range is 3.1-6.8 .

I take liothyronine first thing in the morning 10 mg and then at midday 10 mg - this past while I have been taking it three times a day to give me energy before I took the ear infection .

I can’t. Understand why I am so exhausted weak and dizzy . I took magnesium last weekend though it left me more sleepy so I stopped it .

Thanks Clutter I appreciate all your advice :-)

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to Soprano67

Soprano7,

How long did you leave between last T3 dose and blood test?

It's probably the infection which is causing weakness and dizziness. Magnesium is usually taken at bedtime as it is a relaxant.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Clutter

Hi Clutter ,

I took the t3 after my bloods and last time I took it the evening before.

Do u think I should tolerate the magnesium as I read that it helps dizziness as maybe it was the infection making me very sleepy and not the magnesium .

Thanks Clutter your advice is always appreciated . :-)

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to Soprano67

Soprano67,

If you take magnesium before bedtime it will be a good thing if it makes you sleepy won't it? But if any supplement makes you feel worse then I don't think it is worth taking it.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Clutter

Yes Clutter ,

The magnesium did make me feel worse so maybe I shouldn’t take it. I am seeing my consultant next Saturday so hopefully he will be able to help .

Thanks

Hi Soprano - I have had this problem for thirty years - The bad infection might have led to an inner ear infection which affects balance. I was so bad I would wake up in the morning and fall out of bed. I went to see a leading ENT specialist. I was prescribed stemetil which relaxes

nerve in the ears. I had a pressure feeling in my ear drums, and was prescribed nasules.

Flicksonase - you lie down, and put the drops down your nose in each nostril. You turn your head so the drops go into the pharyngeal ear. The pain went and the distension improved.

Resting in bed might help if you get dizzy spells. Recently I took some food allergy tests

and found I had multi allergies. Dairy is known to affect ENT . I found I was lactose intolerant as well as wheat rye barley, rice corn banana eggs and cow's milk - lactose.

This was just a week ago. Since then I have noticed the swelling in the ear drums and dizziness has improved a bit but my gut has improved . After the antibiotics your gut flora might be disturbed - the build up of histamines might be affecting the fluid in your ears.

I take an antihistamine every day. The reason for this is with sinus and ear infections the

swollen tissues can be infected if they touch each other, so reducing the swelling helps

mucous or fluid build up. Head exercises lifting your head backwards and down towards your chest slowly, then from side to side, may help the dizziness.

Manukie honey is brilliant - but it just depends on your sugar levels. Sometimes after a virus some people might turn diabetic, so too much honey, sugar, carbs might affect your blood sugar levels. This is a rare occurrence but if you have a history of thyroid disease you might

take a glucose test. Expect you will feel better - but the drugs and drops might help recovery. As for vitamins and minerals zinc and vitamin c 1000grams a day may help your ENT problems. Hope you feel better with manukie honey in a drink or on toast ! Yummy.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to

Hi Gadgrantgg ,

Thank you so much for getting back to me . I am so sorry to hear that you have had such an awful time of it though glad to hear that there is some improvement . Hopefully u will feel well soon .

Thank you I will try the manuka Honey the infection just doesn’t seem to be going away as feel flu like sore neck and glands . I have no energy just so tired and worse at night . The last time I had vertigo my thyroid levels were wrong and was very low in iron and once I got the t3 and iron infusion a few weeks my vertigo left me . I do feel like my mouth ears are all full of fluid.

I have had three antibiotics which eventually took ear pain away :-)

I have never taken zinc I take b12 b1 b5 iron tabs t3 levothyrozine and vitamin c .

Thank you

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado in reply to

Gadgrantgg, very interesting story. Could I ask you what form the food allergy test took? Did you take them with a nutritionist?

in reply to SilverAvocado

Hi Silver avocado - my test was thru Alphega chemists - you can locate their uk pharmacies. They are linked to the NHS. The test is painless takes less than 2 minutes with a finger prick. The blood is transerred to a mall phial, then it is run through a special smart machine, which the pharamicist interprets. The results of over 40 foods are listed from the computer.

The pharmacist gives you a slip with ticks to all your allergies. Since cutting out my allergien foods I have had little trouble with intestines - no gas

bloating or IBS symptoms. My problesms were linked to IBS - but I never knew the trigger foods which were setting me off. I thought I had gluten allergy but no - it was wheat rye barley, dairy eggs and banana rice and corn. I was lucky in that I am lactose intolerant rather than casein and lactose so I can eat goats cheese, anr ricotta, and hard cheese which contains about a gram of lactase. Other cheeses such as camembert ifcookded in the microwave, and go into curds rather than melt - have little lactase in them - have tried this with success over the past few days.

Microwaved raw vegetables and fruit can be de allergised by cooking for 20 secons or 30 to kill off bacterias which some people are allergic to.

Found article about allergy and microwaving vegs and fruit on internet.

Hope this is useful information. GGG

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado in reply to

Thank you GGG, that's great information!

in reply to SilverAvocado

Good stuff! Not every branch does the test so you'll have to ring!

SilverAvocado profile image
SilverAvocado in reply to

Looks like my local one does. I'm phoning tomorrow :)

in reply to SilverAvocado

You won't regret it. Saw my doctor today. Information shows the symptoms of illness due to allergens can take up to six weeks to clear after removing the allergens from your food. I found the relief after a couple of days!

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7

If you are taking T3 then your FT3 result should be high in the range, TSH will be suppressed and FT4 can fall.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to silverfox7

Hi Silver Fox ,

Thanks so much for your kind reply . It was receptionist I spoke to and she said the gp said my t3 was too high and would need to decrease it . I think I need to increase it or t4 as so tired . I am seeing consultant next sat thank goodness so hopefully he will help .:-)

Hope you are well yourself .

