The past seven years have seemed more like a battle with many missteps along the treatment path. But I have covered significant terrain and ended up with a near-perfect recovery. I am no longer bedridden. I am up and running each and every day, caring for three children and supporting my friends and community. Nothing makes me happier!
The Recipe
Low Dose Naltrexone -- Link Here to LDN Background InformationBHRT - Topical Pregnenalone, Estradial, Progesterone, Testosterone, NatureThroid T4/T3 NDT.
The Paleo Approach AIP (Sarah Ballantyne) Link Here to PaleoMom's free Diet Description
Cardio Exercise Link Here to My Exercise Experience
Supplements - Vitamin D, C, Zinc, Selenium, Biotin, Fish Oil or Cod Liver Oil, 5HTP, B12, Prescript Assist and Pure Encapsulations Probiotics, NOW Super Digestive Enzymes.
The Short Story
How $17.00 Monthly Helped Remission
Toxic ResponseHow $17.00 Monthly Helped Remission
In 2006, I moved into a new house full of toxins. I became very ill within a few months. My simple case of Hashimoto's autoimmune (previously resolved with only T4 supplement) expanded to something similar to Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia. I had trouble getting out of bed each day. Most of my faculties were impaired and the doctors I saw kept throwing band-aids on the problem. Sleep medications that made me foggy all day and pain medications that felt like lead weights on my legs. I never felt right.
Step 1: Heart Pumping
In 2007, I started exercising. As hard as it was, I walked on a treadmill for 60 minutes a day. I started to feel better. I am still walking, just faster and longer! I contribute about 35% of my recovery to this. It would be years before I would find out why. I stopped the prescriptions for sleep and pain.
Step 2: Find What's Missing
In 2008, Menopause hit and I had one less organ to generate hormones. My estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone were all very low. Some of them were nearly zero. I had flatlined. So I started HRT and much of my fatigue resolved. I contribute another 25% of my recovery to this. Little did I know that perimenopause requires monitoring of sex and thyroid hormones. All my visits to the doctor did NOT reveal this simple fact!
Step 3: Remove Triggers
In 2010, I went Gluten Free. I experimented and put my kids on it too. Beautiful results. We increased our fiber, vitamin load, omega 3:6 ratio, and sugar-free days. It made me wonder what was wrong with my digestion, and what else was I missing?
I added supplements: Vitamins D3, C, Zinc, Biotin, Fish Oil, Magnesium-- and later Selenium.
In 2011, I simplified my diet and added bone broth for minerals. I had a lot of help at home and the stress really lifted.
Step 4: Major Mis-step
In 2013 we moved! Under stress I slipped and had some muffins! One a week won't hurt. Right? Then I try fermented food to help with digestion since it seemed like my stomach never emptied. I crashed! My body cycled backwards in time. My body was physically swelling -- reacting to all kinds of foods! My "good days" were days that I did not eat at all. I knew that wasn't sustainable.
Step 5: Autoimmune Protocol Diet
I broke down and went to psychiatry -- after of course going to an Osteopath, Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, and a Functional Medicine doctor. It is hard to end up in psychiatry after managing very well for 55 years! All the doctors, except Internal/Endocrinology, mentioned the benefit of an Autoimmune Diet. I found ThePaleoMom.com and listened to the podcasts. What was described sounded right in my experience. I started removing offending foods immediately. Within a few months I was down to 115 lbs -- my weight in High School.
Looking back it was very likely that I gave myself an intestinal infection from the fermented foods. I was having histamine reactions. The endocrinologist WRONGLY assumed I was Hyperthyroid when I was Hypothyroid. She reduced my thyroid supplements by 40% !!!!
The thyroid lowers function during infection. The thyroid manages inflammation. The infection jumpstarted my autoantibodies and inflammed my entire body. The inflammation was CAUSING anxiety and Attention Problems. I was feeling better with the diet, but I wasn't entirely well. My body was still reacting oddly to foods. Something was still really wrong.
Step 6: Finding LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone
The psychiatrist explained the autoimmune connections and how autoimmune could affect pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, and sex hormones. That would make nearly 40 hormones. That's a lot of hormones! I also knew that hormones were protective and my problem had to be fixed ASAP!
I analyzed my symptoms and looked at additional pituitary hormones on Wikipedia (yes, Dr. Google). It seemed very likely my pituitary had been working at a lower level my whole life. It had never been debilitating though. Unfortunately, the tests for my Pituitary TSH and Pituitary Prolactin levels were near zero. The pituitary wasn't working well at all. So, my endocrine problems were likely systemic. My thyroid was likely not the only organ under attack by autoantibodies.
It seemed possible that LDN could resolve the problem. An interview with Dr. Bihari stated that LDN raises endorphins 200-300 %. It had worked very well for regulating the immune system in AIDS patients in trials. That sounded promising.
