Haven't signed in for a while but still maintaining the calorie count. On average over a 5 week period am at 1000 kcal/day. Exercise each week on average 3-4 hours of walking, gardening etc... Lost 2 kg first 2 weeks, since then, stalemate. I've under thyroid treatment (Levothyroxine) and am more and more concerned that the reason I can't lose those extra 4 kgs that I want to lose is because I'm not treating the TSH3 only the 4. Can anyone help me find out how to get the Armour or total Thyroid treatment?
I've also quite high cholesterol for which I've been taking Tahor statin which I've now stopped due to terrific cramp in the legs. Once again, can anyone tell me if Red Rice Yeast (natural statin) can replace efficiently cholesterol (chemical) pills such as Tahor?
Help would be greatly appreciated.
I really appreciate these forums, good work all of you.
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vivbr
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It's probably your low calorie consumption that is holding you back. 1000 a day just isn't enough to support all your bodily functions - including converting your T4 to T3. And, I would imagine, such a low calorie intake means that you're cutting out fats, and that's the exact opposite of what you should be doing. You need fat to make hormones.
Eating fat does not make you fat - quite the opposite - and it has no effect on cholesterol levesl. Cholesterol is a necessary nutrient and you shouldn't be trying to reduce it. Those that have the highest cholesterol live the longest. Doctors have got it all upside-down, I'm afraid. The cholesterol won't kill you, but the statins just might!
You should be counting nutrients, not calories, that's a red Herring and is harming the health of millions of people. Have you had your nutrients tested? Vit D, vit B12, folate, iron, ferritin for starters. If any of those are below mid-range you won't be able to convert, either. And B12 should be over 500 to avoid permenent nuerological damage. Having low nutrients will make you put on weight - especially magnesium.
Interesting, have been looking around some time but must admit that doctors tell me that my cholesterol IS A MAJOR PROBLEM for me, my mother had high cholesterol, she is now 92, she had no treatment until she was 85, probably too late then anyway. I shall analyse my vit B12, D folate, iron ferritin: how about taking a vitamin pill with all that in it? Magnesium too?
A vitamin pill only has very small amounts of each. You will be better served addressing each one separately and take a good vit B complex to balance those better.
Silverfox is right. Multivits are next to useless for defined deficiencies, they're justg for maintenance, really. And they certainly wouldn't do you much good if your B12 was around 200 - 300 - as a lot of hypos seem to have. You would need about 7000 mcg a day to bring it up. You won't get that in a multivit.
Clutter has just posted a very interesting article on the subject of cholesterol, Worth a read - if you haven't already read it.
Your mother is still living at 92, many don't make 85, so in what way was high cholesterol a problem for her? There is scientific evidence that elderly people with high cholesterol live longer than those with low cholesterol. There is no evidence at all that statins reduce absolute risk of heart attack or stroke in women (the side effects are more likely to kill you and reduce your quality of life - fatty liver, calcification of arteries, type 2 diabetes etc). High cholesterol, as has been said, is a symptom of hypo. too much exercise (for you, personally) stops you from converting T4 to T3 effectively, so you either gain, or don't lose weight.
Yes okay I know all of that, but when you do have high cholesterol and you see a well known and reknowed specialist in the field and he tells you to get on statins before you have a stroke or whatever, you do have to ask yourself if he is completely wrong. I get the idea that there is truth on all sides, so will keep finding out more to maintain my health without statins. Looking for more proof on support for treating T3 as well as Levothyroxine
Read the big cholesterol myth by Dr Malcolm Kendrick that makes for really interesting reading. 1,000 isn't much but if you've only 4kilos to lose then things get much tougher. Your body will hold on to that last bit with all its might! I had low T3 so have been fortunate enough to get armour. It helps a little so I've read with the fat collected above the pubic bone and tops of the arms. I can't comment as yet but the one thing that was vastly different was my overall body temperature. That must be helping increase metabolism. Are you fine tuning or do you really need to lose?
I have the same problems with weight & cholesterol. I can`t help but think my body hates me because of all the resistance it`s putting up against losing weight & lowering choolesterol.
I just wanted you to know that I have just lost nearly 6 stone in 5 months by following a low carb, high fat, high protein diet. I never feel hungry or if tempted I eat something. I'm on 275mgm Levothyroxine and last year I joined an excellent closed group on line for hypothyroid ladies. I have learned so much about when to take my meds, what NOT to eat or drink to enable optimum absorption of the drug and also the best time of day to take it to avoid the daytime slump. If you talk to your Dr about this diet before you try it they may recommend a multi vitamin tablet a day. This diet was given to my BinLaw for his cardiac condition. I also stay away from all processed foods. Carb wise I substitute potato for celeriac and do it in a creamy garlic sauce. I'm type 2 diabetic, insulin resistant and needed low carbs to maintain my glucose levels. It has drastically reduced my insulin intake too. Sorry for the long reply. If I can help further just let me know.