Thank you .

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to Soprano67

Your T3 only needs decreasing if the FT3 is over range. So make sure they tested it and more importantly ensure you obtain all your results with ranges for posting, so people can help and support :-)

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7 in reply to Soprano67

See what your actual results are for FT3. Some doctors panic too soon if it's getting higher but you shouldn't need to worry if not over range. If you do go too high though it can give really bad symptoms and in the past I've found slightly over is as bad as slightly under. At least if you.canget your bloods done you know what is happening.

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to silverfox7

Hi Silver Fox ,

Thanks so much for your reply - these are my results .

TSH 0.02

Range 0.27-4.2

T4

19.8

Range 12-22

T3 7.3

Range 3.1-6.8

B12

936

Range 197-771

Folate

6.5

Range 3.9-26.8

Iron level

9.3

Range 10-30

Thanks I appreciate your help .

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7 in reply to Soprano67

May well be worth dropping T3 a little to see if that helps

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to silverfox7

Do u think I should stop T3 totally Silver Fox ? It’s hard to know what the range should be as days in work I have taken t3 three times a day to give me energy before I took sick .

Thank you I appreciate your advice and knowledge :-)

silverfox7 profile image
silverfox7 in reply to Soprano67

I would just drop T3 a little. As I said earlier I've found being over has symptoms very similar to being under and you now know you are over. Anytime I think I m not right I drop from dose for a few days and see if I can feel a difference and that I feel a little better. So I interpret that as I was over medicated but if a don't feel right and I add more then if I'm going the wrong way then I was wanting to add more so eventually I realised it's safer to always drop your dose first to see if that works for you. It's easier to get an answer that way. Plus you know the level at the moment is too high so dropping back is the only way you should go. So if that works then drop it slightly again and then if you start to feel bad again then you know you need to go back up to your first reduction. That saves you paying for too many blood tests but leave for a while then retest.

The only time for you I should suggest not continuing to take T3 is if your Vit D, B12 folate and ferritin aren't optimal as that scenario means you need to get that right first so then that could throw up more strange results. SeasideSusie has very good info on getting those right if you search for her posts. If those results are all over the place then personally I would stop the T3 and sort that first. I found I was t converting properly but I also wanted to go back on NDT so spend a lot of time reading posts and listening to advice. After 5 months my vits etc were spot on and then I swapped over and had no problems so I'm pretty stable now.

Thank you so much - I am feeling better - from ent problems I had a sinus op - now I only get dizziness with colds and infections. Winter is the worst time for infections. May be you might be iron deficient after prolonged infection. A tablet such as floradix will contain folic acid, B9 which should be taken with B12 and contains vitamin c and other vitamins. Yogurt is said to settle the flora in your gut, or there are other foods such as yakult, and actimel which help the intestines recover. Gingko biloba I think can raise blood pressure - I took it once but it made me feel weird. If you eat broccoli and certain meats you can find B12 and iron.

Milk is a good food as it contains protein and vitamins -. May be you should go back to the nurse and explain how run down you are after this flu bug, - you might need a blood test for your iron and thyroid. Thyoriditis can occur after infection which may be an additional reason why you are still so poorly. Get well soon. Soprano - bet you can't sing at the moment!

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to

Aw that is great that you are feeling a lot better I am so pleased to hear that gradgrantgg as there is nothing as bad as feeling dizzy and sick .

I might try the zinc tablets as I have never tried them and not the manuka Honey as I crave sugar like mad .

I took Pleurisy in July and low folate and since that seem to have had low energy and taking infections . I rang the surgery there and got my blood results from a month ago as I was given ferrous funerary tablets for three months .

My b12 is 936 range 197-771

Folate is 6.5 range 3.9- 26.8

Iron level 9.3 range 10-30

TSH 0.02 range 0.27-4.2

T4 19.8 range 12-22

T3 7.3 range 3.1- 6.8

No my singing is awful was meant to be back teaching this week couldn’t do it though hope to next week as I love it .

Thank you Gradgrantgg :-)

in reply to Soprano67

hi soprano have been looking at livestrong.com for info on vitamins they recommend AB6CDE. The cystic fibrosis society recommend D3 for improving vital capacity in lung function. A study with vitamin d 1 did not give the same result in a study. But d3 helped lung function. If you look u vitamins to help ling function you might find more info. No need to reply.

I had similar problems with repeated pneumonia since 2013 but have been reading about how some vitamins can help lung conditions. High dose vitamin c is part of new research as it helps the bronchioles, and the surfaces of the lungs, preventing them getting sticky.

Read some other info the other day too but will have to check as have forgotten what it was will find website and give the details. Hope you get better soon as you love your work.

Gladiator_1 profile image
Gladiator_1

Hi Soprano,I’ve been taking Manuka honey, because like you I had a bad ear infection last year, funnily enough a month before I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism!

I have found it has helped me feel healthier (if that’s at all possible with this condition) and it has helped me keep colds and flus away.

My method of thinking is if it’s good for you take it if not move on and find something that works, after all we are all different and what works for someone might not work for you!

If you don’t try , you won’t know!

Just wish it wasn’t so expensive to buy, but hey what’s money when it comes to your well being.

Good luck

Soprano67 profile image
Soprano67 in reply to Gladiator_1

Hi Gladiator ,

That’s fantastic to hear that it is working for you as I am only just over another ear infection and will try anything . Thank you so much for keeping me updated :-)

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