Hypothyroidism

Update Feb 2014: I am officially off my Synthroid and going to try a second time to cure my hypothyroidism naturally.

I actually sat down and researched natural cures for hypothyroidism this time. I started a Facebook community page dedicated to testimonials called Curing Hypothyroidism Naturally. Please like and share your testimonial if you have cured your hypothyroidism naturally. There are other popular hypothyroidism Facebook community pages, but they are full of posted questions and little answers. I want my page to be a community of people with answers that others can come, take notes, and heal themselves and share their stories.

I have taken Synthroid (a high dose of 125 mcg / .125 mg) daily for 5 years. No more. I ordered nascent iodine from the Natural News store. Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, has been publishing results of heavy metal toxicity in health food and supplements and I recommend you checkout those studies (the links are posted at the end of this blog). 

Mike Adams (thank you Jesus for that man!) helps inform people on the cleanest sources of iodine and seaweed supplements along with other nutrition pills and powders by doing lab testing for heavy metals in products. Seaweed supplements (such as wakame and kelp) naturally contain iodine and are great supplements for those who are iodine deficient, but some products are tainted with arsenic and lead and other nasties. So research the cleanest supplements before purchasing anything. Links to Mike Adams' research findings are listed at the bottom of this blog.

Secondly, I researched iodine. This study was more eye-opining than any nutrition knowledge I've undertaken to date. Go to youtube and watch some experts speak about the benefits of iodine and the dangers of iodine deficiency, and you too will quickly be willing to spend less than $40 on a 3 year supply of nascent iodine like I did. Or you can get a 10 year supply from the natural news store for around $100. 

Stock up people. Iodine naturally protects the thyroid from free radicals, neutralizes fluoride and other nasty heavy metals like bromine and mercury in the body, and protects the thyroid from environmental radiation. Babies born to pregnant moms who supplemented with atomic iodine have an IQ average of 30-40 points higher than the birth parents. And the list goes on and on.

So here is what I purchased: I used two online stores: iherb.com and store.naturalnews.com

1. From iherb.com I bought two enzyme supplements: L-Arginine and L-Tyrosine. They were very inexpensive but help with thyroid function. I also bought hemp fiber and a thyroid support pill.  (use coupon code WCB515 to save $10 on your first purchase at iherb.com). I also ordered hemp oil just for fun. It seemed like it would be good for me overall.

2. From the Natural News store I purchased a bottle of nascent iodine,chlorella tabs, and Enerfood. 

The nascent iodine is in a dropper bottle and I'll take 2 drops a day in water (there is about a quarter milligram of atomic iodine per drop, so that makes for a half milligram daily in 2 drops). The dropper bottle has almost a thousand servings (2,000 drops) so this will last me 3 years and it cost me $35. Iodine is essential for everyone, not just people with hypothyroidism, though hypothyroidism is most commonly associated with iodine deficiency so it's a must for people like me.

Professionals tend to disagree about how much iodine is safe to take, but the vast majority (if not all), agree the best form of supplemental iodine is the atomic form called "nascent iodine." Some doctors recommend upwards of 50 mg atomic iodine per day but this is just too much. Trust me. I've done my research. Stick to a half milligram to up to 4 milligrams per day. I started with the recommended 2 drop serving (equaling 1/2 mg) and didn't feel any energy boost which was something most people who take iodine enjoy about it. I upped it to 4 drops (1 mg) and felt a little something. So I'm guessing my 3 year supply will end up only lasting 2 years. I may increase my drops to 2 mg (6 drops) and the bottle will last a year. Still, at $35 for a one year supply of a vital, life-changing nutrient is worth every penny to me.

You can test for iodine deficiency by using a cotton ball to rub USP tincture iodine on a soft fleshy part of your body like inner thigh or upper arm or lower belly, wait a couple hours, and if it disappeared into your skin, you are deficient! Never orally consume this kind of iodine, as it is not pure and contains poisonous toxins if ingested!

