What do you know about your Thyroid?: Just a... - Thyroid UK

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What do you know about your Thyroid?

Dixydetroit profile image
10 Replies

Just a general consensus about 6 years ago I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroid with a sexy Groiter in my neck. For the next couple of years i was on meds but at times didnt take them *work life made it hard to attend frequent dr and blood test. I had the tremors hyperactiveness and (i cried) some hair loss about 3 years ago I had a total thyroideptomy (aparently text book perfect saw all 4 of my calcium nodguals) it was in my healing process i went a bit reaserch mad... the 1 page handout just told me about after care. But know the darker side of 'hypothyroidism' is weight gain. I looked up various diets and tips from around the world... all seemed to big up palio which to me seems like a fad..... i love my food and wangled down to basics that would be easy to live by and majority of sites all seemed to agree on these( 30 mins before breakfast take your meds. Reduce caffeine avoid coffee (No way i dont wake up till ive had my coffee!). Avoid all soya (invludes the stuff in chocolate and convinance foods) strawberried and peaches (later found out high in iron) 1 portion of iron vegtables eg broccoli and No grapes of any kind (bye wine). Any how it took a while but i noticed all this informaton on the web not once did my drs tell me any information on what i was living with (or what can happen if i dont have meds) or advice links. So my question is does anyone else have a lack of knowledge about their thyroid and how to have a happy thyroidism? Or is it just my bad luck?

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Dixydetroit
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10 Replies
Raventhorpe profile image
Raventhorpe

Hi dixydetriot I certainly knew nothing about thyroid til a few months ago when I found this site. I relied on doctors to know whats best for me and ended up at times very ill.i have had graves for 20yrs and had Rai 7 yrs ago.i decided it was time to take my health into my own hands and not be dictated to by gp's who know very little about how to treat thyroid.

Dixydetroit profile image
Dixydetroit in reply to Raventhorpe

I find this really odd as dr should know how to refer you to information (they do for cancer and diebeties etc)And i went throgh loads (even people going on about natural remedies instead of medication) it was only a couple of months ago i found out what sever consiquence would happen if you didnt control thyroid.

Its weird. Even in the worring world of obisity and low thyroid increase weight gain and the tiredness contribute thyroid suffers to become obese.

Hi, I would say go on the journey and teach yourself and ask questions here like you are doing now. You will learn loads. I had a doctor at my hospital tell me at 36 weeks pregnant the other day I need to come off my meds and will have to stop them entirely because my tsh is low. I said why? I am on NDT and it suppresses it and my other results were well within range. I had had enough of them at this point had loads of rubbish from loads of doctors for weeks about taking NDT. She then asked me if I bought NDT from a health food shop in the uk? This was an obstetrician! How in the hell do we have a chance to get fully well unless we do educate ourselves because a lot of medical people have no clue ? It's so shocking.

Dixydetroit profile image
Dixydetroit

When i was pregnant the dr was more worried than i was. But also my dr(new in practice) was unaware of my past conditions and think her worry was from lack of knowledge about thyroid ( my sergery is a beginners sergery for new dr)

Even so when i was with the specialists that Are thyroid specilist there was no real information to live with thyroidism or even a first step to the information not even anything about Thyroid uk.

How many people out there with same conditions and no knowledge?! And more so we trust ourselves in professional that have no clue themselves?!

Is thyroid a taboo?

in reply to Dixydetroit

They just seem especially rubbish in the thyroid area here in Chester. Even all the Endos are diabetic specialists and have no real interest in thyroid disorders. They test for them but have no clue how to interpret the results and it varies in consistency dramically from one member of staff to another.

Dixydetroit profile image
Dixydetroit in reply to

Same in windsor...

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Dixydetroit, I don't know where you've been reading, but you've picked up some very strange information.

It's best to leave one hour before eating and drinking anything other than water - but you can drink coffee after that time. If you drink it before the hour is up, then it will affect your absorption of levo. For that reason, a lot of people take their levo at night, 2-3 hours after eating.

There is absolutely no reason to avoid broccoli, strawberries, peaches or grapes (unless they disagree with you), or even wine. You are depriving yourself of a lot of good nutrients - and a lot of pleasure! - by doing that! :)

Dixydetroit profile image
Dixydetroit in reply to greygoose

It was to keep high iron vegetables to 1 portion a day.

Strawberry peaches and grapes also has affect on the absorption of medication and best avoided

It was no to any soya products

But I would love to know where you get your information? Cos thats why ive posted my question!

As ive stated I was left to search myself *there is an awful lot of contradictives info but what ive previously mentioned (has been similiar through cross search)

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to Dixydetroit

Given that hypos are usually low in iron, and that we need optimal ferritin to be able to absorb and synthisise thyroid hormones, I can't see the logic in limiting the amount of iron-containing veggies to one portion a day. That doesn't make any sense.

Strawberries, peaches and grapes do not affect absorption of thyroid hormone, if eaten one hour after taking your dose.

The 'rules' are : hormone should be taken on an empty stomach, with just a glass of water; leave one hour before eating or drinking anything other than water; leave two hours before taking other medication or supplements; leave four hours before taking iron, estrogen, vit D, calcium or magnesium (in fact, it's best to leave six hours before magnesium).

Soy is right, you should avoid unfermented soy like the plague, because that will affect the absorption of thyroid hormone at a cellular level. However, it's ok to eat fermented soy, in small quantities.

I really cannot tell you where I got all this information, because over the 17 years since my diagnosis, I have read so much and so broadly. And most information is repeated time and time again. But, I have never, ever, anywhere, read about strawberries, peaches and grapes. So, I'm inclined to think that is false information.

Where strawberries and peaches are concerned, you are maybe getting confused with goitrogens, as strawberries and peaches are goitrogenic. But they do not affect the absorption of your thyroid hormone replacement. What goitrogens do is impede the uptake of iodine by the thyroid gland. If you are on thyroid hormone replacement, your gland isn't working properly, anyway, so that doesn't matter.

But I have never heard an unkind word said against grapes! lol

catrich profile image
catrich

I think the sad fact is that the medical establishment are only *partly*knowledgeable about *some*conditions, illnesses, body systems, organs yet we've been led to believe they know ALL. So we expect them to know all and they like to behave as if they do. (But knowing no more than some is unsurprising when you consider the magnificent complexity of the body.) Medicine must be presented to medical students as a book of facts to be memorised - incontravertable ones at that - to explain the attitudes we encounter.

Or is it, in fact, that part of being a medical professional necessarily involves a host of behaviours to maintain the cult of the Doctor ( which involves never admitting failure, covering up ignorance and keeping patients in the dark? )

I entirely agree that informing yourself is the first step. It can be a huge relief for us as patients to begin to take some responsibility for our body and its conditions and ailments. Ownership brings responsibilities - and rights.

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