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Remember me? I'm the guy who quit taking his Synthroid last month. The doctor that put me on it 7 years ago said it was for life. Subsequent doctors said the same thing. The Quilt said "BULLSHIT!". Well, N=1, I started half-dosing my Synthroid (prescription is for .15mcg) in June. Stopped it altogether Aug 15th. Tested TSH yesterday: 2.56 (Normal range is .34 - 4.82). FT4 is .95 (normal .59 - 1.61).

So, this must be a miracle from heaven, right? Or could it be I'm now Leptin Sensitive and have been eating primal 9 months and lifting heavy things? How could all my doctors have been so wrong, why would none suggest I try stopping my Synthroid after I lost 60lbs, my trigs went from 200 treated to 33 untreated, blood pressure fine untreated, and fatty liver has completely healed? N=1 works! Thanks for the courage Quilt!

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go akman! it's ya birthday! – Rockgrrl Sep 9 2011 at 17:27
Do you supplement with iodine and selenium? I bet you could bring that TSH down and FT3 up (which I'm presuming is low-ish). – Travis Culp♦ Sep 9 2011 at 17:53
I started to supplement with kombu. I grind it in spice mill and use it to flavor fish. Works great, and with alot of nutrition :) – Jan Sep 9 2011 at 17:58
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 I supplement with Vit D 5000IU/day. Pop an occasional multivitamin, maybe twice a week. I drink Chaga tea every day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaga_mushroom Chaga grows around my house. I credit Chaga for curing my gout and primal blueprint for getting everything else under control. – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:04
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 I always screw that up. The bottle says 150mcg, it's a light blue pill. They stared me off on 25mcg, then 75, then 100, and finally 150 over a 2 year span. I've been taking 150mcg since 2007. – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:18
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13 Answers

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I'm glad you took your health into your hands and sound mind. Please pay it forward with others now.

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 I wish I had a home cortisol test kit; I have been stressing for the past month abou my thyroid. Doctors all told me if I quit Synthroid, my TSH would be out of control. Today I feel like a new man, walkin' on air! – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:02
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Congrats! No, not a miracle. A miracle is something which occurs that is beyond or outside of the the actual "laws of nature". There is absolutely nothing supernatural about what you have done for your own health. You simply started following/adhering to those physiological laws. I have witnessed numerous folks who have had similar "impossible' experiences to what you have had. Only those ignorant of human physiology would call it a miracle. It is a time for celebration and then, as the good doctor said, pay it forward to others with your story, your inspiration and your knowledge.

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 There will be no shutting me up! I'm in close contact with many vets every day who are in the 'metabolic syndrome' trap. Many have already commented on my weightloss over the past year. I have been quiet about my Synthroid journey until I could back it up with proof. I can't wait until my next physical when the doc asks why I haven't refilled my Synthroid in a year! – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:13
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Congratulations - that's wonderful news!

Patrick should start giving out badges for defying conventional medical prognosis - but until he does, have a nice, juicy upvote from me.

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 Consider a badge given --- although, I suggest akman monitor himself carefully going forward. – Patrik♦ Sep 9 2011 at 18:29
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It's paleo feel-good stories like you that will compel medical professionals to investigate more seriously the health benefits of living an ancestral lifestyle, eating the best foods the earth has to offer.

This rediscovery of health and human potential depends on success stories like yours.

It's vital that you translate your story for the medical field. If anyone out there is Paleo and achieving results like this - shock your doc - hold nothing back about what you know. When you leave his/her room, he/she will be left with invaluable information that is impossible to ignore.

Just remember that he/she will be treating hundreds of others after you. If med school can't train them to heal and optimize the health of human beings, we will.

There is no proof like living proof.

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 The hospital usually sends out a questionaire about your visit, I'm thinking real hard about what to write in it. This is the same doc that thinks a super-low vit D level is just fine, in facy, he bragged his was 8! – akman Sep 11 2011 at 21:56
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this deserves a parade! congrats on the miracle

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I'm not sure if you have clarified this elsewhere--so forgive me--but you followed the Quilt's protocol for restoring LS and nothing else? thanks.

