Breast blend, goiter, iodine etc ?

I do not have thyroid issues, but I think it is smart of you to check all the angles before jumping into treatment.



I find it quite frustrating sometimes when people use the argument of "no harm in trying it, it is natural." If it is supposed to have a real effect in the body, then natural or otherwise, there is also the possibility of it having some kind of harmful effect.



Other than D3, what is it she wants to check?



What are your reasons for wanting to avoid the thyroid meds? My impression was that they can be quite helpful and have few SEs, but I don't actually know, truth be told.

I had a goiter when I was 8 years old, back in 1954, and was hyper, they were just using radioactive iodine and I was treated with that.  I lived in New Orleans at the time, and the treatment was very new, I was written up in medical journals.  It did destroy the goiter, and also part of my thyroid gland, but have had thyroid supplements that keep me normal since then.  Do they still use radioactive iodine?  I often wonder if it was the cause of my breast cancer.  Thyroid medication is very inexpensive and I have no side effects.

Purple - I'm a strong believer of the link between the thyroid and breast cancer. The breasts compete with the thyroid for iodine.

I have a large goitre - my thyroid function was normal though. I have declined surgery as I also strongly believe that synthetic thyroid hormones cause BC. I take Kelp tablets daily, hoping they might shrink the goitre, but no luck so far. I have always used iodised salt, but I don't eat much added salt.

I forgot - I've had 2 ultrasounds and a biopsy - benign. My bs wants me to have surgery, but it doesn't affect my swallowing, so I keep telling her I'd rather wait unti it's absolutely necessary.

Trouble is, it is already 5cm, but as long as it doesn't affect breathing or swallowing, it can damn well stay there

Hello, hope you don't mind my joining the discussion, I also have thyroid issues, goiter, but am low or hypothyroid. Diagnosed over 20 years ago, and have been taking synthetic hormones ever since, mostly staying at the same dose for many years at a time, and the goiter no longer has nodes on it and has shrunk so that I hardly notice it. However, any sickness, disease comes along in my life and the thyroid hormone level in my blood has never failed to go completely wild until whatever made me ill has been dealt with.  About 8 months before I found my b/c lump, my thyroid labs were changing and my doctor lowered my dose, from 100 mcg to 75mcg, we tested monthly, I kept having too much thyroid hormone in me, by the time I could feel the lump in my breast, it was at least 6 months, by then I was on 50 mcg every other day. The day before my surgery,  they do routine labs, I was told to take 100 mcgs, both that nite, and in the morning, stay on 100 mcg and see my doc asap.  What happened ?  I do believe the thyroid goes wonky when your immune system is not able to handle what's going on inside, in my case the cancer growing in the duct. Suzie, I don't think the synthetic thyroid hormone meds causes breast cancer, but I do feel in my gut that the thyroid for some reason or other, starts overproduction and/or underproduction trying to fix some problem within the body, it can go from behaving for a long time to just fluxing up and down. Wish there was some research done on this, however women gets breast cancer with normal working thyroids too I am assuming, although it could be they were never diagnosed with either hypo or hydrothyroid disease. Unfortunately for me or my worried mind, a new wrinkle has come up but really that may be more appropriate in a different forum or discussion. Just wanted to add my 2 cents/ more like a dollars worth as I am longwinded,lol.

Last monday I had my 3 year follow-up mammo and breast axam, and for some reason was real anxious about it, however all was ok, and NED on the report. Happy Dance, right. Then I realized I was still feeling anxious, so I thought I'd call my primary doc soon and see about getting labs for thyroid, because it was that same feeling "being anxious" I get when I get too much thyroid hormone.  Thursday 4am I woke up with severe chest pain, blurred vision, nausea, hot and cold waves sweeping over me, and my husband hauled me to the ER. I do have high BP, High Cholesterol, had a coronary stent implant 7-8 years ago, so it was reasonable to assume I was having another heart attack. EKG was normal as was most bloodwork, I was given an appointment for a stress test, and nitro prescription to use in case the chest pain came back, just for curiosity I asked if they got enough blood to do the thyroid labs since we really don't know what caused this incident yet, and told the doc about how I felt. The doc said yes to the thyroid labs and called that afternoon and said for me to lower my thyroid meds for 10 days, take only 1/2 tablet, then go back to regular dose, and we would check in a month. As you can imagine I am not too anxious to get on the "lower the dose routine again", but what else can I do, but you can bet I will do many breast exams in the coming weeks, maybe even ask for a breast MRI, and of course keep my heart doc. appts. 

