“You risk permanent brain damage,” said Nicole’s doctor (not exact words) back in December (2014). “I can already tell you’re having cognitive problems, already.”
Nicole’s nephrologist went on to warn her that if she continued to not take her thyroid hormone replacement medication it could result in death. He explained how he supported her in following a low-carb diet (to control blood sugar) but thought she was now making a big mistake.
Nicole has been diagnosed with hypothyroid since 1987. She’s been taking either Armour or Synthroid thyroid hormone replacement since that time.
Healing Nicole’s thyroid is part of the biochemical restoration program we’ve been following with Pam Killeen. This integrated program mixes detoxification and targeted mineral replacement to repair Nicole’s body.
Fixing the thyroid – which assists the cells in burning energy – is a big first step in healing the entire body. Without a properly functioning thyroid, the theory goes, the body has insufficient energy with which to heal Nicole’s insulin-depleted pancreas or 3% functioning kidneys.
Thyroid medication appears to overstimulate the body, interfering with its natural ability to heal. It also lowers levels of TSH – the very hormone necessary to stimulate production of thyroid hormone.
Therefore, last October, Nicole went off her prescription of thyroid replacement hormone. By December her serum lab reports had red flags beside all her thyroid markers. She had no energy. Well, not much. She also felt grumpy. And, yes, she had trouble thinking. I completely understand her doctor’s concerns.
But you don’t learn to walk by using a crutch…
Seven months later, we have had two more blood tests and much good news. First let’s look at Nicole’s T4 results. T4 refers to the inactive thyroid hormone in the blood stream. Normal levels are between 9 and 19 pmol/L.
- January 2015: less than 5 pmol/L
- April 2015: 6 pmol/L
- July 2015: 8 pmol/L
When Nicole went off the medication, her T4 dropped off the scale. But, as you can see from her latest blood test, they are almost within normal range. When she was taking thyroid medication, however, her T4 averaged about 16 pmol/L (bordering on too high).
Now take a look at her T3 levels. T3 is the active version of thyroid hormone. This is converted from T4 by various tissues in the body. T3 is what your body cells are actually using. Normal ranges, according to the lab test, are between 3.5 and 6.5 pmol/L.
- March 2014: 2.4 pmol/L (taking thyroid supplementation)
- Jul 2014: 2.5 pmol/L
- Jan 2015: 1.9 pmol/L (stopped thyroid supplementation)
- Feb 2015: 2.6 pmol/L
- July 2015: 3.5 pmol/L
Nicole is now in normal range. Albeit in the lower end, but I doubt her body is done repairing her thyroid tissue. Nonetheless, even by February her T3 levels were higher than when she was taking thyroid medication. Obviously her ability to convert her own thyroid-produced T4 hormones into active T3 is much better than her ability to convert synthetic T4.
Another way to put it: Synthetic hormone seemed to lower her TSH levels. Yet it did little to improve the bio-available levels of thyroid hormone in her bloodstream.
So while she’s not making as much T4 as she was supplementing with, she’s making better use of it. No wonder the doctors liked to keep her T4 so high when she was on Synthroid.
Lastly, let’s look at one of the prime markers of thyroid functionality. Many doctors only test for levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Here’s Nicole’s recent history since breaking up with Synthroid:
- Jan 2015: 213 mIU/L
- April 2015: 98 mIU/L
- July 2015: 22 mIU/L
Normal is considered below 5 mIU/L. So Nicole still has about 17 mIU/L to go. Considering where she’s coming from (213 mIU/L!), I see no reason why she won’t reach the target level.
As we noted in a previous post, Nicole has been eliminating 32x more aluminum than usual. Aluminum is strongly associated with thyroid failure. I think her body is eliminating the aluminum congesting her thyroid tissue and replacing it with iodine. She gets iodine from a daily intake of kelp supplements.
Fascinatingly, Nicole’s been able to do this type of deep cleansing without functioning kidneys. The daily infra-red sauna and coffee enemas appear to offer a more than adequate alternative route for eliminating toxic metals and chemicals.
We’ve only been following variations of biochemical restoration (AKA “nutritional balancing”) since April 2014. I thought, considering Nicole’s extreme condition, that it would take 2-3 years to heal her thyroid. Not 15 months.
Of course, it’s not completely healed. But by next quarter’s blood test, I think even the most skeptical would agree that she’ll most likely have normal thyroid hormone levels.
After all, even her doctor, who had delivered those dire warnings last December, had this to say last week: “Did you notice how your TSH are levels down? Whatever you’re doing… keep it up.”
As with Nicole’s normalized HgbA1C levels, the doctors never ask: “How in the world have you pulled this off?” Nonetheless, Nicole said she had a feeling of triumph to hear a medical doctor acknowledge that we are doing the “impossible.”
What’s next? they might be thinking. Are you going to stop taking insulin?
Hope so. Why not? Give the body the nutrients it needs. Help it detox. And rest. It’s designed to auto-repair. We just need to fix the energy- and repair systems. If a 48-year old woman with type-1 diabetes and kidney failure can regenerate a failed thyroid, imagine what else might be possible.
We don’t think, however, that synthetic insulin would interfere with a recovered pancreas producing its only insulin. Instead, what we expect to see is more and more low blood sugars, naturally resulting in a gradual scaling back of insulin dosages.
For more on why Nicole stopped taking thyroid medication: Should Type-1 Diabetics Take Thyroid Replacement Hormone? n To find out how Nicole’s thyroid function improved by September 2015 you can read Thyroid Healed: T4, T3 and TSH in Normal Range After 28 Years of Severe Insufficiency. For more information on the supplementation program Nicole is following based on hair mineral analysis visit Pam Killeen’s website.
