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! :)