My End Is Just a New Beginning

My name is Wendy, and this has been my blog during a 6 month voyage into uncharted waters. See, through a series of events, I embarked on a quest for health. I have Hashimoto's Hypothyroid and something pretty cool to share. I hope to inspire you with my little experiment of the unknown.

I started my holistic journey in late October 2010. If you've been reading since the start, you may remember the condition I was in. If you are new to this blog, you will probably want to go back and read my 1st blog post titled In The Beginning. It will give you insight to where I started, and what my history had been up to that point. In short, I was a mess.

What I Ate

During my 6 months, I ate a Paleo Diet. I actually began eating paleo in August 2010, so I had a few months head start on that. Dr. Matthews, the chiropractor who was in charge of my thyroid treatment, did not enforce this diet, but didn't discount it either. Some of the recipes he gave me included legumes and rice. Essentially he just wanted me to be 100% gluten-free with very limited dairy. I decided to stick with what I learned from my husband Anthony, Robb Wolf, and Chris Kresser. Diane Sanfilippo's website is in my "favorites" list. She posts some awesome recipes the whole house loves...and it was from her site I got my way-cool "Bacon is rad, gluten is bad" t-shirt.
To clarify my eating choices, I had rare (once every month or 2) "no rules" meals. During them I might consume something with dairy, beans, or rice- like a Naked Burrito Bowl at Chipotle, some ice cream made from milk, or even something very processed like Snap Pea Crisps from TJ's.
Sidebar- Butter from grass-fed cows is still included pretty much in my everyday life, even though it's "dairy." The Butter Manifesto from the Whole 9 explains this well. However, I still have yet to clarify my Kerrygold butter. Maybe this summer. -End sidebar.
Unfortunately, on a more frequent occasion (every couple or few weeks), I would succumb to the calling of the blasted sugar in Hershey Kisses, M&Ms, or the like. I know, I know...that's dairy too. *sigh* My binges would last a few days- and it consisted of me grabbing a sweet treat I may have hid in the pantry when no children (or husbands) were looking. But, because I can never do anything in secret, the chocolate left over in the corner of my mouth or on my cheek would cause my husband to laugh, point, and say "busted!!" *double sigh* We'd get a good laugh because he knows I'm human. And he knows how yummy delicious milk chocolate is. We DO have dark chocolate in the house many days (72% or greater) but sometimes it just didn't meet my craving- and my craving won out over the willpower.
Note to self- If it wasn't IN my pantry in the 1st place, my willpower would've won.

We bought most of our meat from a fantastic local farm called T & D Farms in China Grove, NC. In fact, we just bought our first 100% grass fed 1/4 cow from them a few weeks ago. Most of our veggies and fruit have come from the produce section in the grocery store, but this spring we've joined a local organic CSA- I'm excited to see how that goes. It started yesterday!

I NEVER knowingly ate gluten. I may have consumed it unknowingly in very small amounts- like when I was eating the Rotisserie Chicken from Harris Teeter (they use modified food starch in their recipe). Whoops.
I thought going essentially grain-free would be tough. "I want buttered bread with my bean-free chili!! Waaa!" - But, what I learned was that what I truly wanted was the butter. Really, it was just a learning curve. I don't recall ever craving a bowl of PLAIN pasta with zero toppings...I wanted the butter or the sauce! Now- it's hard to look at cereal grains as consumable...unless I'm under some wacky tempting spell -which does happen. I mean, I used to have 14 boxes of cereal in my pantry...all for me. Now, I haven't even had gluten-free cereal since my "Come to Jesus" moment with a skyrocketed (for me) blood sugar level after binging on a bowl of gluten-free sugar-enhanced corn balls back in February. I wrote about that dive-bomb in a post called Old Favorites Die Hard. Yeah. That was a fun lesson. Good times.

Supplements

In my 6 month program, I took some supplements as recommended to me by Dr. Matthews, who studied under Dr. Kharrazian. If you remember, my supplements varied a little at different times. I occasionally struggled mentally through taking all of them, and blogged about that too, in a post called Sugar Struggles and the Supplement Saga. But, to save time, here's the view when it was at it's peak, minus the Levothyroxine:



So... March 3rd was about 6 weeks from the end of my treatment plan, and I had a set of labs drawn. I didn't know it then, but they would be my last. I thought I may get one more set, but turns out the costs of my supplements, lab tests, office visits and such had way surpassed my original payment by "thousands." Seems as though the spending on my account wasn't watched closely enough. I didn't need to pay extra, but he just wasn't going to run anything else for me. That makes me even more thankful for my results.

Ready for my Labs?

The 1st column is when I found out I was hypothyroid. I've had yearly labs since then, but chose to add the 2nd column because it is 3 months pre-paleo. The 3rd column marks my 1st set of labs in my program. 5th- my last. This is not all encompassing of all the labs I have obtained, just what I have considered pertinent for this blog post.

Labs in red are too high, labs in blue are too low.

Looks like all those sugar binges have caught up to me with my Hgb A1c now minorly elevated at 5.8. Some people find it assuring that my fasting glucoses are normal. But fasting glucoses don't show you what a roller coaster ride your levels go through all throughout the day. Since Hashi's patients are warned about the potential development of diabetes, this concerns me. I am now attempting to add a bit more control to my cravings. A short-term goal is to decrease those sugar craving episodes to a more healthy scenario, like once every couple months or so. (You know though, since it's like crack to me, I'm unsure if this is even an option. Once I taste it, I need more and more- and then I'm completely off the wagon.) Nonetheless, right now I am careful to eat meat with my chocolate. Sounds AWESOME, right? Seriously, though. If I must have some sweet treat, it would have to be right after a meal full of protein and fat. I will continue to be a work in progress, for sure. But I am working! I'd like to see the day when I can say I've been "clean" for months. I wonder how much better I would feel?

Total Cholesterol is still low. I just ordered more Omega-3 Fish Oil from Stronger, Faster, Healthier. Someone told me it may help raise my total number. Funny, though. I eat essentially NO "Heart Healthy grains," I eat butter by the bite, pork chops, bacon, whole eggs, coconut oil, beef, etc... All the things they tell you not to eat if you don't want to be put on some statin drug or die of heart disease. As Whole 9 Life says, "Question Authority."

LDL, VLDL, HDL and Triglycerides are just wonderful- except I don't believe this old method of determining heart health is accurate anyways. Here's a clip from the documentary FatHead that sums it up nicely.

