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THE Q & A
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Welcome to The Q&A with Elaine Moore. Registered members are invited to ask any question of Elaine Moore on autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease, other thyroid diseases and subconditions, laboratory work, traditional and complementary medicine, triggers and environmental influences, thyroid and immune disorders in pets and animals, and other relevant areas of inquiry.
Questions are answered solely by Elaine Moore, a medical writer and clinical laboratory scientist, MT, CLS, with more than 30 years of experience in immunology. Moore has also authored and edited over a dozen books in the area of health sciences and is an editor for McFarland Publisher's Health Topics Series.
As sole moderator and site owner, Moore has no conflicts of interest in the sponsorship of this forum.
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NOTICES PLEASE EXPECT SOME DELAYS IN REPLIES TO POSTS. THANK YOU!
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| singersue |
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Joined: 9/6/2008
Posts: 7
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Hi Elaine, First I wanted to say that your new site is wonderful! :) You had actually helped me with a question regarding the necessity of the Thyroid Uptake Scan in June 2007. I was so sick and could not win my argument about having the TSI test instead and succumbed to the RAI uptake test which did confirm my Graves. I have since then "divorced" that endo and have been treated by a new endo since last summer. He is very knowledgeable and is happy to keep me on the methimazole as long as I would like- thank goodness! I'm currently taking 5mgs of methimazole daily and have a Free T4 of 1.2, Total T3 of 124 and a TSH of .04. My levels have been pretty consistent since last December. I've had ups and downs of strange muscle aches, but other than that, no problems from the meds. I have not had my TSI done at any point since my diagnosis. The endo seemed to think I should only have it done to try to predict if I can go off the ATDs.
Although he is one of the top thyroid doctors in the field, like most doctor, he is really not helpful when it comes to a more holistic approach. He has asked what supplements I'm taking and then will respond "you don't know what is in that stuff", so somehow I think if I check with him he is going to just tell me the same thing. Consequently, I've really been on my own researching diet and supplements and get a bit nervous about taking anything new. Since my eyes keep getting worse, I've been determined again to try to eat better and add some additional supplements with the hope they might help my TED.
Therefore, I'm wondering if you could help me with a few supplement questions. I've read through all of your posts in suite101 and found your recommendations and have found some other sources on-line. I am currently taking 1000mg Calcium Citrate (I'm lactose intolerant) with 400IU of D , Magnesium Citrate 400 mg, B50 complex, probiotics, and flax seed oil. I did try L-Carnitine for a few weeks in January right around the time I wasn't feeling well with muscle aches- I'm not sure if it is a coincidence. I'm thinking of starting the L-Carnitine again and would also like to add Selenium and maybe copper (or a multi without iodine for both of these). My concern with what I've read about Selenium is that according to digitalnaturopath.com, "It appears that taking selenium without iodine will result in a decrease in production of Thyroxine, although there may be an initial transient increase in T4 to T3 conversion and hence higher T3 and seemingly worse hyperthyoidism" Have you heard of this? Is there anything else I should be concerned with in adding any other recommended supplements of multi vitamins. The multi vitamin I have has 200mcg of Selenium and 1mg of Copper (I also have a 200mcg of Selenium that I could take alone- I bought it a few months ago and have been afraid to take it!) Any advice would be greatly appreciated! My TED is really bothering me.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I have appreciated all you have done for those of us with Graves and Autoimmune diseases. Thanks again, Susan
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| Elaine |
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Joined: 8/1/2008
Posts: 4826
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Hi Susan,
I'm glad you like the new site. Valerie really went the extra mile here.
One would need to have a significant selenium deficiency and also an iodine deficiency for selenium supplements to affect T4 conversion into T3. Even then, the dose would have to be higher than the recommended 200 mcg daily for this to occur. With the average American diet providing 300-700 mcg iodine daily, and the minimum daily requirement being 75-150 mcg daily, iodine deficiency isn't a problem. Also, iodine in excess of 150 mcg daily can trigger and worsen autoimmune thyroid disorders. If your multivitamin provides 200 mcg daily, I'd just take that.
It's true that you wouldn't need another TSI until you're close to remission. If there was a question whether you were responding to meds or not, a TSI could be helpful but this doesn't seem to be the case.
It might be helpful if your FT4 was a tad bit higher. Although an FT4 of 1.2 is within range, for some people this level could be too low for their body's needs. Low thyroid hormone levels can trigger and worsen TED. You could ask your endo about lowering your methimazole dose to 3.75 mg daily or you could reduce the amount of goitrogens you're consuming if you think they might be contributing.
Muscle pain in Graves' disease is often related to the low CoQ10 levels typically seen. Hyperthyroidism causes lower CoQ10 levels than any other medical condition. A 60 mg daily supplement could help with both the muscle pain and your TED.
Your supplements shouldn't interfere with your methimazole although it's always best to take any supplements at least 2 hours apart from your methimazole dose. Iodine is the only supplement that directly interferes--it works against methimazole since part of methimazole's action is reducing iodine absorption. Best, Elaine
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| Sorry for the delay--new grandbaby--will catch up this week. |
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The information at this site is true and correct to the extent that all information contained herein about the benefits or performance of any diagnostic or treatment are backed up with scientific evidence such as medical journals, reports, articles, and other relevant materials.The educational information provided within is designed to help users better understand the nature of disease and the solutions available. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as or is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Under no circumstances is a particular treatment recommended and in all cases it is recommended that a physician be consulted for any treatments. Reference to any specific commercial or noncommercial products, services, processes, companies or trademarks does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Elaine Moore does not host any form of commercial advertisement, does not sponsor or endorse any products or services that may have been mentioned at the site. This excludes mention of her own copyrighted materials, articles, and books. The opinions, views and recommendations of individual registered members of this website, specifically as it pertains to personal inquiries at the Q&A forum or comments made to blogs, are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Elaine Moore.
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