Learning About Thyroid Issues

I keep meaning to update this blog...but time just slips through my fingers.

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged.   I was referred out to a "specialist" Endocrinologist. She was nice enough, but when she ordered my blood tests, she missed a lot of necessary tests to determine whether I have hypothyroid (or another common autoimmune disorder--Hashimoto's). 

My blood was drawn on June 4th at 8:30am.  By June 12th, I had my results...and according to her, all of my--many--hypothyroid issues were most likely from Sleep Apnea as my thyroid panel came back "clear" and she called me "beautifully healthy".

Talk about another let-down.  I really wanted some kind of answer that would tell me why I'm having the symptoms I'm having.  Everyone agrees that I'm having symptoms, but at the same time they all say that I'm perfectly healthy.  I've been offered anti-depressants (to help me deal with the issues, apparently), I've been told to "stop being lazy and exercise more" (in regards to my complaint of continually gaining weight) and then when I started complaining about my muscle aches and pains, I would get the rolled eyes and the exasperated sigh...because I'm obviously being a hypochondriac and a whiner.

Since I've been having these symptoms for almost 11 years now, with no real help, I grabbed a copy of my tests and set out to find answers for myself.  I literally stayed up all night looking up each test and what the results of each test could mean. I contacted a friend and told her the situation and she referred me to her Endocrinologist and then pointed me towards a website geared to helping people who are dealing with Thyroid Issues (Stop the Thyroid Madness). 

Once, there I was floored at the information I was finding out all kinds of thyroid issues. I uploaded my test results to several long-term members and they said that while my labs were in range, there were a few concerning areas (a high TSH number). I listened to everything that was said to me, taking all of the information in...

And then the next morning, I called the doctor my friend had referred me to. Perfect timing because as I was on the phone with them to make an appointment, someone else had canceled their appointment and a 1 1/2 month wait ended up being a couple hour wait (I was able to be seen the same day).  

At the appointment, the doctor looked over my labs and stated that most of the labs that were run were a good starting point, but without the rest of the labs, they were useless. He ordered several more blood tests (T3, reverse T3, anti-TPO and TgAb, and Ferritin).My original labs tested for TSH, T3, and T4. TSH came back at 2.8. My last doctor claimed this was "middle ground" and perfect.  My new doctor stated that labs give a range. That range is based on everyone who has ever had that test done.  So, my labwork was being compared from the very hyperthyroid to the very hypothyroid and I was labeled as "fine", not because I was fine...but because I fell in the middle range. 

The truth is...in order to gauge how sick someone is, you need to compare them to someone who is not sick. The "ideal" or "functional" range of TSH should be 1.0-1.5.  I'm at 2.8, which means that my TSH is almost 3x's what it should be.  And while that is a sign of hypothyroid, we really need to see that reverse T3 (and other labs) to really confirm it.  

I have learned a lot about the medical field in the past few weeks that has shocked me (and angered me).  I am upset that I have spent the last 11 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me to be ignored and lied to (basically having my illness deemed as "fine" because I'm not as sick as someone else, instead of being compared to someone healthy).  And more than anything, I have learned that doctors do not know everything.  They want to get angry and insulted that patients would research things on Google.  But, you know what? I spent the last 11 years trying to get answers to my ever growing list of concerning symptoms. I was told that I should get on anti-depressants...or that I needed to make a "choice" to eat healthy and exercise (as if I wasn't already)...stop being lazy...or my favorite, "Stop acting like there is a problem." 

 The reason I am at the point I am at is due to my diligence and refusal to take the answer, "You're fine.".   I'm not fine.  I don't feel fine.  It's not normal to have the symptoms I have.  There has to be an answer and a way to fix the problem.  

If you have symptoms or you do not feel right...please do not take anyone's word that you're "fine".    Keep searching, keep digging, keep moving forward until you find some answers.  If something doesn't sound right, you have the right to get a 2nd, 3rd, even 4th opinion.  

The rest of my labs were just done yesterday. I should have the results within the week. My next appointment with the "new" doctor is in August. Hopefully then, I'll have some answers, some guidance, and be able to start on the path to recovery and feeling good...finally. :)

Around and Around

I'm starting to lose the "feel good" feeling.  My appetite is pretty much gone and I have no desire to eat.  I finally got an appointment with the Endocrinologist to figure out what is going on (appointment on June 4th).  Of course, it's weeks away...and I am not feeling great.  So, I went out and got a bunch of vitamins and herbs that help support the thyroid.  I figure I have nothing to lose at this point, right?  And then I started doing more research...I seriously need to get off of Google.  LOL

Until I know what is causing the problem and until I know exactly what I'm deficient in, I could be making my condition/situation worse.  Many deficiencies share the same symptoms.  I could very easily have multiple deficiencies...a few symptoms from one deficiency, a few symptoms from another and be completely misinterpreting them (without a test) to thinking I only have one deficiency or that simply by taking more supplements, I'll feel better.

