The Quick, Free Test for Hypothyroidism and Adrenal Fatigue

Hi peeps,

I hear this a lot and wanted to give you a quick self assessment tip (not to replace the advice of a doctor, but to give you some insight). People say they can't get around to the tests for Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatigue. Or they had the tests and the results said they were "fine".  But you can get immediate insight without all the expensive lab work. By immediate, I mean today, this week. How? Check your body temperature!

Dr. Broda Barnes and Dr. James Wilson explain how to test thyroid and adrenals through body temperature precisely. Checking your body temp at 3pm (when the body is at it's warmest) will give you quick insight. Here is what the temps mean (generally):

Low Temperature (below 98.4) means a possible low thyroid problem

Fluctuating Temperature (more than 0.2 degrees per day) means possible adrenal fatigue

Low and Fluctuating Temperature means low thyroid and adrenals

More Tips: Use a good digital thermometer, or an old fashion glass thermometer for accuracy. With a glass thermometer, first shake down below 95 degrees for a proper reading (some of us are as low as 95 degrees before treatment!). Hopefully this will help you figure out how to explore treatment.

xxoo

Lizzy 

Disclaimer: Of course discuss all treatments with a medical professional. But find a doctor who listens to you!

Low TSH, and Why You Can Still be Hypothyroid

For years I went undiagnosed for Hypothyroidism because I am one of those people who has an extremely low TSH. It was only on instinct that I pursued treatment even though many doctors told me that I wasn't Hypothyroid, based on the TSH test.  Here is some incredible new information about why TSH is inaccurate. 

According to this article by Richard Stanley Wilkinson, M.D., TSH is a test of the pituitary gland which governs the thyroid. If the thyroid function is low (hypothyroid) the pituitary gland starts shouting at the thyroid to work harder, causing the TSH level to rise.  

This means high TSH is typically used to determine hypothyroidism. But if your TSH is low (below 5.0) your doctor may say you aren't hypothyroid, which means you could be walking around feeling like garbage from hypothyroid symptoms, like being overweight, depressed, tired, cold... and you don't know why. Here are two incredible reasons why TSH is useless test:

• TSH levels can vary as much as 200% during the day. This is a huge margin of error! (Shocking!)

• Often after childbirth a woman's pituitary gland can be damaged! When this happens the pituitary can no longer shout at the low functioning thyroid to work harder. The result is that the TSH looks "normal" but the patient is hypothyroid, and consequently misdiagnosed as depressed, lazy, or overweight (and other hypothyroid symptoms). This damage to the pituitary gland is called Sheehan's Syndrome.  This explains at least one reason why so many women become hypothyroid after pregnancy. 

Your health is only as good...

     as your doctor.

If your doctor is still relying on TSH as the measure of hypothyroidism, RUN! It's highly unlikely you will change their perspective. Instead find a doctor who measures hypothyroidism based on symtoms, body temp, and the Free T3 and Free T4 lab results. 

xxoo

Lizzy

When normal thyroid treatment isn't working it could be RT3

I've always been curious about Reverse T3 (RT3) because its one of the many variations in the hypothyroid world. So I read up on RT3 all day and found some great resources to share with you.  First off, could you have RT3?

If you are taking the right dose of thyroid medicine (natural desiccated), and perhaps are even getting adrenal support, but still have many hypothyroid symptoms you may have Reverse T3 (RT3).  If this sounds like you read all about Reverse T3 here for great info on getting treatment.

xxoo

Lizzy

Experimenting with DHEA

 If you've been at my site you know the whole story about hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue, but even after all this time my treatment is a work-in-progress.  This means treating everything in life as an experiment (in fact you can browse my ongoing experiments on edison – the experimenter's journal).

Of course, using oneself as the test subject can be frustrating, and even a bit scary. Here is the latest update about my life as an experiment... 

At my last doctor's visit in April, I had lab work done. Turns out in the past few years my DHEA had dropped a ridiculous amount, into an abnormal range. We aren't sure why, but since DHEA is produce by the adrenals we suspect the drop is related to my thyroid and adrenal systems and treatment. Anyway, I was feeling in good health overall but figured it was worth trying a DHEA supplement to see what would happen. My doctor said that was fine. Fortunately, or not, the only way to figure stuff out is by trying it.  So there I was again, my own test dummy.

When trying something new I always hope I will have great and immediate results like I did with Hydrocortisone, Naturethroid and the Vitamin B Complex. However, with DHEA it seems that the results have been immediate, but not so good.  Namely, I noticed a lot of hair loss.  Imagine my horror this past month, after virtually no hair loss since getting thyroid treatment, to suddenly be shedding like crazy. And to make things worse I noticed the return of other hypothyroid symptoms like brain fog, inability to cope or get motivated.  

I have to say I've been freaked out, as I am sure you might feel at times when your body just isn't doing the right thing.  Luckily my mom talked me off a theoretic ledge this morning and helped me pinpoint that the DHEA may be the issue.  I started reading on the Yahoo Adrenal group about it, and sure enough some people have had similar problems with DHEA, specifically with hair loss.

The lessons learned is that experiments can be frustrating, especially when they affect your physical health. But we have to keep at it, keep learning and evolving because this stuff just isn't going to fix itself.  But I have to remember to forgive myself when things don't go great.  The learning is what matters, as long as I can get myself back on track.

I am pretty sure DHEA didn't work for me, so I am stopping it and will report back about my findings. Of course, DHEA might work great for some people and I would love to hear if you've had a good experience.

xxoo

Lizzy

Getting Started: My Hypothyroid and Adrenal Worksheet

I am getting lots of email inquires about how to get started with Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatigue treatment (and its great because I am totally happy to answer any questions about my experiences!).  

But I wanted to point out the Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatigue digital worksheet I created because its meant to be the best starting point.  The worksheet is an 8-page compilation of what I feel is the most important information for understanding the conditions, treatment options, and lab work along with useful tips. The references are from the many sources I used to educate myself when I was seeking help and talking with my doctor.  

Much of the information in the worksheet is already on this site, but here it is collected in a simple, easy-to-follow format. Because honestly for us Hypothyroid Adrenal Sufferers, we need things to be clear and easy!

The worksheet includes the following resources:

• A chart for tracking body temperature

• Hypothyroid Symptom Checklist

• Adrenal Fatigue Symptom Checklist

• List of Lab work to discuss with your doctor

• Lab work record chart for tracking results over time 

• Discussing treatment options with your doctor

The price is $7, but its not really about making money as much as it paying my designer, and helping people get started.  I hope this worksheet is helpful for you, but if not I will gladly give a full refund!