Synthetic hormones

by Shirley Trudel
(Hillsboro, Oregon)

I am 70 years young. 1/3 of thyroid I still have. All female organs were removed 30 years ago. Everything. My synthetic hormones were the cause of breast cancer 5 years ago and I had 2 lumps removed.

I refused radiation and chemo. My own Dr. apparently did not know how to get my thyroid going in the right direction. My last blood work I asked for the Tsh, T3 and T4 results. She said my thyroid was normal... T4 was within range and I had to ask for my T3... when she found the results it was .04. My dosage was raised. My doctor informed me that I am one that cannot take hormones. My naturopath Dr has me now on Progestrone 200mg.

I am on welfare and cannot afford $80.00 per visit. Is there maybe another way to keep my hormones in balance? Your help of course will be held confidential. The Thyroid I'm taking is 180mg of Armour thyroid. Thanks.

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Synthetic hormones

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Jun 02, 2009
 Synthetic hormones
by: Wray

Hi Shirley. I'm pleased you're 70 years 'young'! I'm saddened you were given synthetic hormones, and shocked you were not taken off them sooner. 3 major studies were stopped early in 2002, 7 years ago now. See the following for the latest on them:

NEJM Volume 360:573-58 February 5, 2009 Number 6
Breast Cancer after Use of Estrogen plus Progestin in Postmenopausal Women

It could be there's little wrong with your thyroid. Although your T3 is very low, it could be because your liver is struggling, this makes about 80% of our T3, the rest is made in cells throughout the body. High cortisol inhibits the conversion of T4 into T3, were your adrenals checked? Cortisol is produced in response to stress and you've been through much. rT3 suppresses T3, was this checked? T4 and T3 are made from tyrosine, iodine, with selenium as a co-factor, were levels checked?

Adrenaline, another stress hormone, also inhibits the conversion of T4 into T3, it also increases levels of rT3. Were your adrenaline levels checked? Excess oestrogen and parathyroid hormone suppress thyroid activity, were these checked? Oestrogen causes copper retention, excess copper raises calcium levels, calcium blocks thyroid function, were your copper and calcium levels checked? Calcium also increases insulin levels, insulin suppresses thyroid activity. But excess insulin over a prolonged time causes insulin resistance, this prevents glucose getting into the cells where it?s needed and everything suffers, not just the thyroid!

I'm pleased you're on a high dose progesterone, stress drops progesterone levels sharply, it will also relieve the strain on your adrenals which in turn will help the thyroid. It will also suppress any excess oestrogen you might have, which in turn suppresses copper and calcium and raises zinc. It might be an idea to take extra zinc, 15-30mg/day, plus 200mcg selenium to help the thyroid. Also milk thistle, but make sure it contains ±420mg/day of silymarin, this will help the liver detox and function better.

Armour Thyroid is very good, as it's a natural extract of porcine thyroid glands. There are others on the market you could try, go here and here.

Take care, Wray.
Jun 02, 2009
 Synthetic hormones
by: Anonymous

I've had Hashimotos for 25 years. i know the thyroid worls like the back of my hand. Armour is hard to stabilize its short life in the blood. You nee to use 2-4x a day. Your thyroid TSH should be between 1-2 lab range or real close to feel good. You can fine tune your thyroid med by alternating dosage day to day using 7 day average. It works for me, no more up and down with meds. Hope this helps.
Oct 15, 2009
 Bioidenticals
by: Jeffrey

I believe that synthetic hormones are not a healthy option when dealing with menopause/andropause. I have been researching extensively on the topic and have found that bioidentical hormone therapy is the way to go. Here is a website that has helped me learn a lot... http://bodylogicmd.com/research/safety-of-bioidentical-hormones
Oct 25, 2009
 Bioidenticals
by: Wray

HI Jeffrey Thanks for the web link which I had a look at, good info. You'll find all of that and much more on the progesteronetherapy.com site! Take care, Wray

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