Well done lesleyjehan, I've tried this diet and lost 3lbs in a week. The problem was constipation, I have anal fissures from chronic constipation and use magnesium and vit C to help heal them and also as a laxative. But with virtually no carbs they didn't work. It got so painful I had to stop. I would endorse this diet 100% if you don't have other diet restrictions, I can't eat fruit for instance, and I think this would have really helped!
It's such a fantastic result for you, and wonderful your blood glucose has improved too!!
Thank you Hellcaster. I shouldn't eat fruit either with diabetes but I think it's a 'good' sugar as opposed to chocolate. (I still have a mars bar a day!) but I blend it (the fruit!)and I have to sieve it well because I have diverticular and I also have Lichen Sclerosus 'down there' which is very painful and I get constipated but use Lactulose. It's the ONLY diet I have maintained a weight loss on although I've slowed down to 3-5lbs per week now I am still over the moon! Just another 6 St to go now. Due to Gabapentin, Amitriptiline and 900 units per day of insulin and the hypothyroid I gained a HUGE amount. I used to train race horses so I wasn't big initially!
I have interstitial cystitis which I have to follow an almost non acid diet or I get horrendous bladder pain. So a lot of the time I can't choose what I would like to eat The high fat high protein diet is the only one I've actually seen any results from!
I take gabapentin for pain and when I first started it made me ravenous! I just wanted to eat carbs all the time, I couldn't sleep I was so hungry. It does say weight gain on the patient leaflet, a lot too because it's so sedating. Amitriptiline I know makes you crave sugar! In the early days of my bladder disease I was prescribed it and put on 7 lbs in 6 weeks!
I have had that diagnosis down there too. I had a hospital infection after a hysterectomy and I lost so much skin from my vulva and inside my vagina, just one of the many grotty symptoms I had. For two years I couldn't wear any type of trousers which was hard as I live in jeans! Apart from thyroid meds helping it, I use E45 Wash on my bits, it's made a huge difference. I used to put E45 cream on too if I was particularly sore. It's taken me now since 1998 to not have to do this several times a day. I do still always wash there with E45 Wash. It's very gentle and leaves the skin very moisturised. Honestly I could hardly walk mine was so bad. I took a jar of thick skin that had come out of my vagina to a professor in gynaecology, he said he had never seen anything like it, and made me use steroid cream, which put me in orbit!
Are you sure you should be using lactulose? It's absolutely loaded with sugar. I use Regucol from Holland and Barrett, it has good gut bacteria in it too. I have diverticular disease too, but this doesn't hurt it at all. Another thing I do is take magnesium citrate (good for stabilising blood sugar levels too) and 1,000 MCG of vit C, it helps relax the muscles in your anus and helps motility.
I used to be 8 stone 13 pounds, now after 20 years of untreated hypo I'm back up to 16 stones which is where I started since treatment. I've been using T3 for the last 6 months and I have gained so much. The last couple of months hydrocortisone too, so I do feel my weight is out of control
Wow thanks for the info I've been up the creek without a paddle so far! I wonder if my hystericalectomy caused my LS? I'm due at the gynaecologist consultant in a week or so. My dentist just said yesterday that I have LS on the inside of my cheek right back to my soft pallet! Also 2 patches on my inner knee. It is excruciatingly sore and I have steroid cream too. I will take on board what you've said re meds and speak to my GP. Thank you for being so open n frank with me. Have a lovely weekend.
I have problems with losing skin from inside my mouth, I was just told by an oral surgeon it's autoimmune, where did we near that before! Sometimes it's gets so bad I choke on the skin in the back of my throat. Certain toothpastes make it worse, so does stress. I can take a finger wipe the inside of my mouth and end up with a lot of white jelly skin. No real diagnosis.
Have you been on thyroid meds long? I also had horrendous psoriasis develop in my armpits, yet another lovely thing after that hospital infection, it stayed with me for well over 8 years, I had skin biopsies done and it was definitely psoriasis, but you know it went within 4 months on thyroid meds. I still use double base gel which I get on prescription just in my armpits, again it really moisturises the skin. I make sure no shower gel touches any of these sore places, it really overwashes and dries the skin. I use Simple moisturising gel on the rest of my body. But definitely try E45 Wash, I have extremely sensitive skin but I use it every day with no problem.
I hope you have a good appointment with you gynaecologist!
Don't blame the thyroid meds. Its the hydrocortosine that will pack on lbs. It took my girlfriend 1 1/2 yrs after hydrocortosine to get her figure back
The group is hypothyroidladies they are on Facebook. It's a closed group so no one else can see your posts. You have to apply and be accepted which can take some time as they are really careful who they accept.
