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  #16   ^
Old Sat, Mar-26-05, 11:39
wcollier wcollier is offline
Mad Scientist
Posts: 4,402
 
Plan: Healthy eating/lifestyle
Stats: 156/115/115 Female 5'4 - small frame
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Hi Maria:

There's a first time for everything.... it's hard to know what to do.

What I'd do is call their office and ask these questions to the receptionist. Normally, if they don't know the answer to your question, they will ask the doctor and get back to you. These aren't very difficult questions to answer (they're YES/NO answers) so the doctor wouldn't need to speak with you.

HTH.....
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  #17   ^
Old Tue, May-24-05, 12:53
Lessara's Avatar
Lessara Lessara is offline
Everyday Sane Psycho
Posts: 7,075
 
Plan: Bernstein, Keto IFast
Stats: 385/253/160 Female 67.5
BF:14d bsl 400/122/83
Progress: 59%
Location: Durham, NH
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Could someone post here what causes the Hypothyroid to get worse or how to make it better? That is if one is/isn't on meds.
I know soy makes it worse for example.
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  #18   ^
Old Tue, May-24-05, 13:17
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Actually, there's a link at the bottom of the FAQ to a list of things that might lower thyroid effectiveness.
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  #19   ^
Old Tue, May-24-05, 15:24
Lessara's Avatar
Lessara Lessara is offline
Everyday Sane Psycho
Posts: 7,075
 
Plan: Bernstein, Keto IFast
Stats: 385/253/160 Female 67.5
BF:14d bsl 400/122/83
Progress: 59%
Location: Durham, NH
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Quote:
Here is a list of foods to avoid unless cooked thoroughly:
African cassava
Asparagus
babassu (a palm-tree coconut fruit popular in Brazil and Africa )
Broccoli
brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
horseradish
kale
kohlrabi
leafy green vegetables (turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens)
Legumes (beans and peas)
peanuts
pine nuts
Processed meats
radishes
rutabaga
Spinach
Stawberries
Peaches
turnips
Watercress


All my favorite veggies are on this list!!! I don't even cook Watercress or spinach! And I love them!
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  #20   ^
Old Sat, Jun-25-05, 09:23
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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I just wanted to add this as a reference to things that cause problems with thyroid. Its very technical. But I think one thing people on this message forum should note is:

http://www.thyroidmanager.org/Chapter5/5a-frame.htm

Quote:
Starvation and Fasting

Multiple alterations in thyroid hormone regulation and metabolism have been noted during caloric restriction. The most dramatic effect is a decrease in the serum TT3 within 24-48 hours of the initiation of fasting.36-40b Because changes in the free T3 fraction are usually small, the absolute concentration of FT3 is also reduced, clearly into the hypothyroid range The marked reduction in serum T3 is caused by a reduction in its generation from T4 rather than by an acceleration in its metabolic clearance rate.41,42 The decline in T3 concentration is accompanied by a concomitant and reciprocal change in the concentration of total and free rT3. The increase in the serum rT3 concentration tends to begin later and to return to normal at the time serum T3 is being maintained at a low level with continuous calorie deprivation.38,39 Little change occurs in the concentrations of TT4 and FT4 and the production and metabolic clearance rates of T4.38,39,41,42 When small changes have been observed, they were generally in the direction of an increase in the FT4 concentration. They are attributed to decreased concentration of the carrier proteins in serum, as well as to their diminished association with the hormone caused by the inhibitory effect of free fatty acids (FFA) the level of which increases during fasting.40,43


Ok, that describes the underlying cause of what happens. This is the problem I had. My body had plenty of FT4 but it wasn't properly converting it to FT3. However, why? I wasn't starving myself.... I was following Atkins, probably eating an average of 20-40 net carbs a day.

When I read this, I had an "ah ha!" moment.

Quote:
Composition of the diet rather than reduction in the total calorie intake seems to determine the occurrence of decreased T3 generation in peripheral tissues during food deprivation. The dietary content of carbohydrate appears to be the key ingredient since as little as 50 g glucose reverses toward normal the fast-induced changes in T3 and rT3.52 Replacement of dietary carbohydrate with fat results in changes typical of starvation.39,53 Refeeding of protein may partially improve the rate of T3 generation, but the protein may be acting as a source of glucose through gluconeogenesis.54 Yet, dietary glucose is not the sole agent responsible for all changes in iodothyronine metabolism associated with starvation. For example, the increase in serum rT3 concentration may not be solely dependent on carbohydrate deprivation since a pure protein diet partially restores the level of rT3 but not that of T339 (Fig. 5-1). The composition of the antecedent diet also has an effect on the magnitude of the serum T3 fall during fasting.39,52 It is possible that the cytoplasmic redox state, measured in terms of the lactate/pyruvate ratio rather than glucose itself, regulates the rate of deiodinative pathways of iodothyronines.55


Well, there you go.

