Bugleweed (Hope for the Hopelessly Hyperthyroid)

Lycopus americanus (Bugleweed)

I overcame Hyperthyroidism (Graves’ disease) without drugs or surgery after being told by my Endocrinologist that this would be an impossible feat. Of course now I have to add a disclaimer & say that this is only my personal story & that I am not a physician & don’t necessarily recommend people try this at home.  I can’t be held personally responsible for a person’s choice to cure themselves.  Let’s see, what else…Oh, right, If you have been diagnosed with Graves’ disease, please seek the help of a licensed endocrinologist & ask if the herb Bugleweed might be right for you.  There, I think that about covers it.  Here’s the short version: Please don’t sue me, & if you do, you’ll wind up spending more on lawyers than you wind up acquiring from me, I can assure you of that.  Now, where was I?  Oh, right, the story:

About 15 years ago, while I was still living in Chicago, I began having symptoms which were mysterious & very disturbing.  To name a few: I would suddenly begin crying for no reason; lose my temper in a fit of terrifying rage, & I was dropping weight without trying.  Sometimes I would have the feeling that I was a spectator, witnessing my rage from the sidelines; I felt like a prisoner, unable to control myself, & it was starting to cause serious problems in my personal life.

Some of the things I would witness myself saying & doing were pretty bizarre.   I remember one time in particular when I scared my cats into hiding for 2 days.  I had viciously accused my boyfriend of being a freak because he did not want to take a bath in the same water I had just bathed in, because “All I did was soak in it!”  I recall screaming at him at the top of my lungs “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?”  Later, upon reflection, I thought maybe the explanation was obvious: I was simply going insane.

A couple weeks later during a routine gynecological appointment, the nurse noticed that the front of my throat seemed a little swollen.  She ran some tests and discovered that my TSH levels were high.  I was quickly diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Hyperthyroidism (Graves’ disease).  This disease, unlike the more common Hypothyroidism, I learned, could be life-threatening.  The exact cause of the disease has still not been proven, though I learned later that there have been studies showing a link between Graves’ and high stress levels, exposure to extreme pollution, &/ or toxins.

I had been working in a sweat shop in the years leading up to the illness, which was a highly toxic environment: physically, emotionally, as well as psychologically.  This is a whole blog entry unto itself, so I won’t go into the details, but after a few years of being there, I was sitting in the Endocrinologist’s office being told that I was starting to reach the upper threshold for Tapazole, the medicine that helps control TSH levels.  She explained that I was going to have to make the choice to either have my thyroid removed or take a radioactive pill.  Well, I don’t know about you, but the word “radioactive” stirs up a lot of resistance in me.  Visions of headstones and skeletons dance above my head like some kind of Grateful Dead video gone wrong.

I explained that I wasn’t really that interested in surgery, and that the latter sounded, well, a little dangerous.  She reflexively pointed to a brightly colored box on the wall that the pills were being stored in (the one which actually had a skull and crossbones on it) and said, with a somewhat patronizing smirk “No, it’s perfectly safe and not harmful at all.  All you would have to do is keep your eating utensils separate from other people for a few days and sanitize them in a dishwasher or boil them because you will be radioactive, but, don’t worry, it would only for a few days.  Oh, and also you would have to sanitize the toilet every time you used it as well.  But, don’t let that scare you, it’s really perfectly safe.”   She smiles, reassuringly, obviously expecting a relieved patient looking back at her.  Blink, blink…..Blink, blink. … I thought: “Is that all?  Just sterilize my forks?  Do I look that naive?  Do most people fall for this line of crap?”  At the time I had absolutely no experience or knowledge in alternative healing, or even healthy lifestyle practices, let alone how to deal with being “handled” by a professional, but I did know one thing, I didn’t want anything to do with the whole friendly skull and crossbones routine, OR getting my throat cut.  Ahem.

The polite young lady that I was, I thanked her for taking the time to explain it all to me, and then I asked her if she knew of any other way of treating the disease.  She frowned, clearly not pleased, and obviously getting a little impatient now.  “Well, you could always start using Iodine supplements.  Um….and, oh, right, there’s the, uh, adding more shrimp to your diet, right…but, you need to understand, this is a serious disease, dear, (did she just call me dear?) and time is of the essence for you, (time is of the essence?) so I strongly suggest you choose the safer route and make a decision about either of the 2 methods I described earlier before you leave here today before it slips your mind and it gets out of hand..  (slips my mind?)  “M’kay?” she says, smiling brightly, as if the timer has just binged and class is now dismissed.  “If you see my receptionist on your way out, she can make an appointment for whichever you decide on.  We’ll see you again soon then, yes?  Okay, bye-bye now.”  (Blink, blink…)  At this point she actually gets up and leaves me standing there wondering how much shrimp it would take to get me out of this mess, & if it would cure me before I got cancer from eating so many bottom-feeders.  I walked out the front door of the waiting room as the receptionist was calling my name.

Over the next week I experienced an increase of symptoms, and her words echoed through my head, bouncing off the sides, like a horror flick, complete with the reverb & echo chamber.  At one point I got so panicky I almost gave into the fear of dying & opted to sign up for the surgery.  Then, a very strange thing happened, I got pregnant.  It wasn’t a planned pregnancy, and it gave me 9 months of respite, since the Hyperthyroidism disappeared during that time.  (I have since found out that Graves’ disease is linked to complications in pregnancy, though I didn’t know that at the time.)

However, the elevated TSH levels returned postpartum, and I was faced with the decision of what to do about it once again.  This time I had different options, since I had subsequently moved out to the countryside of Wisconsin & was learning about herbs, tinctures, yoga, organic foods, and otherwise leading a more healthy & much less stress-free life.  I researched until my eyes were little slits and found a plant called Lycopus europeus was used to restore normal thyroxine levels.  I did even more research and discovered that Lycopus americanus was similar, and could be found growing near rivers and streams right here in Wisconsin!  It felt too good to be true, I just couldn’t believe how incredible this was, and couldn’t help but wonder why the highly educated Endocrinologist, did not offer this option over the ever-popular options of consuming large quantities of crustaceans, or glowing in the dark.

My friend and I studied the photograph in a plant identification book, and, incredibly, within one week she had spotted it while she was on a walk one day.  (Well,  actually, a giant flower led here there.)  It turns out, there was a very large and tall white orchid swaying in the breeze next to a beaver dam near where she was walking, so, being the curious soul she was, she went out to investigate.

She was standing there admiring it, and then looked around to see if there were any other “volunteers” growing nearby.  There weren’t, but she did find a very large patch of Lycopus americanus (Bugleweed) growing there instead! She called me up, giddy & almost hysterical & when I arrived, we harvested about 3/4 of the plants we found, leaving enough to ensure it would re-seed itself.  When we got back home, we made tincture out of it, and within 3 months of taking that tincture, my TSH levels were normal, and I was able to get off the pills altogether.  My TSH levels have remained normal ever since.

Now, you may say it was just a coincidence, and that may be true, of course, though statistics would beg to differ with you.  It is also possible that the reduction of stress, and toxins, coupled with the introduction of a healthier lifestyle, including eating mostly organic & home-grown food was the reason.  This may also be true.  Personally, I suspect it was all of the above.  All I know is, I didn’t have to get my throat cut or glow in the dark, and I have to admit I’m pretty happy about that.  I just wanted to share my story so that people will know that maybe there is at least a shred of hope for the otherwise hopelessly hyperthyroid.  Thanks for reading.

Advertisement