The Thyroid Seizure Connection

Inadequate thyroid function can be directly related to your seizure threshold and seizure activity.

Seizures are now recognized as a common symptom of inadequate thyroid function, and many of the things that contribute to and/or cause thyroid insufficiency can also be connected to seizures. Because the thyroid is a huge indicator on how the entire endocrine system is working, it can also affect estrogen and progesterone. Being aware of how all of your hormones are doing is essential for optimal health!

Your thyroid is one of the most influential organs in your body. The butterfly-shaped gland in your neck produces hormones that regulate metabolism—how your cells convert nutrients into and use energy—and ultimately keeps all the systems in your body in line and functioning properly. Thyroid problems can be tricky to spot, which is why a majority of those with thyroid disease aren’t aware of their condition.

The Importance Of Thyroid Function

Thyroid function became a real concern in seizure recovery for us as there seemed to be a direct link between thyroid deficient symptoms and seizure activity. With further research, I was able to find that our ‘hunch’ was supported by what I discovered.

Thyroid function stimulates the liver to inactivate estrogen for secretion. Estrogen inhibits the secretion of hormone by the thyroid gland itself and can have a directly toxic effect on the liver. This means that estrogen dominance (as typically found in catamenial epilepsy) can create a viscous circle, in which estrogen (or deficient progesterone) blocks thyroid secretion, causing the liver to allow estrogen to accumulate to even higher levels. The normal reason for this is that temperature and thyroid function strongly influence the liver.

Progesterone (even one dose, in some cases) can break the cycle. Progesterone has the opposite effect, promoting the release of the hormones from the gland. At puberty, in pregnancy, and at menopause, the thyroid gland often enlarges, probably as a result of estrogen dominance, which seems to create another link to hormone related seizure activity.

According to Ray Peat, PhD., Women often have above-average thyroxin, with symptoms of hypothyroidism, possibly because it isn’t being converted to the active form (T3). Studies have shown that before using a (T3) supplement, it can be possible to solve the problem with diet alone. A piece of fruit or glass of juice or milk between meals, and adequate animal protein (or potato protein) in the diet is sometimes enough to allow the liver to produce the hormone. He also believes that measuring the amount of thyroid in the blood isn’t a good way to evaluate adequacy of thyroid function, since the response of tissues to the hormone can be suppressed (for example, by unsaturated fats). (1)

“It can be challenging to diagnose because no two people have the same two sets of symptoms,” says Anne Cappola, MD, professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania.

Thyroid Resistance

“Thyroid resistance” means a nutritional difficulty converting T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active thyroid hormone) or difficulty absorbing it. Here is a summary of the major causes:

Stress of any kind (physical, emotional, mental) will lower thyroid function. Also, the need for thyroid increases during the darkness of winter and during illness.

Thyroid Inhibiting Substances add to thyroid burden and can include:

Standard thyroid medications
Sea vegetable,
Estrogenic/xenoestrogen sources like PUFA’s (seed and grain oils)
Natural or synthetic estrogens and herbal or phytoestrogens (such as black cohosh, sage and pennyroyal)
Toxins like pesticides, fluoride, mercury
Iron overload
Radiation

Hypothyroidism leads to low blood sugar, estrogen dominance, increased adrenalin and cortisol and increased prolactin. Those with hypothyroid make 10% – 40% excess adrenalin. Excess adrenalin can cause a racing pulse, irregular, or fast heartbeat, anxiety and panic attacks, hypertension and cardiovascular problems (and seizures). Adequate thyroid function is necessary to control adrenalin at normal levels. Believe it or not, many health-conscious people become hypothyroid even when eating a whole food program which includes undercooked vegetables, legumes instead of animal proteins, oils instead of butter, carotene instead of vitamin A, and breathless exercise instead of stimulating life. A thyroid promoting diet can change all of that.

