Wellness

[granddi]

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@Growing wrote:

Boy if you find a sure fire way to increase your thyroid hormone, let me know. I have a friend saying the same thing, no drugs. I have never found anything that works like levoxyl. Yes, I know it is a drug but sometimes one has to simply do what works for oneself. So I am dying to know if you can raise your thyroid hormone by yourself. 

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Anyone have any good outcome from taking Kelp?

[tends2dogs]

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@Effie54 wrote:

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

(1) A full Senior Blood Panel  

(2) A   LP(a)  test.( I tested negative thank goodness!👍)

I am trying to figure some health issues out. The senior Blood panel is much more comprehensive than the Medicare blood test given to me. The senior blood panel that I had included a urine test which was never given to me by my doctor and so important......And of course,  the LP(a) test which  is not covered at all. 

My doctor never checked my TSH hormone levels on the test he used...

• The senior panel test I paid for showed I am Hypothyroid ...low thyroid, underactive at 5.85. 
  
  There were a few other issues also that I will bring up with my doctor on the senior test that were not tested on the regular blood test. 

This  high TSH can cause a lot of health issues if left untreated....and contribute to High Cholesterol  too, which seemed to come upon me suddenly over the last year for no reason. My doctor right away wanted to give me statins...I told him to give me time to address the issue on my own first.

So, I am going to work on lowering my TSH levels with natural supplements first before resorting to the drug LEVOTHYROXINE, which like any drug has side effects, and is the drug of choice for hypothyroidism.

Hopefully see my TSH improved along with my cholesterol next checkup.....with my protocol...  I will request a full thyroid panel when I see my doctor this time. 

I wish I could trust doctors to do their homework....but I know I am not that important to them and we must look out for ourselves FIRST. 

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Unless you are having severe symptoms of hypothyroidism, I would not just jump on taking medication for it. It has enormous side effects, and it's not for everybody. My doctor said numbers are just that, numbers. He goes by symptoms. Numbers fluctuate during the day, hourly etc. So many doctors are giving out pills just because a number is off. I would never trust that. Think before you take the plunge for medication. There are other ways to lower your thyroid numbers naturally. 

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@Effie54   Your doctor sounds like mine.  I take Armour thyroid and have for years.  The clinic I go to doesn't prescribe the synthetic meds.  My levels are checked yearly, however, my dosage is based on how I feel, not the numbers.  I have Hashimotos and so have had the swinging from hypo to hyper a couple times......not fun.  With my doctor's approval, I take supplements to support my thyroid system.  I also have the liberty to adjust my dose as needed.  

[novamc1]

@SeaMaiden 

When my doctor orders complete blood work for me for Medicare physicals, he also tests thyroid levels and perhaps one or two additional tests that I supposedly pay for, but those are paid by our supplemental health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

I have a strong family history (mother and my sister) of thyroid problems, but so far I'm always testing OK each time I've had those tests done for the past 10 years or so.  It's good to find out, as I began asking for the tests a long time ago.

[Growing]

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@granddi wrote:

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@Growing wrote:

Boy if you find a sure fire way to increase your thyroid hormone, let me know. I have a friend saying the same thing, no drugs. I have never found anything that works like levoxyl. Yes, I know it is a drug but sometimes one has to simply do what works for oneself. So I am dying to know if you can raise your thyroid hormone by yourself. 

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Anyone have any good outcome from taking Kelp?

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Neither Kelp nor Iodine (natural stuff) helps me any but I do use a lot of alternative medicine stuff that helps me for other issues. My doctor and I go by symptoms in diagnosing low thyroid (hypothyroid). The blood testing shows a portion of the issue, how one is feeling and the symptoms are the other portion. In some places, armour thyroid is the norm but where I live it is almost impossible to get a doctor to prescribe or have the health insurance pay for. 

[kaydee50]

Re talk about supplements and biotin.  One of the reasons I do NOT take a multi-vitamin.  IMO taking supplements without first having blood tests is a big mistake. I do take D3 based on my bloodwork and zinc and on occasion C.  Feel no need for anything else.

[SilleeMee]

I'm a retired medical lab specialist and I know that there are some slight variations in lab results. If you get a result which doesn't fall within the normal range given on your lab report then you can always have it rechecked by another lab. That will cost you some money but sometimes it is worth it.

[novamc1]

If thyroid problems are a concern for anyone, look up "the goiter belt" map of the U.S. for prevalence of the issue.  My mother was raised in Minnesota, where lack of iodine was possibly the cause of her extensive lifelong health  problems and an early death at 65.

goiter belt. Endocrinology A popular term for an inland region of the US, encompassing the Great Lakes, Midwest, and intermountain regions, where goiter was once common, as diet was based primarily on foods grown on iodine-depleted soil, which triggered the development of goiter.

[novamc1]

Iodine deficiency was behind the addition of iodine to table salt sold in grocery stores.

 Incredibly, my mother refused to buy the iodized version of salt, so I didn't get wise to needing it until I started studying nutrition in my 20s.  

A  vast amount of  information is  available about thyroid disease.  I found this interesting item.....

<<In the early 1920s, Dr. David Marine of the Cleveland Clinic described goiter ( an enlarged thyroid gland which can produce too much or too little hormone) as "one of the most important causes of physical and mental degeneracy with which society has had and still has to deal." Borrowing an idea from the Swiss, a group of U.S. experts suggested adding iodine to salt.>>