NOW... back to the lab chart. That special green number made me fall to my knees in the office! My Thyroglobulin Antibody level is NORMAL! And my TPO Ab isn't far behind- I'd say 9 points away from normal is amazing when it was 5048 points away in the beginning. I walked into the office hoping and praying that it would've dropped to the 200s, so when I saw this I was overcome with joy.

Autoimmune hypothyroid is essentially dormant in my body

Yes! Thank you Lord! All the hours spent cooking (and watching my husband cook), the strength to not eat foods I sometimes craved, and even the short-falls got me to this point. What's next? Well, I'm left with a thyroid that has been under attack for a prolonged time. We shall see if this wonderful gland that God gave me will gather it's strength for me and start to perform it's duties again. According to my TSH level now, I've been giving my body a bit too much thyroid supplement lately. That's a good sign. So, as instructed by Dr. Matthews, I tried to cut back on my natural thyroid supplement, GTA, to once per day. This lasted about a week or two. I felt so tired and foggy, I had to change something. So, I did what any typical hard-headed nurse would do that was trying to rid herself of synthetic medicine: I self-experimented. I cut my Levothyroxine dose in half to 50 mcg and went back to my 3 times/day GTA. Boom. I felt much better. And as I write this, my nails are stronger and not peeling anymore. Apparently, you can have brittle nails when your TSH is too low too. At least that's what Dr. Matthews said. He also said that since Levo is synthetic, the body may essentially come to become immune to it, but since GTA is natural, the body can utilize it better. Who knew?

To be fair, I also started taking my Ferrous Fumerate again around this same time, give or take a few days. I saw my iron had dropped again, this time to 47. I got real winded in my workouts for what seems like a long time- probably a few months. I was dragging somewhat even though an Iron level of 47 is "within normal limits." I figured it wouldn't hurt to start taking an iron supplement to see if maybe my body likes it's iron level closer to the 90s. I take it now about once every 3-4 days, as I think taking it daily was constipating me.

Feeling an improvement so far. Whether it's from the added iron, less levothyroxine, or the continued maintenance on the GTA will remain to be seen.

Current Regimen

Now that my 6 months is complete, here's what I'm prescribed:
4 pills: 1) GTA 3x/day 2) Glutathione Recycler 3x/day 3) Levothyroxine 50 mcg daily 4) Ferrous Fumerate 1 tab 2x/week
2 creams: 1) Oxicell 3x/day 2) AdrenaCalm 1x/day
2 liquids: 1) Vitamin D 4000 IU/day 2) Vitamin B-12 5 drops 2x/day 3) Nitric Balance 1 tsp 1-3 x/day
I still sometimes miss the middle of the day stuff. Morning/night stuff is a cake walk.

The things I will remain on long term are the Vitamins D and B12, Oxicell and Glutathione Recycler, and the Nitric Balance. Lord knows I'd like to only be on the GTA for my thyroid supplementation- and no mo Levo. Hopefully, if I can get some more dayshift hours and reduce some stress, I will be able to say see-ya to the AdrenaCalm too.

Future lab testing on May 26th 2011 with my PMD will show if my self-adjusting technique of my thyroid meds was a smart bet. Never know till you try! I can always go back on it. I really don't know what my PMD is gonna say after I tell him about this program. He may or may not have supported my desire to attempt to decrease my dose to test the waters. Now is my chance. Dr. Matthews says he has several patients that only take 1 or 2 GTA capsules a day. How nice would that be?!
Since I didn't get the last set of labs I thought I was going to get as a grand finale to the 6 month program, I will ask my PMD to run a similar panel and post those to this blog.

The Greatest Reward

Back in March I told you all of a success I had, but it was quite unexpected. I had some doubt that it would last, so I kept it to myself, and didn't go into detail. Well, I'm about to spill.

Something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember is dysmenorrhea, or painful periods. I know many of us chickas have a miserable time with the dreaded cycle, and I don't personally know anyone who enjoys the month in and month out experience. It just took so much out of me, my OB/GYN prescribed me a few different medications. They didn't work. Well, that is, until he tried Tramadol in June of 2003. Back then, looking into this new med, I learned it's quite like a narcotic, but not one. It messes with your brain. It helps the pain by helping you to "not care" that you're hurting- for the most part. I remember taking it the 1st few times. Weird, man. I felt weird. For a long time, I didn't like the brain excitement it gave me- almost a hyperactive state, but I kept taking it during my periods trying to get some relief, which I did get. After what was probably less than a year, at the end of a cycle, I couldn't stop taking it. I tried, and I had awful withdrawal symptoms like nervousness and anxiety. So, I just took another. Everyday. Period or not. Time went on, and I was continuing to take 1 or 2 a day. At one point I enlisted the help of a doctor who prescribed me Clonidine, a blood pressure medicine, to reduce or eliminate the withdrawal symptoms as I took myself off the medicine. It worked! No nervousness, anxiety, or insomnia. But, after what feels like a month or two...maybe three, I started to ache and hurt, and not want to get out of bed. More days than not. Periods were unbearable, even mentally, again. I felt depressed alot. So, I did what most people in my shoes would've done. I asked my OB/GYN for a refill of the Tramadol. He obliged. I mean, it DID help, and I was thankful to be able to get up and move around again- to feel like I had some sort of energy along with less pain. It was prescribed as always: 50 mg tabs, 1-2 tabs every 4-6 hours as needed. I wasted no time getting back on track with my 1 or 2 a day schedule. It was much less than I was allowed... so no harm no foul? I would be laying on the couch, so tired, blah, and worn down, pop one of those babies and I'd be zipping around cleaning or running errands in no time. It was HELPING me. Right?

Looking back, I had no idea what was wrong in my body in the 1st place. Why was I hurting? Why couldn't I cope with life? Why was I miserable? I suppose I didn't have time for that. I just wanted relief. Just give me my pill. I remember asking Anthony to bring me one to work because I left the bottle at home. He understood how I would feel without it, so he'd pack up the kids, drive to my job, and help me out.

I would tell the tramadol saga to my PMD at my annual physicals, and last year he said, "Why don't you let me prescribe you your medicine?" (Instead of my OB/GYN since it wasn't just a GYN issue anymore) "How do you know you don't have Depression or Fibromyalgia?" He said. I believe I looked at him and scoffed, "Fibromyalgia is for drug seekers, the overweight, and the old. I am none of the above. I am invincible, and I will be fine. I don't have depression, I just am going through some stuff." I don't even think I believed in the diagnosis of Fibro itself. He however, was probably putting 2 and 2 together, since he had been planning my demise ever since he diagnosed me with Hashi's. He has been preparing himself for my potential diagnoses of depression, fibro, diabetes and the like. They all seem to run in the same circles, after all.

