Hi all, Constipation has been a continuous issue for me despite taking various amounts, brands, and combinations of thyroid replacement hormones. Even when I know I have over-medicated I still could not empty my bowels efficiently.
Recently I was given some valentus Brazillian roast coffee, I checked it out online and became a little apprehensive about using it as it is not licenced for use in the UK due to some ingredients. The UK did have a licence for the ingredients in question at some point recently and used them to treat obesity but no longer licence them for reasons I could not discover.
As the UK once licenced those ingredients in question I decided to try the product. You use one sachet per day to flatten a large stomach in x amount of days, usually 14-28 days. Within an hour after my initial sachet, I felt an urge that I had not felt in many years, the urge to empty my bowels. To my great relief after so many years I finally and sufficiently emptied my bowels properly and gained instant reward.
I have taken three sachets to date and gained a huge amount of energy as a bonus to the bowel emptying. I feel motivated and energetic and have taken several long walks without resulting in fatigue and exhaustion for several days exceeding,
This product is very expensive and cost £40.00 for twelve sachets and I can only see one other seller who has only 24 sachets for a cost of £64.00.
I know that taking my thyroid replacement has helped with many issues but if only they could add these ingredients to help with the constipation and energy life would be so much better,
Does anyone know about this product or similar UK licenced versions I would be grateful for you input.
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Angelic69
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Medsafe is issuing a warning that Valentus SlimROAST Optimum Dark Roast Coffee should not be consumed – statement under section 98 of the Medicines Act 1981
11 October 2019
Valentus SlimROAST Optimum Dark Roast Coffee (presented as sachets and as a powder in a tub) has been tested by Medsafe and found to contain methylhexanamine (DMAA) and phenethylamine. Methylhexanamine is a prescription medicine and phenethylamine is a class C controlled drug.
I was feeling so hopeful for this product and feel so well for the first time in ages, how upsetting. This valentus is Brazillian roast? ant info about this one or are they the same. They were first given to my daughter who is breastfeeding, shocking.
Ive just read it stimulates the cns, maybe that's the issues with my bowel. How could i stimulate my cns in other ways?
I honestly don't know if they are the same, but I imagine so, as that it what came up when I copied and pasted your title into google.
I'm afraid I don't know what a cns is, much less how you stimulate it. But, if you are constipated, you probably have low stomach acid.
Low stomach acid can be caused by being hypo, but also by low-salt diets and B12 deficiency (also old age, but not much you can do about that). Low stomach acid will cause constipation. So, you need to check your nutrients, and your stomach acid level (bicarb test), and if either are low, you need to raise them.
Constipation can also be caused by high levels of calcium in the blood. So, best to get calcium tested, too.
Having trouble obtaining blood results from both specialists and GPs. have been asking for over a month with no response or print outs.
Funny you should say calcium as i have been prescribed floride toothpaste by my dentist and i have also lost two teeth in the past six months, my fingers and elbows are really bad at the mo which is unusual as they are normally better in the summer.
My teeth were becoming holey, i did mention i had thyroid disease and mentioned the link between thyroid disease and floride but they said no worries its safe. However i did not use it as did not want to damage thyroid anymore than was already damaged.
I do take vit D but not religiously.
I just assumed that if i was losing teeth and losing calcium from them, hence the holes that it would end up in the blood. Then you mentioned constipation can be a sign of calcium in the blood it seems to fit well.
First find out if you actually have high levels. If you have, then taking vit K2-MK7 - which you ought to take anyway if you take vit D - should get the calcium into the teeth and bones.
Had an e mail from specialist centre today saying everything looks good no changes required so i guess calcium levels are all good. I have again requested a print out to check what was tested and ranges so a least i will know if it has been checked. Would it be included in a full blood count as i know that was on my last blood draw.
Medsafe is issuing a warning that Valentus SlimROAST Optimum Dark Roast Coffee should not be consumed – statement under section 98 of the Medicines Act 1981
11 October 2019
Advice for consumers and caregivers
Do not consume Valentus SlimROAST Optimum Dark Roast Coffee.
