So I have been looking into lots of way to healing the thyroid and coming off the thyroxine. Has anyone ever successfully managed to do this. I have been following and reading a lot of information from Gary Brecka who is a biologist and does a lot of work on thyroid function.
I have started supplements
Selenium
Vit d
Vit b
Magnesium
And already feel much better, I have slowly weaned myself down off thyroxine and will be having bloods done in 6 weeks to see what's going on.
My husband is also going to pat for me to have some blood work done and a consultant through Gary Brecka website.
Just basically wanting others thoughts/opinions/help/guidance
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jodes86baldwin
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OK, so you have Hashi's. Well, here's the thing with Hashi's - don't know how much you know about it, so forgive me if I'm stating the obvious;
- Hashi's is an autoimmune disease where the immune system slowly destroys the thyroid, mistaking it for the enemy
- The theory is - and it sounds logical to me - that during the attacks, the dying cells deposite their stock of hormone into the blood causing levels of FT4/3 to rise sharply and the TSH to fall. We call this a Hashi's 'hyper' swing - or, less descriptive, a Hashi's 'flare'.
- These high levels - and they might be very high, or just slightly raised - are only temporary and as the excess hormone is used up/excreted, you will fall back into hypo again.
- However, it sometimes happens that after a 'hyper' swing, and before going back to being hypo, you can have a period of euthyroidism ('normal' levels). These periods can last quite a long time. So, having stopped your thyroid hormone replacement due the the 'hyper' phase, you don't feel the need to restart it again. This is when so many people claim to have 'cured' their Hashi's/hypo by whatever means (and the so-called 'means' are many and varied!) But, sooner or later, levels will fall to hypo levels again. Because, as I said, thyroids cannot regenerate. Not fully, anyway. Not enough to be able to make enough hormone to keep you well.
I don't think many people do trust Big Pharma. They are in the business of making money, not making people well. And, a patient cured is a customer lost. But, that doesn't have much to do with the thyroid. Thyroid Hormone Replacement - levo, T3, NDT - are not drugs nor medications. And Big Pharma doesn't make that much money out of them. But we cannot live without them because you cannot live without thyroid hormone. BP didn't invent that, that is a fact of life. Levo may be synthetic but it is an exact copy of the T4 made by your thyroid. It's just made in a laboratory, that's all. So, trusting BP has nothing to do with replacing your thyroid hormones.
But, that doesn't have much to do with the thyroid. Thyroid Hormone Replacement - levo, T3, NDT - are not drugs nor medications. And Big Pharma doesn't make that much money out of them
Just trying to get my head around this. Didn’t the price of T3 go up significantly and I assume Big Pharma profited from this?
It is sensible to have limited trust in big pharma.
But many of these other people (bloggers, influencers, etc.) are even more focussed on your wallet than big pharma. And there are pretty much no legal controls.
If anyone sells anything, be extremely sceptical. And those sales include advertising slots around their videos, etc., not just what they want you to pay for.
I must admit every time I see posts to new members encouraging private testing reminds me of my scepticism when I joined and thinking you you all must be making money off us through these private testing firms somehow! Im afraid my own scepticism runs very deep indeed 😇
But, my point is, I complete understand that people need to try things and need to have faith in something or someone when we’ve been so badly let down so much by the mainstream care services.
Who knows? Someone may just find some sort of natural cure eventually to thyroid disease. The science is a bit rubbish on it as it is any how! Although, I confess, I’d prefer more research.
Well Thyroid UK gets some sort of contribution from the companies they list. Otherwise no-one else should be making anything - only the companies.
If you happen to notice a link which has an affiliate link - report it so that the admins can clean it up. I imagine most, possibly all, actually have been posted inadvertently.
However, having Hashimoto’s or central hypothyroidism* (when the problem is further upstream in the pituitary or hypothalamus*) cannot, sadly be reversed. Perhaps stem cell research or gene therapy could throw up solutions in the future, who knows 😊
With Hashimoto’s it is the autoimmune disease that needs addressing and early. 😬
However, with Hashimoto’s, when on medication, the autoimmune disease continues to naw away slowly destroying the thyroid. We don’t have the capacity to regenerate our thyroid in the same way as say the liver.
I believe a lot of these claims about healing comes from a transient thyroiditis having been misdiagnosed in the first place , going on medication then coming off later on only to find they are not hypo. This may be why Doctors are at times soooo reluctant to treat patients in the first place. However, they are hardly going to fess up on that.