Let's fast forward to the beginning of this year, 2011. I have been on Tramadol for over 7 years. Daily. One or 2 a day average- up to the maximum of 5 in one day (That would've been a bad, bad day). In January, I started to think about this drug and how it didn't fit in with my current outlook on health, nutrition, and fitness. But at the same time, I never thought it would be possible to stop it without going back to a painful, miserable life, as well as an exhausting mental challenge because of the dependency on it. I hadn't once tried to go without it during my paleo eating/crossfitting lifestyle change, but in December/January, I decided to give it a go. I weaned myself from 2, to 1, to 1/2, to 1/4, to none over about 4-6 weeks. The larger doses were weaned slowly, then the smaller doses were weaned quite quickly. At the end, I just forgot to take the 1/4 tab one day. And since I went one day, I decided to forget again on the second day, and the third and so on.
The last week of January is the LAST time I have taken Tramadol after 7 years of daily requirement. I DON'T HURT ANYMORE. I am not depressed. I feel like I have my life back. I'm not in some variable hyper state like I used to be. Yes, my periods are still a bit on the miserable side (I've had 4 so far). But really, I can deal with that. It pales in comparison to the achiness I felt all over. Only once did my menstrual pain level get to a point that I wanted some tylenol. I am hoping that by tweaking my diet and nutrition a bit, I will find that my cycle will improve over time. In April, I cut off my pot a day coffee habit for a full 21 days cold-turkey. I now only plan on drinking a high octane cup on Mondays and maybe decaf on some Thursdays. I've recently read that eliminating it could help a woman's cycle a great deal. I shall see.


Be a Healthy Christian

I have encountered some Christians who have had a hard time "buying into" a Paleo nutrition plan. I can't say I understand the logic behind that as many of those same people choose to eat a box of something over a piece of meat or a vegetable. *scratches head*  If God wanted me to eat Lucky Charms, He would've made a tree that grew marshmallow purple horseshoes. Maybe their hesitation is because many of it's promoters are evolutionists, or because Jesus ate bread. Maybe it's because change is hard. I dunno. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a perfect paleo eater either (darn chocolate!!). But what I do know, is that it works. I was being looked out for by my Heavenly Father, and whether paleo promoters believe it or not, they were a part His plan to introduce me to a life free from disease symptoms. I am so very thankful to Him for keeping me in His complete care, and I'm so very thankful to them for being such excellent resources, willing to help the masses, "6 listeners" at a time.


The End of the Line?        ...Not so much.

As you probably have guessed, I am going to continue to be my own experiment. God brought me far, and I enjoy walking this out with Him. We are wonderfully made beings. I feel that it is important to sift through the junk out there in the mainstream media and mainstream medicine to determine how we should treat these temples of ours. My end of these 6 months, is really the beginning of another new life in nourishing health. I chose the road less traveled, as they say. I hope you do too.

Now, go be your own experiment, overcome the diagnosis of disease, and then spread the word about health and good nutrition. Make those pharmaceutical commercials irrelevant. And remember, no matter how much we search, scour, and dig through the info on the web, there is no perfect health apart from God. We are His childen and he wants the best health for us. It is possible.


Many Cheers!





Apology

I'm still here, and my 6 month program is now complete.
I would like to post my apologies since I haven't written my experiences over the past 6 or 7 weeks. I do have alot to share, and my plan is to complete a post including my final labwork this week. When I saw my results, I couldn't believe my eyes!

Cheers!

Rant on Big Pharma

Big Pharma To Try Their Hand at the Table

I knew it would happen. The whole world...or "one in five Americans" will probably start running to a new drug for autoimmunity now being researched by Big Pharma. A quick fix seems so much easier than some good, old fashioned, food discipline. So many peeps can change their diet and would essentially have little or no need for a drug that is sure to carry a hefty pricetag. (See the link? That's alot of research dollars...) People seem to be worried about the cost of being/eating healthy. They ask me how much my grocery bill is now that we don't eat grains (and I can say with certainty that it's not as costly as continuing to eat the foods that irritated my system)- but I wonder how many of those same people will pay whatever it costs for a manufactured drug to reduce or remove their symptoms. I really wonder. I heard long ago that you will pay a price your your health... now or later, but you will pay a price. I chose to pay for health now, as opposed to disease later. You?

I also heard Chris Kresser from The Healthy Skeptic speak on a podcast with Robb Wolf. He speaks of another drug coming up- and how it will work. You can listen to that podcast here. It's toward the end of the hour- but there's good stuff up until that point too.

Why did Big Pharma come to the table? Because so many people have been suffering for so long with autoimmunity? Sort-of. "So many people" is pharm-speak for "lots of money."  From the article- "There are more than 80 different types of autoimmune disorders¹, and approximately 50 million Americans, or one in five people, suffer from autoimmune diseases."

Lets multiply "50 million" peeps by the average cost of a highly sought after, new, non-generic drug. Hmmm. The potenial for income is staggering. -So is the strain on our health insurance premium- but that's another rant.
It would be cheaper for our health care system to educate people on grain, dairy, and legume-free eating. But alas, that doesn't make those drug companies money. And if people steered clear of grains, the US would lose money too. So, they try to solve a problem by adding a step, instead of removing one. That way, the money still abounds- for them.

The drug they come up with may help people, granted...this remains to be seen. But I just can't help but think about true health- where your body uses it's God-given ability to heal itself by eating the foods necessary for it's optimal function. Where there is no need for a prescription drug. Wouldn't that be a better option?  If one could be used in place of the other, I'm pretty sure God would rather me simply eat meat and veggies than pop a pill everyday.

Think about a diabetic that eats foods he knows he shouldn't and uses insulin as a crutch. Insulin brings down the high glucose, sure. But meanwhile, behind the scenes, that havoc is still unleashed. The high and low blood glucoses continue to cause problems on his extremities, eyeballs, weight, triglyceriges, you-name-it, etc. The insulin is necessary, but it does not HEAL.
A Paleo-type diet helps HEAL- and without side-effects, too boot.

Parents with autoimmunity- I implore you. Your children unfortunately can follow in your autoimmune footsteps. If at all possible in your particular health issue, don't teach them to rely on Big Pharma. Give them the knowledge and power to choose to eat foods that will help them stay healthy, as well as correct unhealthiness. Show them how important it is for their lives- even when you are not around. They pay attention and (mostly) believe what we say. :-)

Something to think about.

AdrenaCalm Surprise

About AdrenaCalm

Just a quick post to say that I opened up a new AdrenaCalm and was pleasantly surprised!! It has been reformulated! No more B vitamin smell!! It's still yellow, but now has essential oils of lime, grapefruit, and patchouli. It's not strong, just a light favorable scent. So, "Cheers!" to all who have dreaded the B vitamin bleckness.
(Little things make me smile.)

