Sometimes It Pays To Ignore Your Doctor

This probably isn’t a big deal for anyone who doesn’t live with hypothyroidism, but I’ve known for a couple of weeks that I’ve been feeling better. And I’ve known it was because of a new supplement I started around December 10th.

shadow championI am winning the battle! (photo credit: Morguefile.com)

However, it wasn’t until I caught myself washing cupboard doors just before Christmas that I realized exactly how much better I feel. Those doors have been driving me nuts, but when you don’t have enough energy, you tend to be careful how you spend it. For me, the choice is usually to write or edit.

That gets really old though. I want to live my life, not just survive, and so I adopted the whole ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ philosophy very early on. In the 3 1/2 years since my diagnosis, my mission in life has been to feel like a normal human being again.

When it became clear that Synthroid wasn’t doing a thing for me, I started experimenting with a host of vitamins and supplements. I continued using what helped and discarded what didn’t. It got to the  point where I could function, but barely.

Then this past January, I found a doctor who prescribed the wonder drug, Armour Thyroid. This would turn everything around, I thought. And the doctor promised I’d feel like a new person in a month or six weeks.

Wonder drug? Not only did Armour Thyroid not make me feel better, it also put my blood pressure into the high range. I was far from impressed – and not in the market to start taking B.P. meds too.

Tired of it all, I started researching again and found that based on previous blood tests, I’d probably had pre-clinical hypothyroidism and not the full-blown disease.

And so in September, I stopped taking the Armour. A month later, based on what I’d found, I started two new products (in addition to the other supplements I’d been taking).

Did they help? Yes. I could tell a difference in how I felt. It wasn’t a huge difference, but any improvement is better than nothing.

Then I received an email from a doctor I’d listened to during the Thyroid Summit this past May. This woman also has hypothyroidism and developed a product she sort of says will make a world of difference. Thanks to the FDA, she can’t make specific claims.

After doing a little more research – and I literally mean a little because there’s not much out there on this product yet – I had to decide whether I was desperate enough to try something I couldn’t find much information on. And then I decided I trusted what I knew of Dr. David Brownstein and if he trusted her, so would I.

And so I ordered it. I figured if it didn’t help within a month, I wouldn’t get it again.

But there I was – twelve days after starting it – washing my cupboard doors.

Now, five days later, I just ordered three more bottles. I figure if I’m feeling this much better two and a half weeks after the first dose, who knows what 2015 might bring? I’m very excited thinking about how much more I might accomplish the longer I take this.

***Let me say quickly that I am NOT suggesting anyone ignore their doctor and do what I’ve done. I have no clue what my thyroid levels are right now. It’s entirely possible that while I’m feeling better, my numbers could be off the charts. I’ll go in after the holidays to have them checked, but for now … I’ll take what I can get.

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4 Responses to Sometimes It Pays To Ignore Your Doctor

  1. Kristy K. James says:

    Wow. I have totally lost track of time here. LOL…those darned puppies are making sure I get as little (or less!) sleep than I did when my kids were infants.

    I love vitamin C! And I used to take about 5 grams a day, until I wound up with those kidney stones last summer. The C seemed to be connected to it somehow, and that was confirmed when, after no pain for several weeks, it returned almost immediately when I started taking it again. So now I’m trying 500 mg twice a day – and hopefully working up to an amount that works great but doesn’t cause kidney stone issues. That was my first experience with them … and I want it to be my last!!!

    When I follow the above supplement schedule, I find I feel more like ‘me’ than I have in a long time … and if Blondie and Dagwood would sleep when I do, I think I’d be feeling really good by now, lol.

    I’m sorry you still struggle so much with health issues, and I hope you find a combination of supplements that works soon. Thanks for the offer, too. I’m hoping – when I my new babies start sleeping better – that I will be pretty much back to normal. And I hope you find that place too. 🙂

  2. karenmcfarland says:

    I totally know about the FDA and how they operate. Don’t even get me started.

    So glad you’ve gotten somewhere with your health my friend. I know you’ve been on a quest for quite some time. I understand. It’s a challenge to stay vertical these days. But I don’t only have hypothyroidism, I have CFS and low adrenal function. And this last year has been miserable since my CFS virus has gone haywire and kicked my butt.

    Believe it or not, I follow a similar regiment. Only I take a ton more vitamin C, like 15 to 20 thousand units spread out throughout the day. I’ve taken Calm before, but it’s not enough magnesium for me. So I have found Metagenics MagGlycinate is more absorbable and beneficial over all for my situation.