All in if you have had a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s or central hypothyroidism the best any of us can do is self care and reading/watching a range of sources, but avoiding any that pedal false hope. It’s getting read up enough to distinguish between them. I would say NHS have not got all the answers though. 🤗
Jodes, I tried to come off thyroxine. I cut my dose down to 25mcg per day gradually but never quite came off it completely.Once on 25mcg per day I felt great. That lasted 3 months. Then symptoms came back quite quickly and I was very ill and very very hypo with my levels below range and my TSH sky high.
I spent the next 2 years almost housebound and in bed.
Be careful and monitor your levels closely no matter how well you feel.
Horrific- it was bad enough being kept on25ug of levo for 6 months. With so much ignorance in the NHS it is pushing people into the arms of snake oil sellers.
I agree with Lalatoot . Thyroid hormones can be affected by your general state of health and they also have an effect on your general health as they control metabolism, the speed and efficiency with which your body regenerates. It has an extremely important function in the body so please be careful.
I think the problem with this is that we would all love our thyroid gland to be healed as no one wants to be dependent on tablets for ever. However it's just not going to happen sadly your only hope is slowing down autoimmune flare ups by trialing GF or dairy free. You will still need thyroid hormone replacement. You've already needed it.
Whether there's a way of preventing the Hashi ever been triggered I don't know but maybe some future genius will find a way of preventing the stoimmune reaction kicking off. But yours is already well on the way I'm afraid....
My diagnosis came late as my illness was put down to CFS/ME. Believe me I tried every which way to improve my health..... The NHS at the time also tried various alternative approaches. Ultimately though nothing stopped the steady relentless decline until I finally was allowed to start thyroid hormone treatment. It took me aiong time to recover, partly due to ignorance of professionals treating me and part because the decline of my health had fallen so much......took a long time to come back up.
Take great care and please, please don't be fooled by the initial feeling of being well. The adrenals will kick in to support for as long as they can until they become fatigued. Then you will have a double wammy to resolve.
Same thing happened to me waveylines - diagnosed with fibro and cfs and ended up on painkillers and nsaids for joint and muscle pains, antacids and ppis for reflux, meds for ibs and excruciating cramps/ trapped wind, hrt because of a severe early menopause, laxatives for awful constipation. It was, like you said - relentless! Then everything deteriorated even more (which I didn’t think was possible because they were already quite bad)and for a long time I put it all down to cfs and fibro (i think i was brainwashed into believing that they were the cause of my issues). I did a private test and found subclinical hypo and positive tgab. My gp tested again and agreed a trial of levo in may this year. It’s still relatively early days for me, but there have been some improvements. I remember someone saying something about having to be on lifetime meds with the levo, but I’d already been on the type of meds listed above for years and probably would have had to continue forever. As it is since starting levo, I’ve been able to reduce the amount of those other drugs. I feel, like you, it will take me a really long time to recover now. Hypothyroidism was one of the things I mentioned to the gp years ago because I have a strong family history of thyroid problems. My tsh was not over range then but was steadily increasing up to the top end of normal, but they always said everything was always fine. Thanks for sharing your story. It definitely resonates with me.
Awww JoJo..... So sorry to hear this but sadly I'm not surprised. What you will & have learnt from this site is to gen up and to be on it politely with your GP. Don't let them keep you on a starter dose if your are benifitting. Get the other vits minerals mentioned on here optimal not just in range. My life was transformed once I was lucky enough to be seen by Dr Skinner who turned me health round from his initial notes from meeting from "a very poorly lady" to fully recovered and very well. Xx
Thank you, Waveylines. I would have been lost without this site. I’m so glad I found my way here. I’ve had an increase to 75mcg and feel better on that than i did on the 50mcg. My last t4 was 13.8 (up from previous 9.8) and tsh came in slightly under range at 0.1 (0.2 - 4.5) but thankfully the gp saw it and wrote “only slightly out of range - no action”. I’ve bought a medichecks kit to check full thyroid panel and vits and ferritin in a few weeks to see how things are going. I think it’s possible my t4 may drop again as that’s what happened before my last increase. I’m supplementing vit d with a better you d and k spray, and eating more iron-rich foods now as per advice on here from my last results as ferritin was low. You have given me hope that I can get back to feeling well again. I’ve definitely had more good days recently. It’s been a bumpy ride starting levo, but before that I wasn’t even having any good days at all. Pity there aren’t more doctors like Dr Skinner! There is a lady gp at my practice who has been very kind to me and I suspect she has thyroid issues herself as she was the one who saw my low tsh and said “no action” - maybe she appreciates it takes a while for everything to settle. Every time I increase the tsh dops and t4 shoots up but it doesn’t seem to hold steady just yet. I’m feeling a bit more hopeful that it will even out in time. Thank you so much for your reply xxx
It will. At the moment think of your body in a semi sleep state. It is being gradually woken up with each rise in your meds so as it wakes it starts to run a bit faster and so needs more thyroid hormones to keep it running so you need a bit more. Alongside this you feel better and notice you can do a bit more but can have days off when you over reached your current limit. Gerting your iron etc will all help too. Somebody once said to me consider how long you have been ill and be aware that you have to climb back up from that long descent. It's not surprising therefore if it takes time....So I wish you well. It will take time but you will be going gradually up overall not down. This site is a great support.