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Not exactly. I found Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint back in Jan 2011, and lost 35 or so pounds to date. During the journey, I found Paleo Hacks and The Quilt. I am 100% sure, based on The Quilt's comments here, on MDA marksdailyapple.com, and on his own blog jackkruse.com/jacks-blog that my problems started 8 or 10 years ago due to untreated sleep apnea, and I had become Leptin Resistant. – akman Sep 11 2011 at 17:09
I started using a CPAP 7 years ago, but the "metabolic syndrome" cascade had begun. I showed rapid weight gain (went from 200 to 250 in two years), gout, pre-diabetes, fatty liver disease, high trigs, high chol, high BP, and hypothyroid. After going paleo, a la Primal Blueprint, the weight came off and I stopped my meds one at a time and lab tested to be sure I was good. – akman Sep 11 2011 at 17:09
I quit my BP meds in March, Trig meds in Apr, but was scared to quit the hypothyroid med until I read and re-read The Quilts various levees and blog posts. I took the plunge and here I am! Thanks for asking. – akman Sep 11 2011 at 17:09
I think if my doctors would have run a different set of tests early on, they could have treated the real problem and not medicated every new symptom that popped up. When they wanted me on diabetes medicine in 2008, I said 'there must be a better way' I spent two years trying to lose weight the CW way, low fat, high cardio and could lose some, but felt hunrgy and couldn't keep it up resulting in yo-yo weight loss. It wasn't until paleo eating and Primal Blueprint lift heavy things exercising that I was able to regain control of my health. – akman Sep 11 2011 at 17:14
Thank you for elaborating on your story and congratulations on your success! – MNH Sep 12 2011 at 0:36
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Hallelujah! Praise the lord!

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 The lord in this case can be found at www.marksdailyapple.com! – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:06
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I just had my blood retested, but I haven't received the results from my doctor. I'm curious what the results are now.

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Let us know! Good luck... – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:20
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I'm jealous! I thought my TSH was getting bette, down to .78, but this last retest had it back up to 2.1. Gah! Doe sthe Quilt have any hope for me? I take 100 mcg of Synthroid.

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 I have no hope for people taking synthetic hormones. You must change your position and get a doctor to do that as well. – The Quilt Sep 9 2011 at 17:44
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 In my case, I was never diagnosed with anything other than "High TSH". When I asked what caused the high TSH, they'd say--"Just happens", "Metabolic Syndrome", "Something you came in contact with in the military", or some other non-sense. If they find Hashimoto or something more believable it may be a different story. – akman Sep 9 2011 at 18:10
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 I'd love to get off the Synthroid. I went on it because of fear. My TSH was at 171 when I was put on it. I was in horribly rough shape at the time. – Heather Sep 10 2011 at 13:05
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 Quilt, that's just offensive. C'mon, be specific, at least. Drawing a broad brush like that is a slap in the face to a lot of us who didn't choose to have disease X or Y and who haven't yet been able to fix "it" with diet and lifestyle changes. You want to spend YOUR teens and 20s and 30s in serious chronic pain from endometriosis with minimal access to decent surgeons, surgeons who won't do a hyst on someone in childbearing years, and docs of all stripes who refuse to prescribe pain meds? Walk in my shoes and then tell me to my face that BCP isn't a small price to pay to function. – syrahna Jun 13 at 2:55
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 You're operating from such a position of privilege to be able to look down your nose at people on something like Synthroid. Christ, I was sleeping 13 hours a night pre-synthroid! I know more know, a lot more, but at the time, it was a freaking miracle to me that a little pill gave me back body heat and the ability to stay awake. I get so sick of the perfect being the enemy of the good on here... – syrahna Jun 13 at 2:57
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glad to hear it, good for you. It's good to hear from someone who quit synthroid. People don't believe nature had it right. Medical doctors will never see this kind of results bc they encourage people to eat SAD.

Keep us posted on your next set of great results.

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Not all doctors..... – The Quilt Sep 9 2011 at 23:45
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Hello akman. This Question of yours is some months old so Im just curious if you have continued to have good levels of thyroid. In reading your info, I also wondered about your Free T3 (as you only mention T4)... then again it must have been go or you wouldn't have been able to lose the weight most likley. Did you have high thyroid antibodies (Tpo)? Im just curious about that as I do have Hashimoto's. Thank you.

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Hope this happens for me!! I'm HYPERthyroid, Graves' disease & has been eating primal for 3 weeks. I see results already :)

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CONGRATULATIONS! I too healed my thyroid with Paleo! Yay us for getting of those nasty chemically meds!

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