I agree with Greygoose. cholesterol isn't the problem. I know it's going against everything we gave been taught re: what's good for us but all the new research is revealing that high cholesterol is not the demon we thought it was. We need high fat to feed our brains and make our hormones work properly. Have you tried a paleo diet? When I cut out all grain, so no bread, pasta, rice etc i lost the most weight I have ever lost and that was and is with eating delicious fatty meat, lots of oily fish, only cooking with hard fats such as butter and tallow. I have never eaten so well or felt so well. My Tsh is supressed and my t3 and t4 are optimal. I believe no grain has improved my absorption of nutrients so everything is working better. It's worth a try?
It would be interesting to know whether it's just the total cholesterol number your doctor is unhappy with, or the ratios. On the face of it my cholesterol is high, with a total score of 6.4. But my triglyceride is at 0.6 (bottom of the range; directly related to carbohydrate intake, apparently), my HDL is high and my LDL is only slightly over range. The ratios of total:HDL, LDL:HDL and HDL:trigs are more important.
hi, dont think this will help .but i have hashimoto thyroid ,underactive thyroid. i have been following an app on ipad 1200 calories,it says in 5 weeks will weigh what i want , well 6 months on .i have managed to put on !!! 2 kilo. but would be worse if i did not follow this. my medication is for both .so i think its just part of the underactive thyroid. dr seems quite happy. ive had to increase my protien. which ive done over 6 months.antibodies down from 645 to 425. still very high. but getting there. so good luck i think untill both are addressed the weight maybe a problem .the protein helps lower the antibodies .so i understood .good luck butmaybe get both tested.
Thanks for your comment, I feel for you and am sure that the Thyroid gland is only part of our problem. I'll continue to search the solution adapted to me. The video on You Tube by some american doctor, interesting it's about the usual dietary problems of the average US citizen. However is it appropriate to us? Good luck and keep trying to change things best for you.
I am american and follow healthy eating. Now there are many organic fast food restaraunts to choose from (elevation hamburger, chopped) Some Americans just make bad choices. We have some of the best holistic doctors...Dr Weil, Dr Oz, Dr Fuhrman. Their published literature speaks volumes. They write on every subject on this thread.
Look these authors up to regain your health. Lucky for me I am a patient of one of the above...!
I have recently been looking into the quality of the foods I eat and into the hidden sugars and fats. Usually weight loss is an equation between how many calories you put in and how many you use up. I am not a nuitritionist, but would urge you to relook at what you are eating. Prepared foods are known to include all kinds of hidden additives, fats and sugars. At least if you prepare your own food you are sure to know what is in it.
Watch some programmes and get links to healthy diet, these are available from Thyroid UK as a start.
Pufas, polyunsaturated fatty acids, are on the bad list and I notice soybean oil is in so many dressings here in the states. Is that also a problem in the UK? The video I posted in this thread talks about the fact that you can't just squeeze a vegetable and get oil, they are chemically processed. We have to learn these things to realize what is happening to our food.
I have followed a non-dairy, wheat free, low carb regime for 5 years (no cow's milk products, potatoes, bread, pasta, cakes etc). I just have a small portion of rice crispies without sugar + goats' milk yogurt & goats' milk in the morning to give me some energy. I lost 1.5 stone quite slowly to begin with. I have maintained that but have not lost anymore. I think exercise is the problem for me. I have lower back problems and find walking any distance hard, but know that when I am active, I can lose weight. I found Dr Kendrick's article on cholesterol very interesting. My husband's is high and he worries about it. He read it too!
Hi viv, did you know that your body needs cholesterol to make gluticosteroids and sex hormones and may be producing it for those reasons. I urge you to watch this video about the adrenals and thyroid. He also mentions cholesterol. Many years ago I read that the real ingredient that made Red Rice yeast effective was removed so it may be of no use anyway. Probably too competitive for the pharmaceutical companies.
Thanks for the video that I watched with interest. Despite the fact that the US style of life is not mine, I found some new points of interest in the video.
Yes, his manner may not appeal to everyone but I have watched ten or more of his videos and feel he is telling us the truth. I had followed a conventional doctor's blog who became so disgusted with the current medical practice which is so disingenuous and Dr. Bergman also vocalises a similar theme. I think thyroid treatment is a firm example of that. It is time that the medical system prove that their standard procedures are really in the interest of the patient. But I don't believe that will happen, so we have to arm ourselves with as much knowledge as we can.
I understand your frustrations. In your position, I would consult a homeopathic doctor that could guide me. In the USA they can guide you how to get Armour. These doctors are also called naturopaths. I would not try and "self medicate"
In the USA I go to one doctor that has medical degree but practices homopathetic (George C Wong) Contact him on internet on his website. He could help you greaatly.
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The high fat high protein diet is the only one I've actually seen any results from!
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