Thyroid Balance - Blood test your free T3 and free T4 without a doctor.
Thyroid problems in Americans, especially over the age of 40, are epidemic now. This is very under-diagnosed, and affects at least 1 in 10 adults. Countless people simply go undiagnosed. Or their doctors will tell them they are, "in range", even when they are clearly low. The older you get, the more chance of having a problem. Women are more affected, especially during pregnancy, menopause, perimenopuase, and who have PCOS or PMS. Very few people ever get their thyroid hormone levels tested; almost no one knows their thyroid levels. Doctors are clueless here, and that includes endocrinologists. Most all of these problems have to do with underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism, and usually with T4 rather than T3. Hyperthyroidism is uncommon, and can be treated with diet, lifestyle, and hormone balance (read the Balance Your Hormones article.) Anyone over the age of 40 should have their free T3 and free T4 checked. Thyroid imbalance is correlated with many medical conditions such as cancer, obesity, Alzheimers, diabetes, and other common illnesses.
If you see a doctor, you'll pay some extortionate fee, and leave there with your TSH, T3 uptake, and other almost useless information. You can test your free T3 and free T4 for only $60 without a doctor. Just use online clinics like www.walkinlab.com. Forget your T3 uptake and TSH. A few states such as NY, NJ, RI, MA, and MD have outlawed this, due to the medical lobbies. Just use the address of a friend in another state. Also, your under-educated doctor will probably tell you that any results "in range" are fine. This is not true. If the range is, say, 4-10, you want to be midrange, or about 7 (4 + 10 equal 14, divided by 2). If you are 4, 5 or 6 you have subclinical hypothyroidism. Just take the appropriate amount of T3 or T4 to raise your level. Do not use Armour® pig thyroid, as it contains both in a 4 to 1 ratio. Doctors who prescribe this are quacks. Only about 5% of people can use pig thyroid; the other 95% can’t. It is too expensive anyway. All hormones today are synthesized, but completely bioidentical. There is no difference. Please remember that. There are never any side effects to using T3 and T4 in the proper doses when needed. Overdosing on iodine will just make you worse. None of the OTC thyroid remedies you see have any value at all. People who recommend iodine overdoses to cure thyroid problems are quacks. OTC thyroid supplements are all junk.
Underactive thyroid is the problem 95% of the time. The symptoms are tiredness, weight gain, overeating, fatigue, hypertension, too much sleep, puffy eyes, feeling cold, cold hands, hair loss, intolerance of cold, brittle hair, brittle nails, unusual thirst, depression, itching, muscle pain, joint pain, dry skin, pale skin, feeling tired, and constipation. Depression is very common here. Overactive thyroid only accounts for about 1 in 20 thyroid problems.70% of these people have Grave’s Disease. This is much harder to treat, and one should never resort to allopathic medical procedures to poison (such as methimazone), destroy (radioactive iodine), or remove their thyroid gland to slow down hormone production. The symptoms here are nervousness, restlessness, hair loss, sweating, warm hands, feeling hot, heat intolerance, weight loss, shakiness, unusual thirst, brittle nails, unusual thirst, itching, mood swings, insomnia, rapid heart beat, vision problems, bone loss, anxiety, irritability, loose stools, and fatigue. The symptoms may be mild and first, and therefore neglected. They become more severe with time.
The cure is an American macrobiotic diet, healthy lifestyle, proven supplements, and balancing your other hormones to help normalize your levels. All your hormones work together in concert, in harmony as a team. Balance all of the basic ones as much as possible. Read the article Balance Your Hormones in our library. Synthroid, (T4 or L-thyroxine), and Cytomel, (T3 or triiodothyronine), are completely bioidentical. Buy the generics, instead of the expensive name brands. You can get these legally without a prescription from the online pharmacies very inexpensively. (Read the article You Don’t Need an Rx). Do a Google search for generic thyroid hormones on online pharmacies. Use Western Union online and not in person. Note well- not in person. Do not use a credit card! You can find T4 as Sinthrocid®) and Levotiron®. Cynomel® (T3) is back in 2019, and you can also buy Tiromel® online cheaply. Compare prices. U.S. Customs will freely allow them in by mail.
If you have a low, below midrange, free T3 level, you can consider a basic dose of 12.5 mcg (half of a 25 mcg tablet) of triiodothyronine as a starting point. If you find you have a low, below midrange, free T4 level, you can consider a basic dose of 50 mcg of L-thyroxine as a starting point. Our blood always has a 4 to 1 ratio of T4 to T3 in mammals. For below range levels just use twice the above amounts. Everyone is different, and only blood monitoring over time will tell you which dose you personally need. Be careful here, take your time, and do it right. You need midrange levels, and not merely in range. You must have midrange levels. This must be stressed. Doctors simply have no idea what they are doing.
Think “holistic” whole body health, and not simply “thyroid”. Read Macrobiotics for Everyone,, eat a whole grain based diet, take the 18 proven supplements, exercise, fast weekly, avoid Rx drugs, drop any bad habits, and balance your other basic hormones. All our hormones work together as a team, and your thyroid will work infinitely better if your other basic hormones are all in normal ranges. Be sure to read the Balance Your Hormones article. This includes testosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone, melatonin, progesterone, T3, and T4, estradiol, and estrone, (and estriol in women). You can also test insulin as well. Don't bother with GH for a lot of reasons.
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Spending $60 online for a real blood test for your free T3 and free T4 will be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. Remember you have to be midrange and not merely in range.