I wanted to onward people's thoughts please. O have put on 3 stone over the last 2 years, lockdown hasn't helped. I have no thyroid. Im currently waiting test results from my consultant who doesn't seem to want to give me the results. I've been waiting 3 weeks and chased him twice! He recently changed my dose as I was constantly tired and these are the following up tests to see whether the dose is right. I suspect not 8m even more lethargic now.
I've decided to take my health into my own hands and have a functional medical dr waiting to have a look at my bloods once I hear back from the consultant. In the meantime I decided I'd do a detox in the hope it would lose me some weight. My thoughts were if it doesn't there is something drastically wrong somewhere. My 30 day detox ends tomorrow which I have religiously stuck to excluding dairy, soy, sugar alcohol, gluten.
I followed a plan from Arbonne for this knowing that many people had lost weight some lots others just a few pounds but inches lost.
I knew it would reset my body and help with my very slow gut. I have actually enjoyed the detox. I did eat pretty healthily before but it for me has proved there is something definitely out of balance. I haven't lost 1 pound or 1 inch!!
The idea now is to reintroduce things to see if you're intolerant to them.
Prior to my detox I'd been drinking way too much through lockdown so even cutting that out alone should have had an affect!!
I'd be interested to know If anyone else has had a similar experience?
Thanks
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Jules2194
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Hi Jules 2194,It’s always tricky when you exclude so much to work out what is causing you inflammation & what you need to cut- out long term. For me, tummy issues restarted immediately when I tried gluten (after a 3 month trial) so I’ve stuck with that. I can live without soy, so that’s not caused me any problems to eliminate. Dairy for me is more tricky, as there were no ‘obvious’ benefits from excluding it, but if I eat a lot of it, my inflammation increases. As I don’t eat meat, I’m also concerned about eliminating this due to protein/ calcium content.
Do you take a good probiotic? These are great for improvement of gut health. I like Biokult or (more recently) have started making my own water kefir.
Do post your results when you finally get them, as you may not be optimally medicated. Also, have you had key vitamins (ferritin, folate, Vit D and B12) checked recently? Having these high in the test range has massively improved my health.
Having quickly read through your back history I see you have had a thyroidectomy and therefore without a thyroid and there is mention of NDT and of Metavive and that your endocrinologist isn't supportive of a trial of synthetic T3 - Liothyronine alongside your synthetic T4 - Levothyroxine and that you are on monotherapy with 150 mcg T4 daily.
A fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis with trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitoin plus a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg plus a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg.
T4 is a storage hormone and needs to be conveted by your body into T3 the active hormone that the body runs on, and having " lost " your own T3 production, you are likely not able to kick start your metabolism, and it's as though your pilot light has gone out, and the wick needs replacing. as your body isn't working as well as it once did, before your thyroid was removed.
T3 is around 4 times more powerful than T4 with the average person needing to find/utilise/ and need around 50 T3 daily, just to function. So by not replacing your own T3 thyroid production, you have in effect, been down graded by around 20% of your overall health and wellbeing and long term the more disabling this can become for you.
Some people can get by on T4 only medication :
Some people find that Levo seems to stop working for them as well as it once did and need the addition of a prescription for T3 and take a T3/T4 combination of medication, and some people can't tolerate T4 at all and need to take T3 only.
Some other people prefer to take Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same known hormones as that of the human thyroid gland and is made from pig thyroid, dried and ground down into tablets, referred to as grains. This was successfully used for over 100 years prior to the advance in the medical science of blood test analysis, ranges, guidelines and Big Pharma launching synthetic T3 and T4 alternatives to NDT.
The thyroid is a major gland responsible for full body synchronisation and this includes your mental, emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing, your inner central heating system and your metabolism.
Personally I just think, when there has been a medical intervention and the thyroid either surgically removed or RAI thyroid ablation has been administered both T3 and T4 need to be on the patient's prescription. So that, if and probably when, both thyroid hormones need to be prescribed to restore the T3/T4 balance at a high enough level to be acceptable to the patient, in order to restore wellbeing, and give back the patient their " you " .
Conversion of the T4 into T3 happens in your body, mostly in the liver.