Thank you so much, that is such a great way to think about and understand it. I think I may have even been hypo/hashi for twenty years…or longer. I definitely have up and down days. Yesterday I walked the dog in the park, went shopping, went for a coffee and a walk around the garden centre and then did housework. Today, so far, I’ve walked 5 mins around the block and then fell asleep on the sofa! Thank you again for your kindness xx
It's called boom and crash. You feel better so do a lot more so the next day you feel rubbish. Try to resist doing this and increase your activity a bit more but spread out. Hopefully that will avoid whats happening currently. As you improve you will gradually sustain more activity each day. It IS frustrating though!!
That is so true. It is definitely very frustrating. Some days I feel great so I just go crazy! Yesterday was one of those days and today I’ve seized up like the tin man! I’ll have to try to pace myself better and settle in for the long haul. Thank you. xx
Aww, yes we will get there. Pacing is soooo difficult. On good days I just want to go to all the places everywhere and do all the things in the world and zoom off to the moon 🤣 Today - on the sofa, aching all over. Ahh, well 🤣🤣 xx
I hear you! It’s very tough and at times you think the bust will be worth the boom, and a top up of good feeling is needed to give us the strength to keep beating the continuous bad days.
I find it hard to judge pace. Let’s say I can do 3 things. And it’s OK. But the best time I do 3 things it’s not.
By the way, my 3 things are self care and household chores related and occasionally intimacy with my partner. I haven’t reached the point where I can go out by myself yet. The risk of the sudden lightheadedness and crash is too great still.
But, we will get there! Good to read your progress!
I know exactly what you mean about the pacing…very hard to judge. I’ve done that too - thought I’d be ok with stuff because I was ok last time, but then totally different outcome. Maybe as things stabilise it will be easier for us to judge because at the moment we are working with wacky levels anyway. I don’t go out on my own either, only ever with my husband, because of those same reasons, and being brain foggy and like a battery that won’t hold its charge. I went to a retail park the other day - big mistake! Very busy and very overwhelming for someone who is like a dormouse on sleeping pills. Overdid it and my energy went out of me quickly and completely. I suddenly had nothing left and could barely walk. Just happened all of a sudden, no warning. My husband had to help me back to the car. I totally get where you’re coming from. xxx
I am only just getting into the getting fit stage now after two + years and that’s after being lucky enough to find you guys early in diagnosis! Phew! 😅
Pleased to hear this Charlie-F. It really does take time. I think it's the most frustrating part of it all tbh. Definately slow burn recovery! Glad you're feeling much better now though. 🤗🤗
I am thanks to the information gleaned on this forum- so much lived experience to read! It was my fast track to better understanding my own condition. 🤗
Every time I increase the tsh dops and t4 shoots up but it doesn’t seem to hold steady just yet
How long after increase are you testing? I found depending on which week after I have had the test, the TSH will rise again after an initial fall. I think if you aim for 8 weeks you may see the TSH more in range, that is you have been testing according to forum suggestions eg before 9am etc).
