Newbie looking for advice

[realturbo]

Hi, amazing and sometimes overwhelming information on this site. I've been on 75mg levothyroxine for the last 9 or so years. I'm guessing this might have been triggered by the sero-negative arthritis that started about 15 years ago. The arthritis was active for many years before going into remission. I was living with constant pain and inflammation for a long time, refusing to take medication such as methotrexate and sulphasazaline. A few years ago a suffered from a period of severe anxiety and sometimes panic but slowly managed to recover. These symptoms returned about three months ago but I've managed to slowly recover by about 70% by exercise, taking insositol, aswagandha, NAC, selenium, sublingual B12, 5HTP amongst others.

Three days ago I started taking Jarrow Formulas, B-Right but after doing some reading am wondering if I might making some mistakes with my supplementation, especially after reading the 'Methylfolate side effects what happened' thread on this site. I appreciate this is a ME/CFS forum (I think I have a moderate form of CFS, or could it just be the effects of the arthritis?), but I would really appreciate any guidance on whether my combination of supplements are okay. I did read on one of the threads that there might be some issues with taking NAC and folate at the same time. My goal is to alleviate my symptoms of anxiety, brain fog, poor memory and eyesight getting worse. I really would love to improve my memory and cognitive ability.

 

[Sherpa]

Your supplement list sounds logical and fine. Taking NAC is not a problem, in my personal real life experience. It was a fine supplement , FOR ME, when my glutathione levels were low.

Taking Jarrow B-right has been helpful for me. I had some issues with methylfolate at first, but I resolved them (see links in my signature for details).

You may want to take breaks on ashwaganda to keep it working strong. I like to avoid being on constant cycles of adaptogens. I took it 5 days on, 2 days off.

Some people have luck with CDP-choline for improving cognition / memory. Something to possibly research.

For anxiety I've had great success with high quality CBD oil from 4 Corners Cannabis, Mary's Nutrityionals or CW Botanicals.

 

[Mary]

@realturbo - I agree with Sherpa, your supplement list sounds good to me - I've taken all of those things with no problem, though we are all different and I know not everyone tolerates NAC. But I've been taking NAC and folate at the same time for several years with no problem.

But I'm wondering if your hypothyroidism is being properly treated with the T4 only levothyroxine. Many many many people do much better on a dessicated thyroid product like Armour thyroid, NP thyroid and so on, which has both T3 and T4 - this website has a lot of good info: stopthethyroidmadness.com

Your anxiety, brain fog, poor memory and worsening eyesight could all be related to hypothyroid, at least it's worth checking out. Most MDs automatically prescribe T4 only meds, despite overwhelming evidence that so many do so much better with T3 and T4.

 

[realturbo]

Thanks for your replies Mary & Sherpa. Very helpful to get some feedback and reassurance from others with experience of using these supplements. I didn't take the Jarrow B-Right today as I was thinking that maybe I should begin slowly by taking it every other day for a few weeks. I always struggle taking tablets continuously over a long period of time (probably because I'm afraid of becoming dependent on them for feeling well), but I like the suggestion of making the weekends supplement-free. I'm also currently looking at the possibility of adding some T3, but I doubt if my GP will be interested in supporting me. So I may look at sourcing it myself if I can, and if it's affordable. Sherpa, I just googled to learn about CBD, you don't think it's something one could become dependent on?