Category: Thyroid

When do you need an adrenal saliva cortisol test?

Did you know that your adrenal glands are critical to treating your thyroid disease? Lack of thyroid hormones affect the adrenal glands adversely. I did not know this, and for decades I got worse because I did not make the connection.

You need an adrenal saliva cortisol test if any of the following are true:

  • You have thyroid disease such as Hashimoto’s, autoimmune thyroiditis, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
  • Blood pressure problems, high or low
  • Weight gain or loss
  • Severe fatigue
  • Exercise intolerance
  • Heat intolerance
  • Temperature Fluctuations
  • Air Hunger (feels like a panic attack and you can’t get a full breath)
  • Heart problems or symptoms such as rapid heartbeat or palpitations
  • Excessive sweating
  • Sleep problems such as insomnia or sleepiness, excessive sleeping
  • Inability to raise thyroid medication

Some causes of adrenal problems

  • Too low a dose of thyroid replacement. You can’t simply add to what your thyroid is making, thyroid medications suppress your thyroid and therefore you need a full replacement dose. Consult your doctor or pharmacist and read the insert.
  • Hypothyroidism causes the adrenal glands to work harder to produce cortisol and eventually they burn out due to low thyroid hormone levels
  • HPA Axis dysfunction is a term most medical professionals will recognize
  • Adrenal insufficiency such as Addison’s which requires medical intervention and prescribing hydrocortisone
  • Tumor of the adrenal or pituitary gland

NOTE: Nothing on this site is a substitute for working with a good doctor. This information is to guide you to the proper help and is formed through experience and research.

Need labs?

New Thyroid Group on Facebook and MeWe

Please join my new groups on Facebook and MeWe!

Please join my new Groups on Facebook and MeWe. I want to share all I’ve learned about autoimmune thyroid disease and Hashimoto’s.
Healing My Root Cause (Thyroid and Adrenal) on Facebook

Healing My Root Cause (Thyroid and Adrenal) on MeWe


Need labs?

Why T4 Medications Often Do Not Work

T4-only medications such as Synthroid, Levothyroxine, and Tirosint do not give you all the thyroid hormones that your thyroid would normally produce. Your thyroid produces T1, T2, T3, T4 and Calcitrol, or the active form of vitamin D.

T4-only medications cause hair loss, chronic pain and may not do anything meaningful with your free t3 levels, especially if you have liver problems and/or gut problems and aren’t converting. I have yet to see anyone with optimal free T3 and optimal reverse T3 on a T4-only medication.

If you are unable to convert to free T3 effectively, especially with liver and gut problems, T4-only medications are only going to exacerbate your problems.

T4-only medications cause high reverse t3, especially in the face of past starvation diets, and low carb and vegan lifestyles. Other causes can include iron and cortisol and adrenal problems. High reverse T3 will block the free t3 from entering the cells, making you even more hypo and more symptomatic. You may experience hair loss, dry skin, dry hair, adrenal and cortisol issues, low iron, low minerals, low stomach acid, etc. The doctor may increase your meds, and it may make your symptoms even worse.

Why are doctors so reliant and driven to prescribe T4-only medications? Simplicity. They feel that they understand the precise dose and effects of T4-only medications, plus they are probably only following TSH levels, which tell us literally nothing about what is really going on with our thyroid hormones. They will also tell you that Natural Dessicated Thyroid, or NDT such as Armour Thyroid and NP and WP Thyroid, are not precise in dosage or not approved by the FDA, despite the fact that these medications have been successfully prescribed for well over a century.


Need labs?

What is Reverse T3 and why it’s important

The thyroid makes inactive hormone T4. Most of the T4 is converted to the active hormone free T3 in the liver, and some in the gut.

Reverse T3 is also converted at the same time, and acts as a brake in times when the body needs to conserve resources, such as starvation.

Too high levels of Reverse T3 prevent the body from absorbing enough free T3 to the cells. This is why it’s important to test reverse t3 along with free T3.

High reverse T3 can be caused by T4-only medications such as Synthroid and Levothyroxine.

What are some side effects of high reverse T3? Dry skin and hair, fatigue, weight gain, menstrual difficulties, constipation, etc.

Lowering reverse T3 often takes a multi-pronged approach. We need to look at iron and cortisol closely along with our medication. Sometimes a T3-only medication such as Cytomel or generic or compounded liothyronine.

It’s important to work on the liver to clean out old bile, sludge and stones. Beet powder capsules are an excellent, gentle solution.

Working on the gut is also important. It is suggested to go on an anti-inflammatory diet such as Paleo or Autoimmune Protocol.

Need labs?

Need labs?

Here is a map of may labs you need as a thyroid and adrenal patient.

Thyroid Panel without AntibodiesHere are labs you can order yourself. Except in: New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, or outside the USA.

ZRT 4-Part Saliva Cortisol Test

Note: For cortisol test, you must be caffeine and progesterone cream/pill free for several days. Freezing the samples and shipping overnight with an ice pack highly recommended.