(http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/gazorpa/interview.html)
I found much discussion of Low Dose Naltrexone on the Autoimmune Patient Facebook Pages for Hashimotos and Fibromyalgia. Even the authors of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet talked about it. I also found a site called Treato. This site reports on blogging patients' positive feedback for various drugs for various conditions and LDN ranked the highest for inflammation and autoimmune. People were talking about LDN, very positively. Curetogether.org was also a great source supporting LDN.
But did any of the above doctor's prescribe it? Just one, the Functional Medicine doctor.
The Functional Medicine doctor fee was not covered by insurance. The LDN medicine is not covered by insurance. I travel farther to get the prescription. And guess what? It is worth it. Here is a list of changes I noticed -- many occurred in the first few weeks of LDN adoption at 1.5 mg for a cost of $17/month.
-- increase libido, can watch a drama on TV and feel the "crush factor" for the characters!
-- Pituitary Tests Show That It Is Working Now!
------- increase TSH from 0 pre-LDN. TSH up to 60 first month of LDN, then 9.0 second month LDN, then 4.0 third month of LDN. Normal TSH is .5 - 3.0.
------- increase Prolactin to 50 (well above postmenopausal normal of 20)
-- better blood sugar regulation
-- no anemia-- hematocrit 42. Looks good to the blood donation experts in December.
-- Thyroid autoantibodies: TPO and Tg antibodies slight decline after month 1 of LDN.
-- Thyroid hormones: free T4 at median of normal with free t3 at very low normal, free T3 improving after several months on LDN -- decreased Hypothyroid Symptoms
-- increase hair growth on top of head
-- increase compassion and empathy
-- improved memory recall, especially auditory recall which is not my strong suite
-- clear and deep sleep, dreaming again, waking refreshed and clear-headed
-- clear and deep sleep, dreaming again, waking refreshed and clear-headed
-- no aches or pains, I can skip a day of exercising without any added pain!
-- I can exericse longer and harder -- burst of energy at LDN dose of 3.0 mg
-- I can exericse longer and harder -- burst of energy at LDN dose of 3.0 mg
-- reduced chemical sensitivity--I wore perfume for first
time ever!
-- much improved overall well being, less anxiety, laughing out loud at TV sitcoms! ;-)
(faves: Parks & Rec, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Community)
(faves: Parks & Rec, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Community)
-- increase in ability to process music! I am feeling moved by music again. Feeling like dancing. :-)
-- better attention, much better multi-tasking, more patience with my teenage children
-- Much better sleep, really waking up with energy! Feel energized all day.
-- no afternoon energy crash
-- very low blood pressure (80/50) remedied at LDN 3.0 mg (115/75). Not feeling dizzy anymore.
-- less frequent urination
-- Much better sleep, really waking up with energy! Feel energized all day.
-- no afternoon energy crash
-- very low blood pressure (80/50) remedied at LDN 3.0 mg (115/75). Not feeling dizzy anymore.
-- less frequent urination
-- improved skin hydration --fingernails thicker and
stronger
-- better temperature regulation, not so cold!
-- smoother digestion on same diet
-- cortisol test from Month 1 LDN is normal
-- less constipation
-- seems like less swelling in throat, able to swallow supplements easier.
-- much less food hangover after eating corn and rice, (higher carbs)
minimal grogginess and dry eyes
minimal grogginess and dry eyes
-- still reacting to some foods, but much less hand swelling, much
less fatigue
-- after 6 months, much of my personal memories have returned, still reacting to grains.
-- after 1 year, endocrinologist has finally raised my T4/T3 dose, and my hormones are all normal.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have taken LDN six years ago when I started to exercise. I also could have refined my diet sooner than 2013, but the information on AIP was considered pretty fringe until now. So, I have a happy ending here in 2014, and I am looking forward to my second half-century. Anything can happen now that I have the right tools.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- after 6 months, much of my personal memories have returned, still reacting to grains.
-- after 1 year, endocrinologist has finally raised my T4/T3 dose, and my hormones are all normal.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have taken LDN six years ago when I started to exercise. I also could have refined my diet sooner than 2013, but the information on AIP was considered pretty fringe until now. So, I have a happy ending here in 2014, and I am looking forward to my second half-century. Anything can happen now that I have the right tools.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Hair Regrowth
My Working Pituitary: TSH History and Response to LDN
 |
| T4 Supplement at 75 mg, purposely low to stimulate TSH since 9/2013 LDN started at 1.5 mg on 11/20/2013 |
My Working Pituitary: Prolactin Response to LDN
 |
| Prolactin above Normal Value of 20 for Post Menopausal with LDN of 1.5 mg started 11/20/2013 Prolactin normalized over the next few months. |