If you have consumed this product and feel unwell, seek medical advice. Tell your healthcare professional that you have consumed a product containing methylhexanamine and phenethylamine.
If you have purchased this product, return it to the point of sale or safely dispose of it.
Information for healthcare professionals
Valentus SlimROAST Optimum Dark Roast Coffee has been sold for weight loss / management and is claimed to improve mood and focus, regulate blood sugar and boost circulation.
The sachet was found to contain approximately 140mg methylhexanamine (DMAA) and 70mg phenethylamine per 3.5g serve.
The tub was found to contain approximately 105 – 140mg methylhexanamine (DMAA) and 17.5 – 21mg phenethylamine per 3.5g scoop.
If a patient presents with adverse reactions that may possibly be attributable to either methylhexanamine and/or phenethylamine, then the use of the above product should be considered.
The product labels declare the presence of phenethylamine, but not methylhexanamine (DMAA).
These substances have amphetamine-like characteristics and may have similar adverse reactions such as: agitation and psychological effects; cardiovascular effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, and neurological effects.
And that's just from a very quick Google. I expect there's lots more reasons not to take it but that would be enough to put me off.
If you suffer from constipation have you tried magnesium citrate or Vit C to bowel tolerance? Much safer I would imagine.
After i followed the links i discovered that the coffee stimulates the CNS so maybe that is my root cause. This coffee i have is Brazillian roast would they likely to be the same. Packet only lists chromium and caffeine xx
If you have low vitamin D likely have low magnesium
Calm vitality magnesium powder supplement can frequently Improve constipation. Magnesium must be four hours away from levothyroxine....best taken afternoon or evening. Start with low dose and increase dose until get desired effect ...too much can cause diarrhoea
Constipation is extremely common hypothyroid symptom....
GP prescribe me vit D due to a test result over a year ago, i have it on repeat until my levels suggests i no longer need it. He prescribed Accrete D3 600mg calcium,400iu 30mcg cholecalciferol.
800 iu's is a very small dose and is even low for a maintenance dose for a healthy person. Your dose should be based on your test result - as mentioned above. Your result must have been VERY low for a GP to prescribe.
The tablet you are taking also contains calcium which is possibly not needed and is involved in the furring up of arteries ! Was your calcium tested before ?
When taking VitD you will have an improved uptake of calcium from foods - so you do not need more.
Buying VitD capsules is not expensive.
Low VitD is often mentioned in research as being present in patients with Covid complications.
If you have been on prescribed VitD you should have been re-tested to check your levels.
Always obtain copies of all results with ranges so you can monitor your own health and check what has been missed !
Its near impossible to get print outs, I've been asking for a long time now and keep being told no change to medications required and getting ignored about a print out with ranges.
I have tried kefir once and couldnt eat it, made me feel sick for some reason. Probably should try a diffrent make before i write it off. I have taken acidophilus and live yogurt which help a lot but still feel like i havent emptied.
My shpincter feels like its welded closed and i do not even get the urge to go usually just feel bloated and know i need to try. Levothyroxine helps a bit too but not enough to stimulate it to open im afraid.
No this is a drink and it’s full of bacteria. It’s really nice. Kefir is thick. This isn’t. It’s brilliant stuff. Have tried good old fashioned prunes? And tons of water too. Horrible when you can’t go!!
Some years ago, I started compiling a list of many of the abbreviations and acronyms that appear here regularly. The idea was to make it relatively quick and easy to look up abbreviations and acronyms without being too waylaid by the many irrelevant possibilities web searches tend to return. It does include CNS.
I continue to update the document quite frequently!
I drink plenty but still get a touch dehydrated by the mornings. I take a supplement which contains magnesium three times a day and i have tried kefir but couldn't stomach it. I take live yoghurt instead which does ease t5hings without a doubt but still can not fuller empty. I don't really get the urge to go either it feels like the entire area has shut down . Can not help wonder if its a nerve issue.
