Hyperthyroidism

[Pam2017]

Please can you advice me what is the best herbal supplements to take for thyroid issues as eye and joint pain and obviously thyroid and sleep issues

Don’t want antibiotics as have leaky gut and Candida and Lyme

Thanks for your input x

[Simba145]

I’m no expert in hyper since I’m hypo but top of the list for anyone experiencing inflammation is turmeric/ Curcumin.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Have you had Graves’ disease confirmed by TSI or Trab antibodies?

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) or Graves’ disease

Ask GP to test vitamin levels or test privately

You may need to get full Thyroid testing privately as NHS refuses to test TG antibodies if TPO antibodies are negative

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

For thyroid including antibodies and vitamins

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3 £29 (via NHS private service )

monitormyhealth.org.uk/thyr...

If TPO or TG antibodies are high this is normally Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease). You can have slightly raise TPO or TG die to Graves

About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's.

Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's and Graves Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten.

So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once. Plus TSI or Trab antibodies for Graves

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

Link about antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Private testing for suspected Graves - TSI or TRab antibodies

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

[Pam2017 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for your help which I knew about early morning blood test

as had mine done later

So confused which tests to have

Which company does all and

Reliable

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pam2017]

Medichecks does Thyroid plus ultra vitamin test

This tests TSH, Ft4 Ft3, both TPO and TG antibodies plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Usually £99 often on offer on a Thursday at £79

Medichecks also test Graves antibodies as separate test at £79

Unlikely to be able to do both as DIY finger prick on same day

Either order separately or pay extra for private blood draw

[Pam2017 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks which is the best company to do all tests please

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pam2017]

Medichecks

Graves antibodies

medichecks.com/products/tsh...

The rest....often on offer at £79 on Thursdays

medichecks.com/products/thy...

[Pam2017]

Thanks so much

Do you know off a functional medical doctor you Kent recommend in Kent Surrey sussex area please

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Re eye problems; I would recommend preservative free eye drops (I use HycoSan Extra) & taking 200mcg selenium. Have you seen an ophthalmologist? If you suspect thyroid eye problems it’s important to get this checked. I have mild TED & feel better with TSH under one & key vitamins higher in range.

[Pam2017 in reply to Buddy195]

What is TED & TSH please

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to Pam2017]

Thyroid Eye Disesase (TED) TSH is a Thyroid check

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Pam2017]

You might find my document of abbreviations and acronyms of some use:

dropbox.com/s/2423slilh0or6...

And this:

dropbox.com/s/6lqudgmyhk7ru...

[Pam2017]

Thanks for info

Take eye drops all the time & Brazil nuts

Which supplements do you take as can’t take tablets only capsules

Also I have lyme so ongoing issues with eyes ears head sinus

And thyroid now

Seen loads of specialists but don’t understand about lyme

Waiting for Mri and Moorfield Hospital London

What do u take for thyroid

Also can’t sleep

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Pam2017]

Make sure your eye drops are preservative-free.

Many can tolerate the preservatives used in many products for a while - then find they become sensitive to it. Especially if they have to keep using the drops. Safest by far to avoid those with preservative.

[pennyannie]

Hello Pam2017

My first symptoms were dry gritty eyes, exhaustion and insomnia.

Within a day of visiting the doctor I was called back in and put on Carbimazole which is an anti thyroid drug which blocks one's own production of thyroid hormones.

There are options to Carbimazole but I was well on this drug and continued to work throughout this phase of the illness.

Graves is an auto immune disease that attacks your thyroid and since the thyroid is such a major gland your symptoms can be diverse, with some simply odd, whilst others can be considered life threatening.

You might like to take a look at the Elaine Moore Graves Disease website. This lady is a medical researcher and was diagnosed with Graves she had the RAI treatment in the late 1990's. She found no help or advice for her continued symptoms so wrote a book to help others who might be in a similar position, and now roll on some 20 years she is the most knowledgeable person and her stateside website is well researched and respected.

There are sections on alternative and holistic treatments and there is also an open forum much like this amazing website.

There is a lot to understand, and Graves tends to be an anxiety and stress driven auto immune disease, so just take it slowly, read a little at a time, and if feeling at all ' hyper ' try to slow down and relax during this difficult phase.