Link to The Healthy Skeptic- Episode 4

Here is a GREAT listen for anyone with thyroid dysfunction- Hashi's or not! Chris Kresser has his act together.
The Healthy Skeptic- Episode 4 Hypothyroid/ Hashimotos

Although I got much more out of his podcast, here is what his site says about the episode:

*Copied from his site*:
This week’s show is focused on hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s, leaky gut and autoimmune disease. Specific topics covered include:

• Do plant goitrogens influence the thyroid?
• Why do I continually need higher doses of my thyroid medication?
• Kelp’s affect on the thyroid
• Synthroid vs. Armour, what is the best thyroid medication?
• Can antibiotics cause autoimmune disease?
• What is the best diet to heal the gut?

Enjoy!!

Questions for the Doctor

As these months are flying by, I've been stirring several questions in my mind regarding things that haven't improved over these weeks/months.

No one has all the answers all the time, not even the people we trust with our health. I don't expect that Dr. Matthews knows everything about me because not all thyroid cases are the same. I did have some questions for him though...so I called him a few days prior to my appointment to give him a heads-up.

1) Why are my nails peeling worse than before?
2) Why are my hands and feet still cold?
3) My blood sugars have been on the high side despite the initial thinking that I was hypoglycemic. Does this mean I should stop the ProGlyco?
4) If working out causes my blood sugars to rise to the 140s immediately after a workout, is that the same as eating carbs that increase my glucoses to that same level?
5) What hair and skin products should I use? My scalp still gets flaky and itchy- and of course I just recently looked at the bottle- Wheat or oatmeal along with many other unpronouncable words. (I noticed that most curly hair products have wheat and/or oatmeal ingredients in them.)

Well, my appointment was this past Tuesday, and I got some direction.

First- let me say with great glee, that my little visitors are DEAD!!! Take that, parasites!! I win, I win!! It's cool to know that I didn't need a pharmaceutical. Natural products do work. Whooda Thunk?!

To answer my question about my cold hands and feet, we are upping my Nitric Balance dose. (Since I was recently reminded of what this product did, I figured he would say to increase it, so I already upped it a few days prior to my phone conversation with him.) ;-D
I am now taking 2 tsps daily instead of 1. If I don't see an improvement in a week, I will go up to 3 tsps. Maybe I should have complained more about my frigid fingers and toes long ago- and I wouldn't have had to walk around my house in sheepskin boots, and type on the keyboard with fingerless mittens all winterlong. Lesson learned, and I hope this increase works.

I stopped the ProGlyco the day I spoke to him over the phone. My fingerstick blood glucose levels have been higher than expected, so no need to support low blood sugars. Right now we are NOT replacing it with a treatment for the opposite (hyperglycemia)- we will just follow the numbers.

Since stopping this, I have noticed my numbers have not increased to the 160s again. But then again, I am doing better with my fruit/sweet snacks. I will say that Anthony brought home a special treat last week. Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake. A client of his made it for him. I ate a whole piece right after a protein rich dinner with a side of squash- and my blood glucose didn't skyrocket!! It actually only went to 111 one hr. post prandial! I have found heaven on a plate that I can tolerate.



Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake



As far as my workouts are concerned, he believes that the glucose spike that occurs immediately during/after is not as concerning as the complex metabolic process that comes with a high carb intake. Plus- my glucoses drop to their normal level quite quickly during the recovery phase- as all the glucose is being sucked into my thirsty muscles. (I am pretty sure I got that right.) If anyone has any other insight to this, I'd love to hear it!

I did, however, stop drinking my sweet Afterglow Recovery shake, because my glucoses were going up to the 170s, then dropping to the 80s soon after. I didn't like that, workout or not- so I switched to a post WOD meal of ground sausage, sweet potatoes, and cinnamon. Yum.

Dr. Matthews gave me an idea about skin and hair products, and I will be checking into some others too. Arbonne, Zuzu, Afterglow, and Smashbox brands have some gluten-free stuff. It's pretty hard to find acceptable products. For instance, in hair care land I've seen very few curly hair products that are GF, and the ones I have seen are marketed toward our darker complected sista's. Quite unsure how that would turn out on this white girl with the blond 'do- but who knows, I may be trying it... :)  Any suggestions from people who know of a GF hair product line that would work for me? 

He didn't quite know why my fingernails are frail and peeling. I figure it could be a myriad of things- harsh soap at work, cold temperatures, new nailpolish...or the Hashi's/hypothyroid acting up. If I let my mind wander enough, I'm sure I could come up with several more possibilities.

Maybe the labs I had drawn yesterday will shed some light on the subject. I am super excited to see my results. And even a bit nervous, maybe, since we are over 1/2 way through and approaching the end of these 6 months. (Already!?!) 

I have a story I will share soon. It is my biggest "surprise" success in this program to date. I am just a little apprehensive to share it prematurely. It wasn't in my first post, In The Beginning, and I haven't discussed it in any post since. See, I didn't really know that by helping the autoimmunity, I'd be helping this other pesky problem. I am about 6 or 7 weeks into this "win" and I feel wonderful about it...and am really praying that this is the real deal.

I can't wait to share!!

Comments? Post them below!!

Cheers!!

Google Books Free Preview!

I just wanted to share- Google Books offers a preview of Dr. Kharrazian's book (The Introduction and 2 Chapters in the middle) as a free preview! I just re-read through Chapter 5- Taming the Blood Sugar Beast. I can't believe how much you forget when you only read something once. I highly recommend you take a look at the info if you have not already done so... Especially "How Do You Know If You Have Hashimoto's Disease" on page 23. This precisly explains why your antibodies need to be cheked if you have hypothyroidism. I am frankly shocked that some doctors of people I know will not test their patients for the autoimmune component, or say it's only necessary if the basic results are concerning. Ugh.
   
Here is a link to the preview of "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal?"

Cheers!

TH Dominance Result

At my last visit to Dr. Matthews, I received the results of my TH-1 vs. TH-2 dominant pathway test. He gave me a copy of my results like he always does. This time, however, I am left clueless as to what was actually tested. There are so many numbers, abreviations, and percentages on the page, my eyes cross. The best I can do for me as well as for you all is put in simple terms. The result? I am well balanced. (Shocking, right?!?) He said that 2 of the results looked as if I could actually trend toward the TH-2 side, but I'm not so off kilter that he would supplement me either way. The OxiCell cream (Glutathione) and the Glutathione Recycler are probably to thank for the balance of the two.
What does this mean for me?!? I can still drink coffee. Big plus. If I trended farther on the TH-2 side, I would probably have to give that up.
I may have to spend some time studying all these Interleukin tests done (2, 4, 6, 10, 12, and Gamma), the Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, T and B Lymph/Natural Killer Short... and what they mean.
Nonetheless, the purpose of the tests was to find out my dominance, and there's not one that is so dominant that it needs support on the other side. 

