[Info] low t4, low sodium, etc--questions

[imaayafa]

the doc decided to double hubbie's tegretol. his t4 is now very low, his sodium is low, his vit d is low. ok-vit d is easy to take. but how can you naturally treat low t4? and how to treat low sodium-eat more salt?
thank you for any advice!! (ps is library the right place to post such a question?)

[Frink]

Hi Imaayafa,
Sorry your husband is experiencing these side effects of tegretol.

Since your husband is experiencing this many problems maybe the Dr should also test liver and kidney function to see if the tegretol is having further negative side effects and or consider a new drug with less severe side effects.

[Nakamova]

Many medications can affect total T4 test results, but in general, free T4 levels are not affected by these medications. Unless your husband is showing symptoms of hypothyroidism he should be okay. If he does seem to be showing symptoms, then there's a synthetic form of T-4 (synthroid) that he might be prescribed. There are also natural sources -- iodine (in moderation) is very helpful. (So make sure the salt you use is iodized salt). Also kelp and spirulina supplements can help, along with getting enough vitamin D and eating foods high in B vitamins. All of these steps are best done under a doctor's supervision, so you can have a sense of what T-4 levels you are aiming for and can make sure you don't overdo it.

Most people get way more sodium than they need, so it's unusual to be low in sodium! Eating salty foods can help, and not overdoing on foods rich in potassium (like bananas or potatoes) since potassium helps flush sodium out of the body. Sports drinks (with electrolytes) can help too. But again, it's important to work with your doc on this. If your husband is suffering from low sodium it can affect his kidney function and also have effects on appetite, cognitive function --it can even cause seizures! So if Tegretol is being that problematic, it might not be the right med to use.

[Nakamova]

FYI -- I did move the thread to "The Kitchen".

[Endless]

If you have insurance, a trip to the endocrinologist might be a good idea. Thyroid, pituitary, adrenal stuff is really hard to figure out. It's actually very counter-intuitive. (Test results sometimes mean the exact opposite of what you'd think) The balances are hard to get right - medication may or may not be tipping your husband's hormone balances. I bow to the doctors on this one.

[imaayafa]

thank you everyone! i did not realize it was so complicated. they are doing tests about once a month and each time it is different. in the beginning it showed low b12, low folic acid, so he started taking those plus a multi-vit. but ran out and stopped about a month ago and his b vits are still registering as high so the neurologist said he could stop. previously the family doc said if you are low in b12 and folic acid you must take it for your whole life. thoughts?

the doc said also said all the other blood works were totally normal (except for sodium, t4, d) so i presume the liver function was tested? i have a copy of the tests but which tests would i look for to know if they are liver related?

are you saying that if he goes back on his b vitamins that that could positively affect his thyroid?

the other side effects we presumed were from the meds were exhaustion, extreme thirst, headaches, weight gain, acne, mood swings, tempers and increased sleep talking/restlessness. but i now realize these or some of these could also be symptoms of the low thyroid, no? certainly the weight gain and exhaustion. i guess exhaustion could also be from low d. he has a cold now for the first time in years. he never used to get sick.

the doctor has decided to put him in the hospital for a few days to do a video eeg monitor to see if he is indeed having absence seizures and to help determine if he is on the right meds. they seem to make his life more difficult not easier. we are waiting to see if the health clinic approves his hospital tests/stay.

about sodium, there is no iodine in the salt where i live and foods are not 'fortified' either. the salt here is very gross so i buy imported french sea salt. it tastes good! i am pretty sure it is nothing but unprocessed salt and sea water (it is grey and very wet).

but we do eat a lot of vegetables and whole grains and beans. ocassional organic eggs, organic chicken. very ocassional organic beef since his b12 had shown low (tho now is fine for the time being). i am not sure how to get kelp or iodine into his diet; would the sea weed wrappers used for sushi help?

and wow i did not know that it is not good to eat bananas with this; he has one every day. he will be bummed about that.

thank you everyone; very much appreciated.

