Hi, I hope I'm writing in the correct place, I am desperate for help. Following blood tests which confirmed I'm in the early stages of peri menopause, I have been on the route to trying to combat both the stubborn weight gain and period like pain that is constantly plaguing me. My diet is good and I have been taking a number of supplements to help with this but to no avail. Most recently I incorporated DIM in to the mix and nearly 2 weeks in am so disappointed with the results. I'm still in constant pain and my weight is not changing.
Can anyone recommend anything to help reduce the pain and weight gain ?
I am also hypothyroid
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SandraCC
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I agree with Greygoose. For years when my levels were out either too high or too low I would get period like pain and feel sick just like I did in my teens before my period started.
At this time I was in my late 50s and early 60s and I had gone through the menopause at 44. The endocrinologist and the GPs couldn't believe this was a symptom of thyroid. But since my levels have become more optimal for me that symptom has disappeared.
SandraCC - Have you had your ovaries scanned at all?
I had pelvic pain issues around menopause time, I'd had a subtotal hysterectomy before that, meaning my ovaries were still in situ.
Scans showed multiple and repeating cysts on both ovaries which had to be removed or monitored. I chose to retain them, for whatever natural hormonal support they provided me, so had monthly scans for a couple of years.
In ladies of perimenopausal year, they don't like to ignore ovarian cysts as there is a higher (although still not large) risk that cysts not resolving naturally will become sinister.
This might be a total blind alleyway, but I would hope gynae or potential gynae issues to be investigated, although I guess right now, there would be a reluctance to take it forward.
Thank you so much for responding. greygoose , I had a blood test a few weeks ago. I have never consistently been on thyroid medication other than brief attempts at self medicating years ago. The response I got on the test was that my thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine and T3 are all normal and that this suggests healthy thyroid function. However, my FT3/rT3 ratio is low. I am taking a whole list of supplements including DIM and because in addition to the blood test below I took a DUTCH test which showed oestrogen dominance.
Has anyone tried any of these 2 products? I was especially hopeful about the DIM and although I am seeing the detox effects it is not hitting the spot with the pain and they associated weight on my midriff.
TSH 1.43 mIU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)
Free T3 3.61 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8)
Free Thyroxine 15.400 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22)
Reverse T3 23 ng/dL (Range: 10 - 24)
FT3 : rT3 X 10.22 Ratio
Normal >15
Borderline 12-15Low <12
(Range: > 15)
Lalatoot , are you saying you had to wait until you were in menopause before getting treated effectively?
MMaud - thanks but ive had various scans over the years - all eliminated
I have taken, P5P and Magnesium. Then, Sea Buckthorn, Shark Liver Oil and Zinc. Then perimenopause struck and initially I tried Selenium, Magnesium, P5P, Resveratol, Zinc, in addition to Vit D. Now Curcumin and DIM
Do any of you have experience of taking DIM to reduce oestrogen dominance?
Should I be medicating for my thyroid at this stage? My GP are adamant that they wont prescribe any thyroid meds for me because they dont officially class me as hypo. Is there anywhere I can purchase effective treatment myself to counter this?
No I was saying that in my late 50s I started experiencing period like pain which I recognised as a symptom of particularly under medication. My thyroid troubles did not begin until I was well past menopause. I was given scans but no problems were found with the womb or ovaries and as I kept a diary of symptoms and thyroid blood results I could see a link. Doctors couldn't though. Haven't had the period like symptoms for over a year now since my thyroid levels became better for me.
The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many patients need TSH significantly under one) and most important is that FT4 is in top third of range and FT3 at least half way through range
NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.
Well suggest you get vitamins and thyroid antibodies tested and see if you have Hashimoto’s
Getting all four vitamins optimal can improve thyroid function
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) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
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 as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
I have had a full panel of tests done. I understand that I am hypo and ideally should be taking levo. Tests only done a few weeks ago so no new ones needed. But if I cant get the levo from my GP who will prescribe it for me? or can I buy it independently?
