You do not have to be on meds the rest of your life! That is a strong statement. If you are willing to work hard at your healing then it is possible. The meds will start working for your thyroid and it will grow weaker and weaker, if you just take meds. I find it is easier to heal with the armour than the synthroid, probably because the armour is mostly natural whereas the synthroid is synthetic and puts a strain on your body which is ever vigilant to rid itself of toxins.
I think you will find that even when you take meds your temperature will not rise to normal. A healthy person has a temp of 98.6 except overnight, early morning and in the evening—we have a cycle of temperature (circadian rhythm). Someone who is not healthy, for whatever reason, will have a reduced temperature, because we need minerals + water to create the enzymes and hormones that our body uses for its various processes and these get used up quickly if there are toxin exposures or sickness, etc. You have to work on rebuilding your mineral stores and this will allow your thyroid to heal.
For the thyroid, you need plenty of iodine as the thyroid is made up mostly of this. Iodine allows your thyroid to also use the other minerals like magnesium, potassium, zinc, etc. If your iodine is low then that will affect your use of the other minerals. You can take iodoral or kelp for this. I prefer kelp because it has other trace minerals and it also has properties that bind with any heavy metals you might have and so it is good for detox. You want to start slowly with iodine because iodine displaces fluoride, chlorine, bromine and other chemicals and metals—this will produce detox symptoms which are not a lot of fun. This is unavoidable, but if you start slowly it is manageable. If you get a kelp powder you can control how much you take—a few grains for a while, increasing as you stay feeling good with your current level until you get to about 425mcg per day from supplements. You also want to avoid chlorine, anything with fluoride, bromides in store bought breads, etc. Stay clear of toxic chemicals as much as possible because these will make it harder for your body to deal with any that are already stored within. Iodine, fluorine, bromine and chlorine are all halogens—iodine is good, the others are bad.
You also want to take a good magnesium/calcium supplement. I really like Natural Calm Plus—it has magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin D and boron. Magnesium and calcium are great at neutralizing toxins and magnesium enables the uptake of potassium into the cells. You need less magnesium than potassium—the more magnesium you take the more potassium you will need to maintain a good temperature. So don’t overdue. Start small here too. Potassium and sodium turn toxins into salts that can be easily excreted via sweat, kidneys, tears, etc.
Eat high potassium foods—I say foods instead of supplements because you need more than potassium—You need all the other minerals and trace minerals that work together with the potassium to allow your body to heal. Eat organic as much as possible because the pesticides, many containing fluoride, in the conventional produce will deplete your mineral stores and make it hard to heal. Carrot/celery juice is a great combination. I also like carrot/celery/cucumber and apple. Fresh orange juice is easily utilized by the body so I recommend that as well. I personally think carrot juice alone is not the best–it seems easier to have a good balance of nutrients with the carrot and celery juices. White beans, bananas, oranges, white potatoes, celery, carrots, mangoes, peaches, organic blackstrap molasses, pistachios, etc. I make a blended veggie soup—you can find the recipe here: http://tynanfamily.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/nourishing-soup/
You can also read on potassium and bone health and find a list of potassium rich foods at this website: http://www.betterbones.com/potassium/benefits.aspx It is important to use the soups and juices because they are quick and easy for our bodies to digest. They don’t use up a lot of enzymes and minerals for digestion and so you can use more of the nutrients for healing and rebuilding. This is in addition to eating a good whole foods diet—gluten free is good, bone broths are loaded with minerals, olive oil, organic butter, etc. If you are very toxic then I would hold back on tomato based soups because tomatoes are potent detoxifiers that will find lots of toxins and get them into circulation for removal via kidneys and GI tract—this will use up minerals in your blood and your temperature can drop fast, which is dangerous. You should be able to eat tomatoes though. Drink the blended soup morning and evening and also drink the veggie juice throughout the day as needed. If you have a bad headache the orange juice really helps get rid of it fast. If you have frontal sinus pain, that can be a sign of detox. Whenever you feel bad in any way take your temperature and drink some soup or juice. I also recommend taking milk thistle and astragalus capsules. These protect your liver and kidneys from any toxins and act as antioxidants which will find the toxins and get them out of circulation quickly. The astragalus is really good for healing organs. I take these twice a day, taking extra milk thistle whenever needed. Both are very safe.
Other good supplements for thyroid health are a whole foods multi, fenugreek, nettle (short term while healing), B-complex, vitamin D3, fish oil, flax oil, probiotics or water kefir/milk kefir—start small here too as probiotics are detoxifying. Antibodies are formed in the GI tract so healing it will turn those off.