Here is where I went wrong:  First, I have no idea where I am deficient (although I will find out soon enough at my Endocrinology Appointment).  Second, some deficiencies require an ample supply of other vitamins/minerals/nutrients in order to bind, or work, properly within the body.  A lot of the times, thyroid issues cause digestion issues.  If your body is not properly absorbing the supplements, you are wasting time and money taking them.  In order to truly benefit from taking the supplements, it is important to know 1) what is causing the issues to begin with and 2) exactly what deficiencies there are so that you can take the proper supplements.

A lot of people have a magnesium deficiency.  Some of the symptoms for magnesium deficiencies are:

• Low energy
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Confusion (Foggy Brain)
• Nervousness
• Anxiousness
• Irritability
• Seizures (and Tantrums)
• Poor digestion
• PMS and hormonal imbalances
• Inability to sleep
• Muscle tension
• Calcification of organs
• Weakening of the bones (easy breaks/fractures, etc)
• Abnormal heart rhythm

Vitamin B deficiencies:

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Light Headedness
• Pale skin
• Sore tongue
• Easy bleeding, including bleeding gums
• Stomach upset and weight loss
• Diarrhea or Constipation (or a combination of the two)
• Difficulty walking
• Depression
• Memory Loss/Confusion/Disorientation

Copper deficiencies:

• Anemia/low red blood cell count
• Loss of sensation
• Difficulty walking
• Tremors
• Loss of balance
• Difficulty swallowing
• Problems speaking
• Depression
• Fatigue 
• Nausea
• Loss of pigmentation (in skin and/or hair)

A lot of vitamin/mineral deficiencies have similar symptoms.  Taking Vitamin B for a copper deficiency does not do your body any good and you may be spending time and energy trying to correct an issue that you may not have.

With today's average diet, there are a lot of people who are deficient in a whole range of vitamins/minerals.  Having a test done every few years (or yearly) to see where your vitamin/mineral levels are can help you to make the right choices for your body in order to help you keep your body at optimal health.

People like Dr. Oz put out all kinds of videos that help find "deficiencies".  I think it is important to pay attention to what he is saying, "You MAY have this vitamin deficiency" if you do the self-test.  See here for the videos.

I should also add (and stress) that if you feel you have a vitamin deficiency, it is even MORE important to have a test done.  Most people who have a vitamin B12 deficiency are also deficient in other vitamins/minerals (because other vitamins and minerals depend on the B12, etc).  Also, vitamin B12 deficiency can be a sign that the digestive system is not properly absorbing the vitamin.  If your digestive system is not working properly, taking oral supplements is not going to help you...and you really need to find the cause in order to treat the symptoms.  If your body is not adequately absorbing Vitamin B12, what else is it not absorbing?

This was just a long post for a short thought:  if you feel you are deficient or you know you have symptoms that are listed for deficiencies, please consider having your doctor order the proper tests to see where the deficiencies come from and how best to take/use the supplements.  For people who are having digestive issues, they do make a lot of vitamins/minerals that can be applied topically (to the skin) for absorption instead of relying on the body to break down and utilize the ingested supplements.

And, one thing I've learned thoroughly:  this is definitely the road less traveled for many doctors.  If you do not get the answers you are looking for, you really need to seek them out.  Do your research, reach out to others who have had the same issues.  The answers are out there if you look for them.  Find a new doctor, request a referral, but don't stop searching for the answers.

Have a happy, healthy day!!

The Eating Plan

The first week, there was a 2 day fast (which if you are having a gallbladder attack, is no problem since the last thing you want to do is eat).  The following days are slowly adding fruits/veggies into your diet.  So, days 3 and 4 you eat Grapes and only grapes.  2-3 oz. every 2 hours (of course, if you have certain diseases/illnesses, you'll have to substitute).  I got the diet from GallbladderAttack.com.  It's actually worked very, very well for me.

The first week was the hardest.  I was tired, I was really depressed, I was stressed out, and I was upset with only eating grapes for the first couple of days.  However, once I started to feel better (a few days into the diet), I stopped minding my very restricted food.  It felt good to eat and not be in pain.  I'm now going into my 3rd week on the diet and I'm able to add more food in (although, I am still not eating meat, grains, or dairy).  It helps that my husband is a great cook and can make some amazing vegan dishes for me (although I still find I cannot be around when he's making his own food or dinner for the kids.  It's hard to smell all of the foods I love, so I usually stay out of the way for dinnertime).

It is recommended to try small amounts of the foods you "want" (for me, it was chicken).  I had a very small piece of chicken (1 bite) and within just a few minutes of eating that, I could tell I was not ready for it...so I'll just keep on with the vegan diet and try again in another week or so.

