My Personal Guide: Supplements

For those out there who are desperately searching for supplemental nutrition guidance for Grave’s disease, I decided to post my daily list. These are things that I take every morning and every night. Although they are specifically tailored to me, you can look at it and get a good idea of why I chose these particular supplements. You can then research each of them if you’d like, and see if you think they would work for you.  I did not indicate the number of international units or milligrams simply because that’s something that will be a personal choice for you. My professional nursing license prevents me from giving recommendations, and so does my conscience. It would be extremely irresponsible of me to just post a list of supplements and say, “Ok..take these and you’ll feel better.” Like I’ve said before, we each have different health histories, allergies, and concerns. Know thyself. Then heal thyself.

I know how frustrating it can be to spend days, weeks, months, doing internet searches for anything related to this particular autoimmune disorder. It seems as though anytime you go looking, you end up reading about hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s, or the worst - treatment of cats with methimazole! I mean honestly….when a human being is desperate for information about their illness they don’t want to read pages and pages of search results relating to cats. And they don’t want to read endless amounts of random chats with bad spelling and little valuable information. Or is it just me?

There is very little good, solid, reliable information from trusted sources to be found, especially when you start searching for herbal remedies. I know. I looked. I read hundreds of pages describing this disease. But once you’ve read a few, they all start to sound the same. I knew the signs, symptoms, how it was diagnosed, how it was treated by the medical community and the ramifications of that treatment. But I wanted more. Being a nurse, I am fortunate enough to have a home library filled with anatomy, physiology, nutrition, and drug books. I also studied herbology, and have bookshelves stuffed with medicinal herbal books. However, I still wanted more information. I wanted to make the connection between the world of medicine and the world of natural medicine.

I was interested in scientific information, actual studies, recommended daily allowances, why particular drugs or herbs work the way they do in our body and against this disease. I wanted to know everything I could about the endocrine system, how the T cells are produced and the path they follow. And what about those Graves antibodies? What exactly are they and where did they come from? And how do you stop them? Can they be stopped? What herbs would have the properties to perform the actions in my body that I was searching for? Basically, I wanted all the possible facts I could find so that I could make my own informed decisions. Here’s what I decided would work for me:

Vitamin A and D, 1 capsule, PM, vitamin

Vitamin B complex w/folic acid and Biotin, 2 capsules, PM, vitamin / hair loss

Vitamin C, 1 tablet, AM & PM, vitamin

Vitamin E, 1 softgel, PM, vitamin

Black Currant Oil , 1 softgel, AM, anti-inflammatory

Ginger Root, 1 capsule, PM, anti-inflammatory

Zinc, 1 capsule, PM, immune system support

Copper, 1 capsule, PM, balances zinc

Turmeric, 1 capsule, PM, immune system support

Essiac, 2 capsules, AM & PM, initial detox/maintenance

(contains burdock root, sheep sorrel leaves, slippery elm bark, Indian rhubarb root)

CoQ10, 1 gel cap, PM, cardiac support

Passionflower, 2 capsules, AM, nerve relaxant, tremors, palpitations

Eleuthero, 1 capsule, AM & PM, thymus gland support

Holy Basil, 2 capsules, PM, adrenal gland support

ThyroSoothe, as needed

(contains bugleweed, motherwort, lemon balm)

** Please keep in mind the following when you look at this:**

I had no prior health history.

I have no allergies to drugs or herbs that I’ve taken.

I follow a modified Paleo/gluten free diet.

I have no active symptoms of Graves eye disease.

My goals for my treatment were: to stop shaking, keep my heart rhythm regular, eliminate palpitations, keep my blood pressure down, my weight up, and my hair on my head. Then, I wanted to prevent any further flare ups of an autoimmune attack.

It will take several months to see results. We are all different, so I cannot give you specifics. I do, however, believe if you begin with the Essiac you will have greater success. Do your research. Also, add one herb at a time. Take it for a week or two, then add another. Listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right - stop. Your patience will be rewarded.

Hope you find this helpful.