I am new to this support group: my introduction

[mushubean]

[Mo]

Hello Jenny,

It's great to have you here! You have certainly been through your share of thyroid problems. I am so sorry you have had to go through so much. Can I ask you a couple questions:

1. Was your whole thyroid removed?
2. Has your thyroxine dose been monitored closely since your surgery and radiation and adjusted accordingly? Or did they put you on a "set" dose and just leave you there for an extended amount of time?
3. Are you taking any other supplements?

I congratulate you on moving from the city - that's exactly what I did. I have never looked back. My whole life is easier and slower now and I don't have to compete with the signs and sounds of the city. I even decided to get rid of the television, giving me more freedom to only hear the news when I want to hear it and now I have more control of what is being pumped into my mind. It's really freeing! The internet has more than enough to keep me occupied if needed.

I am so happy you may have found a natural doctor who has some background in thyroid issues. It makes sense to me that your body may have been functioning at a faster level during your lemonade diet, thus setting you up for a bit hyperthyroid which may have given you the symptoms you described. If your doctor didn't return your phone call, it sounds to me like you have the wrong doctor.

What I'm thinking is that it is first important for me to understand if there is any part of your thyroid left. It kind of sounds like the whole thing was removed. I'll wait to hear from you on that.

Unfortunately, with thyroid issues, all our bodies run differently so it's extremely hard to know what is going to work for each person. I certainly haven't found the answers to my weight issues but like you, I have come to the point where I am more concerned about feeling better overall, knowing in good time, the weight issues will respond to the right whole body treatment.

With all the exercise you do, you must not be seriously overweight. It sounds like you are active in a very healthy way. Keep it up. Please do share what the natural doctor says for your situation. You never know when our posts can significantly help another person.

Don't stop until you are content with the treatment you are receiving and from my experience, it is a journey. I used to strive to find all the answers in a short period of time but this issue is too complex. It involves the whole body, not just the thyroid - and that is the point I think the mainstream traditional field hasn't admitted yet. That's why I had to leave the traditional doctors and go with those who looked at the body as a whole.

May your journey be more pleasant as you seek natural care. Hang in there and keep us posted!

Mo

[mushubean]

Mo,

Thank you so much!  You are very inspiring!  Yes I am really looking forward to meeting this naturopathic doctor, instead of dreading it like I have will all of the other doctors.  I am not expecting miracles but in talking with him on the phone it was already such a different experience.  Like you said it should be about looking at the whole body and not just the one part, that really puts it into perspective. 

Yes, I had a TT, or total thyroidechtomy.  I had papillary cancer growing on both sides, but the surgeon said that was common because it tends to be bilateral.  I started at 125mcg and then got bumped to 150 mcg, which I have been doing fairly well with.  The radiation was in a drinkable form of iodine, I requested the lowest dose.  I am supposed to get tested every 6 months for a year and then every year for 4 years.

No, I would not call myself overweight, it's about 20 lbs that i've gained in the last couple of years, without many changes to my diet, but since I have become single it is a much bigger issue, overall it has had a huge impact on my self-confidence.  I agree, this is all journey and I definitely am not giving up on this.

I have a question for you.  Why doesn't taking extra thyroxine help you lose weight?  I have read all about the symptoms of hyperthyroidism and instead of all of those symptoms I had all of the symptoms of being hypo but with a faster heart beat.  Anyway just wondering...Thanks again!  This web site is so necessary!  I haven't found anything like it.

Thanks,

Jenny

[Mo]

Hi Jenny,

I'm glad you are enjoying the website. Are you referring to the forum only or also the main site you could get to from the top of the page? It's nice to know if people are also benefiting from the website as a whole. But I certainly understand the need for a forum where you can feel like you're not the only one going through things, or at least have support!

I think your question about weight loss baffles most of us. Sometimes I think it's only the doctor's who spread the rumor about the weight loss with medication... but I have seen others say they were able to loose weight when they upped their dose. In reality, I bet more complicated things are happening in the body and that we can't really understand on the cellular level for different situations. I've kind of given up trying to understand a lot of it and instead, listen to my body and get clues along the way.

I have a strange idea that listening outside of the body is what is confusing us. I know it sounds "weird" but it seems that the body has a way of communicating with us that if we only listen intently, the clues might start "connecting the dots". I am currently experimenting with EFT for weight loss and I'm amazed at how much easier it has been to listen to my body's needs. Decisions that normally come from "willpower", are coming from the easier decision making skill of "common sense". I am beginning to understand that all the onslaught of diet information out there can really confuse a person so much that they stop listening to the cues the body is giving them in exchange for the latest diet fad. I'll explain more about this as I go and especially if this keeps up as positive as it has.