If you can check out the site I linked earlier, it will really give you a lot of information about the gallbladder, thyroid, and a bunch of other things you most likely will not learn from your doctor.  Of course, not everyone is the same and what works for me may not work for someone else.  And, I do have to say that it is best to be checked out by a specialist before going onto this eating plan (to make sure there are no other issues going on).

Ok, so at the beginning of week 3 for me, I feel energetic, happy, well rested, and hopeful.  I jump up in the morning ready to face my day as opposed to ready to crawl into a cave.  My skin looks much better and most people I know are commenting on how different I look (and act).  The bounce is back in my step and the sparkle in my eyes.  It's been an amazing shift from just a few short weeks ago.

Speaking of which, I was looking over the eating plan I got from my doctor and it was kind of sad.  It basically talks about the same type of diet (very restricted at first, but slowly adding in foods that meet certain criteria) but it recommends replacing sugar with sugar substitutes (Aspartame, etc).  I couldn't believe that!  Please, whatever you do...please do not use sugar substitutes as they have been proven to cause a whole bunch of other ailments...and that is exactly what we are trying to prevent.

The first week was hard since I couldn't have any breads, etc.  But, I promise that the longer you are on the diet and the better you feel, the less you will crave those other things.  It will come to a point where you can slowly add small amounts of grains, dairy, etc. back into your diet, but until you can eat those things and not have issues, you'll feel much better leaving them out.

Finally, a lot of Thyroid issues also affect the Adrenals.  It was so important for me to turn off the computer and other stimulating electronics and go to bed at an early hour (I'm now going to bed at the same time the kids do...around 8pm or 9pm).  I get up whenever my body is ready (usually about 12 hours after falling asleep), as long as my husband is around to get the kids ready for school.  This need for so much sleep is starting to taper off and I'm finding that I am naturally, without an alarm, getting up at 6:30am.  So, it's definitely helping me to feel better.

This week, I have lemons, grapefruit, kale, celery, cucumbers, spinach, and beets in my eating plan.  Next week (the 4th week), I get to add more fruit.  It's the little things that make me happy, these days.

At The Beginning

I started this blog to hopefully help others who find themselves in the same position I am.  After many months of dealing with digestive issues, it all came to a head on April 8th.  I spent the entire night up with massive gas, bloating, stomach cramps until finally throwing everything up (and feeling better enough to go to sleep).

I was diagnosed with gallstones on April 12th and this started my journey into Healing with Food.

While I was at my doctor's office, I had asked what caused gallstones.  She responded that no one knows what really causes gallstones.  Some people get them, some people do not.  This didn't sit well with me and so when I got home, I jumped online and started researching gallstone issues.  Obviously, one of the culprits is diet.  But, it's not the only culprit.  The biggest culprit seems to by thyroid.  Yes, it seems that an imbalance in thyroid can, and very often does, cause the body to produce gallstones.  Specifically Hypothyroidism (when the thyroid under produces).  Reading this made me very, very angry.  I'll start at the beginning:

Almost 12 years ago, I was extremely active.  I worked out 6 days a week with HIIT cardio and heavy weight training.  I was biking 16 miles a day until I was almost 8 months pregnant with my first child.  I ate very healthy and I slept my 8 hours a night.  As I reached the end of my pregnancy, my daily workouts were replaced with long walks (or waddles, at that point).  I had a complication free birth and settled into life with my beautiful daughter and husband.  I took 3 months off from working out to allow my body to heal and then jumped right back into the daily workout routine.  The first thing I noticed was that my period had changed (even though I was exclusively breastfeeding, I got my period back 3 days after my 6 week check-up).  It went from being 4-5 days and very moderate to bleeding extremely heavy for 2 days with light spotting on the 3rd.  The bleeding was so heavy that I could not leave the house for 2 full days.  My Super Plus Tampons and Overnight Pads would be soaked through in less than 20-30 minutes all day, all night until the 3rd day.  I brought this up to my doctor as I was worried that something was wrong.  I was told this was a change in my body and this sometimes happens to women and is a normal part of becoming a mom.  I wasn't comfortable with that answer...but I had no way to find out otherwise.

Fast forward a few years and I started becoming more and more tired.  I attributed it to my overnight shifts as a bartender.  At this point, my daughter was almost 3 and my workouts started happening less and less.  Whereas before I would never miss a day, now I was finding that I just didn't have the energy to go.  I brought this up with my doctor, as well.  I was reassured that it was just the stress of being a mom to a very active toddler and as she got older, things would get better.

I became pregnant with my 2nd child in 2005 (after 2 miscarriages that same year) and found that I was becoming more and more tired.  Each time I complained, I was constantly reassured that it was pregnancy hormones, being the mom of a toddler, demands on daily life, on and on.  I spent time at the library trying to find anything that would explain my situation.  I found mommy books that talked about all of my symptoms and was reassured that "all moms usually go through this".

