Catching up is HARD to do........

no kidding! It's hard to believe I haven't posted for over a year.

The Bread For Life diet went well until summer when I fell off the bread wagon. Actually I started taking advantage of the 'bread wagon'... lunch would consist of soup and a couple thick pieces of french bread smothered with melted Provel cheese. I had lost a total of 22 lbs... and even with the excess bread only managed to regain about 7 lbs. back. I do plan on restarting a modified Bread For Life diet soon.

Modified diet, why? Because I came down with a bad case of intestinal Candida. I started a antibiotic therapy (ROM) for the Granuloma Annulare and within a week I started having err... bathroom issues. I won't share the intimate details... but I knew I could not continue life this way. I went to see a gastrenterologist... she was not at all helpful,
in fact she hinted that it sounded like cancer symptoms. So barely having turned 50 I went in for my colonoscopy. It really isn't as bad as what people make it out to be. I used the Miralax prep. I was out for the procedure and once it was over I was ready for a big breakfast. They didn't find anything except some internal hemorrhoids and suggested upping my fiber. I had read enough online to convince myself that I had Candida (a yeast infection), but unfortunately mainstream doctors don't believe yeast in the gut is a problem. I found a doctor who treated Candida and although my insurance wouldn't pay for his services I opted to make an appointment with him. I suffered with these 'bathroom problems' for about 3 months and it was time to find the solution. Within 2 weeks of starting Nystatin tablets and giving myself candida extract injections I was feeling 80% better. I did have a few really bad days after starting treatment, but that is known as 'die off' and things improved quickly after that. I am still on treatment for this and am trying to follow an anti-candida diet. Not easy... no bread allowed on this one.

After being on Cytomel alone for over a year I still wasn't feeling as well as I thought I should. My new doctor put me on decissated thyroid and with each raise I felt worse and worse (like I did a couple years ago when I tried Armour). After 3 months I gave up. Natural thyroid does NOT work for me. I am now on Sustained-release compounded T3. More expensive than Cytomel (most insurance won't pay for SRT3).... but it seems to be working fairly well. It's only been a couple weeks so far, but I am optimistic.

So that's what I've been up to! Currently having my female hormones checked, I think this doctor uses bioidenticals which is pretty exciting since I just recently read Suzanne Somer's new book Breakthrough.

I'll try not to wait a year before my next update. *grin*

"Bread For Life" Diet WORKING

I started the "Bread For Life" diet on the 2nd of February and have lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks. Who'd have thought a high carb diet might be the answer to my weight loss woes??

Author, Olga Raz is as popular in Israel as Atkins was here.

The diet is easy to follow; lots of fiber-rich bread and veggies; yogurt or fruit daily; meat and eggs 3 times a week; and alcohol occasionally. Easy to have a meal out... just choose a large salad with low fat dressing and a side of bread OR chose a chicken breast or steak with a side of vegetables and a salad. You eat so often you do not get hungry.

The cons are.. you will get sick of phase 1 after about 7 days and be ready to start phase 2 which will slow down weight loss. I was able to stick with phase 1 for about 10 days. I also have had a mild headache off and on since starting the diet.

Click here to read more about The Bread For Life Diet

I do still have the staples in my ears, but doubt they are contributing to the weight loss so far. I do need to lose about 50 lbs and plan to continue the diet until I reach my goal.

UPDATE: 14.5 lbs. gone in 5 1/2 weeks! This diet amazes me! I had pizza and birthday cake last week and still managed to see a loss.

Catching Up..........

Boy, I sure did get behind in my posting. In my defense I had a busy few months... Christmas, then a 50th anniversary party for my parents and recently we've been getting bids for a room addition.

Things are better. The brain fog is gone, the midday fatigue a thing of the past. I still have some general tiredness... not going to climb any mountains soon. I've been on the same regiment of Cytomel (75 mcg), Synthroid (37.5 mcg) and 30 mg Hydrocort for about 5 months now.

The thing that is not better is the weight. 5 years ago I had followed the "Fat Flush" plan and was 65 lbs. lighter than I am today. Sigh. In my desperation... I went to a chiropractor and got my ears stapled. Yes, you heard that correctly. Ear stapled. Hurt like heck too. It is based on acupuncture. Here is a study that convinced me that it might just work. The study
and here is a picture of a stapled ear (not my ear).

Unfortunately the only thing I lost was a hundred dollars.

I'll try and update my blog next month. I'm hoping to add a informative post on Vitamin D and also hope to report amazing weight loss on a diet I am starting next week. hehe... Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Where I'm At - September 2008

Still on just Cytomel.. up to 75 mcg daily now (split into 2 doses). Tried adding in 1 grain of Armour, but within a few days felt depressed and just not quite right.. so I stopped taking it.

On the good side, I do feel slightly more energetic, my skin seems clearer and I am having less hypo symptoms. The depressed feelings come and go as does the 'brain fog'. On the bad side, the weight is still a problem and my skin disease, Granuloma Annulare is getting worse. I have some new spots and old areas are becoming 'bumpy' again. The spots had seemed to be fading while on Synthroid, so this is quite distressing to me. If anyone knows whyT4 seems to help, but T3 would make worse - please leave a comment.

I also started taking about 400 mcg of Melatonin (at Walmart in the vitamin section) at night to help me sleep. Takes about an hour to kick in. The dreaming is amazing on this stuff.

Update: I bought some synthetic melatonin in a higher dose (since the Rexall brand of natural was not in stock at my Walmart) and I do not recommend it. The natural melatonin is the best. I'm pitching the synthetic stuff, even though it is a much stronger dose it takes me longer to fall asleep and I find myself waking several times during the night. Check the label before you buy!!

