[bernadette]

Hi  – can you please provide more details about your case so we can help guide you with more targeted solutions.

For example:

1. What symptoms are you struggling with?
2. Were you given an official diagnosis?
3. Do you have lab tests you can attach and share? (crop out any identifying info if you prefer to remain anonymous)
4. What type of medication are you taking and what’s the dosage?
5. Do you feel the medication is working for you?

(FYI – if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can always change your profile name and use an alias. Here’s a short tutorial video showing how to do that in the profile settings.)

I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to see the different courses available to you inside the B Better library dashboard yet, but we have a Thyroid Balance course that you can access here.

I encourage you to make time to watch it entirely, but if you don’t have the time, then here are a few videos you can watch to get you started:

Stress, blood sugar dysregulation and sex hormones can all affect thyroid function. To help you figure out the possible root causes affecting your thyroid function, I recommend watching these 3 videos:
• How insulin affects thyroid function
• How cortisol affects thyroid function
• How sex hormones affect thyroid function

After watching these videos, you might have a better idea as to what might be at play in your unique case, and what additional tests might be needed to further investigate these factors. Let us know what resonates most with you.

In terms of diet, supplements and lifestyle suggestions, I suggest you also watch these 3 videos:
• How to protect your thyroid
• Foods for a healthy thyroid
• Supplements for a healthy thyroid

And to answer your question about whether or not you can get off your thyroid medication, it really all depends on each individual case. If there’s no damage to the thyroid gland itself from trauma, surgery, or long term autoimmunity, and it’s still cellular hypothyroidism (meaning it’s your cells that are turning “off” metabolism and not an issue with the thyroid gland itself), then yes, it’s quite possible to get off medication if the root cause is determined and addressed.

We also recently did an interview with Dr. Eric Balcavage on thyroid health, and would encourage you to watch that as well at a later stage. The recording can be found in “All Call Recordings” under “Guest Interviews”.

For now, please watch those videos I suggested above from the Thyroid Balance course, and let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

Let’s keep the conversation going.

[bernadette]

Hi  – so from the photos you shared, you’re looking to replace your liquid dish soap and an all-purpose cleaner?

As Daniel mentioned above, while these are better options than most commercial varieties, there are still some questionable ingredients in them.

If you don’t have other options available to you, of the two products, ECOS is the better one.

Here are other brands of cleaning products you can look at to see if they’re available in your area:

Laundry detergents:
-Branch Basics (I know you’re waiting for yours to arrive but listing it here again for anyone reading)
-Molly Suds
-Whole Foods Organic (Unscented)
-Pure Haven (this is through an MLM company – I can connect you with a colleague who has an account)
-ECOS Packs – Free & Clear

Dish soap & Cleaning Products:
-Puracy
-Young Living Thieves
-Pure Haven
-Humble Suds All Purpose cleaner
-Meliora

Hope this helps!

[bernadette]

yes – all of these can be combined. Zinc in general is better tolerated with food even though it’s best taken away from food. So I always say do what works best for you.

[bernadette]

avocados and oily fish are not saturated fats. You can find a breakdown and explanation of the different fatty acids in the Fatty Acid Balance course here.

And to better understand prostaglandin formation, you can watch this video here to better understand how that works and the different fatty acids that create them.

[bernadette]

 this is good news! The fact that you’re able to tolerate lactose better is likely a sign of a healthier brush border in the small intestine (which I touch on in this video on dysfunctions in the small intestine in the Gut Health Masterclass, as well as this video on the root causes of diarrhea).

Lactase production does sharply decrease in adulthood. Is it a matter of use or lose it? That remains unclear, but the factors contributing to the reduction of lactase production in adults likely go back to gut health! More stress, more medications, higher chances of dysbiosis and endotoxins released from microbials overgrowths and parasites in the gut (ex. lipopolysaccharides – think of microbial gas and poop creating toxins within us) all affect gut barrier integrity and the precious lining of our brush border in our small intestine where the lactase enzyme (and other enzymes) are produced.