Those with Hashimoto's Disease may be more sensitive to iodine supplementation but do your own research. There are lots of great YouTube videos out there. Infowars host Alex Jones interviewed a very highly esteemed nutritional expert named Dr. Edward F. Group just a couple years ago and they talk about fluoride poisoning, environmental radiation, and the need for iodine supplementation is this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=409V46eXGHs

Feel free to like my FaceBook page "Curing Hypothyroidism Naturally" if you have a success story to share. As of this posting update, I have just created the page and have yet to see the first testimonial of someone curing their hypothyroidism naturally. So maybe you can be the first to start this mini-revolution! Like the page and share your story! I'd love to hear it and get a successful natural thyroid health community rolling!

Below is my original blog posted when I first attempted to cure my hypothyroidism with a 30 day juice fast. I didn't realize at the time that it takes upwards of 12 months to cure the disease, and that I needed more sea vegetables and iodine. 

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(Posted in 2012:)
Four years ago I had good health insurance for the first time in my life, and I found a female doctor and scheduled a visit. She did a routine check-up and gyno exam, and she felt my throat and was concerned. She ordered all kinds of blood work, and when the results came in, she diagnosed me as hypothyroid. She put me on a thyroid prescription called Levothyroxine. A couple months later she ran blood work and my levels were still showing an underactive thyroid. She increased my dosage. We ran blood work again. Still not much of an improvement. She then switched me to the brand name Synthroid and ran bloodwork again.  A little improvement but no cigar. She upped me to a pretty fairly high dosage, .125 mg (or 125 mcg) and that did the trick. My blood work came back normal.  I took the pill daily for three years.

But 5 months ago I stopped taking my Synthroid pill. I thought I could heal my thyroid through healthy eating (and positive thinking, or denial, I don't know), but it turns out I failed. I had my thyroid blood levels checked this week after being off my Synthroid pill for the past almost 6 months, and my Free T4 and TSH levels were way off.

Blood test results 6 months after I stopped taking Synthroid: 

T4 Levels

My Free T4 level was way low, at 0.23 (normal is 0.8-1.9). Being this low, I was classified as having a condition called myxedema, which leads to heart failure, seizures, and coma. Since I've regularly had dizzy de ja vou-like fainting spells since I was 14, I thought maybe my undiagnosed fainting condition might be related to my low thyroid function. But this blog is not about my fainting spells. I'm just throwing that out there for kicks.

The U.S. regularly tests newborns for free T4 levels, since in infants, low levels can cause mental retardation. Left untreated, it can also stunt growth and delay sexual development. But none of these things happened to me. I am not retarded, (though my first grade teacher thought something was wrong with me), and I have grown just fine and didn't have any problem with sexual development. I got my period before all the other girls in my class. I was in sixth grade, only eleven years old. So there. Maybe I developed the thyroid problem later in adolescence.

That's when I started to have seizures. In my early teens, I started fainting. My parents took me to various doctors. All the doctors ruled out epilepsy, which my father has, ironically. But they never found my thyroid problem (which my mother and her sisters and their mother all have!). Grrrrr. Maybe I didn't have a thyroid problem in my teens. I don't remember what tests were done. But a doctor should have looked for it since it ran in my family, and since many women have thyroid problems and I had many of the symptoms of hypothyroid as I recall my adolescence years ridden with poor nutrition, constant fatique, disinterest in things, hair falling out, nails breaking, inability to lose weight even when starving myself, etc.

So I should thank the doctor who discovered my thyroid condition in 2009. Dr. Lisa Noyes-Duguay in Westerly, Rhode Island. You rock. All the rest of you doctors who scratched at your dandruff bumps while being paid a hundred dollars/hour to find out why I was seizuring and fainting all through high school, you all suck. I could write another "Embarrassing Moments" blog essay just on fainting episodes in high school alone. Once all your close peers have seen you foam at the mouth and moan like a lunatic, there's no going back to normal.

However, I've continued to have fainting spells a few times a year (and dizzy spells where I almost faint at least once per month), since being on Synthroid. So, getting my thyroid levels balanced didn't cure my mystery fainting illness.

