Reintroducing dairy

[Flowerpot108]

Has anyone had any luck reintroducing dairy?

I'm gluten, dairy and soy free after reading Dr.Wentz's books and chats on here. I try and eat whole foods (although do occasionally slip up) and am happy to report I am losing weight. I have started to eat meat because of the hair loss whereas before I was pretty much vegan most of the time with a bit of fish thrown in here and there.

I am currently on 100mg Levo which i take when I wake up an hour before food and take iron and vitamin C at lunch, then Vit D, K2, B complex, and magnesium with dinner.

Do you think I should also take calcium? Because if I'm not eating dairy a bit of almond milk isn't going to be enough is it? There's 120mg of calcium per 100ml so I'd need near on 600ml to get the 700mg daily requirement. Which is fine, I can just have a hot choc or something or drink it straight and make sure I'm needing to buy another carton every other day. Do you think that's fine or does anyone take a supplement? If you do when should I take it? I don't want to disrupt anything else... I suppose with breakfast and hour after levothyroxine? Cuz I don't take any supplements then.

What would be really great is if I could eat dairy again as that would solve this problem and provide protein and other good things, and be yummy. But I don't want to try reintroducing it incase it stops me being able to absorb levothyroxine properly, which is what happens when I eat gluten.

I was thinking I could wait until my hair has grown back. Oh I really hope it grows back! And then they try lactose free stuff... but then again Dr. Childs says it's the casein not the lactose.... so maybe its safer to keep avoiding it and take a tablet instead or drink half a carton of almond milk or something.

What do you think?

R.e. the hair - its obviously been falling out for some time and I somehow didn't notice, and then I was doing an updo and got a mirror to check the back and BAM! Strips of scalp were there peaking through. Now I look in the mirror and I see my scalp. I can see each individual hair clinging on for life on my head. It's so weird. BUT I got diagnosed in the summer and it took just over 4 months to get it right cuz you have to wait 6 weeks each time and then i was in range for a bit and then accidentally glutened myself just before Christmas and then my love wasn't absorbing and so I had a horrible spiral down, off work bla bla bla. Then they upped my meds and 6 weeks after that I was in range again. Soooooo I've basically I'm hoping that if I can stay in range for 3 months which is how long a cycle of hair is, and keep taking all these supplements and eating all these iron rich foods and stuff then it will grow back... last time I was on here when I first realised I was losing my hair a few people commented to say it had grown back for them and that made me feel hopefull. I cant help preparing for the worst as well. Looking up wigs and that 😅 juuuust in case. But yeah hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Sorry classic rambly message for a one sentence query as usual. It just feels good to talk about it 😂

[Imaaan]

I do hope that everything gets sorted out for you including your hair. My hair starts shedding whenever my tsh is high and ferratin low. I start getting it back when my levels start improving. Hopefully that will be the case for you as well.

As for the dairy I couldn't reintroduce cow dairy without experiencing symptoms but I had better luck with goat's milk. Which apparently ppl tend to tolerate better. Google it. A word of advice, if you're not used to it, the taste takes some getting used to. I had to try several brands of goat's milk before I landed on that I liked. Some of the brands had a stronger odour and taste that was difficult for me. I especially had the best outcome with goat kefir. In the past I was able to tolerate probiotic yogurt in cows more than anything else. I switched over when I no longer could tolerate it. I stick to only goat whenever I have dairy nowadays. Another option is camels milk which you can google its benefits and why its helpful for those that cant have cows or goats.

[Flowerpot108 in reply to Imaaan]

Ooo yes I like goats milk, And sheeps cheese! Hope I can add them back in. Yeah TSH keeps being high. In 10 months of having tests I've only be in range twice and only once optimal as per Dr. Wentz and Child's optimal figures. Hope if we can keep it in range it'll grow back. And I'm eating all sorts of things with iron.

[Hidden]

Unfortunately following Izabella Wentz's advice to go gluten and dairy free only landed me with more health problems. As a result I became histamine intolerant, this is because excluding foods like those causes B vitamin deficiencies. I am now attempting to put this right but it's a long hard battle. I reintroduced both gluten and dairy (the latter is more problematic due to histamine content in things like aged cheese and probiotic yoghurts, I can't eat either of those for the time being). I have Hashi's and had thought eliminating gluten and dairy would lower my antibodies. It didn't.

