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Thyroiditis?
My friend is 34 years old and for a year had itchiness all over her body, and she self medicated with an anti histamine tablet during that period.
Recently a month ago she started having tremors in her hands and legs. Apart from this she had always fatigue and difficulty in getting out of bed in the morning.
I’m attaching her test reports taken recently, and also her prescription. -
11 Replies
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Hi if your question is “is this thyroiditis?”, unfortunately only her doctor can make that diagnosis. It is outside of our scope here.
But we can try to help her figure out the possible root cause reasons for high T3 and high T4 here and here.
And since there is an elevation in thyroid antibodies, something is taxing her immune system. Given that she’s developed tremors, I suspect heavy metals might be at play. Does she have any amalgam dental fillings? Any other known toxic exposures? It might be worth testing RBC glutathione. This is our potent antioxidant that counters oxidative stress from toxins like heavy metals, mold and other toxic exposures, and helps us detoxify them from the body. If it’s low, it could indicate a toxic burden.
Her HbA1C is also nearing the pre-diabetic threshold of 5.7%. I’d encourage you to watch the blood sugar balance course so you can help her with her diet. Stress is another factor that can raise blood sugar levels, so if this is a big factor in her case, then she might want to test her cortisol levels, especially that she has trouble waking up in the morning. Here’s are the videos on testing adrenal function at home, in blood, saliva/urine. My preference is the DUTCH plus, which covers cortisol awakening response, all sex hormones, and some organic acid markers like glutathione and oxidative stress markers.
As for her medications, propranolol is a beta blocker. Ongoing use depletes CoQ10 and melatonin, which can affect cellular metabolism (energy!) and sleep. You can let her know that it is generally recommended to supplement with 100-200mg CoQ10 or ubiquinol (the reduced form which is better for those >50 years) for those on beta blockers.
Hope this helps give you some direction to help your friend.
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Hey ,
I am curious: did the anti-histamine bring relief to her itchiness?
Fatigue
Your friend has low ferritin values. Ferritin is a stored form of iron. Since her storage form is depleted, her serum iron levels are probably low. Do you know if her doctor measured serum iron as well?Iron is needed to make hemoglobin, the molecule that transports oxygen and is stored in red blood cells. If hemoglobin cant be made, this can cause anemia from which fatigue is a symptom.
Your friend already has iron prescribed. But usually, it can take a few weeks before she will feel improvement in energy. I would suspect that her doctor also ran a Complete Blood Count(CBC) Panel.
If part of her fatigue is caused by anemia, it can take around 6 weeks before she feels a noticeable difference in her energy levels. It can take 3 months before all red blood cells have been replaced and her anemia is gone. Once anemia is gone, only then ferritin starts to come up significantly.
You could help her by exploring why her iron was low in the first place. Is she eating animal products? Does she experience heavy blood loss during her menstrual cycle? Does she experience heartburn? Is she constipated? Does she have diarhea? Does she feel bloated? Does she experience cramps?
These are all powerful questions that could help you find out why her iron might be low.
Important little side note: iron supplements could cause constipation. When you ask her about constipation, you should ask about the differences between pre-and post-iron supplementation.
If her doctor did measure her Red Blood Cells, feel free to post them as well! The more details we have, the better we are able to help!
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She has a dental implant which she got in February 2022 which is made of zirconium.
Did the anti-histamine bring relief to her itchiness?
She reached a state where it did not help her, so the doctor prescribed her a higher dose which helped her, but when she stopped, the itchiness came back again.Now when she takes medication for thyroid her itchiness subsides.
Some times she doesn’t take pill during the day., whereas earlier she took morning and evening.Is she eating animal products?
YesDoes she experience heavy blood loss during her menstrual cycle?
First day only.
Also last year she had leech therapy.
So what could be the reason for low ferritin?Does she experience heartburn?
Rarely.Is she constipated?
Sometimes, depends on what she eats that day. In the last 3 years she had
hemorrhoids twice.Does she have diarhea?
Rare.Does she feel bloated?
Sometimes.Does she experience cramps?
Dont know.What could be the reason for high ketones in urine?
I’m attaching additional reports below for your perusal, and some of them are dated differently. Thank you.
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Hey ,
Thank you for sharing her labs!
Low Iron
Low iron can be caused by several things:
• It might be lacking in the diet. Cycling women need around 18 mg of iron daily. It also needs vitamin C in the stomach for the enzymes to free iron from food.
