Synthetic Thyroid Hormone and Adrenal Fatigue

by Debra
(Manhattan)

Can adrenal fatigue interfere with the conversion of T4 into T3 in a post Graves Disease patient taking synthetic T4? My thyroid gland does not work so I don't think I'm suffering from pregnenolone steal. But I am clearly not converting. Haven't been for years. And yes, I've been under a lot of stress.

Comments for Synthetic Thyroid Hormone and Adrenal Fatigue

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I Just Don't Know the Answer
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Debra,

Boy, I just don't know the answer to that. Do you know that you are not converting because of your TSH levels? Or do you know because of how you feel? That might help me to answer that question a bit better. If your levels are OK, but you still feel rotten, it may be 'just' your adrenal glands.


I did find some evidence (in rats at least) that magnesium deficiency (which contributes to adrenal fatigue and can be a result of stress) can lead to lower t4 and t3 levels.


But, unfortunately, I couldn't find anything on that at all, and very little research is dedicated to Adrenal Gland Fatigue since most doctors don't even 'believe' in minimally functioning adrenal glands.

Much of the information that I have is due to the observations and laboratory testing on patients and how they react in real life by hundreds of practitioners all sharing and comparing their (extremely similar) results. But not much money has been devoted to this topic for me to have any peer reviewed studies that have looked at this.

Sorry that I couldn't help more...




Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Response
by: Debra

Thanks, Kerri.

My TSH is always high, my T4 level is always high normal and my T3 levels are alwasy very low. I'm clearly not converting. My magnesium was recently very low so I'm taking MG Oxide 3 times/day.

Might switch to Taurate as I heard it's absorbed better. My D was also dangerously low. I'm taking 4000 unis per day.
Oh, that's a different story..
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Debra,

Oh my! OK, having a low mag and a 'dangerously low' vitamin d are important matters to address and COULD be affecting your thyroid conversion.

1) Magnesium: Yeah, mag oxide is not going to replenish you if you are THAT low. While your mag level may not have LOOKED 'dangerously low' on the lab sheet, take a look at my page on Magnesium Levels to see why ANY low magnesium on a magnesium blood test really IS actually dangerously low.

This is because your body will do ANYTHING to maintain a normal magnesium level, so the levels INSIDE your cells- where it's important- will be SEVERELY depleted before it starts to show on a blood test. So, really ANY low number on a magnesium blood test IS 'dangerously low'.

So, take a look at my page on getting the right Magnesium Dosage to see how to determine the proper dose for you.


2) Vitammin D: If you are 'dangerously low' in vitamin d, then 4000 IU's is NOT going to fix that. That is really a maintenance dosage and is actually less than what I take every day (I take about 5000 IU's- which is really just about what most people need for a maintenance dose). Take a look at my page on Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment page and you'll see that the 'standard of care' is to give about 7000 IU's a day, but for a 'dangerously' low level, giving closer to 20,000 IU's a day for the first month is actually a MUCH better strategy.

You could even just take one big dose of 600,000 IU's all at once and then continue to take your 5000 IU's per day as a strategy to get feeling better more quickly.If that makes you worried, then take a look at the Overdose on Vitamin D page to see that a dose of 600,000 IU's was a 'standard of care' to give all INFANTS in East Germany at birth and every 3 months thereafter until they were 18 months old- for a total of over 3 MILLION IU's before the age of 2 years old- with NO PROBLEMS!!

So, let me know if you have any questions- and when I get your adrenal test back, I'll talk to you about my suspicions as to WHY you have such low levels- that is just NOT normal even with a lot of stress...


Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Response
by: Debra

Thanks, Kerri!

I actually took 25,000 IU for 2 days before I started on 4000 IU's. I'll ask my doctor to re-check my levels soon.
Take T3
by: Anonymous

Do not take synthetic thyroid hormones, especially when u know they don't work. You cannot convert T4 to T3, which is the active hormone. Taking synthetic is T4. Take it all u want and there is no conversion. Why not just take T3 straight and avoid whether there is a conversion or not. I take T3 sustained release from a compounded pharmacy. I also have Adrenal fatigue and take Compounded Cortisol for that. I have been on this road for a while and would not function without those two. I'm so glad my doc knew better than to put me on the useless drug synthroid. Read-stop the thyroid madness. It's online. Gosh I wish all people and docs knew this. It's really simple when u get it and u wonder why all the docs and NP dont know this.
just saying
by: Debbie

It's because they don't care to know,, it's old school, they were taught so much in medical school and nothing hardly about the in's and out's of what the differernt vitamins will do for you,,it's something for a specialist to want to get into and then your talking big bucks just to walk into their office,, been there done that and turned right back around and left,, can't afford any of them,, too bad we didn't have it like Canada,, nutrition and vitamins arent to big on the list of priority's for just MD's, get them through Medical school and off they go,, besides they would be out of business if we all got healthy
Getting worse on medications
by: Debbie

Hello, I don’t sleep well, am always tired and have no energy. I have menopause and was put on progesterone and estrogen. She also put me on pregnenolone and because my TSH was 1.02 she put me on Naturethroid. I went back 2 months later and my TSH was 0.52. She bumped up the dosage and now it is 0.38. My Free T3 has also went down with each visit. It seems to be getting worse. I started going to a chiropractor and he put me on drenamin and min-tran. On top of the vitamins and the above stuff I feel like a walking pharmacy. I want to stop the dr appts, bloodwork and all this medication because my numbers are getting worse. What could be wrong with me? My dhea sulfate is 342.8 MCG/DL dhea 2.2 ng/mL progesterone 8.2 NG/ML prognenolone 78 ng/dL free T4 1.2 NG/DL t3 free 2.43 PG/ML estradiol 60 PG/ML testosterone 25 ng/dL Before I started on Naturethroid my Free T3 and TSH were in range

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