Thyroid Testing

Despite the sensitivity of all the tests the doctors can give a patient today, a mildly hypothyroid or hyperthyroid person can still appear normal in a test. Many people have symptoms and are clearly affected, yet they complain that no doctors will help them. Even if their tests come up “normal”, they suffer tremendously with symptoms of either of these conditions daily. It is important to understand that many of the standard treatments for thyroid insufficiency as well as for seizure activity are not as effective as we would like in completely recovering the underlying issues.

Lita Lee, PhD, chemist and enzyme nutritionist (among others), says that there are no accurate medical tests for thyroid function. A person may have their personal normal levels of thyroxine (T4), but not be converting it adequately into the active form of the thyroid hormone (T3).

Exhaustion, brain fog, weight gain, thyroid nodules, synthroid, levathroid, thyroid panels, you name it, I had it and tried it. When my thyroid nodules were discovered at my post partum checkup after my first born, I was immediately sent to an endocrinologist, who immediately put me on the merry-go-round of thyroid blood tests (always incomplete) and synthetic thyroid meds like Synthroid, which has not been reliably potent nor stable (always fluctuating in efficacy) and remained miserable for 20 years. It wasn’t until I became aware of the Barnes Basal Body Thyroid Temperature Test that I finally began to understand what my thyroid was doing and was able to look into natural ways to repair my thyroid, rid of the nodules and return my body to its optimum.

What Are Thyroid Blood Tests Going To Show?

Although TSH tests and blood tests are useful to help diagnose some thyroid problems, they should not be used alone. No need to worry, however, as there are other methods available to adequately monitor your thyroid function.

Symptoms are the most important factor. It is rare that a blood chemistry panel shows your true condition because the values measured are only about 30% accurate. It is common for a person with thyroid problems to have a completely normal thyroid panel. This is why the Thyroid Panel is considered by many to be inadequate. It is common for a hypothyroid person to have a low TSH value, which is usually interpreted as hyperthyroidism, not the reverse, despite many symptoms of low thyroid (depression, dry skin, weight problems, chronic infections, female problems, hair loss, low blood sugar, and so on). TSH tests are not as scientifically accurate as they need to be.

In my own life, after many, many years of traditional thyroid testing and treatment, I discovered that several assessments of doctors and scientific professionals, as well as the discoveries of others with whom I have worked who specialize in thyroid recovery and maintenance, concur that there are signs to watch for. Once recognizing the signs, there are ways to recover thyroid insufficiency naturally, and ways of evaluating your thyroid function aside from the typical blood tests most often described.

Thyroid hormone is necessary for respiration on the cellular level, and makes possible all higher biological functions. Without the metabolic efficiency which is promoted by thyroid hormone, life couldn’t get much beyond the single-cell stage. Without adequate thyroid, we become sluggish, clumsy, cold, anemic, subject to infections, heart disease, headaches, cancer, seizures, premature aging and many other diseases because none of our tissues can function normally. Measuring the amount of thyroid in the blood isn’t always the only way to evaluate adequacy of thyroid function, since the response of tissues to the hormone can be suppressed (for example, by unsaturated fats). In the 1930’s accurate diagnosis was made by evaluating a variety of indications, including basal oxygen consumption, serum cholesterol level, pulse rate, temperature, carotenemia, bowel function, and quality of hair and skin. A good estimate of thyroid can be measured using temperature and pulse rate.

What Other Methods Are There To Test Thyroid Function?

Using temperature and pulse rate to measure thyroid function proved to be a valid and accurate way to keep tabs on how the thyroid was gaining good ground in restoring to its full functional capabilities. In turn, there was improvement in seizure activity as the thyroid was optimized.

The “basal body temperature” test was developed by Broda O. Barnes, M.D. Because thyroid hormone is so vital to cellular metabolism, reduced thyroid function often manifests as deviation in body temperature away from the normal level of 98.6oF / 37oC.The late Dr. Broda Barnes introduced the basal body temperature test as an easy way to determine adequate thyroid function. It’s important to do an oral temperature test.