A couple of things to note, eating plenty of protein helps to counter this problem because the protein CAN be converted into glucose.

Keeping your carbohydrates in a higher range, since refeeding of protein alone can't restore all the thyroid juices.

How much do you need? Well, they said 50g of glucose. So I think if you keep your net carbs at 50g or above, you'll be fine. Now don't count fiber because you don't digest it, I also wouldn't count sugar alcohols, I don't really know if carbs digested in the way SA's are digested would really affect your blood glucose.

What if you're taking exogenous thyroid with T3? Well, my feeling is you won't have to worry about converting T4 into T3 so you can low carb or low calorie and not have that concern. However, I wonder if perhaps at the level of cells receiving the thyroid, if perhaps there might be changes there? Could the cells lose receptors when they feel the need to down regulate? Could they become busy with inactive thyroid stuff? Sort of like shoving a broken key in a door, you can't unlock the door (cell), but you also can't stick another key (T3 molecule) in there. I just don't know. From my own experience, I've had to increase my thyroid dose when I'm dieting or I start to feel sleepy and tired all the time. But it might just be my dose wasn't optimal to start with... which I suspect is true. Why would that counteract broken keys? I suspect it changes the ratio of broken keys to working keys, so that there are more working keys in the blood compared to broken keys. But I'm pulling this out of my butt, I may be totally wrong.

I'm actually following a diet right now that is both low carb and low calorie, but it has breaks and periodic high-carb refeeds.

My basic advice for low carbers coming to this forum because they suspect their thyroid is getting wonky is... try to raise your carb levels. See if your brain fog, coldness, sleepiness, hair loss, lack of weight loss improves.

After 2.5 years of low carbing it wasn't that difficult and it didn't reawaken massive cravings in me. I added carbs like yams and apples and beans. If I had added carbs like cake and ice cream, sure, it would have restarted my vicious cycle of cravings again.
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  #21   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-05, 13:53
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nooaditude nooaditude is offline
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Posts: 19
 
Plan: Doc issued, no name
Stats: 136/134/115 Female 59 inches
BF:
Progress:
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Hi there everyone!
I am 30, female and in desperate need of knowledgeable advice/support.

I know the "normal" range for TH levels are up to 5.5.
I tested six or seven years ago at 3. I just got retested due to hypothyroid symptoms and am now at 5.8.
I can barely get up in the morning unless I have help I hurt so badly. We just moved to a two story home and I have to stop after 5 stairs because I get fatigued so quickly. I sleep terribly, and wake up often with numb shoulders and sore hips. My once very full and thick hair is thinned to the point that you can see the shape of my head all the way past my crown.
I'm only 4 ft 11 in but I weigh 134 lbs. My legs itch so bad that I've now got scarring from constant scratching. I was treated for depression several times over the past 5 years...since just after my youngest daughter was born. I was 113 lbs at my 6 week post-partum checkup. 3 months later I was at 130. I've been unable to go lower than that weight since then despite a strict diet and very fatiguing and painful exercise.
My fiance is wonderful. He gets me out of bed in the morning, helps me into and out of the shower, and up and down the stairs. He even puts my shoes on me. HE IS 15 YEARS OLDER AND GETS AROUND BETTER THAN ME!

My doctor got my thyroid results and is now making me wait 6 weeks, then she is doing another test. Meanwhile I can barely function. Thank God my job is very sedentary. Does anyone know why she is waiting then retesting instead of sending me to and endocrinologist? From all of the information I've read, the thyroid can't make that much of a change between now and then, can it?

I feel hopeless, helpless and scared.
Help?
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  #22   ^
Old Thu, Aug-11-05, 16:40
wcollier wcollier is offline
Mad Scientist
Posts: 4,402
 
Plan: Healthy eating/lifestyle
Stats: 156/115/115 Female 5'4 - small frame
BF:
Progress: 100%
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Good lord, nooaditude..... were you symptomatic back when you tested at 3? I'd find another doctor to treat you ASAP! There's no reason for you to have to wait 6 weeks for a retests, then wait to see an Endo. BTW, Endos aren't necessarily the best ones to treat your thyroid, believe it or not.