You will likely be calcium deficient, as I am. I don't eat any red meat, just white fish and chicken. I bought a Calcium powder supplement I can sprinkle on food.

If gluten doesn't agree with you, then by all means exclude it. I don't see any good reason to avoid dairy unless you react strongly to it. If you can eat red meat (and indeed, mussels/clams) it's a good idea as these foods are very iron-rich and you may have a deficiency there, too. Please do your utmost to eat as big a range of foods as you can!

[Flowerpot108 in reply to Hidden]

Sorry to hear it didn't help! Its so hard finding what works and doeant work, and its horrid when we try something in the hopes we feel better and then feel worse!

Cutting out gluten and alcohol meant I stopped getting stuck in bed ALL the time. Honestly the best thing ever.

I can only tell dairy isn't good cuz it gives me psoriasis and respiratory problems. I'm going to wait until my psoriasis clears up and then see if I can reintroduce it cuz I do miss it.

[Suzanneharb]

You could try the milk ladder? I reintroduced dairy with this is mind. You start with dairy that's been cooked to build tolerance (like a cake that has butter in it). Google it. I was diary free for 8 years and reintroduced it 2 years ago. I feel SO much better with dairy in my diet! My histamine allergy has reduced massively since going back on dairy. The only thing I can't tolerate well is cheese, but I'm not a huge fan anyway.

MY fav dairy option is Lindhals Kvarg yoghurts - so high in protein!

[Flowerpot108 in reply to Suzanneharb]

Ooo OK I'll check it out! Thanks!

[Localhero]

I’m so sorry about your hair. I can completely get how worried you are about it. It’s such an important part of what we look like. I shed loads each time I have a change to my thyroid meds dosage and then it seems to settle.

You say you’re “in range”. But what does that mean? It’s possible that although the numbers have improved, they’re still not optimal for you. If I’ve understood what you’ve said, you’ve had a spell of being down, which might well be linked to still being under medicated.

On the subject of dairy, it’s purely personal. If you have any intolerance to it, I’d avoid it as it may impact your body’s ability to heal. I personally cannot stomach milk now (quite literally) however I seem to be able to eat yogurt (Fage 5%) with no problem but I stick with almond milk for drinks etc.

[SkiingSailor]

I wouldn’t go back to dairy! Have a look here. You definitely don’t need to consume cow’s milk as a human.

Small photos depicting non dairy calcium sources

[helvella in reply to SkiingSailor]

It is rather simplistic to look at dairy milk as only being a source of calcium.

It is also a significant source of iodine and other nutrients.

[SkiingSailor in reply to helvella]

But we can get all nutrients from elsewhere. I’ve had problems with lactose for twenty years now and am not deficient in any minerals or vitamins. Also it was calcium that flower pot was concerned about, so that’s why I specifically addressed that.

[Flowerpot108 in reply to helvella]

Yeah I think its generally packed with good things isnt it? Also its yummy! I do miss organic natural yogurt and kefir is so good for you. I'll try and reintroduce it but if I can't it's good to know where else I can get calcium so I make sure I'm not missing anytbing.

[Dottie44 in reply to SkiingSailor]

That is an excellent chart, but please be careful with the Soy foods. Soy decreases thyroid hormone production.

[Flowerpot108 in reply to Dottie44]

Yeah definitly !

[Flowerpot108 in reply to SkiingSailor]

Ooo that's a good chart! I'd have to stay away from the soy, but I can eat half a tin of beans fine (any more and the give me gastro symptoms) and spinach and oranges look to have to as sell. Thank you!

[lisaj88]

As you've probably seen from the variety of replies is that there is no one right way. We are all so unique and since we're dealing with hormones here, it's can be a guessing game until you figure it out for your own body. It took me quite a few months to get my levels back on track and my hair to stop falling out. But things did get better! Dairy bothers me a bit, but I'm careful with it (lactose intolerance is different - if you have that, you'll know). I do better with things like yogurt and cheese but I use oat milk in warm drinks (like tea or coffee) instead of cream or milk because I discovered I just don't do well with it. I have never had an issue with gluten, but I eat very little processed foods, so that probably plays into it. Good luck - it is a roller coaster, but you're not alone!