Take your temperature throughout the day and if it is low drink more juice, eat more soup, an orange, a banana, etc. to raise it up as close to normal as possible. Keep doing this. Try not to let it drop very low. In the beginning you will have to eat very often but as your body rebuilds you will not have to eat so often. You will not get fat from this, because your body needs this food. At first it will feel like you can’t keep your temp up but soon you will start to stabilize and it will stay at normal because you have built up your mineral reserve and reversed any mineral loss in your bones. Still, eat every few hours—don’t let yourself get too hungry because this will cause your body to use up the reserve you’ve been building. You also want to avoid extremes of temperature in your foods, drinks and house, etc. You might need to bundle up sometimes to keep the heat in. If your temperature drops quickly or down really low then heat packs on your groin, abdomen and under your arms will raise your temperature and preserve your mineral levels. Sudden drops will only happen if you have a lot of toxicity and you are not keeping on top of your temperature and eating accordingly. I do not know if this is a factor for you at all. When our bodies are dealing with toxins they use up available mineral stores to neutralize them. Even if you have had a blood test that shows good mineral levels that does not mean your bones and tissues have good levels. That is because when blood levels get low our bodies rely on bone stores to fix the blood levels. If blood levels are low you know you REALLY have problems.
Pure water is very important. I drink distilled water with minerals added. Distilled alone is very bad, because it is empty and attracts everything into it—including minerals from your blood, bones and tissues. You want to avoid chemicals in your water. My rule for water is if I am feeling tired and my temp is 98.3 or higher I will drink a glass of water. Sometimes this will be enough to raise my temp and make me feel better (because the water takes the nutrients I have eaten and takes them where they need to go via the lymph system). If it is lower than this I will drink carrot/celery or orange juice or veggie soup or all of the above and then when I warm up I will drink water. Chamomile tea is very hydrating too. I have also used a combination of chamomile, nettle, red raspberry, oatstraw and peppermint tea. This is a strong combination and I usually add a little to each glass of water I drink during the healing process. Drinking a lot of it by itself can unbalance your potassium/magnesium. If you drink water and you do not feel better or you feel worse do not keep drinking water as you are diluting your blood too much. If you are warm enough it is good to drink a glass or two 1/2 hour before you eat as this prepares the GI tract to digest your food. You really need to only eat easy to digest foods during this process, because minerals are what produce enzymes and minerals are in short supply right now. If your temp is dropping quickly or it is in the 96. range (or lower–I’ve been at 95.6) you can dissolve a TBS of ORGANIC ONLY blackstrap molasses in warm water and drink it. Do this as often as you need to but don’t do too much at a time. I only use molasses in emergency situations. As a benefit, the molasses also has a good level of magnesium. Magnesium is what enables your body to absorb the potassium. I like whole foods because it is easier to keep these in balance. More of one necessitates taking in more of the other, and too little magnesium can make it hard to use potassium. You have to play around with this and try to make small corrections rather than large corrections, just like when driving a car.
For thyroid, it is so important to avoid fluoride. Fluoride used to be used as a treatment for overactive thyroids, because of its thyroid depressing ability. We were eating sardines and alfalfa and started feeling bad again, with a drop in temperature—I looked them up and found out they contain high levels of fluoride. So avoid these! Black tea, sodas, toothpaste, tap water, conventional produce, processed foods made with municipal tap water, Teflon, infant formula, processed cereals, non-organic wines and juices, beer, cigarettes, anaesthetics and other drugs (see http://www.slweb.org/ftrcfluorinatedpharm.html ) are some high sources.
Exposure to electromagnetic fields is also very draining to the body. You can’t completely avoid these but these are some sources: Cell phones, cordless phones, wireless internet, computers, radio/cell towers, power lines, various appliances. Getting out in the country or by the ocean away from a lot of that is really good for you.
Coffee and chocolate overstimulate the adrenal glands, which in turn make stress hormones which use up valuable resourses—so I would limit these. Stress also has this effect, of course.
Sleep is important for healing. Don’t stay up too late. 9 or 9:30 is great if you can do it.
Sunshine—we need it—just be aware that the more vitamin D we have the more magnesium and calcium we need and then the more potassium we need.
Exercise helps clear the body of toxins by pumping the lymph system, increases oxygen and send nutrients where they need to go. Walking and T-Tapp, gentle stretching and pilates are my favorite for healing and rebuilding. Go easy though. Too much exercise is draining too! I like to take a short walk in the morning and again in the evening. I try to stretch every day. When I am feeling stronger I add in T-Tapp or pilates.
This is not exhaustive, but it should get you started. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have.
Just so you know, switching from non-organic to organic foods increases the amount of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants you are eating. These will displace any toxins that may be stored in your body and it might seem you are developing allergies or sensitivites to various foods. In reality, you are detoxing. See: http://tynanfamily.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/answering-a-question-about-chemical-sensitivity-and-detox/