A few posts back I said I didn't remember why I was on Nitric Balance. Well, at this visit, I was told it was one of the supplements I would likely remain on for the long haul (along with the Glutathione duo). So, I found out what it really does:
It dampens tissue inflammation and destruction.
It's supportive in tissue healing.
Modulates autoimmunity to dampen activation.
Increases blood flow to the brain, hands, feet, and sexual organs. 
Enhances brain endurance for quicker recovery from autoimmune attacks.

Hmmm... I just may want to take extra of this stuff, huh?

Cheers!

Old Favorites Die Hard

(Everyone please break out your violins)
It's been a bit reminiscent lately. Thinking about all the food I don't eat anymore. You know. The list. French Crullers from Dunkin Donuts. Double Stuff Oreos. Barbalo Wings from Midtown Sundries. Jalapeno Poppers from Arby's. Mozzerella Cheese Sticks. Any baked good in the desert case at you-name-it restaurant. Whopper Jr.'s. The International Passport from IHOP. :-/
(Ok. Thanks for the musical background. You can put them away now.)

It all started a few days ago when I just really wanted to go out to eat. We haven't mastered the experience of a relaxing dinner out yet. To me, it's still a chore that requires planning ahead. We didn't plan ahead, it got late, and we were stuck in the house with another last minute meal to make. Thank God for Anthony, because he whipped up an awesome Spicy Butternut Squash soup that was incredible. It made me think much less about dining out, and more about how good I have it.
But I still had this craving...for something. And nothing I've eaten seemed to lessen the craving, so I keep picking and sipping, opening doors and shutting them. And that brings me to tonight.

Pre dinner my blood glucose was 93. That's usual. I was finished with dinner but I just needed more. I wanted food Food FOOD! It was essentially a total protein dinner. Spicy chicken sausage and your basic cooked chicken. An hour and a half later, my hunger didn't subside. My glucose was then...91.
We had all sat down to watch a Netflix movie like usual, but saw that the Charlie Brown Valentine's Day special was on- so we switched gears. I just gotta say- I have come to despise TV shows. Not the show in general, but what comes on every several minutes to try to convince us that we need what they have. We just have your basic cable, no frills, so we can't fast fwd through them. Commercials make me want to do a few things. A) Throw my slippers at the TV. B) Shake some sense into the people who believe the hype. C) Run to my pantry. D) Take a road trip down Memory Lane (and to Burger King). Well, since I won't do A, B, or D...that leaves C. Now, the problem is, I don't have a single thing in my pantry that resembles the flowing liquid chocolaty goodness, the single serve brownies, or any of the other snacks they showed. (No wonder people snack at night!!) My choices in the pantry were... mixed nuts, coconut milk, or popcorn. Well...I had had the 1st two already today, and I don't eat popcorn much, so... my eyes looked up. Someone bought a box of cereal, and it wasn't me. Anthony tried to encourage me to fight the urge, that I just didn't need to eat sweet snacks before bed... but I'm pretty stubborn.

I heard Dr K's July 2010 interview on the Livin' La Vida Low Carb show recently and something he said stuck in my head, but it didn't make it's way to the "carry-out-in-real-life" section of my brain yet. (Or maybe I should say my heart?) It was about carbs and the thyroid in Hashi's patients. That when I subject my thyroid to high blood glucoses and insulin surges, a little piece of my thyroid dies- never to return. That's huge. But knowing that was still not huge enough to stop me from going to my pantry and grabbing the single box of gluten free EnviroKids Gorilla Munch and opening it up. It's one of those things that's gluten free...but not good for me. Corn and cane sugar. Oh. I could've had a burger patty. I could've fried an egg. I could've even eaten a banana. Nope. I wanted easy pantry food. I wanted CEREAL. There was a time when Anthony counted 14 boxes of cereal up there. I was over the top. It was always so easy and quick to pour myself a bowl. Well- it still is, I found out. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk...and a splash of dark chocolate almond milk too, for an additional kick. I dug in. Nom nom nom. Declan calls out from up in his room..."Hey, I heard someone pour a bowl of cereal!!" Selective hearing. We only buy maybe a box a month (that's pushing it, too)...and he was waiting for it to be cracked open apparently.
Well, 2/3rds into the bowl, I started feeling not-so-good. Weird. Heavy. Anxious. Foggy. Achy. Full. I finished it anyway. Because- well, sometimes I am compulsive, and my belly didn't hurt. While feeling bad at this point, I thought to myself, "I may never do this again. This may be my last bowl of cereal. Ever." Anthony held my hand, smiled and shook his head as I put the empty bowl down. 1/2 hour later, my blood glucose was 163. At 1 hour it was 161. That's NUTS.
There's something about seeing a number on a digital screen that is so concrete, I can't help but wonder if that message did finally make it to my heart. If it did, then it was worth feeling this awful this once. If it didn't, then I'm as hard headed and careless as they come.
As I write this, I am still feeling weird- in a bad, achy, foggy way. My blood glucose is still 139. So, that means while I sleep it will drop, and my cortisol will come to the rescue- again. I bet I will wake up hungry and nauseous.
I hope I remember this feeling the next time my mind starts to wander down Memory Lane and starts looking over the fence. It's not greener over there. It's just not.

"Why Did You Get Sick?"

I have heard it quite a few times. "You are eating so healthy, how did you get sick?" If I had a quarter...
However, I was wondering the same thing myself.

A little over four years ago I started working in the Children's Emergency Dept. You can imagine all the new sicky germs that I was exposed to that 1st year. I did indeed get the flu (self diagnosed, of course) that 1st winter. I even went to the Doctor's office and got a liter of IV fluid. It was ugly. Since then I have been good to go. A couple GI bugs that last a day, a couple of stuffy head icks...but nothing that has knocked me down since that flu...until 2 weeks ago. That head cold was the PITS. I was Wendy the Red-nosed Woman.
So... why now? Why when I'm so much more health conscious?
Then it occurred to me. I have been taking those natural supplements that were killing those parasites in my GI tract. They were supposed to be more sniper-ish and not kill my good flora as much as a general prescription anti parasitic would have...but I was told it would deal it's share of casualties. We know that about 84% of our immunity comes from our intestinal systems...so...Hmmm.
Could that be why my health succumbed to the petridish I work in? Who knows. But it's a thought...And you know how I love to deduce.

