Sorry I'm asking lots of questions at the moment - I'm pretty new to the Hashis thing and the intricacies of it overwhelm me at times!
My GP recently referred me to a neurologist re. numbness and tingling in my hands and feet. It's mostly noticeable at night, when I'm horizontal, and it keeps me awake. People have suggested my being undermedicated (50mcg Levo for the past 5 months and the GP won't increase it), B12 (my last Medichecks test said I'm actually over the upper limit as I've been supplementing very heavily) and someone recently said it could be down to low magnesium.
I supplement with Solgar magnesium citrate (apparently not the best form - need to find another) at 800mg a day. I know my absorption of nutrients is poor, and I was taking Omeprazole for maybe 6 months up until April when I stopped. I also know PPIs can deplete certain minerals and prohibit absorption, but I also read that vitamin D supplementation can affect magnesium levels. My vitamin D is extremely low and again I'm supplementing heavily (7-10000 iu daily via D3 and K2 sublingual drops) to try and remedy this.
Does anyone have any suggestions re. improving magnesium levels whilst taking D3? I have bags of epsom salts but think perhaps supplementing with a better form of magnesium might be more effective.
I'm also planning to get cortisol tested as I'm wired at night, waking up between 2 and 4am with my heart pounding and feeling really shaky first thing. I'm convinced my heart is going to give out at this rate - it's been happening on and off for years, and I'm now 44 (just!). I just started taking adaptogenic herbs - Ashwaganda - to see if it helps to slow things down. I don't intend to involve my GP in this as a) he won't entertain the idea of adrenal imbalances and b) he'll probably use the symptoms as a way of justifying keeping my Levo so low. And, of course, suggesting it's all just 'nerves'. I've started using NDT and am slowly increasing my dose, but the possible cortisol problem started a long time ago so I don't think there's a link. Could these symptoms be linked to low magnesium though?
I'm trying to untangle all this and it's incredibly difficult.
I supplement with Solgar magnesium citrate (apparently not the best form - need to find another) at 800mg a day.
I use magnesium citrate and do well with it. Different types of magnesium compound have different attributes and you need to find the one that suits you the best. I'm amazed you don't have permanent diarrhoea taking 800mg magnesium citrate a day. It's a laxative in high doses. Your dose is roughly double what I usually take. The tolerable upper intake level over the long term is 350mg per day.
If you want to look for a different form of magnesium supplement that suits you better, do a web search for "best and worst forms of magnesium supplement", and read several links. They don't all agree, so you have to make a decision which sources you find most convincing.
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Numbness and tingling could be caused by all sorts of conditions and deficiencies. Some of the more common ones are :
Low levels of vitamin B12, vitamin B6 (both deficiency and toxicity can cause peripheral neuropathy), vitamin B1 (also known as thiamine), vitamin B3 (also known as niacin), untreated type 2 diabetes.
Look up symptoms of deficiency in each of the above. A good reference is :
although I would always double and triple check information from anywhere - no source is perfect.
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You may see recommendations on various links suggesting that you should take calcium supplements. Ignore this unless your calcium levels have been tested and found to be low in range or under the range. Excess calcium could end up lining your arteries or forming kidney stones. If your levels of vitamin D are low then improving that will increase your body's absorption of calcium from your diet naturally without the need for supplementation.
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I'm also planning to get cortisol tested as I'm wired at night, waking up between 2 and 4am with my heart pounding and feeling really shaky first thing. I'm convinced my heart is going to give out at this rate - it's been happening on and off for years, and I'm now 44 (just!). I just started taking adaptogenic herbs - Ashwaganda - to see if it helps to slow things down. I don't intend to involve my GP in this as a) he won't entertain the idea of adrenal imbalances and b) he'll probably use the symptoms as a way of justifying keeping my Levo so low. And, of course, suggesting it's all just 'nerves'. I've started using NDT and am slowly increasing my dose, but the possible cortisol problem started a long time ago so I don't think there's a link. Could these symptoms be linked to low magnesium though?
If you want to test cortisol the best test is a saliva test. Unfortunately doctors only believe in blood testing for cortisol, so if you do a saliva test you do it for your own benefit. The best one is the one by Regenerus Labs :
It is not a good idea to take adaptogens or any other treatment to raise or lower cortisol until you know what condition you are treating. Symptoms of low and high cortisol overlap to some extent and it is not possible to guess whether you have one or the other or neither without testing. Another possibility is that your cortisol is low at some times of the day and high at others. Treatment would then need to be tailored to time of day to get the most out of it. And by improving a low level in the morning you might reduce a high level at night. Treating the adrenals and cortisol levels is not simple.
the possible cortisol problem started a long time ago so I don't think there's a link
This is not true. When people start to develop an underactive thyroid, and their thyroid hormone levels start to drop, one way in which the body tries to cope is by substituting the missing thyroid hormones with cortisol and adrenaline (the stress hormones). Some people can end up producing far too much cortisol and adrenaline for years, and suffer the consequences in terms of symptoms. Others can't keep producing excessive stress hormones indefinitely and their levels start to drop, until they can barely produce enough to keep them going. If thyroid treatment was started promptly then none of these problems needs to happen - the stress hormones would return to normal. But how often does thyroid treatment begin promptly? Almost never in the UK, and not often elsewhere.
