The following is written by fellow patients. It is up to YOU how to and if you choose to use any of this information. We always suggest working with a good doctor to decide exactly what is right / safe for you! We are patients sharing information and don’t claim to be anything else.
This is a work in progress. This has been one of my most popular posts that I’ve now moved to the web so it can be shared and easily added to / edited. Suggest additions / ask questions in the comments please.
Items below may contain links or link to pages that contain /are affiliate links which support this site. We only ever suggest products we believe in and often what we use ourselves as fellow patients.
How to heal:
1: I’ll be blunt, but needs to be said: Stop thinking someone else or some doctor will fix you. They won’t. They can partner with you, help you on your journey, do tests, give meds, but you NEED to be able to advocate for what you need.
This means spending time learning. We give you solid information to help guide you as does STTM. You need to be able to do your part in this journey to get better.
Stay on your journey! Yes, you can be more relaxed with parts of your journey in time, but for most of us this isn’t something you fix in a few months and forget about it.
Focus on experience of what has worked for thousands of others and stop chasing what some expert claims, yes they may have a place at times, but they miss the boat a lot too.
Tips to help with the Above:
a: Use the AFTC group: http://bit.ly/AFTCgroups (Fellow patients helping each other)
b: Buy the Stop the Thyroid Madness book: http://bit.ly/2IKZ962 (about $20)
c: Please read https://stopthethyroidmadness.com This website is a wealth of information and is FREE. MUCH of what we share here is based on the above web site.
d: Once in the group; Look at the group files. There is a wealth of information and links there that would take you weeks and weeks to study. Note there are links in the files to external sites, this is NOT an endorsement of those sites as a whole, we are just sharing a specific page we have found with relevant information.
2: Endos don’t do the right things for thyroid patients 99.8% of the time. If yours is the rare exception, that’s great, but it’s like winning the lottery to find an endo that does the right things to get us optimal. Most won’t even test right.
Look for a thyroid literate doctor or other open minded physician that will work with you. Healing usually includes thyroid meds and it’s critical we find a doc who will prescribe in most cases. This can take some effort!!!
Call pharmacies and ask who prescribes NDT / T3. If they won’t tell you, try a different one. This is NOT HIPAA protected and in fact in some cases online databases disclose prescribing information.
Watch this video: https://adrenalfatigueandthyroidcare.com/2018/05/22/lets-talk-about-doctors-finding-the-right-doctor-with-janie-a-bowthorpe/
3: Learn and advocate for what you need. Doctors are virtually never caught up with all we have learned. Read the STTM book: http://bit.ly/2IKZ962
4: In range is NOT optimal. Learn about optimal values and stop focusing on being “in-range” https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/lab-values/
5: Stop thinking TSH is more useful than it is. It has very limited uses: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/tsh-why-its-useless/
6: Yes reverse T3 matters and yes it needs to be tested unless someone is on a TSH suppressive dose of T3 only.https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/reverse-t3/
7: Use Saliva testing for cortisol NOT blood. Make sure to prepare properly or it’s a waste of money. https://adrenalfatigueandthyroidcare.com/2018/01/09/what-patients-have-learned-about-saliva-testing/
8: Don’t guess what adrenal supplements you need. Patients say using random adaptogens alone rarely do the trick. Guessing will take 50 times longer and almost never makes sense to do. See #7 about testing.
9: Don’t get hung up on semantics, call it what you want Adrenal fatigue, HP axis dysfunction, etc. It’s real and quantifiable with the above testing (search pubmed and look how often saliva cortisol was used in research)
10: Practice good sleep hygiene. I suggest you either:
A: Wear orange glasses for a couple hours before bed each night (They are cheap): https://adrenalfatigueandthyroidcare.com/…/blocking-blue-l…/
OR
B: Avoid TV, phone, artificial lighting, etc. for a couple hours prior to bed
OR
C: Bare minimum put screen filters on your phone / computer and turn down the brightness on your TV.
11: Focus on real whole foods and avoid things your allergic to. Cook at home! If you have to eat prepared food, look for things like freezer meals with clean ingredients. Eat the best quality you can afford, but don’t stress yourself out if you can’t always find / afford organic. Even eating real whole foods you’re ahead of 99% of the people out there who are eating garbage.
Use fermented foods, bone broth, milk kefir, etc if you do well with it. (They are just food!!!)
12: Work on Gut health! Diet as mentioned above is HUGE!
Some potential options to consider, this is NOT to say these are all right for every person:
A: Use probiotics at least until you’re better (good ones like Megaspore or similar high quality options),
B: Eat a variety of fiber from plants (does not have to be huge amounts to help the microbiome).
C: Add soluble fiber if needed.
D: Use gelatin / bone broth if tolerated.
E: Look at colostrum (Sovereign labs or MegaIGG are both good).
F: Address infections. (read John Herrons book, The Gut Health Protocol, he says almost the same things I would say to you, 98% of the time)
G: Consider Bone marrow (fresh or pills for nourishing your gut / body.)
H: Look at eating liver or taking pills for overall nutrition (check zinc / copper first as liver contains copper and can drive copper high, which is really bad – Note: liver almost never fixes low iron levels, but can provide other valuable nutrients).
I: If you drink / use caffeine, do so in moderation and find what works for you. Many are able to recover using these in moderation!
13: Don’t forget about other nutrients (Vitamin D, B12) and other issues that may be holding you back. Study this page: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ducks-in-a-row/
14: Feel totally overwhelmed? It’s common! You are not alone. Look for a family member or friend to help you study and learn!
15: Don’t focus on magic cures. Yes some things might make you feel better in the short term. Long term, it’s about addressing deficiencies, infections, and for most thyroid patients it’s about using thyroid meds to replace what your body isn’t making while supporting cortisol. Thyroid meds are a part of healing for many and that’s fine.
16: NDT doesn’t work for you? There is a reason. Study this page carefully: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me/
17: Be mindful / spiritual to whatever extent is helpful to you, if this isn’t your thing, just allow yourself some quiet time each day, even if it’s just a few minutes. Use Yoga, Meditation, massage, acupuncture, whatever helps YOU relax.
18: Always run the right labs. The more information you have the better.https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/recommended-labwork/
19: Using T4 only? Study this: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/t4-only-meds-dont-work/
20: Don’t give up. Keep fighting!
Cant tell you how grateful I am for the information you have provided. I appreciate the new format you’re using, very concise and professional. Thank you for helping the group.
Just a slight correction that might want to be made. It says “HIPPA” instead of “HIPAA.” The only reason I point this out is so that it’s taken more seriously as something dealing with a medical issue. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say anything.
Got that fixed. Thanks.
That is a good list…one that all should read.
IRON….mine has gone low twice when it never has before even when I had my period. This always needs to be watched…get those four iron labs!
Unless you have the BEST doctor…always be on the lookout for new ones (nurse practitioners, integrative, functional, OLDER doctors that might have been familiar with NDT, even midwives).