Going gluten free completely solved my severe constipation but it took many months before seeing fill benefits.
I do try to be gluten free and i know it makes perfect sense i just lose myself sometimes and pick up random rubbish. Thank you for reminding me i will get back on track. xx
Are you quite flexible - ? - if so lying on the floor - bring knees onto the chest and hold them down as tightly as possible - roll from side to side for as many times as possible. Also massaging the belly in big circles clockwise using reasonable pressure ! Both things should help ...
I did yoga, zumba, pilates cycling for many years still constipated. I will try your suggestion, i do rub just above my back passage too to try and stimulate. I also sit on the loo with feet up on top of the waste bin, xx
Coffee is a natural diuretic. I pay as little as possible for mine and I would really question why your coffee ingredients are not licensed any longer.
Came across a site which appears to assess diet products. They mention one ingredient (of a Valentus coffee) is Garcinia cambogia.
Valentus SlimROAST contains key ingredients such as dark roasted coffee, garcinia cambogia, green coffee bean extract, natural caffeine, ginseng, cassiolamine extract, green tea, cissus quadrangularis, phaseolamine, chromium and l-carnitine fumarate.
Commercial dietary supplements are marketed as a panacea for the morbidly obese seeking sustainable weight-loss. Unfortunately, many claims cited by supplements are unsupported and inadequately regulated. Most concerning, however, are the associated harmful side effects, often unrecognized by consumers. Garcinia cambogia extract and Garcinia cambogia containing products are some of the most popular dietary supplements currently marketed for weight loss. Here, we report the first known case of fulminant hepatic failure associated with this dietary supplement. One active ingredient in this supplement is hydroxycitric acid, an active ingredient also found in weight-loss supplements banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2009 for hepatotoxicity. Heightened awareness of the dangers of dietary supplements such as Garcinia cambogia is imperative to prevent hepatoxicity and potential fulminant hepatic failure in additional patients.
Lectin poisoning occurred in Japan in 2006 after a TV broadcast that introduced a new diet of eating staple foods with powdered toasted white kidney beans, seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris. Although the method is based on the action of a heat-stable α-amylase inhibitor in the beans, phaseolamin, more than 1,000 viewers who tried the method suffered from acute intestinal symptoms and 100 people were hospitalized. Lectins in the white kidney beans were suspected to be the cause of the trouble. We were asked to investigate the lectin activity remaining in the beans after the heat treatment recommended on the TV program. The test suggested that the heat treatment was insufficient to inactivate the lectin activity, which, combined with our ignorance of carbohydrate signaling in the intestine, was the cause of the problem.
I didnt take none today after reading about them in full, very scarry and to think my daughter who is breast feeding was sold these by a friend. Funnyu now thinking about it i did wake in the night after the first sachet with laboured breathing and took an extra asprin 75mg, thought it was due to re starting my HRT. Im a little sad that these are so dangerous as i felt very well mentally and energy wise. Today i feel back down to the ground and struggling to focus and have not been able to empty my bowels again. I did by some organic chocolate to try and stimulate my dopamine levels as feeling very low. Im going to try and figure out which of the ingredients i can try that are safe. I didnt know there were such a thing as a carb blocker untill I research valentus ingredients. Thanks helvella. xx
You gave me good news and could have possibly saved me from something that could potentially have killed me, i owe you many thanks. xxx I just hope it wasn't the dangerous ingredients that helped me go. I was thinking i might try the carb blocker and try to further increase serotonin. I love chocolate so could be fun testing new things. xx
Have been reading up and found full list of ingredients, like helvella said can affect liver and also can increase risks of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. May cause high blood pressure, irritation and halucinations if taken too much. The military trailed it for performance and two soldiers died after consuming it so a bit risky which is such a shame as it has made me feel very well, mind you i did notice my bp had increased a bit and did wake up after first sachet with a bit of heavy breathing.