Purple, I too have osteo, -3.17 last dexa, I took HRT for over 10 years to help the osteo, always have stayed in the -3.00 range, with or without HRT. I broke my pelvic bone in a fall, but have not had any other problems with broken bones.

Sorry this is so long, promise to be short and to the point if I post again

dsgirl

Purple, I agree. 5 years prior to cancer DX, I had gone to the doctor because of nagging, minor issues that I thought might be thyroid related. Doc found nothing. In hindsight, I obviously already had cancer then.

When finally DXed, my fasting sugar was in the high end of normal and I had steadily gained weight for the two years prior to DX. The docs ignored it because it was not in the danger zone and because my weight was still well within normal BMI. Never mind that it was really high for me. Only other time I was that heavy, I was 6 months pregnant.

After treatment the sugar has remained at the limit to pre-diabetes. The docs still won't discuss or address it, because it is not IN the problem range, yet. I went and got an A1C myself, just to make sure that the fasting sugar readings were accurate (which they are, A1C is at the upper edge of normal as well).

I am convinced it must be connected to the cancer somehow. 

Purple, no, I am not on metformin since strictly speaking my numbers are normal, just barely.

Ladies, thanks for listening, posting. Vivre I remember my grandmother taking Iodine liquid every morning, she obviously had a goiter, as it was very visible, even to a child.

As far as the insulin goes, my bloodsugar levels have always been low, in the 80-90 range, my husband has diabetes, so I am aware of bloodsugar levels, checking them etc.  if his was measuring in the eighties, he'd feel real "sick", whereas I feel normal with those numbers. I do have to eat something pretty quick when I get up in the morning, just feel that urge, always have, with or without checking my bloodsugar. According to my pcp my sugars are normal. I should maybe add that a year ago I was a sugar junkie, and now use hardly any sugars. Since I have osteoporosis I read somewhere, probably here at BCO, about sugars, how it feeds cancer and also not good for bones, so there is a real change there in my intake of sugars, however my tests are always normal, so I assume I handle sugar WELL, no matter how much I ingest. I was never asked by any doctor what my sugar intake was, and since my levels were always good they would assume I ingested very little, that was not the case.

I have been searching for a naturopath, found one about 80 miles away, do not know anything about him yet, his practice also lists a Natures Vitamin type store, same phone number and address. I am tempted, but also a bit apprehensive about messing with things I am not really understanding, I just know I dont feel right, lol. My pcp is a D.O. not an M.D, and for years I felt I was treated as a whole person not just handed a prescription for a symptom, but the past 2-3 years it seems like that has changed somewhat, I am sure the thyroid is a hard thing to treat, as not enough is known about it. I do get several tests done, not just the TSH, but I had to ask for that, alas I still do not comprehend it all. Glad to be able to post here and read your responses, your experiences etc, at least I know I am not alone, although our symptoms are all different. There really is not a one size, fits all cure or solution to our b/c and other health issues.

dsgirl

Can I join the club?

five years ago, I was really sick.  Everything pointed to a misfiring thyroid - but no one would diagnose it. After 10 hellish months, I ended up at a naturalpath who gave me Armour thyroid.  Too much, but at least I was on something.

And, for the next two years I told her that my left breast was itchy.  So itchy that when I scratched it, I left gouges.  Then, guess what I was diagnosed with!

And, did I mention the low blood sugar from childhood?  The diagnoises that I was close to PCOS, but not quite?  Never could lose weight?  Yup, that is me.

And, now I am on metaformin.  And i would like to use iodine and explore the options.

The one thing that I will not do is return to the naturalpath.  She dropped me as soon as she found out I had BC.  And, when they went to start me for surgery, they refered me to the only endo who would work with someone on Armour but only until I finished chemo.  The endo insisted on a month to get the synthoid under control and then surgery.

I think the whole Thyroid as a baramator of health is a great idea.  And, I would love to see an endo that works with BC.  And, if anyone has resources of iodine, can you send them to me? 

Interesting thread! I developed Graves Disease after my thyroid was nicked by rads scatter. I tried beta blockers and got worse. I ended up taking RAI (radioactive iodine) which destroyed my thyroid, I'm on synthetic hormones for life.



Goiters sometimes = Graves. Graves can impede conversion of T4 to T3 in your body. I was so lucky to meet someone here at BCO with the same problem and learned about Cytomel, which aids in the conversion.



As i understand it, TSH is not a completely reliable test for thyroid function. It is an adrenal gland function with indicators to thyroid function. To get a real snapshot of thyroid function you require three tests, TSH, Free T3 and Free T4. I think the test is called a 'Thyroid Panel' in the US.



If you're on the verge of hyperthyroid pay close attention to your levels, you do not want to develop Graves. It sux.