Borderline Hyperthyroid.

Thank you Rose.

I only eat three times a day and nothing after 6:30 in the evening. For breakfast I only have two crackerbreads. 38 caloriies the two. Lunch is mostly salads and last meal of the day is two crackerbreads with a small portion of goat's cheese. As I have arthritis in both knees I can only do floor or sitting exercises which I do every day. I eat plenty of cabbage. Cauliflowe etc. Feeling hot and tense all the time is not nice at all.

Thanks Linda, 187.

I will try the things you suggest and hope they help. Will get GP to test for Vitamin D etc.bn

Hi Linda....

What is Mellisa?  I've never heard of it and when I google it, it only comes up as a female name...

thanks

Sorry, I misspelled it.  It's Melissa.

Hi Linda

I have been reading these post for a couple of days, and now have the courage to post. 

I'm 37 and was diagnosed hyper 7 years ago. I was intrigued about what you were saying about taking supplements L-Carnitine along with Vit D and Magnesium if needed as I vaguely read this before.

I had an appointment yesterday with nuclear meds as I've been referred to have RAI treatment, but honestly not sure if I want it. Anyway armed with what you suggested, I requested to have Vit D, Magnesium and Carnitine levels checked with my routine blood test. At the time the consultant said they couldn't test for Carnitine, but can do the other two.

They have just called with my results and T3 - 6.7 / T4 - 24.1 and TSH - 0.01. Vit D and Mag fine. Vast improvement from last results.

With the TSH being 0.01 would you still suggest taking the L-Carnitine. I'm currently on Carbimazole 30mg and Propranolol 10mg x 2 dosage upped to in account of RAI treatment.

I would really like to lower the dosage as I have put on nearly 18lbs since July and feel this is a real struggle.

Any suggestions would really be appreciated.

Hi Ellie,

You don't give the ranges for normal for your T3 and T4 but I am guessing tha they are at a higher end.  Your TSH is definitely hyper.  My TSH was at the same level and my Free T3 and Free T4 were at the upper end of the normal range.  I wanted to get my TSH up so I did take the Regular L-Carnitine and that helped a bit.  But what really drove it up very quickly was Acetyl-L-Carnitine.  You don't say what your diagnosis is. With the high dose you are on, I am presuming it is Graves.  I am surprised that you need to be on that high a dose of Propranolol.  I was on it until I started my Methimazole and then did not need it except occasionally.  It drops my blood pressure too low to take it continuously. The Acetyl will help a lot but you have to be very careful with it, get frequent blood tests and adjust dosages, you adjust the Acetyl and let your doc adjust lowering the Carbimazole.  If I were you, I would also get a copy of my lab results on Vit D and Magnesium.  I am not a sun worshipper and I live in Canada so even when I got into the normal range I still took 1,000 IU per day of Vit D.  I have read that this vitamin is very important in thyroid disease.  I also had a Magnesium at the lower end of the normal range so I take 200 mg a day of that.  If you want to give Acetyl-L- Carnitine a try, start low at 500 mg a day and see how you feel.  It is going to carry your Carbimazole into the cells so you need to stay on top of it frequently.  Can you get a blood test 3 weeks after you start it?  If so it may be worth a try for you.  If you have any negative feelings, stop it immediately.  I had no ill effects when I was hyper but as my TSH rose well into the normal range, I did have palpitations so stopped it then.  Keep us posted on what you decide to do.  If you take the Regular L-Carnitine, you will raise your TSH slightly and should have no ill effects.  It is not as sensitive to rendering you hypo very quickly like the Acetyl is but hyperthyroid patients often lose a lot of carnitine from their muscles through urination and taking it makes you feel better.  Everyone in the research study I read about had improvement in their symptoms.  As you improve, I would ask your doc if you can lower your Propranolol as well.  Keep us posted on what you decide to do and your results.

Hi Linda 

Thank you for your reply.

Yes I have hyperthyroidism. The consultant said my T4 for was is in the higher range of "normal" but that was the best results she was going to get from me at this stage!

Honestly, I don't want to have RAI and actually cancelled it earlier this year. But was swayed again based on how I was feeling and couldn't take it anymore.  I am to seek alternative options and based on what I've read it doesn't seem to get any better with the RAI treatment.

I was actually just reading up on the study by Dr. Salvatore Benvenga before checking back to this post. I find it fascinating on the improvement with his subjects and keen to find out more.

So just to be clear you would recommend Acetyl-L-Carnitine over Regular L-Carnitine and taken with regular blood tests?

Thanks

I must say this really does give me hope I can get through this.

 

I guess its the lemon balm...just a different name.. 

thanks

You might want to start with the Regular L-Carnitine to see how you feel on it.  It helps improve muscle wasting.  If you feel okay on that and your TSH is still low, then I would try just a little bit of the Acetyl (500 mg) to start and then again monitor closely, see how you feel and keep going with it.  I was on a relatively low dose of Methimazole (same as Carbimazole in England) so it helped get the med into the cells because it crosses the blood-brain barrier.  However, if you are on a high dose and don't adjust as you go, you will get hypo very quickly.  At one point, I took both 1,000 mg of the Regular and 500 or 1,000 mg of the Acetyl and I was fine on it because my med dose wasn't as high as yours.  Remember it will increase the effectiveness of the med so you will have to experiment but do watch it closely if you go that route.  Try the Regular first at 3,000 mg. and let us know how you feel.

No, there is a natural protocol to treat Graves and it consists of Bugleweed, Motherwort and Melissa.  One of the latter two is the lemon balm.  Some places combine all three into a one dose capsule. 

Thank you very much

 

I meant to sat 2 long spells on PTU.

Hi Veronica

Thank you for sharing your story. It's so great you feel better now after treatment.

The problem for me is the uncertainty of how it will turn out. I'm really unsure of what is best for me!

On one hand the treatment might be the best thing, but it seems so evasive.

Before now, I'd never been sick or had to go to hospital and now I feel so vunerable, which is why I swept it under the carpet when first diagnosed. 

On top of it all, I now I feel so much pressure as the treatment has been booked in less than 2 weeks.

You mentioned no longer being on medication; how long ago did you stop and did the transition go to plan?

Thanks

 My problem is that, being borderline I am left with a 'Wait and see' attitude as there is a reluctance to intervene. However, I really would prefer to avoid any of the usual medications and go for more natural but proven remedies. I have read that it is difficult to assess what is normal for an individual patient unless they have had tests when their thyroid was in perfect working order as normal levels  can vary from person to person. Meanwhile, I feel horrible for most of the time.

Hi Ellie I was taking PTU (as I am allergic to Carbimazole) for around 8 months with my latest relapse. I also needed propanolol until my levels stabilised. I came off PTU the week before RAI and went back on to it one week after the RAI. Four weeks later it was discontinued. I have been off all meds for 7 months. I was just not willing to risk another dreadful relapse. I soul searched before RAI but went into it with a positive attitude. Good luck and keep chatting on here for support.