The oral temperature is measured with an oral digital thermometer after arising. Women should do this during their menses to ensure missing the rise of temperature during ovulation. The morning oral temperature after arising should be 98.0 degrees F. It should then rise to 98.6-99 degrees F between 11 am and 2 pm and the resting daytime pulse should be around 85 beats per minute. The national average is around 72. If your pulse is less than 80, you may have an underactive thyroid (however a hypothyroid person with high adrenalin can have a pulse of as high as 150). Babies have a pulse greater than 100 until around the age of eight years when the pulse slows down to around 85. Dr. Peat says that the idea of a slow pulse being healthy is folklore. “Thyroid needs increase during the cold, dark winters and decrease during the warm summer days when there is more sunlight. In addition to the seasons, any kind of stress hinders thyroid function.” -Lita Lee, PhD

“Basal” body temperature is influenced by many things besides thyroid. The resting heart rate helps to interpret the temperature, however, in a cool environment, the temperature of the extremities is sometimes a better indicator than the oral or eardrum temperature.” A therapeutic trial was the final test of the validity of the diagnosis: If the patient’s symptoms disappeared as his temperature and pulse rate and food intake were normalized, the diagnostic hypothesis was confirmed. Whatever objective indicator was used, whether it was basal metabolic rate, or serum cholesterol, or core temperature, or reflex relaxation rate, a simple chart would graphically indicate the rate of recovery toward normal health.”

Why Use The Temperature Test?

The temperature test is a good way to get a more detailed look at your thyroid activity, even if the blood tests put you in the ‘normal’ range.

According to Barnes, if your average temperature over three days is less than 97.8F or 36.6C, it may mean you have hypothyroidism. If your temperature is consistently above 98.6F or 37.0C, it most likely is indicative of hyperthyroidism. It is a good indicator of thyroid problems, but isn’t definitive, as many other things can factor in to affecting your body temperature. If you are taking readings at different times throughout the day, have had an alcoholic beverage, are sick, under stress, or haven’t slept well, that can matter.

If you are menstruating, or your temperature is consistently below 97.2F or 36.2C, it is very likely that you have an under-active thyroid, whereas a consistent temperature above 98.6F or 37.0C can give a hint that the thyroid is overactive. Optimal oral thyroid temperature should be 98.0F or 36.7C first thing in the morning before arising. Once you are up and about, normally oral temperature should rise to between 98.6F – 99.0F and 37.0C – 37.2C for around 10 hours during the day (if you are starting the measurement between 8 and 11 am).

Remembering that body temperature is affected by the menstrual cycle, you must keep in mind that your temperature will be a little lower on the first day of menstruation and then rises at ovulation and will maintain the higher level until just before your next cycle starts when your temperature drops again. It can be interesting to see if you fit into the normal temperature cycling or if you demonstrate an overactive or underactive thyroid to compare to or measure against blood tests, as well as being an alternative.

Dr. Barnes says that even being above or below midpoint within the normal range can be an indicator that you might benefit from natural thyroid supplementation, in particular, Naturally Desiccated Thyroid.

Desiccated thyroid is real thyroid. It is usually powdered thyroid from pigs porcine (mixed from several pigs, not one), or bovine, made from cow thyroid. It meets the stringent guidelines and is made according to specific quality standards, contrary to what some doctors say. It has been used successfully by thyroid patients for more than 115 years and is even reported in older medical journals – it’s not something new-fangled!

The endocrine system is cyclical, and the thyroid can be affected by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and other diseases like auto immunities which cause the body to attack itself. When your body’s temperature isn’t correct, enzymes are at their correct temperature, and they can’t be converted into hormones in the correct manner. This leads to illnesses. A low-grade infection can actually cause your body temperature to rise ever so slightly, so monitoring symptoms while you are doing your temperature testing is critical.