    I also take a liquid organic vitamin D. And coconut is one of the best things we can eat/use/take. It’s one of the most amazing foods for our health out there. I also take an adrenal supplement with breakfast and lunch to support them. Prescribed by my doctor, I have taken it for numerous years. I wouldn’t be able to function if I didn’t.

    The thyroid issue that you speak of intrigues me. I’ve been on Armour for umpteen years. I haven’t had a negative reaction. But I’m not sure if it’s doing the job I need it to. Some do very well with it, and others I know didn’t receive the benefits of that remedy that they should have and stopped taking it. So you’re not alone.

    I was forced into natural medicine over three decades ago because of being diagnosed with CFS at its conception. It’s been a major uphill battle. So I’m always ready to support anyone that has a health challenge to overcome. You can always let me know if there anything that I can do for you Kristy. Just sayin’. 🙂

  3. Marcia says:

    I would love to know what product this is. I have been fighting hypothyroidism for over 5 years and get frustrated with the roller coaster of good days/bad days that my thyroid medicine causes. Unfortunately, it seems to be more bad than good lately so, like you, I’m willing to try new things in the hopes that it will help.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Hi, Marcia…
      I really feel for you. I’m so tired of riding that same roller coaster and dealing with doctors who don’t understand. I’ll tell you what I do, but I’m not recommending that you do. What works for me may not work for you or anyone else. (I have to say that to protect myself since I’m not a doctor and can’t/won’t give medical advice).

      I’m on a two hour supplement schedule every waking hour. Meaning every two hours, I take something. I downloaded a free countdown computer timer to help me remember to stay on track … and that works as long as I’m at home. I’m not as good at remembering if I’m on the road or away from home for a day or two. This is the order in which I take everything – and the amounts…

      2 ThyroScript (new supplement by Dr. Suzy Cohen) when I get up (with water on an empty stomach)
      2 Gaia Adrenal health – WITH A MEAL, or at least a protein drink, and 1 tablespoon coconut oil
      1 teaspoon Natural Calm (a magnesium supplement – I try to take a 2nd teaspoon later in the day if I stay on track and don’t forget something else)
      1 Alive Woman’s multi with iron, 1 B-complex, 1 B-12, 1000 mg vitamin C (with supper)
      2 Gaia Thyroid Support (2 hours after supper and 1 hour before a snack)
      2 Gaia Adrenal Health (this is the only exception to the two hour schedule and I take it ONE HOUR after after the Gaia Thyroid … with food and coconut oil)
      1 teaspoon Natural Calm
      1 CoQ-10 (100 mg) and 5,000 to 10,000 i.u. D3 (I try to take 50,000 total i.u. every week) with a little fat (2% milk or a tiny bit of coconut oil)
      2 scoops of Symbiotics bovine colostrum in a little juice (good for the immune system)

      It’s not the most budget-friendly regimen, at least not when first getting started. But after the initial investment, the replacing everything is staggered. The multivitamins last 50 days, the B-complex about 4 1/2 months, the B-12 5 months, Natural Calm, about 3 1/2 months, the vit. C about 8 months, etc… I use Spectrum expeller pressed Organic Coconut Oil, which (for me) works just as well as the virgin coconut oil but is less expensive.

      If I had to choose a few to start with, I guess I’d try the ThyroScript, coconut oil, vitamin C (though I’d bump that up to 1000 mg three times a day), the D3 (which always needs to be taken with a little fat), and a decent multi-vitamin. Then I’d add to that the Gaia Adrenal and the rest as my budget allowed. I’m just glad I’m in a place where I only have to replace a couple of things every month.

      ***One important note here, for anyone who might decide to try what I do – and I’m not recommending or suggesting that anyone do any of these things – is that if you start taking the Gaia Adrenal, DO take it with food. I can sometimes get away with a Boost protein shake, but usually my stomach wants a little more than that, so if I’m not having a meal, I’ll have that and a piece of fruit – and always a little coconut oil. If I don’t, I will be sorry for hours afterward (indigestion and a bad taste at the back of my throat).

      ***Also, I’d play around with the coconut oil on a weekend if you work. Find out the latest you can take it without keeping you awake when you go to bed. I found out the hard way one night that taken too late in my schedule means no falling asleep when I want to.

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