Stubborn Basal Temp/Pulse, Even After Starting Desiccated Bovine Glandular

[Cinderellaz]

Hello all. I'm a 45-year old female. I have Hashimotos hypothyroidism, diagnosed many years ago. I have regular periods and don't have any other health conditions to speak of. Yes, I'm 100% gluten free and know all about antibodies, vitamins, minerals---iron etc., cortisol, etc. I'm here with a very specific basal temp/pulse question that I'm hoping someone can provide insight on...

About 3 moths ago, I switched to grass-fed New Zealand bovine desiccated thyroid from Tirosint . I was on 50 mcg of Tirosint [T4-only] for years, but always a bit under-dosed. On 50 mcg of Tirosint, my TSH never went below 3.5 and often fluctuated up to 5-6.5 [ref: 0.450-4.500] --never very stable and too high. My Free T3 and Free T4 have always been very stable but always in the lower quarter of the reference range. And although I tolerated the Tirosint ok, I still had some hypo symptoms and absolutely knew I needed more hormone. I contemplated what direction to move in very carefully. So, rather than increasing the Tirosint, which I know was an option, I opted to move to the bovine glandular. [FYI: The bovine glandular I use contains only raw desiccated bovine powder--no fillers or additional ingredients.]

Over three months, I've slowly worked my way up to a total of 390 mg/day of bovine glandular[195 mg in the AM on empty stomach and 195 mg in PM, two hours after lunch].

I've been taking my temps for a long time now--about 6 months. I take my temps first thing in the morning before rising [basal], three hours after I rise, three hours after that and another three hours later. Thus, I take four temps per day. Every day, my temp is 98.6 F by 10:00 AM--and throughout the rest of the day. This is great. However, my basal morning temp has not increased ---It is still around 97.2 during my follicular phase and a bit higher, 97.7 F, during my luteal phase [as expected, due to increased progesterone during the luteal phase]. However, my temp always makes a reliable increase to 98.6 by 10 AM each day--and remains there throughout the day. I should also mention that my resting pulse continues to sit at around 60-65--Low! When I'm engaged in an activity, it rises in a normal fashion, but at total rest it is 60-65.

I've done a ton of reading and research on temp taking and all things thyroid. I've read myriad medical journal articles about using body temp/resting pulse to treat/monitor hypothyroidism and using temp/pulse to monitor success with new hormone dosing etc. In short, I've been knee-deep in this process, with a lot of background. This is not the beginning of my journey--I've been at this a while.

My question to fellow members: How much emphasis should I put on the basal temp not increasing, even though my temp always reaches 98.6 F by 10:00 AM. Should I keep chasing this basal number or let it go? I don't want to keep increasing the bovine glandular if basal is not that critical. I've read in journal articles that some people's basal never rises to 97.8 F, regardless of any change they make. However, my resting pulse isn't rising either. These two things are stubborn in my body. I don't want to overdose myself on bovine chasing a higher basal temp/pulse but also don't want to under-dose myself on the bovine glandular. I want to get optimal. What do you all think?

[radd]

Cinderellaz,

Welcome to our forum.

Some members have found they are unable to raise thyroid hormones enough for well-being on bovine thyroid glandular alone, and often have to take some form of regulated meds alongside, ie NDT, T4/T3.

Taking temps is a great way of feeling (physically & metaphorically) how things are working. If temps are raising later and remaining so, thermogenics are obviously capable of working, just not so efficiently first thing in the morning. Should you chase it? It depends how you are feeling?

If this were me I would be exploring adrenal issues which if you are coping, may right itself in time. However, if you have had months of feeling cold, groggy, sluggish, slow thinking in the mornings with absolutely no positive progress, you may find either taking meds earlier à la Paul Robinsons CT3M protocol, or just adding some adrenal supports, ie adaptogens or adrenal glandular may help.

T3’s natural circadian pattern follows that of cortisol which often becomes compromised through years of inadequate thyroid hormone. Taking T3 earlier can encourage higher levels of cortisol which in turn are required for good glucose metabolism enabling T3 uptake and to become biologically active.

Other considerings would be iron that’s heavily involved in our thermogenic mechanisms. Adequate ferritin isn’t a guarantee of sufficient serum iron levels or that a sufficient serum iron amount is even working properly. You need an iron panel and possibly FBC to assess RBC health and behaviours. We also need sufficient & good working iron for thyroid hormone to work effectively.