Barnes Recommended The Following Procedure:

When you wake in the morning, before much movement and before rising out of bed, take your thermometer (that you keep beside your bed) and place it under your tongue for 10 minutes (you can do it rectally too, but that’s not my cup of tea!). Under the tongue is a more accurate way to read your temperature, but if you need to do it under the arm, it will be a little lower.

Factor in an additional .80F or .50C by doing it under the arm to determine your thyroid activity level correctly. You will want to do this every morning, preferably at the same time every morning, and chart your temperature. You can take your temperature quicker with a digital thermometer, but the accuracy may not be as good as with a clinical thermometer, so be sure to test your digital one against a clinical one to make sure you are getting a correct reading.

Once you are out of bed and on with your day, you want to take your oral temperature again, sometime between 11 am and 3 pm, 20 minutes after your lunch. You do this to see how your thyroid is responding throughout the day to your activity and your diet. This tells you a lot about what’s going on during the time when your thyroid function should be at its best.

Don’t Forget The Resting Pulse Test!

Along with monitoring your temperature, you want to use the additional indicator of pulse rate. It also gives insight into your hypoactive or hyperactive thyroid activity.

When I was in bed taking my temperature, I would couple that time with checking my waking/resting pulse rate to see how hard my thyroid was working. Count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get your per minute resting heart rate reading.

A pulse of less than 85 beats per minute consistently, along with a low waking temperature, it suggests hypoactive/underactive thyroid. Pulse rates that are consistently higher than 85 beats per minute may indicate hyperactive thyroid but can also mean there is an infection a food intolerance being dealt with or excess adrenaline/cortisol, which also may need to be addressed.

I have personally found that you can have both symptoms of hypo and hyper thyroid at the same time, and many of the symptoms for each one can cross over to the other, which makes figuring out what you’re going through a lot more fun, right?! Once I and my daughter had personally tracked our thyroid temps and pulse, we were able to get a fairly good picture of what was going on and were able to track more detailed information of other symptoms to fine tune our thyroid support which we did mostly through a pro-thyroid diet and NDT (naturally desiccated thyroid). You can see how your thyroid is doing by downloading this Thyroid Temperature Activity Graph today!

Optimize Your Thyroid Function

After proving the thyroid seizure connection, I used all of the information that we gathered for success and created a Thyroid Seizure Protocol Packet that includes everything that we used and continue to help others with. The entire packet combines over 30 pages of the tools and sheets for the monitoring of thyroid function, as well as the lifestyle and dietary changes (including food lists, etc.) that you can implement for yourself as a piece of your seizure recovery as well as your overall hormone health.

Years of research and years of practicum in personally recovering thyroid illness and its effect on overall wellness including but not limited to female issues like estrogen dominance, migraines, seizures, and more have led to the creation of this in- depth protocol.

The Seizure Recovery Thyroid Protocol is designed to give you a big picture of how your thyroid connects to the rest of your body, how all of those pieces relate to seizure activity, and to arm you with vital information and guide you in what you can do about recovering seizures as naturally as possible. You will gain the understanding you need and be provided with tools to help you to improve, nourish and support your normal body function and structure at its core.

The Thyroid Seizure Consultation is designed to discuss the details of how to recognize thyroid issues as well as teach you how to monitor your thyroid function and activity. You will also receive the full protocol packet filled with detailed information, lists and tools that include the many facets that there are to help your thyroid recover or function optimally in a safe, nutritional way. This information and protocol may also be a key step in overall seizure recovery.

All of this is designed to help you understand and learn the tips that are not easily available to uncover and understand the details of how your thyroid supports your entire body, how it interacts with a host of issues, and how you can help your body to overcome its health struggles from the root up.

Schedule your Seizure Recovery Thyroid Protocol Consultation and begin your journey of hope in health.

You can find more information on the Thyroid-Seizure Recovery page found here:

Thyroid Seizure Recovery Tools

Thyroid Seizure Consultation

Thyroid Seizure Protocol Packet Download

Ray Peat, PhD on Thyroid, Temperature, Pulse, and TSH – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

Thyroid-Resistance.pdf