[Nakamova]

Before dropping the bananas, check with his doctor -- all the things related to the thyroid and nutrient balances are complicated feedback loops, so it's important to have the doc on board with any treatment approaches.

The sea salt does not have any iodine in it, so if you can get access to iodized salt that could help.

And yes it's hard to separate cause from effect when it comes to seizures, seizure meds and nutritional imbalances, hypothyroidism, etc... My blood tests always run subnormal in the CBC -- which is a result of the anti-epileptic drug meds -- but I function okay regardless. I do take B vitamins to help, since B12 especially can help in this case.

[imaayafa]

ps - the epilepsy specialist had with her a resident in pharmacology. neither of them said anything about responding to the t4 or sodium deficiency. it was me that suggested the vit d. i said how much to take, he said, maybe 400, that is what is recommended, a recommendation which i think is actually out of date.

[imaayafa]

thanks nakamova, i think we were both writing at the same time. about checking w/the doctors about food etc., my sense is that the doctors where i live have no clue about these things. i knew more about the side effects of tegretol than this epilepsy specialist did. and previously my husband became very ill after drinking grapefruit juice and i discovered on the internet that it is counterindicated; the neurologist did not know this either. don't know who to trust, which is why i turned here

[Nakamova]

It can be frustrating that our docs are so mis- or under-informed. There's definitely lots of good advice here on CWE, but since most of us aren't doctors, I always preach caution...

Vitamin D studies are maddeningly unclear right now. I take a 5000 IU Vitamin D pill since my levels are low -- despite my being a total sun-bunny.

[Endless]

It's trial and error with the D. Start with 400-500, or even 1000 IU for a few months. Have blood restested. If D levels aren't up, ask for a prescription. The Rx is 50,000 IU per week, and that's why it's by prescription only. I've been on the 50,000IU for over 4 months now, and my d levels are still way down. Puzzling.

[Nakamova]

Recent studies imply that there's a wide variation in individual responses to UVB radiation They looked at healthy surfers in Hawaii, and many were found to have low vitamin D levels despite abundant sun exposure.

[imaayafa]

thanks for sharing your vit d experiences, you guys.

maybe the surfers in hawaii with low-d are very dark-skinned; apparantly this can block absorption some.

i know some people have problems in their guts and then don't absorb b12 or other vitamins despite having it in their bodies, but since d3 comes primarily from sun i would say this is not relevant - however probiotics do seem to play a positive role in the immune system so maybe it also helps in absorbing nutrients from the environment...

[Meetz1064]

one of those that is disgustingly low in vit D, no matter what I do. I get a shot in the butt every so often, and take 5000 IU a day. I've had the hypothyroid problem as well, but for some reason the docs can't figure out, my thyroid reset itself (WHO KNOWS) when the celiac disease kicked in.

I will tell you that having hypothyroidism isn't exciting. Lots of fatigue, some weight gain, nails that had ridges in them, hair that fell out. My doc had me on Armour Thyroid, Super Saturated Potassium Iodide, B Vitamins and something else. I was having blood tests every 3 months to monitor everything.

As long as I ate a decent diet (I used sea salt, as well as took spirulina algae capsules) that was fairly well balanced, my levels stayed where they should.

But then my body did it's own thing. *sigh*

Oh, and yes. I'm on Carbatrol, which is Carbamazepine, just like Tegretol, plus a few other anti-epileptic drug's.

[imaayafa]

gosh meetz, sorry you have been through the ringer. it is upsetting that anti-epileptic meds take such hard tolls on the body and causes so many imbalances. but i guess it will take years to figure out better treatment or better yet--prevention. when i search tegretol and thyroid and tegretol and many of these other deficiences, it seems there are many, many stories, i guess the best anyone can do is follow doctor orders but to double up on vegetables, and reduce or eliminate white flour, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, hormones, colorings, preservatives, etc; apparantly everything we put into our body (medicine, food, skin creams, toothpaste, soap, food packaging that trickles into food, etc) influences the blood work for better or worse.