this condition has been in the driving seat for the past five years and i've had enough. after researching, endlessly, i have just found out that dairy, green veg (cabbage, sprouts, broccoli ...) sweet potatoes, pastsa and rice surpresses thyroxin from working. moreover im vegetarian, i dont take supplements or vitamins incase they cause more problems, so what should i do?
my results come back normal but im tired all the time, in constant pain which shifts from back, chest, arms and at the moment both legs, long periods of headaches, hearing, itchy, dry eyes.
any advice would be appreciated.
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heather101
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Hi Heather - I didn't know that dairy products suppress thyroxin and does mean that all dairy? I am sorry I can't be of much help but do hope you can sort things out. x
Hi Heather, I don't know what you've been reading but I think maybe the info wasn't quite complete. Dairy only stops thyroxin working if you take the two at the same time. Dairy contains calcium and calcium binds with thyroxin so that it is no-longer available for use by the body cells. It's quite alright to have dairy a few hours after taking your meds
As for the cabbage, sprouts, broccoli etc, they contain substances called goitrogens. These substances impede the up-take of iodine by the thyroid. Now, you didn't mention why you are hypo. Do you still have a thyroid? If not, they won't affect you because they don't affect the actually hormone itself, just have an effect on the gland.
However, if you do still have an active thyroid, there might be a problem. But the good news about goitrogens (and there are a long list of them, not just the cabbage and stuff) is that not all goitrogens affect everyone. Some people aren't affected by them at all. Myself, I just couldn't eat strawberries, pears, walnuts or any form of corn. (Now that my thyroid is dead, I can eat any of them with no problem.)
So, how do you find out what has an affect on you? Well, it's like an illimination diet for allegies, you cut all goitrogens out of your diet for three or four weeks, then reintroduce them one at a time and see how you feel after you eat them. If you start feeling tired or like you're coming down with flu, or notice an increase in any other of your symptoms, then it is best to avoid that particular food. If there is no reaction then you can carry on eating it!
They do say that cooking reduces the goitrogen, but I didn't find that myself. A piece of walnut cake was just as devastating as a raw walnut! lol But you could experiment with cooking.
Only goitrogen you should avoid like the plague is soy. Soy, apart from being a pretty lethal poison for people in general causing cancer and goodness knows what, is very bad for hypos because not only does it affect the gland but also stops the hormone from being absorbed into the cell, thereby making you very hypo.
But I have never hear of rice or pasta having an effect on thyroxine. They are not on the list of goitrogens. I often eat rice (don't like pasta much) and have never noticed a problem. Where did you get this information.
A vegetarian who does not address, in particular, the issues of vitamin B12, is likely to suffer. Whether anyone calls that pernicious anaemia or not is irrelevant, low B12 is very bad news. Also, if you are eating a lot of vegetables you might have high folate levels. The trouble with that is, decent levels of folate masks B12 deficiency. You do not see large red blood cells (macrocytosis), quite possibly, no significant increase in red blood cell distribution width, but you continue to suffer the irreversible nerve damage from low B12.
Another common issue in vegetarians is low iron and/or ferritin. Both aspects of iron have odd interactions with thyroid disorders.
In my book, you seem to have a choice. Take all this on board, get tested (so far as you can - we all know GPs can make things difficult), and workout which supplements you perhaps should be taking.
I don't think you want the alternative.
I am sorry if this is blunt, but it is not, I assure you, without sympathy.
Also, you say your results come back normal. Get the actual numbers and reference ranges and post them here. Almost no-one here trusts their GP to understand what is "normal"!
I have all the symptoms Martin listed. My GP tested for Iron and B12 because he knows I am vegetarian,they came back fine. I didn't know rice was on the black list,it's my only grain carb and I have rice pud for breakfast most days.
Martin,My GP did proper blood tests not just for iron and B12 but those are the ones I remember because they were the ones I had asked for.I'm not saying you are wrong but I think the human body is a very strange and we should all be treated as individuals.
Hiya, if your getting very achey get your adrenal glands checked. Also you cld be suffering from fibromyalgia.
I was diagnosed 2yrs ago, but looking back i now realise id been suffering from it for along time. I take Armour thyroid daily and now have to take 150mgs of tramadol daily just so i can carry on working.
You can get a natural adrenal support, worth checking out.
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Is tsh alone enough to diagnose?
Had enough now
Had enough!
Is it purely depression or thyroid problem?
