Hashimoto's and thiamine

[Mary]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24351023

Since I've been taking B1 for about 2 months, my energy has increased, I'm sleeping better and my BP has gone up too! Gondwanaland suggested it might be my thyroid and I am beginning to think she was right. I had to increase my phosphorus intake and also switched from B complex to brewers yeast as the B1 seemed to upset these balances, but I am tolerating it fine now (apart from higher BP, which I trying to sort out).

Also, fwiw, I've never been diagnosed with Hashimoto's, but have been on thyroid meds (desiccated) for over 20 years.

 

[shannah]

I've never been diagnosed with Hashi's but have been on thyroid meds for a while now. Lately, I've been experimenting with Thiamine again.

How much are you taking and in what form @Mary ? Do you find the form important?

 

[Mary]

Hi @shannah - I'm taking 150 mg. of benfotiamine in 2 doses - 75 mg. with breakfast and 75 mg. with lunch (I break the tablet in half). I'm taking benfotiamine instead of plain B1 because my blood sugar is borderline high (high-normal) and benfotiamine is supposed to help with blood sugar problems, though regular B1 may do this as well. (I'm extremely careful about sugar intake, white carbs etc., and am guessing that perhaps my highish blood sugar may be due to a thiamine deficiency)

When I first took B1, it was as plain thiamine and it did boost my energy and then I switched to benfotiamine.

However, when I first took B1, after the initial energy boost, a day or two later my energy went downhill - argghhh! Did not know why this happened but had to stop the B1 very reluctantly. And then I stumbled across Freddd's post on refeeding syndrome, and then did a little reading of my own, discovered that hypophosphataemia (low phosphate/ phosphorus) was the hallmark of refeeding syndrome. I read about phosphorus and how generally people have too much and not too little, and then read about food sources, and after drinking several glasses of kefir (high in phosphorus), much of my energy returned. There appeared to be a definite cause and effect. I'm still trying to take either kefir or yogurt every day, plus a little of a straight phosphate supplement.

But I still was not back to baseline, and theorized the B1 may have affected the level(s) of other B vitamins, I'd had a bad reaction twice to B2 so didn't want to try that, and then I started taking brewers yeast in place of my B complex, theorizing the brewers yeast would have the Bs in the proper ratios, and sure enough, the last of the post-B1 energy drain went away.

So I'm doing okay with it now, apart from adding 20 points or so to my BP! which I'm working on solving, may have to cut my thyroid med ...

 

[Mary]

update: I had to stop the brewers yeast - it was causing severe insomnia (probably due to glutamic acid content). I'm very sensitive to MSG or anything related thereto. But am now taking Jarrow B Right and do well with that. And also am taking 200 mg B1 a day now, 100 with breakfast and 100 with lunch.

Also my issues with low phosphorous seem to have stopped. I do eat sunflower seeds daily now (high in phosphorous) and drink kefir a couple of times a week, and that is working well.

 

[Wishful]

B2 increased my symptoms too, last time I checked (years ago). B1 reduced my symptoms at first, but then stopped having a noticeable effect. B3 was seriously bad for me, inducing strong suicidal thoughts as well as increasing the other symptoms. B12 also induced strong suicidal thoughts. I suggest you keep in mind that your response to B vitamins might be temporary, as mine was to B1. As with anything that has an effect on CFS symptoms, it's good to test its effectiveness every now and then.

 

[pattismith]

update: I had to stop the brewers yeast - it was causing severe insomnia (probably due to glutamic acid content). I'm very sensitive to MSG or anything related thereto. But am now taking Jarrow B Right and do well with that. And also am taking 200 mg B1 a day now, 100 with breakfast and 100 with lunch.

Also my issues with low phosphorous seem to have stopped. I do eat sunflower seeds daily now (high in phosphorous) and drink kefir a couple of times a week, and that is working well.

It's nice that you were able to keep B1 Mary, I found this very little study that may interest you:

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2012.0612

 

[Mary]

Hi @pattismith - that's the same study I cited at the beginning of this thread

B1 is so interesting - e.g., there's tons of researching showing that it helps with diabetic complications, especially when taken in the form of benfotiamine.

Anyways, my body certain likes it!

 

[pattismith]

Hi @pattismith - that's the same study I cited at the beginning of this thread

I hope that B1 will give me some of my neurons back!