Spend next two months getting all vitamins optimal
Retest full thyroid and vitamins ....likely to see either improved thyroid results because thyroid now able to work better having corrected vitamin deficiencies....or if the cause of vitamin deficiencies is thyroid not working ...TSH should rise so you can get treated
Any gut symptoms like IBS?
Trying strictly gluten free diet is also worth considering
Sorry SlowDragon , you are being so helpful here. Firstly thank you for taking the time to reply. Then just to clarify - are you saying that optimal vitamin health will help with the hypo or with the perimenopausal pain and resistance to weight loss ... or all 3 (im the eternal optimist here )
Diet as a result of symptoms. Gluten free since 2017. I'll have to look in to Hashimotos in still learning about everything. I thought hypo meant just that and was "catch all " for everything
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working.....hence why it’s so important to get vitamin levels optimal
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
No, this was sourced independently. To clarify, my GP's do not understand my journey at all. They said that all the symptoms that I had been suffering with that caused me to seek independent guidance were 'normal' and they were not interested in exploring the supplementing of the thyroid. The only concession they were prepared to make is to prescribe me the combined pill in a low dose to manage hormones until such time as lockdown was happening
These data suggest that resveratrol acts as a thyroid disruptor and a goitrogen, which indicates the need for caution as a supplement and for therapeutic uses.
I appreciate I may not be asking all the right questions here but just to clarify I am hoping for help on how to reduce/eliminate the cramping pain which are driving me to distraction because they are persistent and constant and to help manage escalating weight despite eating good diet.
Thank you so much for responding. greygoose, I had a blood test a few weeks ago. I have never consistently been on thyroid medication other than brief attempts at self medicating years ago. The response I got on the test was that my thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine and T3 are all normal and that this suggests healthy thyroid function.
Forget the word 'normal'. Ban it from your vocabulary. Where thyroid is concerned there's no such thing. When a doctor says 'normal', all he means is 'in-range'. But, the ranges are usually so rediculously wide that just being 'in-range' isn't good enough. It's where in the range that the result falls that counts.
However, my FT3/rT3 ratio is low. I am taking a whole list of supplements including DIM and because in addition to the blood test below I took a DUTCH test which showed oestrogen dominance.
FT3/rT3 ratio is totally and utterly irrelevant. So is the rT3 result. The test is really not worth the expense of doing. There are so many possible causes for rT3, it's very difficult to find out the cause, and only one of them has anything to do with thyroid. So, you can forget that, too.
Has anyone tried any of these 2 products? I was especially hopeful about the DIM and although I am seeing the detox effects it is not hitting the spot with the pain and they associated weight on my midriff.
Which two products? You've only mentioned DIM. I tried that once, it did nothing for me.
TSH 1.43 mIU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)
That is higher than I would like my TSH, but of no particular concern.
Free T3 3.61 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8)
But, this is a catastrophe! And in no way normal. A 'normal' - or euthyroid - result would be somewhere around mid-range. This is far too low, and it's low T3 that causes symptoms.
Free Thyroxine 15.400 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22)
This one is low, too - not as low as the FT3, but too low, should be somewhere around mid-range. More concerning is the fact that your TSH does not reflect the levels of your thyroid hormones. Therefore, one has to start wondering about the status of your pituitary/hypothalamus - or, what we call Central hypo, where the problem comes from the pituitary or the hypothalamus rather than the thyroid itself. I would suggest you do some research in that direction. You don't say how old you are, but it could be that a pituitary problems has brought about your peri-menopause, too.
It would be interesting to see previous results when not on thyroid hormone replacement, to see if there's a trend.
And, I would add that no supplement is going to compensate for that low FT3, so not surprising the DIM did nothing for you.
Reverse T3 23 ng/dL (Range: 10 - 24)
FT3 : rT3 X 10.22 Ratio
Normal >15
Borderline 12-15Low <12
(Range: > 15)
Given the level of your rT3 and the level of your FT3, it doesn't take a genius to work out that your ratio is going to be is going to be low. But, the problem is the low FT3, not the high rT3, which doesn't cause symptoms. These tests give no useful information that can't be found elsewhere in the previous tests.
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