Thanks, Healthstardust, I just had a look at my nhs app to work it out and it seems that at roughly 8 weeks after starting at 50mcg the tsh dropped and the t4 rose and I felt ok, but then symptoms started to come back and when checked again at 16 weeks by the nhs test - the t4 had dropped to almost what is was before i started the levo and the tsh was nearly 2. I then started the 75mcg and after a bit of a bumpy ride, I started to feel well until a week or so before the 8 week nhs tests when i thought i might need an increase, but the results actually looked good, so I wondered if the t4 had peaked then and was starting to fall slowly. I’ve bought a medichecks kit and thought I’d check everything myself and see what is happening in a few weeks, unless things go really bad again then I’ll test sooner. I always test as per forum protocol and was surprised to see my last t4 had gone up to 13.8 and my tsh under range as i don’t feel as good as those bloods test results might suggest. I think there’s a definite lag between bloods and symptoms as you said in another post.
This is exactly the pattern I experience. There appears to be a definite peak then both FT4 and T3 drop and TSH rises.
I’ve had tests at 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 4 weeks and a few between those numbers after an increase. Obviously the one that was 4 weeks was the best, low TSH, good FT4, good T3. From this I have discerned, if I want an increase I just have to wait long enough for the test and base this on how my symptoms are going reaching some kind of stable state.
There is a definite peak of levels before the drop until one is in their final ish dose.
I think I would benefit from a small increase but I know the gp won’t increase me yet as my tsh is 0.1 (o.2 - 4.5). I daren’t ask yet because I’m worried they’ll hold a monocle over at that tsh and think again about it and then decide to actually reduce my dose instead. I thought, while I don’t feel too bad, I’ll keep a low profile and wait it out for as long as possible, then test with medichecks and see how things are bubbling away under the surface. I even thought - maybe it will hold steady and stabilise…this time… 🙄
But, your TSH may rise or also you never know, you may not need a dose increase as some people do seem to do fine on a smaller doses. Though, I assume those people are the very same that have the fortunate experience of being diagnosed early enough.
I understand the fear, if you can muster up the courage and feel the need for an increase I hope you are able to. Remember the forum members are here for you!
LOW T3 effects on cardiovascular system ***personal note this often happens when doctors dose by TSH and as a result under medicate the patient because of the misconception TSH is the gold standard. Would be laughable if it were not doing so much damage to people. 😱
tattybogle also has a pinned post on low TSH papers and I have made a pinned post on NHS and NICE guidelines- the useful bits. It always pays to introduce the guidelines at the start of the conversation. There IS latitude to treat the patient. The patient being well is more important than the numbers on the blood tests looking good. In fact if they worked towards patient wellness consistently they would understand how often the TSH does NOT tell the story. 😊👍
Totally agree Charlie-F!! The problem also is the skill set is so varied too.... from very little knowledge/awareness (many) to those wonderful rare gems out there who are absolutely on the button. Yes they are still out there.... Xx
Oh fantastic! Thank you. I will read later. The low t3 article sounds very useful too because I had low in the range t3 in my initial blood tests (along with low in range t4 and above range (but under 10) tsh, and I know there are sone articles about people who have been diagnosed with cfs found to have low t3.
The Nice guidelines worry me a bit because I am classed as subclinical. The gp put me on a six month “trial.” I’ve had my dose increase once to 75mcg and I’m now at the point where t4 is 68% through range, tsh is actually slightly below range, and I still have some symptoms and this is what the guidelines say about treating subclinical hypothyroidism so I’m worried if I ask even for a small increase at the moment they might reduce the dose or even stop the treatment. Or am I reading this wrong? That is also possible 🤣
“Adults
1.5.4 Consider a 6-month trial of levothyroxine for adults under 65 with subclinical hypothyroidism who have: a TSH above the reference range but lower than 10 mlU/litre on 2 separate occasions 3 months apart, and symptoms of hypothyroidism.
If symptoms do not improve after starting levothyroxine, re-measure TSH and if the level remains raised, adjust the dose. If symptoms persist when serum TSH is within the reference range, consider stopping levothyroxine and follow the recommendations on monitoring untreated subclinical hypothyroidism and monitoring after stopping treatment.”
When you read my pinned post on NHS and NICE guidelines you will see😉👍. There is a bit at the front almost everyone including doctors skip past and it was put in there because at least one person had the brains to realise with so many people not responding well to treatment there was probably more to it. It was SlowDragon who highlighted it for me.🤗
Ranges are to be viewed with caution-some are more useful than others. If you read lived experience on here (which I would encourage you to continue doing 🤗) it soon becomes clear that there are many many instances where TSH “in range” bears absolutely no relation to how a person is feeling. It is UNRELIABLE.