Thank goodness those anti parasite capsules are over. I will be sending a sample to the lab via Fed Ex on Monday. (Oh yay, right?!) We shall see who won that war soon.

In the Recyclables! Woot!

Cheers!

Eureka!

Two and a half weeks behind schedule, I am pleased to give a new result: My cortisol levels are on track!

My previous cortisol load on 10/20/10 was 56 (23-42 nM). My current result from test date 1/5/11 is... 33! How did that happen?!? I was absolutely sure I was still so off kilter that I kept putting the darn test off for days! The little graph that comes along with the results has me in the "gray" (desired) zone all day long.

Here's a snapshot of my October lab sheets:

No matter how shocked I am, I can't argue with progress. Here's the improvement:

That's my bit of good news. As a reward, I get to stop taking my Adaptocrine capsules all-together. (One down!) I also get to decrease my usage of the yellow Adrenacalm lotion that smells like B vitamins. I was putting it on 3 times a day (most days)...but now I'm down to once a day. I asked Dr. Matthews how this test can be right when I don't feel like my adrenals are functioning properly yet... He essentially told me to just keep truckin', that it's working. Ok. I will.

Since my last post I've (again) fallen prey to the chocolate monster. It was my daughter's birthday, and we ordered gluten free chocolate cupcakes. 15 of them. I think I had about 4 over the course of the week. And dark chocolate almonds found their way into my TJ's basket again, too. No more gingersnaps, though, so yay me.

During this time I was invaded with a virus that left me with a red nose, watery eyes, coughing, and sneezing. That stinking cold had me in it's grips for 9 days. About 2 or 3 days were particularly bad- Anthony said he's never seen me with a cold like that... I think he's right. (Once I had the flu 4 years ago, and I haven't been that ill-feeling since- even though these symptoms were different.) It's a good thing I never get sick- I can behave like a big baby. During this virus though, I took an over the counter potion. Not sure how well they fare in my doctor's eyes, but I certainly felt like I needed to sleep without keeping the whole house up with my coughing. I used CVS's Multi Symptom Night-time syrup about 2 or 3 of the days when it was at it's worst. Toward the end I finally had a joke of a fever (100.4) and that seemed to do the trick in ridding me of the mess. I didn't workout for about 9 days. I was coughing too much to purposely increase my work of breathing. I bet it was RSV from some child I took care of in that petri dish I work in.

Since you've got to make lemonade out of lemons, the "good thing" that came out of me having a cold was that I could not taste. So, for about 5 days I didn't have to taste those garlic-y capsules that are killing those parasites in my gut. That was absolutely a praise report. The sequel to that praise report is that TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY OF THEM!!! Woot woot!! Dr. Matthews gave me another stool test kit to retest for those suckers. I will be doing that the very next day, and boy...They had better be gone.

All in all I can't complain. I feel fine now, even after spending yesterday in the Appalachian mountains with the family, skiing.



After 7 hours of my legs being in that position...I was regretting not being in the gym last week preparing my legs for the upcoming soreness! My calf muscles are sore, but suprisingly my upper legs are fine.

We ate dinner at this awesome restaurant in Boone, NC. It's called the Hob Nob Farm Cafe. They use their own organic produce, locally grown fresh fruits and veggies, grass fed beef, nitrate free bacon, no HFCS, gluten free options, pastured chicken and eggs... etc! We loved it so much, we went back for breakfast!

This was my Hashimoto's friendly breakfast...with coffee and coconut oil. Funny story. We used our own coconut oil, and when the waitress came to top off our coffees, she thought something was in her coffee pot making it all oily looking. She was very cute.

I know, it's just a picture of bacon, eggs, and sweet potatoes...but I think it's much better than that. The fact that this wasn't my home...but a restaurant...that served local pastured eggs, nitrate free bacon, and organic sweet potatoes makes it so much nicer.

I'd like to share something with you all. The CrossFit I go to is currently the feature story in the magazine Charlotte Health and Fitness (CHF Monthly). It's not even out in hard copies yet. It's a great read- here it is. I encourage you all to try your local CrossFit, as it is so important to our overall health, Hashi's or not.

Secondly, in the same magazine ironically enough, is another great read. Seems that Hashi's treatments are spreading- the word is getting out. I read through the article, very pleased that it was accurate in it's thyroid info, (as so many things are not...) and at the end, guess what? He's yet another Chiropractic Internist. Where are the Endocrine MDs or other medical doctors in general? Do they see that this stuff is working? I answer that with something that my doc told me. In the next couple weeks there may be some endocrine doctors that will meet with Dr. Matthews to review what he has learned. One of them even read Dr. K's book. "I just don't know what to do with these patients," is what one doctor said. "Their numbers look fine, but they keep coming in with these symptoms." While this is very exciting for credibility reasons, I am not holding my breath for their all-in ness. I just really don't see doctors writing recommendations for glutathione cream, porcine glandulars, and other natural supplements that help get our systems back on track. If anything, I hope they see the enormity of the damages of gluten and strongly recommend that and other dietary changes. Maybe even refer out to a holistic treatment plan?! Who can guess.

I hope to see where my antibody numbers are again soon. Maybe he will give me a slip at my next appointment? Here's hoping! I've been hearing more and more of the dairy cross reaction issues. (Where dairy can behave similar to gluten in some people.) With all the milk chocolate I was eating around the holidays, I hope I'm not one of them. Sometimes it feels like my bubble is getting smaller, but if I find it's gotta go (completely), it's gotta go.

With that I will say goodnight. I hope you are all well!

Cheers!

P.S. A few of you are my Facebook friends and write comments to these posts on my wall in FB land. I really hate losing your comments in the daily FB shuffle. I wonder if comments/questions could be written here on the blog? That would be a more awesome way to keep track of this journey, and help me keep things together. I appreciate it! :)

Revelation

It's no secret I think good quality food is our best medicine. It will be a great day when doctors and naturopaths look to a patient's diet 1st before prescribing potentially unnecessary products. (I say this knowing I am embarrassed to show my doctor my food log from Christmas up to last week!)

There is no difference in my mind between a doctor that prescribes a medicine to help a symptom of a disease and a naturopath who recommends a natural supplement to do the same thing. If neither are trying to fix the underlying cause in the 1st place...well...you see my point.  (This is provided the patient is willing to go the distance required to regain their health.) I firmly believe our bodies were made to heal themselves. Unfortunately, many disease processes are caught too late or not diagnosed properly at all.

