Food for my thyroid?

[Bird_42]

Hello. I am a 47-year-old male, and I have autoimmune hypothyroidism.

I've had my current thyroid doctor since November 2020. Recently, she ordered some blood tests for me. These were my first blood tests under her care, and here are the results:


FT4 = 1.53 (normal range = 0.82 - 1.77)      

FT3 = 3.5 (normal range = 2.0 - 4.4)          

TSH = 0.037 (normal range = 0.450 - 4.500)    


TPO antibodies =  less than 9    (normal range = 0 - 34)

Thyroglobulin antibodies =  less than 1.0    (normal range = 0.0 - 0.9)


Vitamin B12 = 817   (normal range = 232 - 1245)

Folate (serum) = 8.1   (normal range = greater than 3.0)


Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) = 6.3   (normal range = 7.0 - 25.1)

Vitamin E (Gamma Tocopherol) = 0.5   (normal range = 0.5 - 5.5)


Selenium (serum/plasma) = 154 (normal range = 93 - 198)


Copper (serum) = 106 (normal range = 69 - 132)

Zinc (serum or plasma) = 66 (normal range = 44 - 115)


Magnesium (RBC) = 7.3 (normal range = 4.2 - 6.8)

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy = 17.2 (normal range = 30.0 - 100.0)


Hemoglobin A1c = 5.1 (normal range = 4.8 - 5.6)



The doctor says that the antibody tests show that, currently, my thyroid is NOT under attack by antibodies. In other words, I am not currently experiencing Hashimoto's.

I ask her whether my thyroid can ever recover from the damage that has already been done by antibodies over the years. By "recover", I mean that the thyroid will resume production of thyroid hormones on its own, and that I will not have to take thyroid medicine any longer.

She says that it is possible for the thyroid to recover if the thyroid receives proper food.


What does the doctor mean by the thyroid receiving proper food? Well, according to the doctor, the supplement Thytrophin PMG is an example of food for the thyroid. Also, the doctor has referred me to a book written by a woman named Izabella Wentz. This book is called "Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology". Supposedly, this book describes the foods that are good for the thyroid.

Izabella Wentz has written 3 books on Hashimoto's, and these books definitely have mixed reviews on Amazon.

So, what do all of you think about this idea of food for the thyroid? Have any of you read Izabella Wentz's books?




Also, my doctor is concerned because my Zinc value is lower than my Copper value. She believes that Zinc should be higher, and she wants me to take a Zinc supplement.  

In her office, she has bottles of Aqueous Zinc, which is made by a company called Biotics Research. She likes this Zinc product 1) because the product is liquid and 2) because the Zinc concentration (2.3 mg of Zinc per 10-ml serving) is low. However, each bottle contains only 12 servings, and the doctor sells each bottle for $13.90. That's $1.16 per serving.

I've seen Zinc products that are much cheaper than $1.16 per serving, but they have much higher concentrations of Zinc than Aqueous Zinc does. Also, some of these products contain Magnesium, and I have to avoid Magnesium-containing supplements because my Magnesium level is elevated.

So, my question is, do any of you know of any Zinc product that is liquid, that is much cheaper than $1.16 per serving, and that does not contain Magnesium?


Thank you.

[gimel]

Whatever portion of your thyroid gland that was destroyed by the Hashi's will not recover.  If you stop taking thyroid med, then you can expect the Hashi's to attack the gland again.    Even if that  did not happen, you would need to take some thyroid med to offset the loss of thyroid gland tissue.    I don't think you can logically expect to ever stop your thyroid med, which has apparently gotten your FT4 and FT3 to what appears to be reasonable levels.    Several questions:  What med and dosage, and did you take the med in the morning before the blood draw?    Also, how are you feeling?  

You also need to supplement Vitamin D to reach at least 50 ng/mL.  Vitamin D affects the cellular response to thyroid.  

[Bird_42]

For the past year, I have taken the following:
Synthroid 137 (1 day per week), Synthroid 125 (6 days per week).

And I always do the blood draw BEFORE taking the thyroid medicine.



How am I feeling? Well, according to a gastroenterologist, I have neck arthritis that is pushing into my esophagus. This condition is causing me some neck pain but is not life-
threatening. He said that I also have arthritis in the center of my chest, just below my ribcage.
Furthermore, during the past few weeks, I have felt sharp pain in my right shoulder and on the right side of my head, and I have felt some pain in my lower back and in the kidney area.

Given all of this, I thought that my thyroid levels had fallen. But, apparently, these levels are pretty good.

However, my Vitamin E is low (Alpha below normal, Gamma just barely normal), and my
Magnesium (RBC) is above normal. Perhaps these values are causing my arthritis and various pains. Or, perhaps the pain in the right shoulder is being caused by overuse of the computer and poor sitting posture.



I'm looking into Vitamin E supplements and Vitamin E-containing foods.

However, Vitamin E supplements may be bad for someone with a below-normal platelet count like me. My last platelet count (from December 2020) was 118 (normal range = 150 - 400). I've had below-normal platelet levels like this one ever since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2009.

Also, some Vitamin E supplements contain soy (which interferes with absorption of synthetic thyroid hormone) and gelatin (which can cause heartburn and belching).

Foods like avocados and kiwi contain good amounts of Vitamin E. But they may also contain good amounts of Magnesium, and I already have too much Magnesium.



Also, I'm looking into chlorophyll supplements to increase my platelet count. My new thyroid doctor said that these supplements would be OK to take. However, the new doctor said that she prefers liquid supplements, and I've read that liquid chlorophyll supplements are green and may cause discoloration of my teeth and tongue. :)