Maybe you can ask your doctor about NAET (www.naet.com). They might actually be a practitioner or know one in your area. I highly recommend that method of making sure you don't have allergies that are affecting your digestion.

Now that your thyroid is removed, it becomes a bit different to judge what's happening. I'm assuming your medication will "act" in place of your thyroid and will need to be monitored agressively. I guess my recommendation for a medicaiton with T3 in it like Naturethroid or Armour is still a good suggestion, but ask your natural doctor about this. If you are not getting the T3 in the natural meds, it could be affecting your weight loss efforts. Thyroxine, if I'm right, only have T4 and without a thyroid, I would certainly try to get all the components of a healthy thyroid going into your body. Also, I would ask what how the Hashimoto's was affected by the surgery. I guess your body won't be attacking your thyroid anymore?

Glad to have you here and thank you for the compliments. I hope we will all learn a lot from each other and keep each other encouraged.

Have a great weekend!

Mo

[mushubean]

Mo,

At this point I will try anything, I will definitely ask my new doctor about EFT.  I was pretty excited to hear that his seminar is going to  based on changes made in treating thyroid conditions and in chatting with you I now have more questions  to ask him.

I had been wondering if I still had Hashimoto's even though I had no thyroid and found one answer that explained it.  I came to conclusion that it was a yes, but I can't remember exactly why, I guess it was because without the thyroxine I am hypothyroid??

Thanks for taking the time to respond so quickly!

Jenny

[grnmtnmama]

Hi Jenny~
 
I've been catching up with the group after a little hiatus. Welcome to this forum! As I'm sure you've already found, Mo is such a great source of insight and support!
 
I understand the struggle with weight issues. I have been up and down like a yo-yo over the years. I am "ok" with where I'm at on an "accepting myself" level, though I don't feel as fit as I would like.
 
For me, I notice a drop in body temperature coincides with weight gain--which makes sense as it infers a slow down in my metabolism. Have you taken your temp upon waking in the morning? Try that for 3-4 days to see what your basal body temp is, out of curiosity (you can google more about this). It sounds like you get a lot of excercise, like I do, but maybe your metabolism is still sluggish because your hormone levels may be inadequate or out of balance.
 
Let us know if you do take your temps. Maybe we could have a discussion about ways we all have found to increase our rates of metabolism.
 
All the best to you!
~Janet~

[Mo]

Hi Janet,
 
Thank you so much for your input and contributing so much to our forum. I'm always glad to see your posts and always glad when you can be here often.
 
It's so important for everyone to get different people with different ideas. Your ideas are always so enlightening! Thanks again.
 
I will have some exciting news to post this week so check back. I think things are looking up for me too!
 
Mo

[mushubean]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for the input.  I actually just went to a "seminar" tonight hosted by a naturopath and among other topics he talked about basal body temperature and the imbalance of hormones etc. I am hoping he will find the issues there.  If there is a correlation between body temp and metabolism it is very subtle for me.  I have noticed that during the summer I feel a tiny-tiny boost, but I find that I am usually overheating, even in the winter, as the matter of fact I feel like I have more energy in the winter.  Maybe that is not the same thing as body temp??  If you have methods of boosting body temp I would more than love to hear them.  I'll literally try anything!

Incidentally, I keep hearing about a connection between emotional health and physical health, it's something I am becoming more intrigued by and really want to look more into.

Thanks again,

Jenny

[grnmtnmama]

Hi Jenny, Mo, and readers~
 
I was just emailed this article today and thought it might be fitting to our discussion of emotional health and it's relationship to our physical health:
http://www.womentowomen.com/emotionsandhealth/stressmanagement.aspx?
 
As far as raising body temp goes, I know there is a yoga breath exercise that helps. I will try to find a link on it (a yoga teacher showed me how to do it, but I don't think I can explain it well). I know there are foods that supposedly boost the metabolism (like grapefruit). I will try to put a list together.
 
Gotta go--youngest is having meltdown...very tired. I'll be back...
Janet

[Mo]

Hi Janet,

That was a very good article - very "meaty". Thank you for posting it. I think we are at the point of understanding just how important the emotions and attitude plays in our health. I think I ignored this for many years. I am so happy to be working on this area. I used to think that my stress was purely "circumstantial" and there was nothing I could do about it.

I am keeping a journal that is keeping track of the progress I am making in EFT work and how it is changing my stress levels. I am so amazed at the progress.

I've been very busy and haven't had a chance to post some updated information on my journey but I expect to be able to very soon.

Thanks again for the great article.

Mo