If you do wish to consume dairy foods that you know you can’t tolerate, then a lactase enzyme can definitely help with the breakdown.

Seeking Health has this liquid lactase enzyme product that can be added to milk products to create your own lactose-free version (log into B Better Fullscript dispensary to see the product). It can be added to any dairy as well.

Capsules can also be taken before eating dairy foods. Here’s one by Nature’s Way. There are many more that you can filter through in Fullscript.

Hope this helps.

[bernadette]

Hi  – have you discussed this with your doctor to see if there’s another way other than ascorbic acid? 

I would keep supporting the intestinal lining with mucilagenous compounds like aloe, slippery elm, marshmallow root, DGL, zinc carnosine, glutamine, etc, and mucosal secretion by supporting prostaglandin formation from arachidonic acid (from consuming moderate amounts of saturated fats).

Good luck with your test and preparation for it! 

[bernadette]

 I’m planning on doing even better than that! A course on interpretating basic labwork from a functional lens is in the pipeline. I have not yet done so because I’ve been including testing and functional interpretation of those markers in each course released so far in B Better. But I do plan on releasing one specifically for CBC and CMP blood chemistry in the next couple of months. 

[bernadette]

that’s nice of them to offer a complimentary session. Do let us know how it goes and who you end up having the session with! Is it a private or group session?

[bernadette]

 yes, I see the one from Regenerus Labs, and the result looks good. Supplementation is helping.

[bernadette]

 so birth control is notorious for depleting B vitamins so if this is something that you’ve been taking regularly for a while, I’d definitely want to look into B status and/or supplement with a methylated B complex. And make sure fasting insulin is also included. A hair mineral analysis is an easy way to check for heavy metals (if you don’t color your hair and if you do, waiting at least 6 weeks for the roots to grow out is essential).

I’m pinging in  as well to see if he has anything else to add.

[bernadette]

 I would also encourage you to read the thread about air fryers. Another member asked about them recently, and I gave some different brand options if you’d like to take a look at that as well. Here’s the post.

And regarding Vick’s vapo rub – what symptom are you trying to alleviate so we can help offer alternatives.

[bernadette]

 glad you’re finding a team to work with. Do keep us posted on Dr. Erdman’s assessment of your latest Heidelberg test.

[bernadette]

 did you have a specific question for us? Homocysteine looks optimal, and it seems as though your body is absorbing B12 into the cells (MMA will further confirm).

[bernadette]

 if you’re still feeling nauseous from the anesthesia, you can consider supporting your liver and gallbladder during this period with food/lifestyle therapy and/or supplements.

My favorite food & lifestyle therapy options for  supporting the liver/gallbladder:
-Beet, carrot, lemon juice
-Cabbage juice (~150ml) for 7 to 30 days (also great for gut healing and anti-parasitic)
-Dandelion root tea infusion (let the herbs steep for 4+ hours)
-Castor oil pack over the liver/gallbladder
-Artichoke salad with garlic, lemon juice & extra virgin olive oil dressing
-Cilantro shots (cilantro is also a binder that can help mop up toxins)

You can find a full list of therapeutic foods for the liver in the Resources (here). I would incorporate more of these into my diet.

In terms of supplements, you can consider different products that support both phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification which would contain a mix of amino acids and nutrient co-factors like B vitamins, along with liver protective compounds like milk thistle and bile support like taurine. Here are a few examples in the B Better Fullscript dispensary (log in to the dispensary to see them):

-Integrative Therapeutics Detoxification Factors
-Metagenics AdvaClear

A binder like GI Detox taken away from food/supplements and medications can also help mop up any toxins.

Hope you feel better soon. Please keep us posted.

[bernadette]

 for your husband, you can add in a sex hormone panel as well:

FSH
LH
Progesterone
Testosterone
SHGB
Testosterone/SHGB ratio
Prolactin
Estradiol
DHEA-s
Free testosterone
Dihydrotestosterone