Hi, oops - yes, magnesium citrate at 400mcg daily, not 800! I do get on fine with citrate and have been taking them for quite a long time. They definitely help with IBS.
I asked my doctor about possible type 2 diabetes but she said as I don't have a raging thirst/desperate need to pee all the time, it's unlikely (hopefully the neurologist will go a bit deeper than this). I do wonder about B6 as I started Solgar B complex not far before the tingling started, so maybe it's having an unwelcome side effect.
I'll get cortisol tested and stay off the adaptogens until I know what's going on. I really hope that it's something I can deal with myself as I live so far from any sources of private consultants etc. I have a book on hormone health and ticked a lot of boxes for both high and low cortisol, and am aware it's not unusual to have both. I think I'm back to front: high at night, low in the morning. And I'm exhausted with the constantly disturbed sleep.
I suspect I've had thyroid issues since my mid teens and it's taken almost 30 years to get diagnosed despite glaring symptoms (feeling cold all the time, having to literally starve in order to maintain a healthy weight, heavy periods, migraines, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, forgetfulness, anxiety, fatigue, low iron and B12, fertility issues etc etc). When I said I didn't think there was a link, it was in regards to switching to NDT from Levo. I don't think that's caused the possible cortisol problems as I've only been using NDT for a week and a half.
The thought of adrenal disfunction being complex to deal with is a bit of a worry - another thing to get my head around and attempt to sort out!
It may sound counter-intuitive, but heavy periods can be caused by low levels of iron and/or ferritin (iron stores). If you had low levels and managed to improve them it may make your periods lighter. However, supplementing iron is not something to be done lightly and has to be tested before starting to supplement and this should be repeated at regular intervals - say, every 4 - 8 weeks or so, depending on how well you absorb iron. Having too much iron in the body is poisonous, and extremely bad for health.
The thought of adrenal disfunction being complex to deal with is a bit of a worry - another thing to get my head around and attempt to sort out!
Don't try and do everything at once. For example, if your cortisol turns out to be low in the morning then a simple self-help thing you could do is to take an adrenal cocktail in the morning. If it helps it may improve your morning cortisol. And if your morning cortisol improves then your body may reduce its output in the evening without you doing anything. But this is all speculation until you have some results. You can google "adrenal cocktail" - there are loads of recipes on the web which are all fairly similar. They include a source of sodium/salt, a source of potassium, and a source of vitamin C.
having to literally starve in order to maintain a healthy weight,
If you are starving yourself no wonder you feel so awful. Have you experimented with your diet at all? Are you avoiding fat in your diet? If you are you might want to investigate the ketogenic diet, the paleo or primal diet, or the Low Carb, High Fat diet. The body needs healthy fats, including saturated fat.
Another thing to consider is whether or not you tolerate gluten. Many people with thyroid disease feel better if they completely eliminate gluten from their diets. You could try it for three months. If you got no benefit then re-introduce it if you want to. It isn't a life sentence.
Hi, thanks for all your advice - I really appreciate it.
I'm gluten free and have been for a few years now. That's the one thing I stick to religiously... As for starving myself, that was way back when I was much younger and cared a bit more about fitting into smaller sizes! These days I make sure I'm eating enough and am 'average' in terms of weight, although losing it after Christmas, holidays etc is really difficult.
I eat a really healthy diet *most* of the time (80%?) - no processed stuff, plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and pulses, healthy fats etc. I avoid refined carbs as much as possible as well as sugar, alcohol, caffeine...
I do supplement with Solgar's Gentle Iron as my levels are literally on the floor. Two Medichecks tests in and they're slowly rising, and I know my iron needs to be at least midway in range to utilise thyroid medication efficiently.
I Googled adrenal cocktails. I've seen them on Pinterest before and have considered trying it out - unfortunately I get gastritis so fresh citrus juices could be painful. This is how it goes... You think you find a solution but there's always something waiting to shoot it down in flames! I found raw cabbage juice was the only thing that helped the gastritis but of course, it's no good if you have Hashis.
It's a minefield!
Thanks again - this community is a lifesaver. I have no idea where I'd be without it
I'm not sure that your doctor really knows the difference between type1 and early type 2 diabetes (and pre diabetes) - you are just as likely to have fatigue, blurred vision, headaches and weight gain as the classic thirst, peeing and weight loss. Can't you just get an Hba1c test to be sure? You can get a free blood sugar test in Asda pharmacy (fasting) - it can be quite interesting - I found that a cup of black tea puts my blood sugar up above 6.
Hi, thanks for that. Unfortunately we're 3 hours from Asda as it's on the mainland... I could request a test but they're unlikely to do one. Visiting the GP is always a real fight. I could look into private blood tests (again)...
Put the epsom salts in your bath - a container about the size of a supermarket box of mushrooms - you can absorb quite a lot through your skin. Then try magnesium glycinate as a supplement - citrate is good for constipation
Hi, I just picked citrate because it's good for IBS... if you Google 'Types of magnesium' you should get a few lists coming up explaining which type is best according to symptoms etc. Pinterest has some good ones...
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Magnesium test result - do I need to supplement?
