QUITING THYROID HORMONES USING THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE

A complete development program easily corrects most hypothyroid conditions, such as Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis, and others. However, most doctors, including holistic and naturopathic doctors, don’t believe this is possible, so they tell people they must continue taking thyroid replacement hormones for life. This causes confusion for our clients.

The best procedure is to follow a development program for at least six months and then slowly decrease the dose of thyroid replacement hormones as thyroid activity improves. A few cases are more complex and take more time.

Testing vs. symptoms. Blood tests for thyroid hormones are often confusing and scary when one is on a development program because the tests vary each day as the thyroid gland is in the process of improving. This often scares physicians, who then scare the patients. In this situation, we find that symptoms are often a better guide than these tests.

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Main Article

By following a development program, hundreds of people have been able to completely stop taking thyroid replacement hormones. In our experience, hormone therapy is not needed unless the thyroid gland has been surgically removed or destroyed with radioactive iodine therapy or RAI. In these cases, replacement hormones are needed.

Disclaimer. Before you stop any medication, we suggest checking with the prescribing physician. However, most doctors and natural practitioners do not understand that if one rebuilds and balances the body, then in almost all cases the thyroid gland will begin to function normally. Replacement hormones will not be needed, at any age.

This applies to the synthetic hormones such as Synthroid or levothyroxine. It also applies to the use of natural replacement hormones such as Naturethroid and Armour thyroid.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO QUIT THYROID HORMONES WHEN MOST DOCTORS, EVEN HOLISTIC ONES, SAY YOU MUST TAKE THEM?

The secret is a whole systems approach that includes the following corrections. When this is done properly, thyroid activity normalizes:

- Improve the lifestyle. Most people go to bed too late and many do not sleep enough. Some have unhealthy work or sex habits, do no exercise or do too much exercise. All of these activities affect the thyroid gland through the sympathetic nervous system and in other ways.

- Mechanical help (chiropractic manipulation) to correct subluxations in the neck that can reduce nerve energy to the thyroid gland.

- Nutritional therapy. Most people are very low in bioavailable iodine, manganese and selenium, among other nutrients needed for optimum thyroid activity. This must be done with food, we find, not chemical preparations.

- Reducing inflammation. Inflammation often overstimulates the thyroid gland. Most bodies are inflamed due to a leaky gut, deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc and other anti-inflammatory nutrients. Also, most toxins are pro-inflammatory, as described below.

- Detoxification. Everyone needs this today to remove the iodine antagonists (chlorine, fluorine and bromine compounds).

Also, most people have excessive copper and mercury in the thyroid, which also need to be removed. Occasionally, other toxic metals accumulate in the thyroid gland.

Ionizing radiation (iodine 131) also needs to be removed and can be done slowly by feeding a lot of better quality iodine from kelp. The heat of red lamp sauna therapy also destroys mutated and weakened cells that result from radiation damage.

Most people also have the three “A” toxins, as well. These are AGES, aldehydes and what we call the ‘amigos’. These are oxide and other harmful forms of minerals that are irritating and cause oxidant damage. Removing these is also very helpful for the thyroid.

- Male-female balance and ‘updating’ the minerals. All of the toxic metals listed in the paragraph above are what we call poor quality and older “female” minerals. They need to be removed and balanced with higher quality female minerals such as iodine from kelp, not Iodoral or Lugol’s solution, and with high-quality “male” minerals such as zinc and selenium. This concept we learned from the late Dr. Paul Eck.

- Autonomic nervous system balancing. This is essential in many instances to get rid of an overactive sympathetic nervous system that overstimulates the thyroid gland.

- Immune system improvement. We balance the hair tissue sodium/potassium ratio, which greatly assists the body to heal infections, including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which heals easily on this program.

- Trauma release. In some cases, childhood and other traumas impair expression. This occurs more in women. This can directly affect thyroid activity because the thyroid is located at the level of the fifth energy center in the throat, an area associated with expression.

- Downward-moving energy therapy. Many people have what the martial arts people call their “chi in their head”. This causes congestion in the head and neck and often affects thyroid activity. We recommend a simple mental exercise and other methods to move subtle energy downward, out of the head and neck.

- Polarity and correspondence. One can affect the fifth energy center by correcting problems in the second center such as impaired digestion. Also, we give freeze-dried thyroid glandular substance, which seems to help renourish and balance the thyroid gland.

- Reflexology. We also use foot and hand reflexology done daily to correct thyroid activity.

- Channel therapy. Opening the energy meridians or channels is done with reflexology, the pulling down exercise, spinal twist, chiropractic, improved nutrition and detoxification.

- Healthy mental and spiritual focus. The thyroid gland, located at the level of the fifth energy center, is greatly affected by one’s thoughts. We encourage wholesome, logical and helpful thinking. We teach people to focus less on egoism and materialism (low energy center values) and more on friendship, teamwork, learning and love, which are upper energy center values.

- Development help. Development means the growth of the seven physical energy centers. All the methods listed here assist this genetically programmed process.

Especially helpful for the thyroid gland is some development of the merkaba, an energetic configuration located in the upper chest and which extends into the neck. This occurs often within a few years of starting a development program.

- Increasing adaptive energy. This is critical. By balancing the tissue mineral ratios, one can greatly raise the adaptive energy level in the body. This automatically causes healing of the thyroid. This is also the work of Dr. Eck.