When we supplement with prescriptions or natural products, what is our goal? a) To live with an underlying illness still running rampant in our bodies...while the symptoms that were meant to alarm us are dampened by some pill, or b) to gain a full recovery, possibly evidenced by pertinent bio-markers like blood work or other testing? Ultimately, I want to know if what I'm doing is working. In my case, not just by how I feel- because that has tricked me before- but by the biomarkers headed in the right direction.

Take eczema as a medical diagnosis. What an alarm that can be. I've seen it so bad that the child needs to be admitted for steroids, fluids and antibiotics. It's at that point the doctors really have no choice but to do allergy testing (hopefully). But what about that small patch or 2 of eczema that's been nagging someone for the longest time? Why isn't that addressed in it's beginning stage? Something is causing it, right? So, why tell a patient to apply hydrocortisone or triamcinolone over and over and over again? Seems to me that is suppressing your body's alarm without addressing the root cause. And I think it's important to note that a great way to determine a cause is to remove certain foods for a time period, then reintroduce them after about a month...and see what happens.

I know in the last post I told my sob story about all the lotions and potions I was taking. Well...

Since then, I had a wonderful talk with a friend that also has Hashi's. She is such an amazing person. She filled my "tank" up quite a bit during our conversation where I was whining about all I have to take at this point. She too is following a treatment plan of her own, so we related to each others highs and lows. I think I have been very wrong to have a pity party about my supplements. I mean...THEY'RE WORKING!!! My autoimmune antibodies have dropped, so that's a giant step in the right direction! So what if I have to take them for a few more years? I'm not diabetic, I'm not depressed, I don't ache all over, and I'm learning SO much about my body (and the health of my family) going through all these steps. I have a smart and supportive husband, family, and friends...what on Earth was I complaining about? Without this program, my antibodies would be who knows where- and my body would continue to fall into autoimmunity land. With that said...I'm ready to pick up my responsibility and move forward.

Drumroll... I have not had a TJ's gluten free Gingersnap since the last post. I survived an entire weekend of work and denied all those little kisses and M&Ms. Not even a prune. I did however, eat some strawberries with canned coconut milk the other day...and I'm hooked. Good news? It doesn't even budge my blood sugar! All the good coconut fat must supress the sugar spike. So, I have a new favorite snack. Canned coconut milk. I just opened up a can tonight and it was SO thick, I needed a spoon. Halfway down the can...was the separated coconut water. That thick top 1/2 was to die for. The kids and I sat there and played, "pass the can." Yeah, we got our fat on tonight...and had to stop ourselves so we can have more tomorrow.

And, yes, I am checking my blood sugar now. Not because I'm diabetic, but because blood sugars and hormones are interrelated. I want to see what foods I should eat together to prevent a spike and a fall which could easily send me on a war path. And after speaking to my Hashi's friend, I am not alone. When we were talking she said something that made me think, "ME TOO!" We both could be fine all day...eating grass fed beef, eggs, veggies, etc...but eating even a small handful of raisins could make my kids go into duck and cover mode. No, it wasn't a hot fudge sundae. It wasn't a piece of birthday cake. I can go nuts over the amount of sugar in a couple of prunes. (Pitiful, I know...but don't pity me. :) I am not sure if it's all completely Hashi's related, or if it's also the fact I have eliminated so many negatives from my diet that now I can sense more of what's going on under the hood, per se.

Many friends who care about me say, Oh Wendy...you've been so strict...have a piece of candy- "you deserve it." They mean well. I don't expect them to know all there is to know about blood glucoses, Hashimotos, and autoimmunity. Most doctors don't even know, even GI docs. I mean, they are just coming out with new lab testing now, in 2011! 

Recently I spoke with a surgeon who disclosed to me that he and other family members have Hashi's and other autoimmunity. After telling him about removing gluten, my success so far, Robb Wolf's book, and Dr. K's Book, he said he was "ordering it tonight" and, "You'd think I'd know this stuff." Now why would I think that? They're not teaching this stuff in medical school...(yet.) He also said he was dieting, and mainly eating meat and vegetables (but not because of the autoimmune diagnosis), and said he "already feels better." Hmmmm. It's like this stuff works. It even works if you aren't aware of it! 

I like the Whole9Life's Food Evangelist T-Shirt. It's how I roll, even when others look perplexed at my diet and/or lifestyle. But, hey...you can't argue with progress.

Cheers!

Sugar Struggles and The Supplement Saga

I have a quote on my Facebook page, "Wisdom is doing now what you are going to be happy with later on." Genius. I didn't come up with it, Joyce Meyer did. Well, lately, I haven't used much wisdom. This is apparent because I have been unhappy with the results of my recent poor decisions.

See, one bad choice leads to others if you: a) have little self control, b) don't care what the future holds, or c) are surrounded by Hershey Kisses at work. What?! I swear! They kept jumping out at me, unwraping their little selves (they can be less than modest, you know), and pleading with me to fulfill their destiny in my digestive system. I wish I never found out they were gluten-free. I wish I was as strong against milk chocolate as I am against gluten.

Speaking about gluten, I got a T-shirt for Christmas. It rocks. I got a medium- not tight, and nice long sleeves. (I hate "long" sleeves that ride up on me.) "Bacon is rad. gluten is bad" A cooler shirt does not exist.

Want one? I don't blame you. http://www.balancedbites.com/ 

Since my last post I have made it through the holidays. Not unscathed, though. My gluten-free diet has stayed stable, but my sugar intake is at an all-time high (since August 2010).

<Oh! And I must tell you! I have been purchasing Harris Teeter Rotisserie Chickens on a fairly regular basis for an easy dinner. Well, I made a few phone calls...all to find out that the "Modified Food Starch" they use in their basting is wheat based!! WHY HT, WHY?!? Now there are even less reasons for me to shop there. Boo. Boston Market has just scored another customer.>

I am not sure why I have fallen from my high horse and into candyland, but happen it did.

Score: Wendy-0, Hershey Kisses at work- 20.

Score: Wendy-0, M&Ms at work- 4 (Handfulls, that is. Big ones.) 

Then, I come home, and I am scouring the pantry for something sweet, because I have re-entered my old obsession-land. Alas, 85% dark chocolate does NOT have the same effect, but I keep taking more bites to see if I just needed another taste. Nope. So, I move on to the gingersnaps I love so much.

I make little cookie sandwiches out of them (that's Kerrygold salted butter inside). I could eat these all day long. Somebody STOP me!!!