I do not think that every medicine or supplement works the same for everybody. But researching as much as possible helps us move in the right direction. Maybe just increasing your morning caffeine intake would be enough of a stimulant to help you. 😊
Apart from this valentus coffee i dont usually drink coffee as its know to cause tachycardia or irregular heart rate. I was ok with caffeine until about the same time i started taking thyroid medication then if i drank more than two cups i get a racing heart very scarry so i changed to decade, i guess I'm ok with several decades but i guess that defeats the object. I sound like a right fussy fuss pot, i have to take histamines everyday too as have a lot of allergies and reactions to silly stuff. xx
I take a suppliment which has magnesium in it, how much would you have to take to relieve constipation. Im not fully educated on constipation as yet so please forgive ignorance but would the magnesium cause my motion to be softer, if so that would not help as even when they are softer my shpincter does not want to release its contents. Would taking magnesium help with stimulating the valve to open?
greygoose posted a great summary of which kinds of magnesium help with which problems in this thread healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... (about halfway down the page) - Magnesium Citrate supplements are supposed to help with constipation I believe?
I think you'd have to eat an awful lot of spinach to get enough magnesium to help. And, even then, I'm not sure it's magnesium citrate you get in spinach. As malohant so rightly says, the one for constipation is magnesium citrate.
I just dont understand what is constipation? Hard stools?, Blockage?, Prolapse? Scar tissue?, damage sphincter nerve? which one do i have? i don't know so i don't know which to take?
Oh, the term 'constipation' covers a multitude of sins! I don't suppose anyone actually knows why they're constipated when they are. There are so many variations. One can even have several of those things. And, then there are other things like low stomach acid, and high calcium in the blood that can cause constipation. Exactly how, I don't know, but they do.
However, there is only one form of magnesium that will have any effect on transit, and that is magnesium citrate. It's not the magnesium bit that does it, it's the citrate bit - citric acid - vit C. Although, perhaps the magnesium itself helps a bit. In any case, it's worth trying.
And, maybe one of the reasons magnesium citrate helps is that the citric acid raises levels of stomach acid, so that food it digested better and therefore slips through more easily, so to speak. So, you could try investigating your stomach acid levels, see if something needs doing there:
I have been taking broad spectrum digestive enzymes on and off and they really do help with stomach hardness and bloat, I'm off them at mo because i tried that valentus coffee but that's a no go so will be getting some more very soon. I used to get them from holland and Barrett but they changed there recipe but never said anything. I spoke to them to ask why they had altered the dose but they said they hadn't change it. I took one off the old pills and one of the new pills and asked the assistant to smell them both as there was a huge difference in smell and also the appearance was different too she agreed they were changed but they still say they haven't. So now you need to take a lot more to get the same effect. I have just found some online but don't really like to buy online as have no point of contact.
I have just been sent my last test results.
Result has been acknowledged by Prof Martin Weickert on 02/07/2020 15:28. Urea And Electrolytes, (UE)
Sodium
143 mmol/L
133-146
Potassium
4.5 mmol/L 3.5-5.3
Urea
3.8 mmol/L 2.5-7.8
Creatinine
65 umol/L 50-90
Total Protein 78/L 60-80
Albumin
48 g/L 35-50
Bilirubin (Total)
12 umol/L 4-20
Alkaline Phosphatase
57 U/L 35-105
ALT
24 U/L 5-38
Calcium
2.48 mmol/L 2.10-2.58
Adjusted Calcium
2.32 mmol/L 2.10-2.58
Albumin
48 g/L 35-50
Blood Count, (FBC)
WBC
6.28 x10^9/l 4.00-11.00
Rbc
4.54 x10^12/l 4.10-5.10
Hb
138 g/L 120-150
Hct
0.430 l/l 0.360-0.460
MCV
94.7 fl 80.0-100.0
MCH
30.4 pg 27.0-32.0
MCHC
321 g/L 315-345
Plt
247 x10^9/l 140-400
Neut
3.99 x10^9/l 2.00-7.00
Lymp
1.71 x10^9/l 1.00-3.00
Mono
0.43 x10^9/l 0.20-1.00
Eos
0.11 x10^9/l 0.02-0.50
Baso
0.04 x10^9/l 0.01-0.1
TSH2.39 mU/L 0.27-4.20
N.B. Please note the new TSH reference range from 1st April 2015
Your FT4 is 52.94% through the range - most hypos need it about 75/80%.