Sadly, flawed science has been set (like concrete) on using TSH without most, if not all the medical profession being able to explain why they use it😂. In actual fact if the medical profession did explain to themselves out loud why they use it, some might realise how preposterous the whole thing is.
It’s is an INDIRECT measure it is thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), made in the PITUITARY (not thyroid) and relies on some fairly broad (flawed) assumptions including:
the pituitary is functioning properly
that it is ‘in sync’ with both the thyroid and hypothalamus
and this ‘sync’ fits the test itself.
There are so many instances where TSH bears no relation to wellness and you would have thought GPs might have realised by now. However the number of people who will not speak up when they feel ill because the doctor has assured them they are NORMAL totally out numbers the people who are prepared to challenge the ‘NORMAL’ fob off. Patients are still generally very differential, despite what the doctors may think.
However doctors, in fairness, are medics - not scientists. They rely on the science (sometimes flawed science).
I’ve only come to realise this from my own travails and having been lucky enough to study a science discipline. As far as medicine goes regarding hypothyroidism, they have somewhat lost some of the underlying scientific principles that would have avoided all this suffering 😟
I think I know the bit that you are referring to. Also I 100% agree with what you have said about tsh and I understand. I have been /still am one of those people where “tsh in range” did not correspond to how I was/am feeling. Over the past say, at least 15 years with increasing hypo symptoms my tsh has been anything from 2.8 and above 3/nearly 4 on a range of 0.2-4.5. I was diagnosed with cfs and fibromyalgia on the strength of “in range” “normal” results. My own lived experience has been years of pain and suffering and having to treat all my issues/symptoms with increasing amounts of over the counter drugs. I accepted and did not speak up or question because I was very ill, made to feel like it was all in my head and I doubted myself because of severe brain fog and fatigue and physical illness that lead to lack of self esteem and confidence. It became a process that shifted from “normal” results to being made to feel that it was me that was abnormal. When I first came here I felt a bit angry with myself for not being stronger. I don’t feel like that now. None of it was my fault or in my head. My own lived experience has made me feel, understandably, quite a bit of anxiety…fear…reluctance…worry…when dealing with the GPs now.
I’m right there with you except I was sooo lucky to be alerted to the terrible state of affairs prior to getting a formal diagnosis. The lady who diagnosed me (a fellow sufferer) had already primed me to expect the worst, yet I too initially trusted my doctor would be different. If you read my bio, you will see I was too ill to advocate for myself for my first dose increase. My husband secured that for me and that gave me just enough thyroid hormone replacement to get my brain working to start reading and start self advocating. I think I was probably undiagnosed for 20 years looking back at my past records now perhaps 10 of those subclinical (below the treatable threshold).
My father had Hashimoto’s, diagnosed in his 60s and looking at my mother’s line, there is a lot of autoimmunity. I’m pretty sure my mother had hypothyroidism that was never diagnosed and my Nan (her mother).
Going back to Doctors, They all get taught, the same thing they all go through the same training.
Those who have an understanding of thyroid issues have learned that outside of the protocols. They tread a very dangerous path if they deviate too far outside of the guidelines. If you read on here, long enough, you will find out about the doctors who have been hounded by the GMC and the NHS. Gaslighting is not restricted to the patients with these institutions.
It absolutely blows my mind to read about and think of all the people who have been ill for years…decades!! And also when I think about Hashis - an illness that just rolls on and on for years as the immune system slowly destroys the thyroid and how it affects all the systems in the body. I thought for a long time that I was hypo, but I never even considered hashis even though, like you, thyroid issues were in the family - my mum had Graves, RAI and T.E.D and my nan was hypo and also probably hashis, so they probably only ever tested tsh and never did antibodies because everything was “normal”. With the gp - There is an older lady doctor at my practice who didn’t hesitate to offer me the levo and trial and I saw also that it was her who reviewed my latest tsh that was under-range and noted “only just out of range - no action”. I have a feeling she might be hypo herself on thyroxine. The gp I saw for my increase did agree a small increase to 75 after much umming and ahhhing and talk of “overmedication risk” etc. I see/speak to a different gp every time no matter what I say or who i ask for. I think the whole system is built on gaslighting. I don’t want them to stop my levo trial as I don’t really think 6 months is a fair or reasonable timeline for levels and symptoms to settle. From what I’ve read on here, other people take a lot longer to find a therapeutic dose and feel better don’t they.
