Re: Adrenal Fatigue and Graves Disease

Here's a link to an old post. The site has a lot of information, and maybe if you can contact them they'll have some ideas for you?

//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=782260#i

(See excerpt at end of message)

I hope you find some answers, and please post your findings - it is encouraging to hear successes as well as learn what might not work so well for some.

MadArt (ist)

Excerpt:

Treatment for Low Metabolic Energy
Where to start: Adrenal vs. Thyroid?

If both the thyroid and the adrenals are weak, adrenal repair must precede thyroid repair (see Metabolic Scorecard™ to determine whether problem is adrenal, thyroid, or both). If the adrenals are weak, then even normal thyroid activity places an excessive burden on them. One may begin to feel ‘hypoadrenal’ (coldness, weight loss, dryness, fatigue, insomnia, and/or anxiety) and then the body innately turns down its own thyroid energy production by increasing production of RT3. Conversely, if the adrenals are strong and the thyroid is weak or unable to keep up with the adrenals, one begins to feel ‘hypothyroid’ (heat intolerance, weight gain and fluid retention, tiredness, excessive need to sleep and/or depression). A very common error made by medical practitioners is to focus entirely on the thyroid and ignore the adrenals In a weakened adrenal state, prescribing thyroid medication that contains T4 and/or T3 may produce limited or transient improvement. Subsequent increases of the dose offer little or no benefit as the medication pushes the energy machinery into overdrive. Unfortunately, this higher energy level is unsustainable due to the stress on the adrenals. Eventually the adrenals become fatigued and the symptoms of low energy return. If, however, the adrenals are functioning well, the thyroid hormones can do their job and the result is good metabolic energy.

Another way of looking at this thyroid/adrenal relationship is to think of the thyroid as ‘generating’ the energy while the adrenals need to be able to ‘handle’ the energy. If the thyroid generated energy is excessive for the adrenals’ ability to handle it, the body will down-regulate the thyroid energy as much as it is capable of doing to accommodate what the adrenals can safely handle. Sometimes, in an effort to help the patient feel better, the physician keeps increasing the thyroid dose or even gives a T4/T3 combination like Armour Thyroid or just a T3 support like Cytomel. The problem with this is that it forces the system to function at a higher energy than the adrenals can handle. Initially the adrenals have enough reserve to handle the higher thyroid energy so the patient feels better. When the (adrenal) reserves are exhausted (this can happen in a few days, weeks or months) the patient can develop fatigue, anxiety, bursts of rapid heart beat or the feeling of such bursts (palpitations) or other symptoms of either high thyroid function or of low adrenal function (see the Metabolic Scorecard™). This is the ‘crash and burn’ phase of the thyroid treatment which ignores the adrenals’ capacity to handle the thyroid support. It is often followed by a recommendation for an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drug.


Adrenal Repair Basics
In general, stress hurts the adrenals. We can define stress as anything which challenges our survival, joy, prosperity, security or stability. It is anything which forces our system to adapt (e.g., change of circumstances, temperature, chemistry as in a sudden change of supplements, medication or even change of diet). Infection, lack of sleep or even lack of love are stressors. The opposite of stress such as joy, sleep and rest, comfort, peace, security, stability, and good nutrition, are examples of things that help the adrenals. Avoid the stressors and seek out those things that help. Eat more proteins (especially amino acids) and fats (not vegetable oils). Limit carbohydrates, especially sugars. Avoid stimulants and physiologically stressful substances such as caffeine, diet pills, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. If you have allergies, avoid the allergens – common allergens are wheat and dairy. Although this may sound surprising, we actually tend to crave foods to which we are allergic. Metabolic activity (the chemical processes and changes going on in our body) represent a stress. At a level that can be handled by the adrenals, this stress is good for us (Eustress) and maintains life. If metabolic activity is too strong for the adrenals (e.g., excessive thyroid stimulation), it is at a level that is unhealthy (Distress) and wears the adrenals down.

Mold is a common serious stress but difficult to avoid. Reduce as much stress as possible. Even ‘good stress’, such as celebration, can sometimes be excessive for the adrenals. Look for opportunities to experience security, joy and optimism. Learn to avoid negative emotions such as fear (e.g. horror movies), anger, etc. Increase rest – get as much sleep as possible and make the timing as regular as possible. Pushing too hard, excessive work or exercise, and any sleep deprivation stresses the adrenals.