And yes, use only preservative free eye drops, ointments and potions.

[Pam2017]

Thanks so much for the info

Problem is my thyroid tests show ok but I know I have issues as my eyesight

ear insomnia just got worse and anxiety stress

Can’t get Docs or endocrinologist believe me .... so have to get private tests and see private doctor.......

My underlying issues are due to Lyme and normally end up with

Hyperthyroidism etc

And I want to try holistic treatment as have leaky gut

Did you get private tests ?

Thanks Again

[pennyannie]

No, I 've actually had to learn about my situation back to front.

Diagnosed with Graves 2003, RAI 2005 and became increasingly unwell some 8 years later with what I believe are the long term consequences of RAI. and a thyroid that I think by this time had finally burnt itself out in situ. discharging it's contents throughout my body.

This was compounded by the fact that the NHS only seem to test a TSH, and the guidelines for the treatment of primary hypothyroidism are not fit for purpose.

I spent over 2 + 1/2 years going around the NHS not so very Merry Go Round only to be told I was with a low ferritin level and a doctor calling me a conundrum.

I then thought, well I did have Graves Disease, maybe it's come back and purchased Elaine Moore's book and realised it never went away, and the consequences that can happen after ingesting RAI.

This website has been a massive help to me and I am now self medicating with full spectrum thyroid hormone replacement which I am having to buy and self treat for myself. I do have private blood tests which I now know how to read and simply stay away from the medical profession. I have paid privately and saw the head of the endocrinology department where all my treatment happened, and he suggested I purchase the thyroid hormones myself, off the net, and go to him for monitoring, but at £185 a time, I couldn't afford this charade.

The Elaine Moore website has many sections : it's worth looking up the holistic angle and the interaction with other autoimmune diseases.

If you wish to answer a particular person's post, you need to hit the reply button within their post, otherwise the person doesn't know you have replied, and not all people look back to see their previous posts.

[Pam2017 in reply to pennyannie]

Hi Penny

Thanks sooooooo much for the info - like you round in circles till I

Saw private endro & scan in Cyprus

When I showed Docs here still didn’t believe me till ultra sound done

And even then would not accept my tests which shows negative

So like u going to do tests privately - who did you use please

Also was is RAI ingesting ****and what natural supplements do you take for thyroid now

Also are you strictly gluten dairy sugar free and no cabbage related family vegetables .... doesn’t leave much to eat 🤣🤣

At worst my eyes sleep depression now and joint pain and can feel my glands inflammation and dull pain

So frustrating with NHS .... just have to pay private now to get proper diagnosis

When you had private tests done did it confirm your thyroid readings were out and had graves according to the correct tests

It’s good to know what to do when one as you as been through the same situation and managed to have the best insight and self help

As I am always researching the holistic route as medications just ruins gut and side effects .... which I can’t do cos leaky gut

Thanks and look forward to your reply and good luck with your well being

Lv Pam

[pennyannie]

Hey there,

I was diagnosed Graves by the NHS and surely this is the first step for you.

Your doctor simply needs to run a full thyroid blood panel and the laboratory will run the relevant antibody test if your results do not fall into range, for Graves you need a positive for the TSI/TRab antibodies. and there are other antibody tests for other thyroid autoimmune conditions.

Do you already have this ' first step ' so that you can post the results from on here - we need a minimum of at least a TSH, T3 and T4 blood test result plus the ranges.

On the Thyroid uk website there are private companies offering blood testing and I believe they also offer to test the TSI/TRab as a separate blood test.

I don't think paying private necessarily gets you the results you expect.

Thyroid uk have a list of ' sympathetic ' endocrinologists, otherwise you might be wasting your time and your money.

There are full details of my situation on my profile page :

Consequences of ingesting RAI can be multiple and I don't wish to rewrite or remember all that I've been through.

I now supplement full spectrum thyroid hormones, adrenal glandular, and monitor B12, vitamin D, folate and ferritin yearly along with my thyroid hormone status, through a private company as my doctor and I have parted company on thyroid issues, though she is portrayed as the surgery's specialist in thyroid and women's health, and I can't find any other doctor in my catchment area willing to help me on the NHS.