I’m Hypothyroid! March 14, 2008

It appears that I have an iodine deficiency and hence hypothyroid, which means I have a low-functioning thyroid gland.

This morning I woke up and the patch on the inside of my arm had faded about 80-90%. It’s almost completely gone now!

From all the reading I’ve been doing, this is very common after pregnancy. There are many other causes including chloride and fluoride in the water, depleted iodine in the soil, and excess consumption of soy. Think you are not eating soy? If you are eating out in restaurants (any restaurants — not just fast food) or eating processed foods, you are taking in a lot of soy. This is due to all the soy oil they add to everything and cook everything with. This also explains the diabetes and obesity epidemics in this country.

I also think the mercury crown I had put in last year is also part of the cause. I’ll be having all the metal in my mouth removed in the next few months by our WAPF dentist, Dr. Raymond Silkman.

Here is what Dr. Cowan recommends for people with hypothyroidism — iodine, Standard Process Cataplex F, and Standard Process Thyrotropin:

I use organic iodine (1 tablet, two times per day) to supply extra iodine to the thyroid gland. Along with this I use Cataplex F tablets (1-2, three times per day). Cataplex F contains extracts of the 2 essential fatty acids (linolenic and linoleic acids) plus arachidonic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids that are often low in people with hypothyroidism. The effect of these fats is to help transport the blood calcium (and probably other blood minerals) into the tissues, where it can be used to fuel metabolic and enzymatic processes. The source of these fats are flax seed oil, beef liver lipids and testicular extract. The third medicine I use is Standard Process Thyrotrophin, the thyroid protomorphogen. I recommend 1-2 tablets, three times per day. Protomorphogens are specially prepared extracts of the nuclear material of the source gland, in this case bovine thyroid gland. Protomorphogens bind with and neutralize antibodies that can destroy our tissues and organs. In the case of hypothyroidism, often Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is involved, which is an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland. Neutralizing these attacking antibodies gives the gland a chance to rebuild itself by sheltering it from the attacking antibodies.

With this treatment, most patients report increased energy and, within a few months, the loss of about ten pounds. In six months your TSH should be back under 5. The treatment should be continued for two years or more.

This treatment is less effective when the TSH reading is over 8.0, in which case thyroid hormone may be required. Most doctors use the synthetic hormone Synthroid, but natural thyroid hormone is available. Such treatment must be carried out under the supervision of a licensed health care professional.

Ask the Doctor About Hypothyroidism

I’m going to call Dr. Cowan and set up a phone consultation. And today I’m going over to the Apothecary to get the supplements he recommends. They also have a couple of good books on thyroid function and thyroid disease.

I’m very relieved actually. Now I know why I’m so exhausted all the time, so moody, and why my baby weight won’t come off. And this explains my recent anxiety attacks. I have never had those before in my life!

It’s very important for me to improve my thyroid before I get ready to conceive again in the next year. I want to replenish all the vitamins and minerals my body needs to function properly so the next baby gets everything he needs.

It’s interesting because from what have been reading, most blood tests the doctors give you will not show a problem with the thyroid. My friend Sarah has many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but she always gets “normal” thyroid results. From what I’m learning, those tests don’t really work.

And apparently synthetic thyroid drugs are not effective either. They work for a while, but then they don’t work.

This site explains why: Stop the Thyroid Madness