In amongst every other thing you have to read if can get to read my bio and a few of the self advocacy posts I wrote I think you would relate. I have a suppressed TSH and have managed to avoid/refuse having my condition managed by an ignoramus. I will pull no punches here. I do not want a half life and that is what they would have served up to me. They cannot possibly expect me to submit to their mismanagement when I have so much more understanding of my condition than they do. I have been reading round this for three years and I can tell you now with in three months of starting to read up. I had already overtaken my local GP practice. That is how little they knew- they are literally reading of a script. I tied them up in knots, not because I wanted to, but because I had to, I was fighting for my life and more importantly the quality.
Prayers and perseverance JoJo (My wee great niece is JoJo for short and she likes her hot chocolate) It takes time and sometimes a long time that feels even longer if self doubt creeps in due to the doctors.This site and these fine people who offer the advice are an inspiration! Just refused PPI’s a few months back as I was expecting them to get round to wanting to give me them.Seems to be a common theme.Never needed them it was an inflamed pancreas I had that I discovered after attending A&E a few hours later
That is so true! Doctor-induced self doubt has definitely been a problem for me. I was put on ppi years ago due to reflux that was probably due to undiagnosed hypo. I’ve tried to come off them by weaning them off slowly, but it’s a disaster even after one day - terrible uncontrollable reflux even just drinking water. It might be different once the thyroid has stabilised. I’ll keep trying. Best wishes to you - inflamed pancreas is awful. I had something similar when I had gallstones in my thirties - also prob due to being hypo back then and not knowing it!
They reckon there’s a link to dementia using them? Stops your body absorbing nutrients.If we have already got low stomach acid with being hypo,and apparently as we age our stomach acid reduces then our nutrients are low as it is.Has anyone out there been given a PH probe before being prescribed PPI’s? The two have similar symptoms from what I can make out but I haven’t met a single soul who has had a test done!
Oh I can imagine they’re no good at all for the body and no doubt cause all kind of issues. I’m also on hrt and all the risks that brings to the table. And all kind of auto-immune diseases in the family. Heart problems. I’m a walking time-bomb…but I suppose, in a way, isn’t everyone.
There is much more knowledge surrounding AITD now a days and I’m of the opinion thyroid gland destruction can be delayed or even halted if caught early enough and before replacing thyroid hormones with meds.
However, thyroid hormone replacement meds shut down the signalling between the gland and pituitary, hence the low TSH and without activity the thyroid tissue will always fail to properly regenerate. Therefore, even if you manage to get the autoimmunity side under control you will remain hypothyroid.
My son is managing his Hashimotos through mindful diet, supplements and controlling inflammation but he has never taken Levothyroxine, etc. I myself have managed to quell Hashi inflammation but my thyroid gland has already been atrophied and so I remain on thyroid hormone replacement for life as I sadly suspect you should be too jodes.
I'm with you on this, I think the best we can do is educate our children to be mindful of this issue that is possibly lurking in their future and encourage them to take an active roll in monitoring and supplementing the essential vits and mins to keep this at bay for as long as possible... but also to be well versed in when to start replacing hormones to stop the awful demise.... be they thyroid or sex hormones
I think making your sons aware is going to be equally helpful, if they have children and are aware of these things a little knowledge is so important
I must admit I accost anyone who is having a bit of a health gripe about correctly reading their blood tests and supplementing accordingly rather than taking the 'normal' results as good enough!
They do everyone a disservice by not encouraging people to take action to correct things sooner, rather than only when deficient 😵💫 it could make such a big difference to peoples general wellbeing
Five years ago your TG antibodies were extremely high signalling thyroid autoimmune disease/ Hashimotos which is key to your current ill health
During the intervening years your thyroid may have slowly been destroyed by your immune system...the thyroid cannot then regenerate or heal.
It would be helpful to have a full thyroid test to include ....
TSH, FT4, FT3, vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin....no need to repeat antibodies testing once Hashisis confirmed.
Optimising the above nutrients won't "cure" your thyroid gland but it will help any thyroid hormones in the system (natural or exogenous) to work better.
The bottom line is that for good health every cell in the body needs to be saturated with T3 by way of a constant and adequate supply....there are several things that can prevent this.
For example...
