I’m wondering if anyone has experience benefitting from a Chinese Herbalist in treating thyroid symptoms and inflammation? My nutritionist is recommending someone.
I have yet started levothyroxine but am due to, and a bit concerned if I do both together I won’t know what is the thing that’s working.
Thanks!
GP will tell you to stop the TCM. TCM will probably tell you to stop the Levo. You wont know what's having what effect, and they will both be hacked off with you. Also it will cost you loads of money for a long time, and you will have no idea whats in the chinese herbs, some of which are potent. (also GP will probably write 'nutter' on notes! which may not be helpful if you want your symptoms taken seriously )
sorry to be blunt. and i'm not totally against TCM or other alternative medicine practices, but i do think you have to 'pick your horse, if you try and ride two you'll fall off.
I have been ‘stitched’ back together !!!
Taken Levo in lowest dose for some time . Combined with homeopathy and various supplements I havnt needed to increase dose
My Dr is aware I take this approach . I keep an eye on my notes and challenge anything that is incorrect i would certainly ask ifor justification if he wrote Nutter !!!!!!
For me mainly natural approach works .
I
Thanks for providing 'balance' to the subject 
My 'nutter' comment was tongue in cheek, they are more careful what they write in notes now that they know patient's may read them... but i imagine many would still think it.
Maybe opinions have moved on since 20 yrs ago when i was trying to mix holistic medicine with conventional medicine. Or maybe you've got an enlightened GP.
I've had very unhelpful reactions from nhs physio therapists in the past when i told them that acupuncture had helped. They said they'd discharge me if i continued. So i carried on because it did help, but just stopped talking about it.
It's interesting looking back, how writing this makes me feel much angrier about that than i was at the time. How dare they!
I think acupuncture is actually done by some nhs GP's now, (although i don't know how good they are at it)
Very pleased to hear you've found a good balance Mostew.
I too would recommend Qi gong as excellent body and mind maintenance, preferably outdoors to start the day.
Thanks both for your comments. I am fortunate to have a pretty open-minded GP. She knows me well and understands I have a more holistic approach to health. My dad actually got acupuncture on the NHS over 20 years ago, although I'm not expecting Chinese herbs will be included 
My only concern really is not knowing which treatment is having the impact. I may feel better with just levothyroxine. But I also really trust my nutritionist, more than the NHS.
No . I havnt got an even half way enlightened GP !!! But they do accept my wishes and underneath , I think , know their inadequacies
I find short lived anger stops me not being complacent
Not easy being in the minority but worth it .
Keep on being a ‘nutter’!!!!
Ps .
Just wondering why you fancy Chinese meds in particular ?
I have been working with a nutritionist for about 6 months. I think if it wasn't for her I may have gotten as far as I have. She has had her own health challenges in the last year and started herbs about 6 months ago, and felt they were the thing that made her a feel a step change - beyond the benefits of nutrition, sleep, movement, stress-management. She now regularly recommends using them with her clients and seeing real improvements in people.
I don't fancy Chinese meds (as in the herbal/mushroom/ tiger bits /whatever? tablets)although that's not to say they are not potent, in fact the potency is my main concern, alongside the ?endangered animal parts. I don't think i know enough about it to feel safe , and i found the language barrier to be less than re-assuring when trying to find out more information.(and i couldn't afford them long term)
However i do have an understanding of Qi from learning Long Form Tai Chi (Yang style) for many years, and have a great respect for its benefits, physically and mentally.
I have also had good results from using Acupuncture and true Homeopathic remedies, as well as the original Bach flower remedies.
With all of these subjects, a great deal rest's on the authenticity and experience of the practitioner, and great care needs to be used in choosing one. Especially since these thing's are more mainstream than they once were, and therefore the opportunities to 'cash in' have increased.
Edit ; to be clear , i'm speaking about the use of these therapies in general health, and don't see how anything other than replacement hormones can replace a damaged /removed thyroid gland that is no longer producing T4/T3/T2/T1.
If you are to start levothyroxine it is because you need to replace the hormones that your body is failing to produce.
The only way to replace hormones is with hormones.
I do not think that the Chinese herbs will be hormone replacement.
You say that the herbs will treat thyroid symptoms but have you been assured that they will treat the underlying cause of those symptoms which is your body requiring additional hormones to function.
Hi there,
Thanks for commenting. I didn't say that the herbs will treat thyroid symptoms. I asked if anyone else has had experience with this. I am yet to have a conversation with this person, so I don't yet know what they are proposing. I was just looking for some thoughts from people who have tried it.
Thanks
Your previous post shows you have high TSH and are hypothyroid
So will need replacement thyroid hormones
You Also need to get FULL vitamin testing
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
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking?
Your gluten intolerance test looked high on previous post?
Was it positive for Coeliac?
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase in levothyroxine
50mcg is only a starter dose
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 .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
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
List of private testing options
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin
medichecks.com/products/thy...
Medichecks often have special offers, if order on Thursdays
Thriva Thyroid plus vitamins
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes vitamins
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
Hi there,
I did get B12, Vit D and serum folate done and they were all good. And as well as TSH I got TG, TPO, T3 and FT.
