Looks like FT4 high & TSH low. Was FT3 tested? Have you been offered an anti thyroid such as carbimazole or PTU?
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Natural remedies aren’t found to be very effective as reducing high thyroid levels or resolving the cause of why it occurs. High levels especially long term aren’t very good for health & so you do need to treat with medication.
Although if you find the natural remedies help or ease symtoms too they can be used in addition. Selenium is an excellent supplement to add.
What have you done in the past when you have experienced previous episodes ?
Is this Graves phase different ?
What is the medical advice in your country ?
It reads as though you have previously tried alternative treatment options -
Elaine Moore - books and websites has written extensively of Graves and has a section of alternative and more holistic treatment options - and though her website currently not ' active ' we can still gain entry through the following link;-
My endo says we need to use radioactive idione. As I have been on carbimazole 3 times already during treatment phase, and in Ireland that's what they do. You can can have remission twice or max 3 times and then they put you up for the definite treatment.
I have been on carbimazole and propranolol before. This time I wanted to try natural remedies and definitely don't want to remove my thyroid.
It started with tremors and fast heartbeat, but I managed to lower my resting heart rate from over 85 to 67 during day.
I listened to some natural remedies proponent dr Osansky. But he lives in USA and he tells people to go on paleo type diet. I used to be a vegetarian and vegan for a while, can't bring myself to eat meat. The only thing from meat I would eat is chicken.
My ferritin was always low around 25 , scale is 15 to 150. Dr said it was fine, but experienced hair loss. So started eating chicken and more eggs in its now on 40.
Oh yes - I have read Dr Eric Osansky as well - but all my research into Graves started around 8 years post RAI thyroid ablation when I was more than I'd ever been in my life !!
Please do your research - RAI is a toxic substance known to be taken up, to a lesser extent by other glands and organs within the body and there is also, now, a known cancer link to small bowel and breast.
If your eyes are already with symptoms - dry, gritty, light sensitive, painful - RAI is known to exacerbate same and can also trigger eye issues in some people.
Graves is an Auto Immune disease that can wax ad wane throughout one's life - there can be a genetic pre-disposition with something having triggered your immune system to start attacking your body again.
Graves tends to only get diagnosed when the immune system starts attacking major glands and organs such as the thyroid and or eyes - as symptoms can be very distressing and for some life threatening if not medicated.
The medication is an Anti Thyroid drug and all this does is buy you time while we wait for your immune system to calm down again.
I do not think you need to agree to any definitive treatment - the hospital can't refuse your treatment with an AT drug but they may well pass your care over to your primary care doctor in order to reduce the number of people they have stacking on the O/P waiting lists.
Without a thyroid you still have Graves but possibly the worst of the symptoms are ' gone ' but living without a thyroid is no walk in the park either.
There are 3 acknowledged treatment options for Primary Hypothyroidism - though currently only 1 - T4 Levothyroine is readily available on the NHS .
Obtaining T3 or Natural Desiccated Thyroid has become a post code lottery with local ICB areas financially restricting some hospitals and constraining some endocrinologists from treating hypothyroidism thoroughly.
No thyroid hormone replacement works well until the core strength vitamins and minerals are up and maintained at optimal levels - and this also applies to you now - as low levels - though likely in range - of these 4 co-factors can compromise and compound your health issues further than necessary.
I now self medicate as I was refused both T3 and NDT by my local ICB area in 2018 and am much improved looking after myself but having to buy my own thyroid hormone replacement medication.
I now just run a yearly private blood test as the NHS do not run Free T3 and Free T4 bloods at the yearly thyroid function test - and being managed and dosed on a TSH caused me to become very ill for a good few years until I fell into this forum researching low ferritin in 2016.
We do now have some research you may find interesting :-
I don't know as a Pole in Ireland if mainstream medical is ' as stretched ' there, as here, and am writing solely from my own experience of having had RAI thyroid ablation in 2005.
Thank you so much 💓 💗 💛 for your help. I will into the research. I don't want to RAI.
I think my problem originated also in the gut, that's my inner feeling. As I have suffered with Acne to this day. And nobody is adding different symptoms together, they treat everything as separate case and separate organ.
I also have loads of bloating/constipation/ now recently diarrhea..sorry about details.
But I feel there's a connection there.
Would love to find a naturopath or a functional medicine doctor who doesn't cost a fortune and connects all the dots.
Do you have a copy of your original blood test results at diagnosis and confirmation of which antibodies were found positive in your bloods ?
There are 2 AI diseases that cause and present with similar symptoms - and why the anti bodies need to be run prior to starting any treatment - as only Graves is medicated with an Anti Thyroid drug.
Graves generally presents with permanent and building, higher and higher T3 and T4 levels :
Whilst Hashimotos thyroiditis generally presents with transient hyper symptoms and with the T3 and T4 falling back down into range by themselves -
Hashimoto's tends to cause stomach issues and can be triggered by some foods, it's generally suggested to first get get tested for celiac disease and anemia - as healing the gut paramount in recovering - and Hashmoto's is not medicated until such time as your thyroid function fails.
When the thyroid malfunctions it is quite common to find several sets of antibodies positive - but if Graves is found and you have positive over range TRab - Thyroid Receptor abs or TSI - Thyroid Stimulating abs - or maybe wording detailing TSH - Thyroid Receptor antibodies Graves Disease treatment with an AT drug takes precedence.
Maybe also have a read around on the research and suggestions of Dr Izabella Wentz who writes as - thyroidpharmacist.com
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Help with interpreting test results please
Help interpreting abnormal thyroid results please!
My new test results....
Help interpreting blood test results