Thyroid panel 9 Tests including TPO/TGAB antibodies

Thyroid Panel without Antibodies

Thyroid Panel without Antibodies or Reverse T3

Comprehensive (includes Graves)

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) and Folate Panel, Serum

Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper

Vitamin D, 1,25-Dihydroxy, LC/MS/MS

Above is the Active form of Vitamin D, Calcitrol

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Total, Immunoassay

Above is Storage value for Vitamin D

H4H – Vitamin D Panel

Contains Storage D (25), Active D or Calcitrol (1,25), and Ionized Calcium

Zinc, RBC

Adrenal Complete

Note: I recommend you use the ZRT test above because the saliva test with this panel is not very good with the ranges.

Liver Health Basic

Thyroid and Diabetes

24-Hour Iodine loading test

Selenium RBC

Aldosterone 24-hour urine

Note: for aldosterone, go low salt for 3 days for best results.

Selenium-A Miracle for the Thyroid

Before supplementing, get a Selenium RBC test.

If you have auto-immune thyroid problems, you need to look into Selenium. Particularly if you have Hashimoto’s thryroiditis, Graves, hypothyroidism, or swollen thyroid, nodules, goiter, etc.

What does Selenium do? It helps protect the thyroid from excess iodine, and helps convert thyroid hormone T4 into the active hormone T3, and helps keep the antibodies and Reverse T3 down. What is Reverse T3? To put it in layman’s terms, “defective copies” or “decoys”.

What are some symptoms of low free T3 and high reverse T3? Hair loss and dry hair, dry skin, gum problems, constipation, fatigue, brain fog, and weight gain to name a few pesky ones.

So where should our lab results be? And here is where it gets tricky. Unless you insist on these tests, your doctor may only test your TSH which doesn’t tell you much, if anything about what needs to happen with your thyroid treatment.

Here are some recommended labs and ranges:

Selenium also helps the special natural killer cells, which are the cells that can kill cancer and other pathogens.

Need labs?

Sources:
https://chriskresser.com/selenium-the-missing-link-for-treating-hypothyroidism/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2017/1297658/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HypothyroidismAdviceAndSupport/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HealingSolutionsThyroid/

What Can a Liver Flush Do For You?

May contain affiliate links below.

What is a liver/gallbladder flush? This is a preparation method to rid your gall bladder and liver of stones. Did you know that you could avoid gall bladder (Cholecystectomy) removal surgery?

Most flushes involve a week of prep, such as taking malic acid/orthophosphoric acid to help soften the stones first. Then on your evening of choice, you drink about a cup of olive oil along with some grapefruit juice or the like, and that stimulates the gallbladder to release stones, along with the liver. You need to have Epsom Salts handy to help eliminate waste, and also to open the bile ducts. Yes, it’s gross. You can try magnesium citrate for short-term use, but it doesn’t work as well.

I recommend joining this wonderful group for TONS of great information. https://www.facebook.com/groups/516214461895539/


Need labs?

Chronic Illness and why we can’t just “go to the Doctor.”

I’ve heard it countless times from friends, family, and co-workers: “You really should see a doctor about those migraines/sleep problems/back problems…”

And just like my mind works, the Janet Jackson song “What have you done for me lately” comes into my head.

So I go to the doctor for migraines and they prescribe a migraine pill. But have they tried to do anything beyond that? Maybe try to figure out why I’m getting migraines?

Same goes for sleep and back problems. If I could only count the number of times I’ve been told to take Naproxen or Ibuprofen for my pain! Why did I just take a day off work, and cause my insurance to be billed for an office visit so that the doctor could waste “our” time telling me to take OTC medicines?

Or how about when we get something like a yeast infection? Instead of wondering why I’ve had an infection continuously for 34 years or so, I’m again told to treat my symptoms with a yeast cream. What’s to prevent my infection from coming back?

And maybe part of the problem with Western Medicine is that we are forced to deal with a Stove Top approach. What do I mean by that? Well, you go to your Dermatologist for say, a skin rash, but do your other doctors know about this treatment? Do your other doctors look at what treatments you are receiving from other doctors to see if maybe the treatment plans are not working well together or have contraindications?

Or how about the doctor that has never heard of your illness or refuses to run tests? Or, worse yet, they don’t acknowledge that your disease exists, such as Fibromyalgia. Sometimes they will even tell you to stay off the internet. I will research any condition that I need to in order to fully understand all implications. Doctors don’t have all the time in the world to answer my questions, and may not have the wealth of knowledge as say, a Facebook group or Forum may have. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others with your particular illness. Sometimes it helps just to know that someone else is out there that knows how we feel.

I look forward to talking more about Root Cause and how we can ALL feel better and improve our quality of life. There is no magic panacea, and no snake oil for sale here. Just hard, honest opinions on treatments and supplements that I’ve tried or have been recommended by trusted professionals.

Need labs?

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)