[Ski]

#1070905

In more than ten years on this board, I’ve never heard it discussed, sorry.

[hyperk]

#1070906

Thanks…that’s, in part, what I wanted to hear, possibly that is has no, little, or unknown medical benefit. The flip side would be hearing from others that may have found some benefit to it’s use. I’ll ask my endocrinologist when I see him next.
Kathy

[lakeview]

#1070907

Hi there,
I have graves diseases – but it is effecting my eyes only. My thyroid is normal. However, the doctors tell me that most often within 2 years I may develop hyperthyroid..so needless to say, I am on no medications at this point… So, I feel that for me, it is worthwhile to pursue alternative therapies since my doctor says there is nothing she can help me with now. As a result, I am seeing a naturopath who is helping me tremendously.
I do take a small dose daily of selenium 50 mcg. I figure it can’t hurt. I read in Mary Shomon’s book that,
"Selenium is a critical element for thyroid health. Not only is it essential for the production of T4 and the conversion of T4 to T3, but it is also needed to help chelate heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury out of the bloodstream."

Apparently, there have also been some studies indicating that women with breast cancer have low selenium levels… so in my case (my mother died of breast cancer) I am motivated to give it a try.
I would ask your endo/pharmacist, if taking vitamins/minerals could effect how your thyroid medication works before using trying selenium though.
In my case, I have some time to experiment and my hope is that it will help ward off thyroid problems.
Only time will tell
Best wishes
Lakeview

[Ski]

#1070908

Supplements are tricky ~ always make sure you talk with your pharmacist and regular physician to make sure that the supplements and dose levels will not adversely affect anything else that’s going on with you. If it helps you, great, but in the absence of specific results across a broad population, it’s something to be managed very carefully.

[hyperk]

#1019329

What are the current medical recommendations for selenium use in patient’s with Grave’s Disease? Does it seem to benefit the majority of us, or is the jury still out?
Kathy

[lakeview]

#1070909

Good point Ski!
Unfortunately, I find that my doctor really does not understand anything but pharmaceutical drugs…. I wonder why… all those free samples!!
I do ask but don’t get many answers… however in contrast my pharmacist is very helpful and will pull out the book to ensure what the toxicity levels are and what potential interactions there could potentially be.
It is hard to find a doctor that is open to alternative medicines – unfortunately – but I do know they are out there.
Since Naturopaths are regulated here (Canada)- I am pretty trusting of them… however, I do agree that it is wise to do double checks with my doctor and pharmacist!!
Cheers,
Lakeview

[Starvee44]

#1070910

Hi hyperk,

I’ve been looking in the Selenium issue myself, after Mary Shomon mentioned some things about it. I’ve collected some texts about selenium, I’ll add them. Haven’t read them very thoroughly (it’s new to me too), and I’ve got so much going on, so… Sorry that it’s a bit messy, and no references, but you can find them easily via google. As for supplements, I think (instinct, not personal fact or experience (yet)) it’s definitely worth trying, especially if you had thyroid disease for a long time. A good website to get into this, is xxxxxxx. They are very professional and fair, very good service, and best of all, their products carry a lot of reviews from people who use it. Here’s a selenium example: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I think it can’t hurt to try, if anyone has any experience with it, please let us know if it helped anything getting your antibodielevels down.

There’s also a thyroid section, eye section, Bone health section (if you’re long hyper, bad for your bones, so they might use some help), Anxiety, and more that might apply.

Here’s something for digestion, but some say it also helps for Hashimoto: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Anyway, there seem to be a lot of good products on the site, the reviews are invaluable in assessing a product.

I have no experience with this , however, but I’m definitely gonna try some in the coming year, to get at those lingering complaints. I’m normally very sceptical about "unscientific" treatment, but thyroid disease sure gives me reason to try it… And the reviews give hope, so, why not.

Maybe it would also be best to discuss it with your doctor, but pfffff… I don’t get them sometimes: today another appointment with a new endocrinologist, but she was just so… aaaargh. You know what I mean, the usual…

Anyway, good luck with it.

(sorry about the length of this text, but… better too much, than too little. If anyone can draw a conclusion, so others don’t have to read it all… please do. I’ve only had the time to skip through it. So busy these days… ” title=”Neutral” /> )
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Sorry, one of the facilitators asked me to delete the information and the links, because it wasn’t reviewed by the ngdf medical board, and due to copyright laws.

[Starvee44]

#1070911

If you really want to look into the Selenium issue, you should check out the relevant articles on pubmed.com -> just search for "graves disease selenium" and you’ll get a few interesting articles. They aren’t accessable without membership, though. Only maybe when you are a student, and your university provides access (like me…). I haven’t read the atricles yet, no time, too busy.

Also, check out the following article about selenium from the National Institution of Health: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium.asp

So far, I’ve encountered, as always, conflicting information about Selenium. But if you read the above article, you see that a balanced diet will definitely get you an appropriate amount of Selenium.

As for the effectiveness against antibodies: some MD’s say yes, some reject it entirely… So, it’s up to ourselves to do the research, unfortunately, unless you have a very good endocrinologist.

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