TSH levels

For someone with hypothyroidism, the TSH levels should be higher than normal. And mine were. Normal TSH is 0.35-5.5. Mine was at 246.28. Yikes.

These blood tests for TS4 and TSH were done after I took Synthroid for a few years and then stopped taking it for 6 months. I thought I was healthier and didn't need the pill anymore, and it turned out I was wrong.

Back on the Synthroid pill I go. Maybe I need to do more research before trying this again.

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Summary (updated): Here is my plan in my second attempt to go off Synthroid and cure my hypothyroidism naturally.

1. Exercise and nutrition

Doing a 30 day juice fast, and becoming a vegetarian afterwards wasn't enough to cure my thyroid. I believe it is the iodine I needed, and am beginning a regimen of supplementing with the aforementioned nascent iodine, kelp, and enzymes.

2. Selenium and zinc

People with hypothyroidism will benefit from eating more foods rich in selenium and zinc, such as brazil nuts. Google the many foods rich in these nutrients. Never take a zinc supplement on an empty stomach. It's best to source your nutrients straight from clean foods when possible. Since I don't trust sea vegetables from the dirty Pacific Ocean, I will source seaweed nutrition from supplements where the seaweed was grown in an organic, contained environment (Clean Chlorella supplement does this).

3. Apples and pears

I've read that apples and pears eaten together help towards curing hypothyroidism.

4. What to avoid

I need to totally avoid canola oil (duh), table salt, non-organic tea, and bottom feeder fish such as krell and shellfish (though other fish is good for me). Also avoid non-organic bread that has the word "bromade" or "brominaded flour" in it.

5. Good oils and yogurt

I should try to consume at least a tsp of coconut oil and flax seed oil along with sulfur protein foods such as yogurt. I don't do the greek yogurt after I learning about Chobani being all GMO but use your own discretion when it comes to yogurt. I use organic non-greek yogurt. The greek is probably better but organic non-greek is more readily available at stores. I just get plain, whole yogurt as opposed to strawberry lowfat. You want the complete protein so get the real stuff and always go organic when it comes to dairy: whole milk, whole yogurt, whole cheese. Organic cheese is expensive, so give it up or pay up. I pay up and eat a little cheese. I love it.

Anything that says low-fat or sugar-free usually translates chemical shit storm. See the book, Skinny Bitch. If you have lactose intolerance (2 out of 3 US adults do), take a lactase digestive enzyme when consuming dairy. I don't have lactose intolerance. I gave up dairy for a year thinking it would make me healthier and when I went back to it, I felt better and had nicer, firmer poops.Yogurt also has good bacteria that lines our intestinal tract and helps break down everything else we eat that day. So try to eat yogurt in the morning. I put hemp seed and oatmeal in mine, and sometimes cinnamon and raisins if I'm having a sweet tooth.

6. Good fats

Again, I use organic whole yogurt, ghee (clarified butter), and organic whole milk, along with healthy oils as mentioned above. Fats are very important for people battling hypothyroidism. I'm beginning to wonder if trying low fat diets in high school is what led me to have a thyroid problem in the first place.

7. Fasting

Fasting is critical. There are all kinds of fasts meant to detoxify the body.  Do some research, ask around, and choose a fast that you feel you can do successfully. Maybe it will be just a 3 day fruit and vegetable fast. Maybe you will do a 48 hour water fast. Maybe a 10 day juice fast (using a juicer, not buying pasteurized juice). Maybe you will limit yourself for 30 days to organic tea, vegetables, and herbal supplements, foregoing all forms of sugar completely. Find a fast that works for you, and just get over yourself and do it. I blogged about my 30 day juice fast nearly 2 years ago and I invite you to check that out if you want to read about my reflections on that.

8. Heavy metal cleanse

Fasting will surely help remove heavy metals from the body. Heavy metals interfere with thyroid function so this is HUGE. But we can't be fasting all year long. I use Zeolite powder to daily remove heavy metals from my body slowly over time. Zeolite is a volcanic ash that is naturally magnetically ionized to attract heavy, harmful metals in our body and eliminate them through urine (and probably through poop and sweat too).