Maybe tonight I will finally watch "Sugar: The Bitter Truth." It's on YouTube and I've been meaning to watch it for a long time. Maybe that will help me improve my mindset. Everytime I justify screwing up my body's attempts to heal, I am really only hurting myself. But that's just it. Am I? Sure I have my own consequences to deal with, like some extra flab around my belly that just "appeared" after I started eating the holiday chocolate and almond covered buttery toffee from TJ's (it was gluten free, you know...)...but what about my outbursts of frustration where I feel out of control? My poor sleep patterns are not being helped with adding more sugar back into my routine. When I wake up tired it certainly isn't helping my homeschooling abilities. When I want to fall asleep during the day because I just could not fall asleep the night before at a decent hour doesn't help me make lunch with a happy heart. I am hurting myself, yes...but I also am hurting my loved ones. *sigh* I am a sugar addict. And it must stop.

What's even worse, is since the 1st Monday in January, I have been pretty adherent to Robb Wolf's 30 day menu plan in his book, The Paleo Solution. It's the snacks I've been eating in addition to his menu that's ruining this whole experience. PLUS, my fellow carb loving BFF is doing it with me. It took what seemed like forever for her to agree to try this whole gluten/dairy/sugar free thing out, and now she is more adherent than I have been! It is shameful...for me, that is. For her- Rock on, sister!

Let's move on to another subsection of my life: Supplements. I am overwhelmed with supplements. Here's why:

This is crazy, right?!
The things to the left and on top of the big white bottle are old news. The GTA for thyroid assistance, Adaptocrine and AdrenaCalm for my adrenals, Glutathione Recycler as an aid to the antioxidant glutathione in the OxiCell Cream, and the big bottle of Nitric Balance...Um, I don't remember why I'm on that. There you go- Proof that I'm on too many things. The big bottle in the center is the 2nd phase of the parasite killing action. They are 6 horrible garlic-y tasting capsules that I take in the morning. (They are pictured in the little small packet to your left.) If the natural world could learn something from Big Pharma, it's how to coat nasty tasting caps with some sort of taste bud buffer.
There are also some new ones here that were started 2 appointments ago. They are stacked on the right.
On top of the stack: B-12 drops. 5 drops twice a day. Tastes like cinnamon. (I take this AFTER the garlic-y caps to remove the taste as fast as possible....smart, right?) He has me taking these for one of my blood tests (MCV) which showed I have some macrocytic anemia going on. It wasn't addressed during the initial set of labs, so I was surprised to learn this now. I will now go add my past and present MCV results to my lab chart. Done. What's funny, is a nurse at work saw my labs, and told me about this type of anemia and I blew it off. She was right. Kudos, if you read this. You know who you are.

Under that bottle is my ProGlyco SP. This is for my blood sugar. "ProGlyco-SP provides a broad spectrum of glandulars and minerals to improve the nutritive and biological conditions for a better control of blood sugar. Powerful antioxidants have been included in this formula to help minimize the biological damages produced by oxidized blood glucose." ... He still thought my blood glucoses were too low. Well! He doesn't have to worry about that anymore, does he?!? My next Hgb A1c will be higher, I'm sure. He even wanted me to keep a food log, and told me we may have to think about adding in more sugars than I was eating. Ha! Not so much a problem now, eh? The trouble is, is what I'm currently doing is NOT helping my situation AT ALL. Eating simple sugars most assuredly will not help keep my blood sugar within optimal ranges. That just spikes me and drops me. Flat. I really don't think I would need support from this supplement if I was doing my part in choosing the right foods. According to the description, it almost seems like this is one of those "bandaid" supplements. However, I could be wrong. Got nothing but an assumption here.

Next: Vitamin D drops, 2000 IU per drop. (No longer on the yellow fish juice!) I take 1or 2 drops, twice a day. Looks like elmers glue. Better than the ol' fish juice, but still not as benign as the Carlson's drops the rest of the family get.

Last: HCL Prozyme. This helps in digestion, and in my case, absorption of protein. I had told him that ever since I had kids (10 years ago) my legs swell after a weekend of working as a nurse. I always thought it was my salt intake...even though I am not a salt-aholic. They were recently getting worse... wearing socks made a real uncomfortable ring either below my knee or at my ankle. I didn't put my low albumin and total protein together with this until the addition of this product. (See, back then, in my mind, my protein was within average "normal" limits. But now we know for me, it was actually low). I think I noticed an improvement in the swelling this past weekend, but not drastic. We shall see.

So. To put it into perspective, This is my day:

Morning

Noon

Night

I always get the morning and night doses, it's the middle ones that elude me at times. With taking all of this, I tend to forget my Omega 3 fish oils from Stronger Faster Healthier. How many things can a person take in a day? If I could tell someone to take 2 things, it would be Omega 3 fish oil from SFH, and Carlson's Vitamin D drops, 2000 or 4000 units per day. I hope to get to that point myself, but I may likely need some of these thyroid supplements even when this is all over. But there is no way in the world I will continue ALL of this! (Even though I know I shouldn't say "never"...)

I continue to take what he tells me to, because we are following my biomarkers (blood work and such). But I feel like an old granny sometimes with all these pills. And there are other negative feelings I have toward over-supplementing, too...but that should be another post.

Last Wednesday (January 5th) I did a repeat saliva test to monitor my adrenals/cortisol levels. I was given the test kit 2 weeks prior, but I kept putting it off because of the rules that go with it (i.e. no coffee or cruciferous veggies, etc...), and because I don't really feel like any progress has been made there. I still have a crazy wake/sleep cycle, and still feel stressed out to the max...but it comes and goes, much like my more rare peaceful states. Comes and goes, comes and goes...  

Sidebar- I have a little CrossFit log book called a "WOD Book." I log all my workouts in it. In each days slot, I am supposed to circle the amount of stress I feel. I am almost always above a 7. -end sidebar.

That same day, I went to LabCorp for another blood test. They took 7 or 8 (GIANT) tubes of blood from me for the test to see if I was TH-1 or TH-2 dominant. I am SO happy I may not need to "test" those sample capsules to see if I react negatively again. I hated the feeling that I was purposefully doing my body wrong, and trying to stir up a reaction. (I know, I know! This coming from the same person who eats Hershey's Kisses and M&Ms!) For shame!

Hope you all are starting out the new year better than me!

Cheers!



Nom nom nom
Wendy- Back away from the gingersnap.



Link to My Labs

Well hot diggity! My willing and able hubby made me a REAL chart for my labs. The last post that I created had them all jacked up. I didn't know how much until I tried to view them on an iPod Touch.
He's truly wonderful. Now I can add to it in the future and all that jazz.

Here it is!