Hi. Dennis here -- my wife has both a long adrenal burnout (from years of stress dealing with an autistic son) and many classic syptoms of hypothyrodism. She hasn't seen a doctor about these conditions as she's skeptical from other's experience. Many ladies have to fight for medication etc. She also is one who would MUCH rather take a natural route. I really doubt she'll ever go to a doctor for these symptoms. Anyway there seems to be a million threads here -- do you all think the first step would be a low carb diet? She has done somewhat semi-lowcarb before but now that I'm on board for low carb eating she is more open. She says she might not be able to do low carb as she gets hungry but I told her you really have to go all the way to see how it affects you (at least a couple of weeks ). She is taking several supplements for high blood pressure and heart health and those seem to be working. Is there a specific thread here that you might recomend she might start reading on supplements / and or natural treatments for these two conditions? Also do you think a very low carb diet would really make a difference for these two conditions? That is something she could start on right away. She did read somewhere that for extreme adrenal burnout you're supposed to eat something every two hours -- which would put a kink in intermittant fasting if that is true.

Thanks

I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. As you mentioned, finding a good doctor for this problem is not easy. Doctors are apparently hesitant to diagnose thyroid problems, and lots of people struggle to find someone who will take them seriously. Personally, I've been told by doctor after doctor that I just needed to count calories and get more exercise to feel better--as if I wasn't already. I was lucky enough to find a good doctor in my area recently, though, by doing some scouting around online. That might be a good start, if you haven't already.

I am also taking a more natural approach, and I am not on any type of medication at the moment. I am currently taking 1000mg per day of liquid vitamin D at my doctor's recommendation, as I had a deficiency that she thought may be causing most of my thyroid symptoms. I will have a follow up appointment soon, and we will do some tests to determine if I should see a specialist for some type of medication.

I have also been eating low carb at her recommendation, and have completely given up sugar. It is also highly recommended to give up gluten, but I haven't quite gotten there yet. All that being said, all of these things have really made a difference for me individually... maybe they will for her as well? Apart from looking online for a doctor who might be more open to helping than others, I also recommend that you take a look at hypothyroidmom.com -- there is some really great advice on her site, and it's been a big help for me.

Regarding the adrenal fatigue, I can't really offer any advice. I suspect that I may have this as well--it is commonly associated with hypothyroidism, and would explain my constant salt cravings--but I've not consulted with my doctor about it.

This is just the experience of one person, for what it's worth...

Thanks Audrey -- she's pretty sure she has the same thing. The site looks promissing. She's already taking Vit. D but i believe getting as far away from gluten and sugar as possibel would be a very good starting place.

My hypothyroidism is the one thing low carb hasn't helped. Actually, the lower my carbs, the higher my TSH levels seem to be. But I'm on medication, so the dose got adjusted a couple of time when I returned to LC eating.
But LC still helps me feel a lot better overall.

Whited, I, too, am interested in this. Thanks for asking the question. I know a couple of folks on raw, desiccated adrenal supplements, and am planning to start.

I do eat about every two hours, glad to know that is considered a help.

I was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency and Hashi's. I am on 12 mg hydrocorrtisone and 90 mg Nature-throid.

Originally I was on levothyroxine since the Dr. didn't want to put me on Armour because of the Hashi's. I went completely off gluten for three months and was retested. The Dr. was amazed that my antibodies were in the normal range and agreed to put me on Armour. Then I found that Nature-throid through him was cheaper so I was put on that. Wow! What a change! I have so much more energy and am able to do things that I haven't been able to do in years.

I am also on 8000 units Vit D3 since I have low levels.

Another good website is stopthethyroidmaddness.com

It is an AWESOME resource. You can use it to track down a good doctor. Also NeanderPam, if you see her on the forum, can be PM'd for a list of savvy doctors.

I've been struggling with what I thought was Adrenal Fatigue but now think is Cortisol Resistance. (Like insulin resistance, only further along the dysfunctional spectrum.) Using Dr. Kruse's protocol for treatment has done wonders and set me on the right path.

I would say no grains and no sugar is the way to go, carbs adjusted to what makes her feel better until she gets a grip on her hormone issues, and by all means, addressing any possible sleep issues is vitally important.

Whited, I recommend that you check out this website: Womentowomen.com. This is a doctor's website. She is Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN, NP. She has good information regarding underactive thyroid and adrenal insufficiency, and more. She also has the natural supplements that you can order from her website. I am expecting my first shipment soon. She only charges for the supplements. Shipping was free. She said to expect to start feeling better in 60 to 90 days. Sounds realistic to me. The adrenal support supplement is out of stock. But I ordered the same herbs from Puritan.com. I also buy raw thyroid and adrenal glandulars at vitaminshoppe.com, since Puritan.com doesn't have those. I've been ordering from Puritan.com for 10 years now. Reliable and cheap! Hope the best for you and your family.

Thanks all -- I doubt if she'll see a doctor for this condition so the supplements will be a good option to try. Thanks all of you for your website resources. Good to find support from others in a similar situation.

Dennis

Hi,

I was in a similar situation a few years ago and I went to a naturopath who prescribed natural medications and dietary advice. (Note: "Natural" medications should not be taken to mean that they are not effective...some of them were quite strong!) This was helpful because she had blood tests done to see what my system needed rather than guessing at medicines or supplements.

I feel that it helped a lot although ultimately I decided to go on thyroid replacement hormone after about a year.

Thanks Sunstone -- unfortunatly those folks can be pricey, at least the ones I checked into in my area (like $350 - $400 for one visit). I really think she'll ultimatly just suffer with her symptoms as the options are limited -- we are on a medical sharing program (not insurance) and you have to pay for all doctor's vistis and medicines as well as natural treatments.

Yes, it was expensive. I didn't have any medical coverage then or when I went to a conventional doctor for thyroid hormone, but I made the decision to pay for health.

However, I respect that some people genuinely cannot.

If she's got Hashimoto's, supplements aren't going to help and supplementing iodine could even make it worse. She needs thyroid meds depending on how far the disease has progressed. Maybe when she finds she can't get out of bed she'll figure it out.

Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease and it will eventually disable your thyroid. Although, rather cruelly, it can flip around and you can get bursts of thyroid hormone which might lead you to believe the supplements are working.

The other possibility is that she's low on iodine. You can't really distinguish between the two without testing. And iodine is bad if you have Hashi's.

And where was it recently that I read that 98% of the women in the US who suffer from hypothyroidism actually have Hashi's - whereas 90% of the men who are hypothyroid just suffer from a sluggish thyroid for whatever reason.