Victor’s Story
Thyroid Treatment:
T4/T3
Hi Paul,
I would like to thank you
I have been on T4/T3 combo treatment for the last year on a stable dose. While I have done other things that helped my health a lot, I do believe this stable combination therapy has been essential for me. My TSH is suppressed, and my free T3 at the very top of the Indian range (slightly above the US range). This makes my doctors nervous, but I have been able to advocate for myself and continue to get the treatment I need.
More proof of this is that my liver enzymes and triglycerides which have always been far, far above the top of the range my whole life have come down to the normal range. My triglycerides were over 400 at one point, and doctors wanted me on a statin for it. Seems all I needed was some good old T3. As you well know, those can be elevated in thyroid patients despite a “normal TSH”. Finally I feel I am euthyroid at the cellular level.
My health has significantly improved. I suffered from debilitating chronic fatigue for over 14 years. I also developed “bipolar disorder” which I am very certain came from my terribly managed thyroid condition. At my worst, I couldn’t work, or really function in any way. I was almost bedridden, and doctors put me on heavy doses of psychiatric drugs which damaged my health in many other ways. Without going too deeply into it, I was in hell.
I also had to work deeply with my mind, emotions, and nervous system, which I believe helps the thyroid hormone work the way it’s intended to. I do believe in a higher power now, which I didn’t at the beginning of my journey, because of the immense, unexplainable grace that I received along the way. Even when I was at my lowest and felt little hope at all of getting better, somehow, the next step opened up for me.
In hindsight, I always had the support I needed along the journey for the stage I was at. My mother was my caregiver, my father my provider, my friends and brother, my emotional support. I had you and other thyroid advocates and pioneers, those who had walked this journey before me and shared their immense knowledge and gave support to those of us who followed.
When I resigned from my job due to no longer being able to work, I had to move to India. There, there was no T3. But by some miracle, Abbott started manufacturing it and I was able to get it as per my needs. I just kept pushing, year after year, and things eventually worked out. And somehow, all the health information I needed to heal my nervous system, mind, and emotions just found its way to me, right as I needed it.
My health improved so much that I was able to move back to the United States from India. I have energy, I sleep well, digest well, and am mostly symptom free, minus a few small things here and there. I am a normal person now and immensely grateful for it.
As for my “bipolar disorder”, it will take time to prove to the doctors that it won’t recur. But my family and I are confident in my mental health as well as my physical health now. I’m a completely different person than I was these last 14 years and everyone can see it. And it’s in no small part thanks to you.
I’m sorry it took me so long to write this success story. I know I promised you one a while back, but it’s much better now than it would have been then.
Thanks for everything, Paul. I could not have done it without you.