I'm also saving up to have my mercury fillings removed. If any holistic dentists are reading and feeling sorry for me, I will take a handout. I've wanted this desperately for the past year.

I do my best to avoid aluminum. I make my own deodorant and avoid aluminum cookware. I don't even use aluminum foil to wrap foods. Aluminum is also sprayed in the skies to fight global warming. This is horrible, because it ends up in the water (and air). Learn more here: http://erinboyea.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-aluminum-is-bad.html

The great thing about nascent iodine is it neutralizes heavy metals in the body, making them unable to hurt us. Woo hoo! So buy nascent iodine. Here's where I got mine: http://store.naturalnews.com/Health-Rangers-Original-Nascent-Iodine-1-fl-oz-30ml--2-Strength_p_406.html

To help eliminate aluminum, fluoride, chlorine, and other heavy metals from your home's water and air supply, buy a water filter for your bathroom shower and kitchen sink and use an air purifier and have lots of plants in your house to keep your air clean. Don't take long, hot showers because this will cause the fluoride in the water to vaporize and you will inhale it. Not good! I do hot/cold showers, where I make the water nice and hot for the first minute or two, then, taper it down and make it totally cold for a few seconds every five minutes. This also stimulates the lymphatic system which is needed for eliminating toxins out of the skin. Cold water also closes your skin pores which reduces the rate at which vaporized fluoride can be absorbed into the skin.

9. Liver cleanse

A liver cleanse is recommended because your liver washes your whole body's blood supply every 3 minutes (wow!). Washing toxic-laden blood can be taxing on your liver and make it work less efficiently. Clean the liver and you'll have cleaner blood. It's just that simple. There are a several methods to clean your liver. I chose a coffee enema to clean my liver that you can read about here: http://erinboyea.blogspot.com/2014/01/doing-coffee-enema-for-first-time.html

I don't recommend a coffee enema. It was downright awful. Instead, I take milk thistle daily. Milk thistle should be taken a few times a day on an empty stomach, so it's best to do a milk thistle regimen during a cleanse where you actually have an empty stomach 3 times a day. But for normal everyday life, I just take a pill in the morning and wait a few hours before eating.

I don't eat breakfast. And here's why you shouldn't either...

10. Give up breakfast

Give your body 16 hours between your last meal of one day and your first meal of the next day. This is the only way (apart from very rigorous exercise) that your body burns it's fat reserves. Our ancestors didn't eat 3 meals a day plus snacks. They often had 1-2 meals a day in between days of having no food at all. The way Americans typically eat, they are training their bodies to uses sugar (glycose) for energy, ignoring our fat reserves completely. When you go more than 12 hours of not eating, the body kicks into fat-burning mode. Try for 16 hours of non-eating a few times a week. Toxins stored in the fat along with heavy metals will naturally be cleaned out over time as you adapt this habit. And for most people, it beats having to do a 10 day juice fast or 3 day water fast every few months. It's not that hard to stop eating at 8pm one night and skip breakfast the next day and eat lunch at noon. Don't be a baby. Go get healthy.

11. Other helpful tips

I read that topical copper lotion is good for treating hypothyroidism A chlorophyll supplement is will help, too. Ask a holistic doctor or nutritionist about cleansing herbs and alternatives to current medications you are on. It's important to get off all prescription drugs ASAP. But you need professional nutrition advice concerning that, and I don't have all the answers when it comes to, let's say, heart disease medication. All these drugs do (and they are drugs, not natural supplements) is treat symptoms. Natural supplements treat causes. Good luck.

Here are some websites for more information:

GlobalHealingCenter.com

How To Cure Hypothyroidism Naturally

Iodine Supplementation

Sea Vegetables Lab Test and Heavy Metals Test Results: Popular Breakfast Cereals - Forensic Food Lab

Iodine Video Smart Iodine Babies

What the thyroid does

Kelp empowers the thyroid gland and encourages weight loss

Thyroid Support | Thyroid Supplements

Hashimotos Thyroiditis

Diagnosing Hashimoto's