And, your FT3 is only a miserable 37.21%. You are very under-medicated.
I would never buy anything from H&B. The quality leaves a lot to be desired. And, apparently, they're not even very honest! I always get my supplements on-line - usually Amazon, where there is plenty of choice and good quality. The last thing I want is contact with anyone! lol However, if there's a problem, you can always get in touch with someone.
I was concidering stopping my T3 thinking it may be too high and hence the hair loss and couldn't get any results with ranges. Now i see i could of caused myself more damage if i did. I do not function on a TSH of 2, i could barely get out of bed.
Agree with all the recommendations about magnesium citrate. I was really struggling with my digestion a few years ago despite a gluten free plant based diet so saw a naturopath who prescribed a complete colon cleanse programme. It was in three phases and was a game changer for me even though I think a combination of thyroid and endometriosis issues are having a negative impact at the moment. The first phase was to restore gut motility and she prescribed cascara sagrada to ‘get things moving’ as, like you, my gut had completely shut down. This was together with a strict vegan, gluten, sugar, caffeine and alcohol free diet which I continued to follow for another 10 weeks during the cleanse and restore phases. It’s not for continuous use but can help you on the journey to restoring proper function as you may also need to address candida/dysbiosis followed by a course of high quality pro-biotics.
Thanks i will give that a try, you can obtain this from amazon, which brand is safe, do you know?. I do have a bulge in my lady bits which is probably a prolapse of the rectum so not totally sure laxatives is the game changer for me but i do get hard stools at times too which this product will be helpful for.
I know why you are constipated or have bowel issue w/ thyroid issues. If you have hypothyroid and take meds or equivalent to supplement your level as people w/ hypothyroid have Gastrointestinal GI problem as thyroid affects your nervous system, blood, bone, breathing, heart rate, gi calcium mg+ reabsorption etc... your gi peristalsis slows down, heart rate, metabolism, wt gain etc...The opposite is true w/ hyperthyroid. Hence, the Valentus slimroast optimum or others have some products that claim “thermogenic” some how affects your thyroid hormones level as if u have hyperthyroid too make your body “burn” metabolism increased heart rate and breathing go up, sweaty, agitated, etc.... hence the warning about MDAA has same effects. You should be careful and consult w/ your MD as it affects your thyroid hormones level (tsh t3,t4) and when u are taking your thyroid meds it will potentiate as if you are overdose and affect your heart like heart palpitations, breathing too fast shortness of breath etc.... so please discuss w/ your dr.
As far as constipation issue: eat 1 banana or 2-3 dried prunes would do the trick. I always have my patients eat either banana or prunes that helps wirh cramping legs ans bowels unless they have kidney or CHF. These food have lots of potassium and fibers so they evacuate faster and nautically. No cramping. Otherwise as your dr for miralax or doccusate. These work differently. Drinks lots of water and remain active will help.
Note: Every variation of English is valid but on a forum based in the UK and called "Thyroid UK" it seems that the best level of communication is likely to result from using British English, so far as possible.
I have never tried to use coffee for that aim, but well now I know that it is possible. That is also great that it helped you to fix your problem. Usually, I drink coffee to become cheerful and that is why the main aspect that is important for me is just the taste of a drink. My friend always orders coffee from this shop kcupsforsale.com/k-cup-bran... and sometimes I ask him to add something for me too. That is really convenient, as I think
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