# GD relief with *Nutrition Vs. Medicine?* :confused0006:



## Cat1990 (Jun 9, 2011)

*As many of you know I am currently unmedicated at this time, and
have been for 14mos.I am 21 years old, so taking care of my body right
now is critical because I would like to live out my years in the long run...*

>>>I am weighing the decision of going about this disease in a nutritonal
sense or by swallowing some pills like i had before. glow <<<<<

Im not really sure which one is best for you to do. I dont mean just eating right, I mean literally taking certain nutritionals to relieve symptoms and better your body from a doctor whose very heavily educated of the body.

I do understand there are technical laws that play a part in this ordeal 
because it has been made to where you cannot be "treated for your disease"
by these kinds of doctors. They can simply help "your body get healthy" &
as a somewhat "side effect", your symptoms etc. go away...

I dont want to have surgery
anytime soon untill I plan to have children one day..but I really don't know
much about the surgery aspect &when or why you should, other than to climb
the fence and go into hypo. Which is less dangerous i pressume?

I didn't go into remission the first time around, i was blown off repeatedly and now my condition is worsening. I was put on atenolol (beta-blocker) and my heart would just pound&pound rather than race, still got Papiltations, &my hands/feet would go icey, so it helped but not the way I hoped. When i was on Methimazole (generic for Tapazole), I had the most horrendous periods this Earth has ever seen-pain wise. Like someone was ripping out my insides :sad0004: .. (no joke or hyperbole implied.) The other choice of antithyroid medicine would be PTU which runs the risk of damaging your body:

"Other - There are three other very rare complications of antithyroid drugs: liver damage (more common with PTU), aplastic anemia (failure of the bone marrow to produce blood cells), and vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels associated with PTU).

The risk of liver damage from PTU is an important concern, particularly in children. For this reason, MMI is the first choice for treating hyperthyroidism."

http://www.uptodate.com/contents/patient-information-antithyroid-drugs

This disease, like many others is just so costly. Thinking about being on pills forever or getting surgery/radioiodine treatment, to then be on a different pill forever isn't very appealing to me. 
It kind of seems like its a good way to sucker us for money.
Although nutrition is expensive in the oral-consuming part to an extent, it is cheaper than paying & waiting to see some doctor that doesn't give a rats butt about what youre going through. Frankly i dont have the time nor money to waste on endocrins to turn me down, especially now that i need a NEW doctor, and we all know they charge the crap out of you. It would be a pain staking amount for me to do this since my TSH isn't "low enough" to most close minded docs. I will have to be bed ridden, again, in order to gain a low TSH for them to pay attention. I really feel like im a lonely fish in a huge ocean.
I go to a community college and I always pray I won't go into some thyroid
storm and know one knows whats wrong with me here. explode

Do you really have to be put on those medicines for results? or may you take this other approach that doesn't neccessarily harm your body like medications would? Can this approach really work, has it worked for you??

I am very open minded and intrigued about this topic. Any input and personal wisdom/experience is welcome. <3


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Okay, I'll bite. 

I'm sure someone will be along shortly who has lots more insight & experience, but my gut reaction says you shouldn't completely discount taking the RX meds for your condition. There is no point in suffering major complications (heart attack, thyroid storm, etc.) just to stay away from certain medicine(s).

That being said, I've done a complete 180 degrees over the last few months regarding natural medicine. After suffering with liver disease a few years ago, then enduring chemo, and all the while bouncing around between various doctors looking for answers, I was the "perfect patient". I did what was asked, took what was given, and showed up to all my appointments. But here I am, years later, now suffering with new maladies (Hashimoto's, low testosterone, etc.).

So I decided to think outside of the box and try something else. This found me in the office of a local naturopath. I had put this off for years and years, always shunning the "hippie doctors". I was burned out from getting the runaround from other docs lately and wanted to work on some results. I wasn't expecting a miracle, just a little help. Boy, what a surprise I had. The naturopath doc sat and listened to my concerns, took my medical history, examined my previous labs, performed a physical exam, and worked on a game plan to help address my health issues. This meant using vitamins, supplements, healthy foods, and exercise to get there.

Fast forward about a month to today and I have to say, overall things have improved slightly. There have been plenty of rough spots along the way, but again, I'm not expecting to feel better overnight or be completely healed. And I plan on using the natural medicine in conjunction with conventional medicine to hopefully get to where I need to be.

I'm sure every state is different, and it's important to know the limitations of a possible naturopath doc. For example, here in Oregon they must satisfy four years of pre-requisite schooling, then attend a certified four-year naturopath medical school. Once they begin practicing, they are highly regulated and licensed by the state. On the plus side, this means they can order medical tests, labs, prescribe RX meds, etc.

One down side to all of this is getting medical insurance to cover a naturopath. Most won't pay for it, so this means paying out of pocket up front. Some supplements and vitamins the naturopath might want you to take can be found cheaper in places like Whole Foods, Amazon, etc.

Personally, I think you should still pursue conventional medicine, but I don't think an introductory visit to a naturopath is a bad thing. Others have warned me to be careful with anyone recommending all sorts of supplements and treatments, and I think that's an excellent concern. I'm taking baby steps and trying not to overdo it, asking lots of questions, and doing my own research at home to validate things.


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## Cat1990 (Jun 9, 2011)

thank you for biting  i was hoping someone would share their experience and personal views. thank you it is greatly appreciated. my fiance is working in the health industry, has his own business. ive seen what nutrition alone can really do for people. i agree, i figured it would help along with medicine itself. maybe im just trying to put the endo route off because i cant afford them this time around. Nutritoin for right now is all i really have. :/ but hopefully things will look up soon!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Cat1990 said:


> thank you for biting  i was hoping someone would share their experience and personal views. thank you it is greatly appreciated. my fiance is working in the health industry, has his own business. ive seen what nutrition alone can really do for people. i agree, i figured it would help along with medicine itself. maybe im just trying to put the endo route off because i cant afford them this time around. Nutritoin for right now is all i really have. :/ but hopefully things will look up soon!


L-Carnitine is used to treat hyperthyroid. I think you have to take about 6 grams a day.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/dec2007_report_thyroid_01.htm

http://www.suite101.com/content/l-carnitine-for-graves--disease-a11976

You can Google for more info.


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