NAC and Thyroid Antibodies

[Curious123]

Currently hypothyroid, high TgAB, TPO and TSI normal. Am on 600mcg of levothyroxine across the week.

Has anyone had success in reducing thyroid antibodies by taking NAC?

What other supplements do you take to support thyroid health besides vit D, iron, B12, Folate? These are already under control and at good levels. Selenium? Iodine?

Thanks!

[greygoose]

Certainly not iodine. That could make things ten times worse. You don't need it, anyway, because your thyroid is no-longer making thyroid hormones. Iodine is just one of the ingredients of thyroid hormone. It doesn't make your thyroid work any better.

Selenium is essentail for conversion. But it won't do anything for the thyroid itself.

Has anyone had success in reducing thyroid antibodies by taking NAC?

Why do you want to reduce your antibodies? Even if you got rid of them completely - which I sincerely doubt is possible - you'd still have Hashi's.

What other supplements do you take to support thyroid health

If you have Hashi's and are hypo, your thyroid is beyond all support. There are no supplements that will help it.

[Curious123 in reply to greygoose]

Why do you want to reduce your antibodies?

Because thyroid antibodies are associated with increased risk of miscarriage even if euthyroid.

[greygoose in reply to Curious123]

OK But 'associated with' doesn't mean they cause it, nor that reducing the antibodies would reduce the risk.

Are you gluten-free? Is your TSH suppressed? Those would be the things to try first before adding another pill to your regime.

[Curious123 in reply to greygoose]

Latest bloods below. I have restarted gluten free.

TSH 0.66 mIU/L (0.4 - 3.5) 8.4%

Free T4 (fT4) 15 pmol/L (9 - 19) 60.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 3.9 pmol/L (2.6 - 6) 38.2%

T4:T3 Ratio 3.846 

Thyroglobulin Antbodies (TgAb) 94 IU/mL (≤ 4.1)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) 1.7 IU/mL (≤ 5.6)

[Curious123 in reply to Curious123]

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

[greygoose in reply to Curious123]

Yes, I know what NAC is, and what it's purported to do. But it also tends to negatively affect conversion of T4 to T3. And you are already a poor converter. Your FT4 is probably too low for you, but your FT3 is absolutely dire. And, personally, I wouldn't try and conceive with an FT3 that low. It's too low for good health.

So, if it were me, I've be concentrating on getting my FT3 higher - starting with an increase in levo - rather than fretting about my antibodies.

[Curious123 in reply to greygoose]

So have you had any experience with NAC or not personally because that was my query. I wasn’t looking for people’s opinions on whether I should try to reduce antibodies or not. That can be done along with adjusting doses to manage FT3/FT4. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

[greygoose in reply to Curious123]

Yes, I took it for a while. It was just another of those things that did nothing positive for me. So, I stopped.

[Wua13262348 in reply to Curious123]

You are unlikely to know whether you have a genetic CBS mutation or not. If you have one you should not take NAC, per Izabella Wentz, whose advice on thyroid matters is freely available on the internet. I have a double CBS mutation and have problems with sulphur. The CBS mutation up- regulates Selenium, so if you have one you should not supplement Selenium.

[humanbean]

I've taken NAC on and off over the last 10 or 12 years, but my use was not for thyroid purposes. I'm an ex-heavy-smoker who was left with a lot of mucus after I stopped smoking. NAC thins mucus in the lungs allowing it to be coughed up more easily.

I have never been aware of NAC affecting my thyroid or anything else.

I take Swanson brand NAC which comes in a capsule, it's not a pill.

Note that NAC contains sulphur, so it smells of bad eggs. Depending on the quality of the capsule the smell can be anything from mild to really unpleasant. The Swanson brand is one of the least smelly ones I've tried.

[Curious123 in reply to humanbean]

Thanks. I have previously taken NAC for endometriosis as it has been shown to halt / reduce endometriomas. I haven’t taken it for a while as my endometriomas were drained and didn’t come back but considering it now to help reduce this flare of thyroid antibodies which have arisen postpartum. I was euthyroid before and during my pregnancy with no thyroid antibodies at that time.

[Ediciute]

I did bloods for iodine. As well I took Iodoral bay my weight. I think this what took me off from thyroxine.