Conversion of T4 into T3 can be compromised by low vitamins and minerals especially ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D. I tend to feel at my best when my ferritin at around 100, my folate at around 20, my B12 active 75 ++ and my vitamin D at around 100.
Conversion can also be compromised by other medications you are taking.
Conversion can also be compromised by any physiological stress ( emotional or physical ) inflammation. depression, dieting and ageing.
So, in a way, I see you in a vicious circle as dieting isn't going to help you, and the circle is complete leaving you even more upset and feeling like a failure.
You can turn some of this around for yourself, but I really do think you need the help of additional thyroid hormone replacement that isn't more T4- Levothyroxine.
There is more on the Thyroid uk website and this is the charity who support this amazing forum and where I first started out asking questions a few years ago.
Thyroid uk also hold list of endos and doctors supportive of more than just monotherapy with T4 medication and it might help you to have a medical professional on your side, for once.
I'm with Graves Disease post RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 becoming very unwell some years later and now manage lingering Graves, thyroid eye disease, caused by the RAI and hypothyroidism.
I have found no help nor understnding within the NHS with my continued symptoms and gave up asking anything of them in 2018 and started self medicating for myself, thanks in the most part to this fantastic forum.
I now take NDT and am much improved and can't understand why the NHS keeps people unwell when there are options worth trying for some patients who do not recover fully on T4 monotherapy.
Thank you so much I've tried to convince my endo which is my 3rd one to try to but he says my symptoms aren't worth the benefit. I have recently had b12 foliate etc taken and b12 and vit d is sky high as I've been supplementing and the foliate level falls within the range. Someone has mentioned metavive to me but I just wanted to reset myself get my latest results and go private. I think that's all we can do NHS drs are not interested. I have 2 young children and need to be fit. Thank you so much everyone fir your replies. Im determined to get well. It's 8 years this month since I had my TT. My surgeon at the time told me I'd be back to normal in 2 weeks. What a joke!!!!
Yes, I'm afraid we are all told unrealistic throwaway lines as these medics never get to see us again and there is little, if any follow up through primary care and it seems very few doctors have the necesary knowledge to help us get well.
Please don't be hard on yourself, it's not you, but your thyroid hormones that need to be reset : and that incorporates more than just monotherapy with T4 - levothyroxine.
I think if you find a doctor/endo from the Thyroid uk list, and ask for feedback on anyone you plan to see, at least we can give the " thumbs up " rather than waste money on someone known not to be supportive.
I found a book written by a doctor who has hypothyroidism very useful in helping me understand the implications of not having a thyroid.
Your Thyroid and How To Keep It Healthy by Barry Durrant-Peatfield is written in an easy to understand way and whilst we now don't have your thyroids, we do need to know all that it's meant to be doing so that we can try and compensate as best as we can, and I think it's available on the Thyroid uk website.
I've found the list and I'm pleased to see the lady I've been speaking to is on there!! Dr Indra Bartharan. I've met her through networking for my business and she's really knowledgeable. I've also attended a couple of webinars she's done and had a private 121 with her. Im finally given hope. I just need my consultant to pull his finger out and give me my results.
Oh, sorry, just answered you above without looking further down the screen.
Good, ok then, you have someone in you corner - and remember, we are all supporting you in your thyroid journey and you can always post a question on here on anything you need advice on.
I thought the same, but you too can turn some of this around yourself and the first step is to get the appropriate blood tests as detailed in near enough every reply from the Admins.
This is a full thyroid panel to include TSH, T3, T4, antibodies, inflammation, and ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D :
If your doctor can't oblige, which seems most peoples experience, there are private companies listed on the Thyroid uk website who will : some even an offer to come to your house to take the blood draw.
Ideally you need an early as possible appointment, fast overnight, just taking in water, and leave around 24 hours between blood draw and your last dose of T4.
When you get the results just start a new post on here giving all the results and ranges and this is the first step to getting back your health and wellbeing.
Reading other posts on here, inbetween everything else you are juggling, will help your understanding, and there's always support on here, other than child care !!!
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Diet & detox & effects on TSH blood test
Can someone comment on results please and does my liver need a detox? 
You may feel worse when giving up Gluten and other foods..it could be because of detox..
Any other hypo people struggle to GAIN weight?
Endo wants me to reduce T3 and raise T4