Have you checked out the Top Docs listing? http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/index.htm It's worth a gander and if you tell us where you live, we may be able to give you some good feedback based on experiences.
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  #23   ^
Old Tue, Oct-11-05, 11:12
magnamater magnamater is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: atkins, protein power
Stats: 230/137/130 Female 5'3"
BF:29%
Progress: 93%
Location: Houston,Texas
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Just a quick note.

I had been low carbing off and on with success.

Then I went to a doctor that changed me from Synthroid to Armour Thyroid (and kept upping the dose) and a bio identical T3.

I really got happy with Low Carbing!!!

Then after about a year of treatment and seeing what happened when I ate carbs (some of us are slow to learn) my doctor told me to think of carbs as POISON for my thyroid condition--which he labels differently from being Hypo. . .he calls it "Autoimmune Thyroiditis."

Okay, the point being: I am a different person! I live the LC WOL, I have energy, and I have results with my weight.

I'm still a work in progress. Just reading about the PSMF may give me the tools to get to where I want to go.

I'm so much better off now than I was. . .
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  #24   ^
Old Tue, Oct-11-05, 11:20
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Autoimmune thyroiditis is any number of autoimmune diseases of the thyroid (like Hashimoto's and Graves Disease), that is, as far as I know, unrelated to eating carbs (although autoimmune disease like Celiac disease, aka gluten allergy, are associated with thyroid problems sometimes). I wonder why your doctor said that?

I also think other things can cause hypothyroid like having too much estrogen. Hmmm... now that I think of it, I know 2 women on HRT who have low thyroid too. I wonder if that is just coincidence.
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  #25   ^
Old Tue, Oct-11-05, 16:19
magnamater magnamater is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: atkins, protein power
Stats: 230/137/130 Female 5'3"
BF:29%
Progress: 93%
Location: Houston,Texas
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Yes, I am being treated with bio identical hormones for estrogen dominance, and sigh, menapause. Obviously balancing them.

Don't know why the doc said the above, but it has been a godsend to my willpower.
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  #26   ^
Old Tue, Oct-11-05, 20:11
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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LOL! I'd better not question it then! Its funny but deciding to go on a Celiac diet has really changed my relationship to food. Its like a whole enormous category of food has suddenly become poisonous to me and its so off-limits that I have to even be cautious about dining out or eating prepared foods.
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  #27   ^
Old Sat, Oct-15-05, 22:41
black57 black57 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 11,822
 
Plan: atkins/intermit. fasting
Stats: 166/136/135 Female 5'3''
BF:
Progress: 97%
Location: Orange, California
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I find thyroid problems and symptoms perplexing. My mom has thyroid problems but if it weren't for the blood tests she wouldn't know it. Her only symptoms that stand out is her tiredness and her thinning hair which has been thinning for decades. This is also a symptom of old age. If low blood pressure is a symptom of hypothyroid shouldn't the doctor be looking at her high blood pressure meds?

She makes me crazy! She has no idea what her numbers are ( cholesterol or TSH ) Whatever the doctor tells her she accepts. So how can she expect to get better? Am I going to have to tell her off again? She does know her glucose levels, thank goodness.
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  #28   ^
Old Sun, Oct-16-05, 06:40
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
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black
they are totally perplexing. I had no idea that I had low thyroid twice because the symptoms came gradually and also some of it is the mental slowness that comes with the disorder.

Lowblood pressure and slow heartrate for me are relative. Thyroid medication increases both of those in me a small consistant amount. My heartrate was usually 55-65 now its 70-85. You could definitely have high blood pressure and be hypo too.
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  #29   ^
Old Sun, Oct-16-05, 08:58
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Some people actually get hyperthyroid symptoms from low thyroid, which makes it even more perplexing! And some get hypothyroid symptoms from high thyroid.
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  #30   ^
Old Sun, Oct-16-05, 16:16
black57 black57 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 11,822
 
Plan: atkins/intermit. fasting
Stats: 166/136/135 Female 5'3''
BF:
Progress: 97%
Location: Orange, California
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No wonder it is so difficult to diagnose.
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