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Considering a Supplement?
Adrenal Support
Providing the body with proper support in the form of vitamin supplements is critical to repair. The minimal nutritional requirements for healthier adrenals are:
A healthy whole food diet which is organic, contains an adequate amount of protein and healthy fat (oil is liquid in room temperature while fat is solid in room temperature), adequate fat soluble vitamins, and without anything you are allergic to (e.g., wheat, dairy, or other specific foods you might be allergic to). Sometimes eating right for your blood type becomes the key factor.
B-Complex Vitamins: A very complete B-complex with lots of Vitamin B-5.
Vitamin Cand Antioxidants: The buffered powder form of Vitamin C is often most easily tolerated as part of a drink sipped throughout the day. It is important to take bioflavonoids with Vitamin C as these help recycle and sustain the antioxidant activity.
Amino Acids: Individuals with weak adrenals often cannot digest meat or proteins into amino acids very well. The adrenals thrive on amino acids. As with the Vitamin C, amino acids are best taken as part of a drink sipped throughout the day.
Healthy Fats: Animal fat is the best source of healthy fat but they need to be organic. If dairy or meat, the animal should, if possible, be grass fed if cow or sheep. Eggs are also healthy. Free range hens are the best source.
Unrefined Sea Salt : This helps the adrenals by raising a low blood pressure and assisting the body in retaining water. Plain table salt (sodium chloride) does not contain the same minerals and some people feel poorly with it.
View Dr. Rind's Adrenal Recommendation Sheet for more details and a more comprehensive treatment program

Dove Health Products offers a product called Basic Cell Energy designed specifically to support the adrenal healing process. Basic Cell Energy is a very complete B complex/multivitamin supplement with the purpose of providing support for adrenal function and repair as well as general support for metabolism and energy production. To visit the Dove Health Products supplement store, click Products on the Menu.


Restoring Thyroid Function
For mildly poor thyroid function, one can often get the needed support with supplements such as L-Tyrosine and Iodine (e.g. Prolamine Iodine) or a thyroid supporting glandular supplement (e.g. T-100). Supplements containing mixtures of thyroid nutrients are also available. Some thyroid glandular may offer more complete support.

If the thyroid condition is more severe, one may require prescription medication. Giving only T4 (e.g. Levothyroxine, Synthroid, Unithroid, Levoxyl etc) is a good choice if T4 is the only missing component. In individuals with poor conversion of T4 to T3, a desiccated thyroid preparation (e.g. Armour Thyroid Rx) often works best because it contains the needed T3 as well. Breaking up the dose into two or three doses daily provides a more stable blood level of T3 and generally produces better results. Taking the daily dose all at once in the morning tends to be stressful on the adrenals and often leaves one feeling depleted by afternoon. Evidence of this can be seen when taking daily temperatures. The adrenal stress shows up as increased temperature volatility.

Note that if the adrenals are too weak to handle the desiccated thyroid (Rx) then we often see an initial response of better energy and fewer symptoms followed by a later ‘crash’ in which energy can drop to even lower levels than before the desiccated thyroid support. Additionally, other symptoms of adrenal stress such as anxiety, insomnia, and palpitations (racing heart) can then occur. The same can be seen with fast release T3 (e.g. Cytomel) or with slow release T3.


Estrogen Dominance Support (for women)
Estrogen is generally a stimulant and presents as anxiety, agitation, muscle tension, increased cell division in female organs (e.g., uterine fibroids, breast cysts etc.) Conversely, progesterone has a calming effect such as sedation, slowed cell division etc. An imbalance which favors a predominance of the estrogenic effect (either excessive estrogen or insufficient progesterone) is called estrogen dominance. In the section on Estrogen Dominance you will learn why this is important and what you can do to correct it.

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Metabolic Therapy™ Healing
As you can see, low metabolic energy can appear as any of numerous symptoms. The best way to eliminate the symptoms is to correct the underlying problem – in most cases, poor thyroid and adrenal function.

Once you’ve made the choice to correct the problem, some general principles of treatment apply:
If the treatment is working, one should feel improvement as time goes on. Healing crises rarely occur with thyroid and adrenal repair. They tend to occur more often with detoxification or elimination of a biological agent.
Successful treatment is achieved more easily through the use of feedback based on changing signs, symptoms, temperature patterns and lab values.
When taking supplements, especially for those who are highly sensitive or have allergies, the old nursing adage of ‘start low, go slow’ is very important to remember when restoring adrenal and thyroid function.
It is the adrenal component that is least understood or appreciated. Yet, as you can see from this article both thyroid and adrenal function can be enhanced using supplement support and lifestyle changes. And, as a result, supplement support and lifestyle changes can help you start living a normal, 'symptom' free life.

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http://www.drrind.com/article.asp


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