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Hyperthyroid and Chinese Medicine, anybody tried?

Posted , 4 users are following.

aviva23151
aviva23151

I was diagnosed with Hyper Thyroid last week and the western medicine solutions look bleak to me.

I saw through research that Chinese Medicine offers cure through acupuncture and herbs. Anybody tried? I live in NYC, anybody has a name of a practitioner they recommend? Thanks  a lot, and good luck to all of us.

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Cecelo
    Cecelo aviva23151

    Posted

    Hi there.

    When I was first diagnosed, I saw both western and Chinese medicine. I didn't do acupuncture but I took a bunch of herbs for months. It didn't directly help me with my hyperthyroidism but it did help with the symptoms. However I stopped taking Chinese herb once my tapazole and supplements stabilized my thyroid. My endo is not familiar with Chinese herb and I didn't want it to interact negatively with tapazole.

    • aviva23151
      aviva23151 Cecelo

      Posted

      Thank you Cecelo. I was just diagnosed and I was afraid of the side effects of the medication. I didn't see an endo yet, just my gp who is great. My side effects are tremor, don't know anything else.

  • Guest
    Guest aviva23151

    Posted

    Hi aviva23151, if you are borderline hyperthyroid and your doctor is only monitoring your thyroid levels at the moment then you might want to try herbal medicines.

    On the other hand, if your thyroid levels (FT4 and FT3) are significantly raised and you are already having symptoms like elevated heart rate, palpitations, tremor, anxiety, etc, then I would recommend thyroid lowering medication. The prospect of ending up in the emergency unit while having a thyroid storm is rather bleak as well.  

    • Guest
      Guest

      Posted

      Btw, the herbal tinctures I have tried are: Lemon Balm, Motherwort, and Bugleweed. After taking Carbimazole for about 18 months my thyroid levels normalised. I started taking the herbal tinctures after stopping the anti-thyroid medication since I still had slight symptoms of hyperthyroidism. 
    • aviva23151
      aviva23151 Guest

      Posted

      Hi danR, thank you for your response. MyT4 is 11.3 and the T3 is 1.74. The most important one is my TSH 0.01 (can it get any lower?!). The side effect I'm aware of is tremor, anxiety, irritabilty. Do you think I should wait with the herbs until I see the endo doctor?

    • Guest
      Guest aviva23151

      Posted

      The hormones that drive your metabolism up are T4 (a prohormone) and to a much larger extent T3. T4 is converted outside the thyroid to the more potent form T3. A low value of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) in itself does cause any symptoms. It is just an indication that your body (specifically the pituitary gland) has detected too much thyroxine in your blood stream and is trying to shut down the (over)production of thyroxine. 

      As far as the hormone levels are concerned, I can not comment since I don't have the units or the normal range. What are the normal ranges for T4 and T3? Where you prescribed any medicine? Did your GP mention what might cause your hyperthyroidism?

    • aviva23151
      aviva23151 Guest

      Posted

      Dear danR, Thank you so much in engaging with me in this issue. The range of T4 are 4.5- 10.9 mine is 11.3

      the range of T3 are 0.6-1.81 mine is 1.74

      I didn't see a endoctronologist yet. My general pg is looking for a good one that will take FIdelis Essential Plan. My GP mentioned that one cause for my hyperthyroidism is the Lithium I've been taking for 13 years for the Bipolar disorder. Until now it was a miracle drug, no side effects. I looked for side effects of various pills and it was pretty aweful, people gained twenty pounds in a few weeks. That's so bad... I really condisder Chinese medicine even though I'll have to pay. I don't really know, what do you think?

    • Guest
      Guest aviva23151

      Posted

      Hi aviva23151, from the values you provided it seems that you are borderline hyperthyroid. The most important thing would be to determine what is causing your thyroid disorder. Hope you get an appointment with an endocrinologist soon. 

      Regarding Chinese medicine, I am sorry I can't give any advice. Whatever you decide to take I think it is wise to first discuss it with your GP. 

    • Guest
      Guest

      Posted

      I meant to write: A low value of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) in itself does not cause any symptoms.

    • aviva23151
      aviva23151 Guest

      Posted

      Thank you danR, Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
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