Stopping the Thyroid Madness

Fatigue. Low energy. Exhaustion.

It’s par for the course to feel like a wrung-out dishrag when mercury has a hold on you. And it’s not surprising. Mercury can mess with your heart, your pituitary, your adrenals, your thyroid, the list goes on…

In the midst of mercury detox, I wanted to find out what I could do about my low energy levels. I knew that there were supplements I could take, but which ones? And for what?

Taking Your Thyroid’s Temperature

I was lucky that a detox friend of mine told me to check out Dr. Rind’s adrenal and thyroid website. Here I learned about a very simple at-home test to sort out which parts of me were causing my fatigue. All I had to do was take my temperature every day and record it on a chart. Just by looking at the pattern on the graph, I could instantly tell if my adrenals or thyroid were impacted by mercury. It was that easy.

• A consistently low temperature indicated thyroid problems.
• A temperature that varied from day to day indicated adrenal problems.
• A low and varied temperature indicated both adrenal and thyroid problems.

My temperature graph wasn’t low, but it varied a lot. I was relieved that my thyroid was okay, but I went about supplementing with Adrenal Cortex right away and my energy levels improved dramatically and my temperatures evened out.

Download a graph and learn how to take your temperatures here

What To Do About Your Results

If your temperatures vary, an excellent resource to learn about your adrenals is James Wilson’s book Adrenal Fatigue and the best supplement to start adrenal support with is Adrenal Cortex.

If your temperature graph is low AND varies–showing that you have both adrenal and thyroid problems–it’s vital that you treat your adrenals first. Stressed adrenals can be pushed over the edge by the demands put on them by a newly-supported thyroid. It’s important to make sure that adrenal support is in place before you tackle thyroid issues.

And your thyroid?

If your temperatures are low, don’t rush out to any old doctor asking for thyroid support. Most doctors rely solely on the TSH blood test to diagnose low thyroid, ignoring low temperatures and other obvious symptoms of low thyroid. There are far better tests available than TSH, and you can order them through your GP and interpret them yourself, or you can find a thyroid-savvy doctor near you on Mary Shomon’s website.

Want to Learn More About Your Treatment Options?

Read Janie Bowthorpe’s book Stop the Thyroid Madness. Bowthorpe is a longtime sufferer of thyroid disease and talks about treatment from the point of view of a patient. Her straight-talking style cuts through all the BS and lays out:

• Which blood tests really diagnose thyroid function
• Why how you feel is more important than what the labwork says
• Which drugs actually successfully treat thyroid symptoms, and which are mildly helpful, at best

Put her advice together with the temperature graph diagnostic tool on Dr. Rind’s website, and Mary Shomon’s thyroid doctor database, and you’re well on your way to supporting your thyroid and getting your energy back.