- Make the body more yang in macrobiotic terminology. (We find the Chinese medical definition of yin and yang less accurate than the macrobiotic understanding.) This is critical because today all the bodies are too yin in macrobiotic terminology due to environmental pollution and mineral-depleted food.

Yin means expanded. One effectis to allow toxins to enter the thyroid. Yin damages the thyroid in other ways.

Correction is done mainly with diet, more rest, and care about the use of supplements and other therapies. For example, homeopathy, most herbs and chelation are more yin methods, so we avoid them.

SYMPTOMS THAT MAY OCCUR WHEN QUITTING THYROID REPLACEMENT HORMONES DURING A COMPLETE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Do not stop thyroid medication immediately when starting a development program. Wait at least one month or more, depending upon how much of the program you are doing.

When reducing or stopping thyroid replacement hormones, some people experience no symptoms at all. Others, however, will notice some fatigue, muscle cramps, swelling of the thyroid gland which feels like a lump in the throat, and rarely dry skin or falling hair. Other symptoms occur in a few cases.

Following your development program perfectly helps avoid these symptoms. If they occur and are mild, just relax and usually they will pass in a few weeks or less.

If symptoms are annoying or extreme, here is what to do:

1. You can increase the dosage of Thyro-complex and Megapan. You can take up to double the dosage of Thyro-complex and Megapan. Sometimes, this reduces the symptoms.

2. If the suggestion above does not work, it is possible that you have reduced or quit your thyroid replacement hormones too soon. If symptoms persist and are extreme, then I suggest going back on thyroid replacement hormones, or increasing the dosage a little for another few months, perhaps.

OTHER HINTS FOR QUITTING THYROID REPLACEMENT HORMONES

1. Wait to reduce hormones until you have been on a complete development program for at least one month or more.

2. Some people can quit all their thyroid replacement hormones at once, while others must reduce them slowly. Some people report that their thyroid medication does very little. They can often stop the medication quickly, and all at once.

Others report they feel tired, achy, crampy or other problems if they reduce their thyroid medication. These people should reduce their thyroid supplements slowly.

4. Taking more TMG (trimethylglycine) may reduce symptoms in some people. You may increase the TMG up to twice the recommended amount safely until symptoms pass.

WHY BOTHER QUITTING THYROID HORMONES IF THEY SEEM TO WORK AND ARE NOT BOTHERING A PERSON?

This is an important question. The reason is that all hormone replacement therapy is quite unnatural, and interferes with deeper healing and mental development, in our experience. Hormones are designed to be secreted from within the body, and the amount varies from moment to moment based upon the body’s needs, stress, and other factors.

When one takes them as pills or patches, or other methods, it prevents the body from responding properly to its environment and locks the body into one type of response that is always inappropriate. This seems to be why it slows and may halt deeper healing of the body. This has to do with chaos theory, which teaches that a complex, self-regulating system such as our bodies must be able to respond in a flexible and instantaneous way in order to function optimally.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE T3, T4, TSH AND OTHER SERUM TEST RESULTS IF ONE QUITS THYROID HORMONES?

I do not encourage people to have blood serum thyroid tests when following a complete development program. I have a lot of experience with this issue. The reasons are:

1. Serum thyroid tests will vary significantly, depending upon the oxidation rate, the mineral ratios, and which toxins are being eliminated due to the program. A development program often upsets serum thyroid hormone tests temporarily.

2. Abnormal thyroid tests usually upset the patient and often the doctor. The upset is needless, in my experience. The tests will normalize on their own as body chemistry improves and when healing reactions pass.

3. When doctors see imbalanced serum thyroid tests, they are trained to recommend thyroid hormone replacement. In my experience, this is not appropriate provided one is following a complete development program. Therefore, the patient often receives incorrect advice that is confusing and, if followed, interferes with deep healing and slows one progress on a development program.

I know this is a difficult issue for some people who are accustomed to having regular blood serum thyroid tests. It is also very confusing for physicians who depend on these tests. However, it is our continuing experience with these common tests.

CAN YOU TELL HOW THE THYROID IS DOING FROM A HAIR MINERAL TEST?

To some degree, yes. Ways that one can assess the thyroid gland from a properly performed hair mineral analysis include:

1. Dr. Paul Eck identified a thyroid ratio – the calcium/potassium ratio on a hair mineral test. The ideal is about 4:1. As body chemistry improves, the calcium/potassium ratio will begin to approach a ratio of 4:1. However, do not be upset if the ratio varies from test to test. This is normal. The elimination of toxic metals, infections and toxic chemicals will affect the ratio greatly.

2. The levels and ratios affecting copper and mercury also influence the thyroid gland, since these often accumulate in the thyroid gland when they are present in high amounts.

3. Zinc, manganese and selenium are also involved in thyroid gland activity.

4. The sympathetic dominance pattern has to do with the autonomic nervous system, and this is involved with activity and regulation of the thyroid gland.

5. A calcium shell pattern has to do with cell permeability. This may also have a great influence upon thyroid hormone levels.

All of the above may provide information about thyroid gland activity. I wish body chemistry were simpler, but unfortunately it is not. This is why simply checking the body temperature or checking T3, T4, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies are not nearly enough to assess thyroid activity adequately, in my experience. For more about thyroid physiology and functioning, please read Thyroid Disease on this website.

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