...If we are hypothyroid the thyroid does not produce enough hormone ( T4 and or T3)
...Our system may not be able to convert T4 ( the storage hormone) to T3 (the active hormone) by deiodination/Dio2....not by methylation as Brecka states (he is a biologist not a thyroid specialist!)
...We may have adequate T3 in the serum but due to some form of hormone resistance that T3 cannot reach the nuclei of the cells and the T3 receptors where it's journey to " heal" the body begins.
I have all of these issues but that's a long story...all in my bio.
We need to unpick the problems then start to join up the dots to reveal the cause(s)
.....starting with the full thyroid test
If the body cannot produce the thyroid hormones we need for good health then we must replace them by adding exogenous hormones....T4 and sometimes T3.
Nutrients are a vital part of the solution but they are not the definitive answer.....that is replacement hormone.
If you stop taking the replacement hormone dose essential for your body's requirement - be that T4 mono, T4 + T3 or in relatively rare cases like mine, T3 only - your health will eventually suffer I'm afraid.
The blood tests you plan in 6 weeks will hopefully provide you with a baseline from which to start building your replacement hormone treatment......but I hope you don't suffer in the interim.
Meantime work to optimise essential nutrients and experiment with a gluten free diet.
There is no quick fix so be prepared to be patient ( that wasn't my strong point but I learned the need for this the hard way!
You will be aware that there is a lot of (mis)information on the internet and not all of it is helpful....or even safe.
Post your new lab results....we're all here to help
Previous post about Gary Brecka strongly suggests you would be seriously wasting your money by paying for a consultation with this person, not to mention seriously damaging your health.
Ah! I knew that man had been discussed on here before, but I couldn't find the post. The 'search facility' is rubbish! But I found the video anyway and linked to it above. I think he's a very dangerous man.
It seems to me that you have already cleared one of the biggest hurdles hypothyroid patients have to and that is to be diagnosed and started on treatment in the first place… it took me almost 8 years of my health gradually going down the pan (with a strong familiar history of thyroid disease) before my TSH was finally considered high enough for treatment. I was then left on ever increasing doses of T4 for 7 years before my, sadly now retired, endo gave me a trial of T3 which finally gave me a semblance of my former life back.
Because of the initial delay in diagnosis and the subsequent ‘levothyroxine cures all, now go away’ for 15 years, I developed other complications that will never get better…
I also made sure that all my children (3 daughter and 1son) took a full thyroid function test while they were still healthy so they had a baseline to compare to and one of my daughters has already needed to start on levothyroxine (happily before she got to the TSH-10 point because of that) and she’s doing much better than I was.
So many people here have tried to come off their medication and so many felt so much better when they did so, only to crash a few weeks later and find it much harder to get back to where they were before… I would be very wary of paying a biologist to get anywhere near my thyroid, it’s bad enough with your average gp or endo let alone a charlatan who claims you can ‘cure’ your autoimmune compromised thyroid!
You are amazing- getting baseline thyroid function tests. Wouldn’t it just make sense for that to be a standard? All those years we lose, the additional problems that develop as a result of not being diagnosed and treated. The cost to our lives, loved ones and blooming heck the cost to the NHS and country as a whole.
I also persuaded my 2 sons to have baseline tests....though I suspected the younger was developing a thyroid problem at the time. It now looks as if his thyroid is failing and requires treatment ...waiting for him to do a new test!
I totally agree, and I mentioned that on here a few years ago....TSH, FT4 and FT3 tests should be mandatory for everyone ideally when healthy....huge savings on wrong treatments and medications....and misery for patients.
I will never understand why thyroid disease is treated so badly and why T3 is so misunderstood and feared. It affects almost every physiological process in the body and without it we die! It's that important.
But...I know I'm ranting to the converted here!
And then we have people like GB spouting rubbish...and raking in money by doing so.
I'm no fan of Big Pharma but my experience was it's hard to get thyroxine prescribed in the first place, and even then I only was on a measly 25 mcg! In the end I discovered T4 didn't do much for me so had to source my own T3 supply. No chance of getting it prescribed. Always scared one day I won't be able to get more.
I'd say since you only just came off thyroxine there's a high chance you will start seeing symptoms returning in a few weeks or months. If your hypothyroidism was caused only because you couldn't convert T4 well and you weren't autoimmune, then you might have a chance but I'd say it's highly unlikely.
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