Where I'm At - August 2008 - My Answer??

Within a few days of my last post I had a revelation of sorts. I felt bad on Armour, felt bad on combinations of Synthroid and Cytomel and on Synthroid alone. What was left? Plain Cytomel (T3)? Nah, that wouldn't work for me I thought... remembering the blood test (high T3 levels) that I had while on high doses of Armour... the same time I felt at my absolute worst. But then I read about Reverse T3... the standard T3 blood test doesn't distinguish between Ordinary T3 and the inactive RT3. IF most of the T3 in my blood at that time was RT3 - that might account for how terrible I felt!

T4 makes both T3 and RT3. During times of stress, the body makes more RT3. The inactive RT3 fits into the T3 receptors (kind of like a mirror image of the real T3) and blocks T3... no T3 into the receptors and your Hypothyroid symptoms will come back. For a better explanation Click here.
Problems with too much RT3 are treated with plain T3 - not Armour and not Synthroid, nor any combinations. Plain T3 (Cytomel or sometimes time-released T3) only.

I could also have thyroid hormone resistance which is also treated with T3 only. Usually people with this problem will need large amounts of plain T3.

Right now I am up to 30mcg of Cytomel split into 2 doses (morning and afternoon). I am feeling better today than I have for a couple years - I am thinking clearly, am motivated, no more midday slump, more energetic. Still having some muscle aches and light fatigue.. new problems are excess sweating (in has been in the 90's here though) and slight headache when upping doses. I've been doing some projects around the house and some long overdue cleaning.

My bedroom overhaul - I painted several furniture pieces and did a couple little decorating projects. I did the entire room for under $130. (the new bedding was the bulk of that). Yeah, I know this has nothing to do with Hypothyroidism, but I am so proud of myself! I got off the couch and accomplished something!!





I'm excited again about waking up in the morning and have lots of new project ideas popping into my head. I'm pretty sure I'll have to continue raising the Cytomel, I'd like to start weaning off the Hydrocort as well. The weight is still a issue, but I am hoping the T3 will start to increase my metabolism and I can see the pounds start to fall off.

If Armour or Synthroid isn't working for you, look into getting your RT3 checked. Have it checked with your Free T3 so that you can figure out your ratio. This is how to determine if your RT3 is too high:
Divide Free T3 by RT3 and it should be greater than 0.020 for pg/ml or greater than 19 if FT3 is measured in pg/ml and RT3 is in ng/ml.
IF your doctor okays you to take just Cytomel - DON'T start too high (even if it is prescribed to you in a high dose, this stuff is pretty powerful).. start slow.. like 5mcg twice a day.. then in a week add another 5.. and continue like that until all your Hypo symptoms are gone!

Lots of Links..........

The best web pages I've found so far.....
Gail's Thyroid Tips WOW! Lots of great info here!
Insulin Resistance Page - LOTS of links here
Metabolic Syndrome and PCOS
Hypo Risk Symptoms Checklist
Thyroid Top Doctors by State
Magnesium Information
Magnesium and Depression
Food Allergies - Lots of helpful links here!
Food addiction, allergies and weight gain
NAET (for allergies) Doctors - Not sure what I think of this yet.
Another SUPER allergy page - LINKS Galore! Some for Thyroid too!
Adrenal Symptom Questionaire
Autoimmune Symptom Checklist
Symptoms of Hashimotos
Hypothyroidism - Good General Info
One Woman's Cushing's Disease Story
Autoimmune Hypothyroidism - General Info
Chris Jackson's Page (Hypopit)
Smoking and Hashimotos - Interesting!!!
Thyroid Supplement Page
Thyroid/Heart Failure Connection
The Hashimoto's Brain
Diagnose me - Chronic Thyroiditis
Quotes of Interest - Thyroid
Do You Have Adrenal Fatigue?
More on Adrenal Fatigue
Anxiety and Depression with Thyroid Disease
The Adrenal Glands (from "Fatigued to Fantastic")
A Sheehan's Syndrome Story
Low Dose Naltrexone (for Hashi's, Cancer and More)
Dr. Lee and Progesterone
Why T3 Alone Can Be Okay
T3 and Reverse T3

Where I'm At - July 2008 ...... Half-Dead

Maybe I'm not half-dead... but I sure feel like it.

The exhaustion is overwhelming, a trip to the grocery store and a load or two of laundry will wipe me out. The bigger projects get put off over and over again. My husband and I took a short 4 day vacation to Branson a couple weeks ago... a little shopping, saw some shows, toured a museum. More than I usually do, but not at all what should have been too much for a 40+ woman... but I felt incredible exhaustion the entire next week to the point that I could barely function. I think this may be more an adrenal problem than a thyroid-related one... but I am already on 40 mg of Hydrocortisone.. so I don't know. 40 mg is about the highest dose that someone with adrenal fatigue should take. For some reason I was feeling really good around the 11th of June... I had just raised the Synthroid.. was hoping finally to get some relief from the hypo symptoms. For me it seems the stresses of planning a vacation and then over-doing it gave me a setback.

The Growth Hormone stim test hasn't happened. After calling several labs and hospitals in my area, I cannot find one that can do this test. I have more hospitals to call, but am not feeling optimistic.

The diet was a bust too. I'm just full of doom and gloom today, eh? I did lose some weight initially, but the weight started back up when I lowered the Synthroid and even though I am back up to the dose I was while losing weight.. the weight isn't budging this time. I've pretty much given up on slimming down at this point.

Lydia (poster child for the Couch Potato)