The endo said I'm not coeliac because 'the main one' is fine, but I should investigate the issue as the other antibody flagged something. I haven't been eating gluten, and most grains, for years as I don't tolerate them.
My nutritionist also said I have low testosterone which the endo didn't flag is it's still technically in normal range (0.6).
The endo said that 50mcg would be the starter and re-testing would happen after a couple of months. But I think I will be getting this done via one of your recommended testing options, as he is a private consultant and charged a bloody fortune.
If you haven’t been eating grains, coeliac test would always come back negative
Before a coeliac blood test you would need to be eating gluten at 2 or 3 meals per day for minimum of 6 weeks
But not worth doing, if you know you are gluten intolerant
What are your actual results and rangeson thyroid and vitamins. Being within range is not necessarily optimal for you
Were thyroid antibodies positive?
TPO antibodies are often not high, on strictly gluten free diet, even with Hashimoto’s
Good vitamin levels would be
Folate at least half way through range
Serum B12 over 500
Active B12 over 70
Vitamin D over 80nmol
I wish I could just attached something
I was also really confused about the coeliac thing,so may have been gluten-bombed somewhere.
TSH - 9.91
Thyroglobulin Antibodies - 38.5
Thyroid peroxidase - 9.14
T3 (TT3) - 1.6
Free thyroxine - 15.7
Also these were out of normal range...
Bilirubin - 24
Albumin - 53
Coeliac Immunoglobulin IgA - 5.32
The others were:
Folate - 18
B12 - 759
Vit D - 103
Cortisol - 412
FSH - 2.5
LH - 2.6
Testosterone - 0.6
Please always add the ranges (figures in brackets after each result)
Isn't the range the same all the time? What does the range tell us?
The range is set by the lab to go with the way the machines they use are calibrated, so no, they are not always the same. The range tells where in the range you are, just being "in range" isn't very useful - for example, for ferritin the range is often something like 11-150 (or even 300) and you are going to feel very different with level of 11 from one of 150. You can also tell where in the range you are compared with most healthy people.
Ok, so let's try that again
TSH - 9.91
(0.27-4.2)
Thyroglobulin Antibodies - 38.5
(0-115)
Thyroid peroxidase - 9.14
(0-33)
T3 (TT3) - 1.6
(1.3-3.1)
Free thyroxine - 15.7
(12-22)
Bilirubin - 24
(0-20)
Albumin - 53
(34-50)
Coeliac Immunoglobulin IgA - 5.32
(0.7-4.0)
Folate - 18
(2.9-20)
B12 - 759
(197-771)
Vit D - 103
(25-50 deficient)
Cortisol - 412
(133-537)
FSH - 2.5
(lots of ref ranges but they must think it's in luteal 1.7-7.7 otherwise it would have flagged as low - as it is in follicular, mid-cycle)
LH - 2.6
(same as above)
Testosterone - 0.6 (0-1.8)
So TSH is high, well above top of range confirming hypothyroid
Total T3 is not as useful a measure as Ft3
Total T3 low in range
Ft4 towards bottom of range
Because TT3 and Ft4 are within range technically this is classed as “sub-clinical”.
Coeliac test looks as if it’s positive
That means you have to be absolutely strictly gluten free. No shared toaster, butter, jam, cutting boards etc
Bilirubin slightly high ...possibly Gilbert syndrome
Folate, B12 and vitamin D all good
Presumably you supplement?
Do you supplement magnesium too?
What about iron and ferritin levels
Make sure you see someone with very good reputation
I would prefer Ayurvedic practitioner . You can see what’s in supplements. Or Functional practioner .
Find out who is in your area .
Listen to gut instinct .
Use food as medicine to
Maybe Qi gong
Yoga ? Both will activate a sluggish system
A good practitioner will NEVER say anything against conventional Dr.
Good hunting .
Let us know how j you ou get on
Xx
I guess that's what a consultation is for. I'd be asking all those questions.
I remember seeing a World in Action programme many years ago on Chinese Medicine and it wasn't pretty - they are very heavy on the liver and kidneys and had been causing serious illness. I would not go anywhere near Chinese medicine as I don't believe it was regulated then and isn't now.
I imagine it to be like the supplement industry, which is largely unregulated. There are reputable ones and unreputable ones. The reputable ones are happy to share their ingredients, origins, testing and traceability. So I will be doing my homework before making any decisions. But thanks for your caution.
I tried. It cost me a fortune and didn’t help. I am very open minded to alternative health...but it really wasn’t useful for me.
I found TCM useful for gut problems - better results than NHS, Western herbal or even Ayurveda.
Thank you. Yes I am simultaneously trying to address multiple issues, including gut. And from what I've read so far TCM has the potential to address several things at once. More to investigate though!
Any advice on inflammation?
Booked in to see a herbalist (fingers crossed it helps)
Reverse T3 and inflammation 
Inflammation or T3 dosage
Chronic inflammation - any tips?