In the meantime, I began gaining weight.  Slowly, very slowly.  I attributed it to not exercising.  I wanted to sleep all of the time.  I hated going anywhere.  I had my 2nd child in December of 2006 and the change I felt immediately after that was immediate and shocking.  I had a difficult delivery with him, so my issues were written off as "normal" for a difficult delivery.  I felt depressed.  Not just the baby blues, but depressed.  I had no energy, I had no drive, I had no desire to get out of bed.  It was more subtle, at first.  But as the days and weeks passed, it got worse and worse.  I became pregnant with my 3rd in September of 2007.  By May of 2008, my depression was at an all-time high.  I had nightmares, I literally couldn't drag myself out of bed and I had gained almost 40 pounds (not including the baby weight).  I talked with my doctor and the response was mainly that after I had the baby, we could try using antidepressants.  I really didn't want to go down that route.  I've seen people spend the rest of their lives on antidepressants and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't one of them.

I found a naturopathic doctor (who was months away from retiring and moving out of state) because of my 2nd child's issues with congestion.  In the course of the meeting, we started talking about my depression issues (she could tell just by talking and looking at me) and I broke down in tears about what I've been going through.  She reassured me that everything would be ok and started recommending herbal (and food) supplements to take to help ease the depression.  She worked with me for several months.  I felt so much better.  I finally felt like I could get out of bed and I looked forward to "being a mom".  I didn't feel "healed" but I definitely felt better.

She had told me, several times, "You need to get your thyroid tested.  It's imperative to know what your thyroid is doing."  By the time I convinced my doctor to do the thyroid test, she had retired and moved.  My doctor got the test results and stated that everything was "fine" and that some people were "predisposed to depression after pregnancy".  I felt deflated and crazy.  How could all of this be happening to me?  I worked out, ate right, I did everything to keep myself healthy.  How did I go from being really healthy just years before to the pit of depression?  Was I making all of my symptoms up?

I felt lost and alone.  My desire to associate with other people diminished severely.  My desire to be outside faded away and all I wanted to do each day was lay in bed, but laying on the couch was fine then, too.  I became pregnant with my twins in 2010.  While I was able to "control" the depression with the craziness of having twins, it was still a daily, constant battle.  Some days were better than others.

I had the twins in January 2011...and my symptoms got worse.  I was cold all the time.  My hair was falling out in finger fulls all day long.  My memory was a thing of the past and my mind felt foggy.  There was also the extremely heavy bleeding each month and  I gained even more weight, despite the fact that I was eating healthy and my depression was just lingering on the outskirts of my mind, sometimes grabbing a hold and sometimes waiting for the right time.  But I started noticing that when I would eat, I felt like I wasn't digesting.  I didn't feel good after I ate and the bloating and massive gas and constipation started.  It was very infrequent, so I attributed it to the type of food I ate.  I did get online and look up my other symptoms, which all pointed towards hypothyroidism.  I had another thyroid test done.  It, again, came back "fine".  I tried to find other causes for my issues.  Other than the symptoms I had, I was classified as "healthy".  No cancers or other diseases.

It wasn't until my digestive issues blew up, that I was able to really get someone to listen to me.  I was able to avoid gallbladder surgery, for the time being.  But, thank goodness for the internet, I was able to find validation and proof that I wasn't crazy.  That my symptoms are real and that MOST doctors and labs run faulty and misread tests about hypothyroidism (as I believe is the issue in my case).  That there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I am now on a diet that allows me to feel energetic and also be able to sleep at night.  My depression, while still there, seems more like a passing thought than a heavy wet blanket and I'm starting to feel the urge to really become active, again.

It is my hope that others out there who have the same or similar story to mine will be reassured that something can be done.  You do not have to spend your life feeling depressed, cold, etc.  Hypothyroidism is the biggest, most misdiagnosed illness of our time.  It can be the cause of most of our depression and health woes.  You do not need to have ALL of the symptoms of hypothyroidism to have it.  Even having 1 or 2 of the symptoms is enough to throw off your entire body.  Of course, as time goes on...you'll start to get more and more symptoms...as it happened with me.

So this is my journey.  My journey to get back into the joy of life.  While there are drugs available to "do it faster", food will always be the best way to get your body truly balanced.  As I have seen in just the few short weeks of changing up my diet (severely since my recent gallbladder attack), life is night and day.  My blog will be focused on food and my path towards rebalancing my thyroid and my body.

Please note that I am not a doctor or trained in any medication.  I do spend a lot of my (very little) spare time to research as much as possible.  I do not recommend anyone do anything that I am doing.  You have to do what is best for you.

And with that...I will start logging my food journals for the day and posting the research I'm finding and the results of my visits with an Endocrinologist.

Peace, light, health, and happiness,
Angela