Negative Side Effects from Coleus Forskohlii?

[Gen129]

Hi James,

I recently self diagnosed myself as being hypothyroid through the BBT Test. So, I've been reading a lot of your posts on thyroid topics. I decided to make my own thyroid formula as I cannot order yours. One of the supplements I picked up was Coleus Forskohlii. I started taking it this past Thursday and stopped taking it on Monday (yesterday). I'm still getting symptoms today, in fact they have been bothering me more consistently. My problems are that I have been getting very weak on my feet and somewhat in general, feeling very uneasy. Also, what is getting worse is that when I eat, the symptoms get worse. I'm also getting discomfort/slight burning in my esophagus while eating. Not necessarily just eating but even taking herbs and my body seems to get these symptoms, not the esophagus though. I was taking the Coleus (Gaia) at half a dropperful (30 drops or 1ml = 500mg's) two to three times a day with other thyroid boosting herbs (lessened it to 10-15 drops 2x daily for Sunday and Monday).

So, is it possible that Coleus started to overstimulate my thyroid, or something else in my body? I realize that it may not be from the coleus but it seems too coincidental to not be. Also, these bad side effects were not immediate, they started on Friday for a short period, ceased on Saturday, and have gotten worse since, except for the short high peaks on Friday and Sunday, were worse. Although now more consistent symptoms, just not the really high peaks.

[James]

(09-10-2013 08:52 PM)Gen129 Wrote:  Hi James,

I recently self diagnosed myself as being hypothyroid through the BBT Test. So, I've been reading a lot of your posts on thyroid topics. I decided to make my own thyroid formula as I cannot order yours. One of the supplements I picked up was Coleus Forskohlii. I started taking it this past Thursday and stopped taking it on Monday (yesterday). I'm still getting symptoms today, in fact they have been bothering me more consistently. My problems are that I have been getting very weak on my feet and somewhat in general, feeling very uneasy. Also, what is getting worse is that when I eat, the symptoms get worse. I'm also getting discomfort/slight burning in my esophagus while eating. Not necessarily just eating but even taking herbs and my body seems to get these symptoms, not the esophagus though. I was taking the Coleus (Gaia) at half a dropperful (30 drops or 1ml = 500mg's) two to three times a day with other thyroid boosting herbs (lessened it to 10-15 drops 2x daily for Sunday and Monday).

So, is it possible that Coleus started to overstimulate my thyroid, or something else in my body? I realize that it may not be from the coleus but it seems too coincidental to not be. Also, these bad side effects were not immediate, they started on Friday for a short period, ceased on Saturday, and have gotten worse since, except for the short high peaks on Friday and Sunday, were worse. Although now more consistent symptoms, just not the really high peaks.

Coleus lowers blood pressure. And your first symptoms sound like low blood pressure, which can already be low if you have poor adrenal or thyroid function.

Coleus is also in the mint family and mints can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, which can lead to acid reflux.

I recommend working on strengthening your adrenals first to help maintain your blood pressure and lower your dose of coleus quite a bit. Or you can substitute nettle leaf for the coleus, which will give you basically the same effects without dropping the blood pressure.

[Gen129]

I can confirm that my symptoms are definitely unrelated to Coleus. I just found out the hard way that benzo's aren't easy to withdrawal from. It just so happened that I took Coleus 1 day before the worse of these symptoms began to arise, and Coleus became a strong suspect.

Looking back, I think that my heartburn was caused from the fact that sometimes I was getting tired and weak right after I ate and would lie down. Although, the coleus probably would have encouraged the heartburn too, and I'll keep it in mind for my future use with it.

I've been working on my adrenals for the past while now. Is Nettle leaf really that good for the thyroid? You usually recommend it to prolong cAMP, how else does it strengthen/support thyroid?

I just started taking Coleus again at a low dose. I'm still taking the tincture, but I also have a 10:1 extract in pill form. Which is better? I would love a pure Coleus, but I'm limited where I live.

[James]

(09-24-2013 04:11 PM)Gen129 Wrote:  I can confirm that my symptoms are definitely unrelated to Coleus. I just found out the hard way that benzo's aren't easy to withdrawal from. It just so happened that I took Coleus 1 day before the worse of these symptoms began to arise, and Coleus became a strong suspect.

Looking back, I think that my heartburn was caused from the fact that sometimes I was getting tired and weak right after I ate and would lie down. Although, the coleus probably would have encouraged the heartburn too, and I'll keep it in mind for my future use with it.

I've been working on my adrenals for the past while now. Is Nettle leaf really that good for the thyroid? You usually recommend it to prolong cAMP, how else does it strengthen/support thyroid?

By supporting the adrenal glands, which plays a role in T4 to T3 conversion and through nutritional support.

I just started taking Coleus again at a low dose. I'm still taking the tincture, but I also have a 10:1 extract in pill form. Which is better? I would love a pure Coleus, but I'm limited where I live.

In general powders are better than tinctures. Contrary to popular belief most tinctures do not have a very long active shelf life. Most tinctures contain some water, which accelerates the oxidative destruction of many active components within herbs. This is one of the reasons I rarely use tinctures. I do recommend the use of coleus though in tincture form though for stopping asthma attacks since quick absorption is essential in this case. For most common problems though the slightly shorter time it may take for a powder to absorb is not going to make a significant difference.

For thyroid issues I would recommend the 10:1 over a tincture.