Does anyone here have an underactive thyroid?

melbury

I have seen Phyto Soya tablets advertised that are supposed to help with menopause symptoms. I read somewhere though that soya is not a good thing to have if you suffer from thyroid problems. Wouldit be OK to give these a try as well as the natural progesterone cream?

TomsMom

melbury wrote: »

I have seen Phyto Soya tablets advertised that are supposed to help with menopause symptoms. I read somewhere though that soya is not a good thing to have if you suffer from thyroid problems. Wouldit be OK to give these a try as well as the natural progesterone cream?

From the NHS site clinicalanswers.nhs.uk which is the Primary Care Question Answering Service

Q. Is there any evidence that soya may affect levothyroxine levels

A. We found a number of articles that discuss a possible connection.

“Administration of levothyroxine concurrently with a soy protein dietary supplement results in decreased absorption of levothyroxine and the need for higher oral doses of levothyroxine to attain therapeutic serum thyroid hormone levels.”

“No direct evidence suggests that people with underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) should avoid soy foods or supplements. But it's possible that eating large amounts of soy could reduce your body's ability to absorb the synthetic thyroid hormone levothyroxine.”

Also soya is a phytoestrogen. Oestrogen has already been mentioned:

Oestrogen

Any oestrogen raises the levels although thyroid activity is unchanged. This could make your levels look within the normal range, whereas they are really below it. Oestrogen provides more of the transport protein, making the hormone inactive. After starting on any oestrogen therapy, a woman should always have TSH tested to see if the oestrogen is having an impact on overall TSH and thyroid function and might require a dosage adjustment.

And millet soya is a goitrogenic food:

FOODS TO BE AWARE OF:

“Goitrogenic Foods” Goitrogenic foods can act like an antithyroid drug in disabling the thyroid function. They prevent the thyroid from using available iodine. It is made worse if you use a lot of salt because that causes the thyroid to swell. Do not eat these in large amounts if you are taking thyroid hormone replacement. It is thought that the enzymes involved in the formation of goitrogenic materials in plants can be destroyed by cooking, so cook these foods thoroughly if you want to eat them.

brussel sprouts, rutabaga, turnips, cauliflower, cabbage and kale almonds, peanuts and walnuts sweet corn, sorghum and millet soya – this combined with a high fibre diet causes too much thyroid hormone and iodine to be excreted from the body

raw Swedes, turnips and kale - These are sometimes fed to cattle and comes to us via their milk products.

Also

Would it be OK to give these a try as well as the natural progesterone cream?

If you start both at the same time, if you see an improvement how do you know which one is helping? When trying any type of supplement, however applied, i.e. topically or orally, you should try one at a time, giving it about 3 months or so to take effect and then see if it helps. If not you can then try something else.

There is no guarantee that any of these things will help but to avoid any confusion of which, if any, are helping they need to be trialled separately.

h007

hi guys,
this thread is a very interesting read. i have recently had a blood test for my thyroid levels as well as to check my hormones and for diabetes after going to the docs. i was all calm and collected but then just burst into tears while telling him i have no energy, feel cold all the time, i sleep loads, very dry skin, acne on back and chest etc
he was very nice and ordered me loads of tests straight away. is it strange that i am half hoping there really is something wrong with me? its just that if there is there is probably a way to fix it.
sorry for going on abit. it is just nice to tell this to people who probably understand, should be getting my results next week and if there is something wrong with thyroid i will be back on here!

TomsMom

h007 wrote: »

he was very nice and ordered me loads of tests straight away. is it strange that i am half hoping there really is something wrong with me? its just that if there is there is probably a way to fix it.

Not at all. The way I look at it is you know there is something wrong as you have symptoms. If you have a diagnosis then it stops you imagining all sorts of things (and most people tend to imagine the worst), and once you know what is wrong you will get treatment that will hopefully put you on the road to recovery.

cheepskate_2

Hi All
Just found this thread and hopefully someone can help.

I was diagnosed with under active thyroid about 3 years ago , my TSH was 258, i was in the primary stages of a moxodema coma(sorry not correct spelling) .
As you can imagine my symptoms were severe and would take quite a considerable time to get better.
After 1 year thyroid tsh ok but symptoms not better and was dignosed with fibromyalgia.

It is now 3 years since diagnosed and am on 150 mg thyroxin., Doctors a bit hopeless and most of the time will say he doesnt know why my symptomns are still so bad or why i can take severe mental phsicos (sp)type symptoms like i did when originally diagnosed.

I am due to get bloods taken again , and all should come back as tsh 1. so doc says all ok.
I beleive from what i read and hear that the problems still stem from my thyroid and not the fibromyalgis.

How do i go about this to the doc , as he say my thyroid ok cos score comes back ok, so it is not my thyroid.

Hopefully someone can help.
thanks

hopeiwin_2

Im 24 and have an under active thyroid, ive been diagnosed for just over a year. im currently on 125mgs. I have terrible mood swings at times and just don't want to talk to anyone. Im constantly gaining weight as well and i hardly eat anything. Does anyone have any advise?

TomsMom

cheepskate wrote: »

How do i go about this to the doc , as he say my thyroid ok cos score comes back ok, so it is not my thyroid.

Is he only testing TSH?

If so, ask for FT4 as well, also see if you can get FT3 done (but doubtful).

Are you seeing your GP or are you under an endo? I would have thought an endo would do more than TSH.

It's possible that thyroxine (t4) only is not enough for you as some people need the addition of some T3 - explained in the book Understanding Thyroid Disorders mentioned in an earlier reply but you'd need to see what your bloods are first.

melbury

TomsMum

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, I guess you are right and it would be stupid to start taking more than one thing at a time. It is just that these hot flushes/night sweats are driving me insane:mad: :mad: I haven't had a good nights sleep for such a long time - can't remember what one is like.

Perhaps it would be sensible to try the natural progesterone first and all of the horrible symptoms will just disappear - I wish!

melbury

TomsMum

Perhaps you can help with this.......

I have bought some Sage capsules because I have read that Sage can really help with hot flushes and sweats.

It will be OK to just start taking these won't it? Sage wouldn't have any affect on the thyroxine would it?

I am just so desperate to get a good nights sleep, I just have to try something:mad:

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

TomsMom

melbury wrote: »

TomsMum

Perhaps you can help with this.......

I have bought some Sage capsules because I have read that Sage can really help with hot flushes and sweats.

It will be OK to just start taking these won't it? Sage wouldn't have any affect on the thyroxine would it?

I am just so desperate to get a good nights sleep, I just have to try something:mad:

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Sorry Melbury, I don't know. I am fortunate in that I have not really suffered any menopausal symptoms so have not had to try to find any remedies for them. All I can suggest is that you research, perhaps Google, sage and bear in mind things that can affect the the thyroid or the uptake of thyroxine - there is a section on problem drugs and food on Thyroid UK under Treatment. Sage isn't mentioned in particular but I believe it may be linked to phyto oestrogens, you'll need to check.

When you say you need a good night's sleep, is it the flushes and sweats that are preventing you? Or is it something else? I haven't slept well for years but I have the sort of mind that finds it hard to switch off.