• Since enzymes in the stomach free up the iron in foods, low stomach acid can reduce the body’s ability to absorb iron. The hydrochloric acid dosing challenge test in this handout helps you to get clues about is stomach acid is low. It isn’t diagnostic though. Supplementing with enzymes might help her increase iron absorption if she is low on stomach acid.
• If you suspect she has low stomach acid, help her with proper eating hygiene. Chew, eating without distractions and taking time to eat will help the body to understand that the energy should be spent on digestion instead of working.
• H. Pylori infections can also lower iron absorption. There are some great herbal remedies like zinc l-carnosine, mastic gum and DGL licorice. A nice herbal blend that is often used for this is Gastromend-HP from Designs for Health. Another great herbal remedy is Matula Tea. To be sure you have an H. Pylori infection you need to test though.
• Inflammation in the gut or body can impair iron absorption as well. Iron can worsen infections and the body sequesters iron away and reduces the gut’s ability to absorb iron. This is why I asked about gut symptoms.That probably sounds like a lot of options. Start to implement the easy ones first.
Vitamin B6
On her labs from September 2022 she showed low liver enzymes. The body needs vitamin B6 to produce liver enzymes. If she was low on vitamin B6 she might have not been able to produce liver enzymes effectively. In such cases, it can even mask elevations in liver enzymes. It would be a good idea to increase vitamin B6, for example by using a B complex supplement like Thorne’s basic b complex. If you are going to use a B complex, fo slow and easy. Start with half a capsule a day.Cholesterol
Her cholesterol values are elevated. Here are some reasons why cholesterol can be elevated.
• Dietary choices: high sugar and/or high fat diets can both increase cholesterol. If her diet is healthy, biliary obstruction could block the exit of bile.
• Insulin resistance: you mentioned high ketones in the urine. This can be a sign of ketoacidosis which happens as the cells in the body are insulin resistant. Other reasons for ketones in the urine are more innocent, so make sure you ask her the right questions! A ketogenic diet as well as fasting can cause elevations in ketones. There are also ketone supplements on the market, so make sure she didn’t consume them before the test.My favourite test to measure insulin resistance is to measure fasting insulin. More commonly done tests are HbA1c and glucose although personally, I don’t find them to be the most reliable markers.
• Sex Hormones: Bile is how cholesterol leaves the body. Imbalances in female sex hormones can cause secretion issues with bile as well. Estrogen can increase cholesterol while progesterone can slow down gallbladder contractions. You could use this handout to explore symptoms of estrogen dominance.Low Bilirubin
These labs are showing low bilirubin (which is a breakdown product of hemoglobin). Low bilirubin can be temporarily lowered by coffee, antibiotics, NSAID and seizure medications, and birth control pills. I would suspect bilirubin to get lower with low hemoglobin, although there are other reasons. It would be wise to check bilirubin once she has worked on her low iron issues.Toxicity and Zirconium
Bernadette mentioned toxicity as a cause of tremors. I agree that exploring this option is worthwhile. You mentioned zirconium implants. Although zirconium toxicity is less heard of, it can cause skin irritations, fatigue, allergies and other health problems. Zirconium is also used in toothpaste, deodorants and mouthwash. If you consider testing for heavy metals, for example, I would include zirconium as well since she is exposed daily to it.I tried to find some documentation for you on zirconium, but it was kinda technical. This site provides you with information that is a little easier to read.
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Hi,
The links that B sent do not seem to be working , and also the handout link you provided and the HC dosing challenge link also don’t work. -
The link worked for me for some reason. I have added the handout below. But you can also find it here.
I know there are some technical issues with watching videos in Dubai. We are working on that!
[Hydrochloric acid supplement recommended dosage challenge.pdf] -
Thank you,
Here is her last test report. Does this mean she is positive for Graves’ disease?
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Hey ,
Unfortunately diagnosing people isn’t something we can do on this platform. It requires a medical doctor who can dive into personal circumstances.
That being said, it does fit the picture. There is definitely some auto-immune activity going on.
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could you tell me how to manage Graves’ disease, as in what kind of food to avoid and eat ,etc? Thanks
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you can find information on Graves’ disease in the Thyroid Balance course here. In fact, I’d encourage you to watch the whole sections on Thyroid Autoimmunity and Thyroid Solutions where I discuss foods to support thyroid function, supplements, etc.
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thank you so much ❤️ will check it out.
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