Think I've cured Fructose Malabsorption

[xks201]

I tried the natural thyroid extracts before I tried actual T4 and T3 therapy. It should work pretty much instantly. What I felt from the natural thyroid extract supplements was rapid heartbeat and sweating, which is akin to taking too much thyroid hormone.

I would rather you get prescription T4 and go from there since there is no way of quantifying the amount of T4 or T3 in the over the counter thyroid extract supplements. For example when I take T4...if I take 50 micrograms my hands and feet are warmer, I have energy and can think clearly, but if I go to 75 micrograms I am sweating profusely and completely intolerant of heat. I will have to lower the thermostat to 60 degrees F and still be sweating.

So thyroid meds definitely require an exact dosing in my opinion. On top of that the extracts are similar to armor thyroid in that they contain T3 + T4, so that makes it even harder to dose because the T3 hits instantly.

Some doctors think that you can take as much T4 as you want and not all of it will convert but that is certainly not my experience.

Some people can't convert adequate amounts of T4 to T3 so they do better on combination T4+T3 therapy. T3 is too short acting for me and I don't seem to have that problem. I like T4 because I take it once in the morning on an empty stomach and am good the rest of the day. I had horrible results on those thyroid extract supplements and they probably do more harm than good since hyperthyroidism can produce the same fatigue of hypothyroidism.

If the dose is right it should work instantly at least for some of the symptoms of deficiency. The brain can only use T4 and not T3 to produce energy so I think solo T3 therapy is also a bad idea.

I would get on T4 if possible and then test your T4 and T3 levels and if you still have low T3 after increasing the T4 dose then add T3 to the T4 under the supervision of a doc.

Thyroid replacement is one thing that is really hard to screw up as a doctor since there are so many diagnostic parameters - the hardest part in your case sounds like just finding a new doctor to treat you.

My thyroid was completely normal on labs most of my life but most of my life I had chronically cold hands and feet that would have benefited immensely. My doctor is of the opinion that everyone needs thyroid hormone in my area especially since they removed iodine from a lot of salt.

 

[ShiMac]

My fructose malabsorption was diagnosed by KDM as being medium-severe. I could not eat any fruit at all, and had to ration most vegetables too, to avoid lots of pain, extreme bloating and gas.

I've been taking these supps for the last 5 months:

Jarrow N Acetyl Glucosamine 750mg (blurb says N-A-G combines with mucin secreted from goblet cells to form the glycocalyx, a protective layer of glycoproteins and polysaccharides that lines the digestive tract.)

Jarrow Glucosamine HCI Mega 1000mg (Glucosamine is an aminosaccharide synthesized from glucose and the amino acid L-glutamine. HCl (hydrochloric acid) stabilizes the glucosamine in this product. Glucosamine is a component of joint and intestinal tissue. Glucosamine is converted to N-acetyl-glucosamine in the intestines by the goblet cells.)

(one a day of each)

I believe they work by healing the cells lining the intestine that produce GLUT-5.

I decided to try them as I was getting desperate to help my poor innards with anything I could. After 3 weeks I tested some fruit (actually I got a cold and the fruit cravings overcame me) and now I can get away with eating 2 apples in one go, or drinking a whole glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I even ate a slice of toast a honey.
After the first packs ran out I went back to having full scale fructose problems within 3 weeks, so this is not a one-off cure, I need it as an ongoing thing. But it is wonderful to be able to eat all those healthy things that I had to avoid.

Hi Athene,

I have only just stumbled across this thread, and I am so glad I did. I suffered from Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome for four years as a child. Two years ago I was diagnosed with severe fructose intolerance. My liver function tests continue to come back below-average and I am always unwell, I seem to contract the strangest illnesses! I go through cycles of having no energy and bouts of week-long headaches. I have also been treated for depression. These things must be all related!

Unfortunately when I was diagnosed as fructose intolerant, very little information was provided to me about treatments / remedies and management of the symptoms. So much of what I do from day-to-day is from online recommendations.

I have read most of this thread and was wondering if you could please make a few suggestions for me, I will definitely be purchasing the above-recommended supplements, but are there any other treatments you suggest? The biofilm conversation was very interesting.

Thankyou,
SM