Here is our lovely thread for November.

How is the cooler weather for everyone? Doing anything new for exercise or eating?

My food choices really change in fall/winter. I get more soup cravings, and veggies are much less appealing. I also get lazy and avoid going for walks because it's too cold or too dark.

Any favorite recipes to share for Thanksgiving or winter?

Have a good month!!

what? is everyone just lurking now? people have looked here at least 13 times....but no one has responded...

is anyone alive out there? or do things just suck so badly you would rather not post?

Hi.
I've had a thyroid problem for a few years now but have only been treating it for about 6 weeks. I'm taking three pills of Bio-Tech Thyroid, a natural thyroid. My Dr. is Dr. Atkins, but when I asked him how long it will take to feel better, he couldn't tell me.

I am still cold most of the time, my hair is dry, my skin is VERY dry, my nails keep splitting.

What is everyone else on and do you feel better. I am having the HARDEST time losing weight!!!

Any pearls of wisdom?

Thanks

Hi Girls,

I have not posted muuch because theres never anyone around. I know you are all busy getting things ready for Christmas etc. Making things and small gifts. Food some one mentioned food!!!!! well I make a lot of casseroles and soups and the slow cooker comes out, and I love a jacket potato for supper when its cold outside although we dont get snow this far south. The damp makes it feel colder. I live by the beach and is raw when wind coming off the sea whips the sand up and its like being sandblasted sometimes really hurts.
regards,
Vivienne tizme2000

i'm taking armour thyroid, and it takes about a month to notice a change, i think. maybe longer. i really notice the changes when i look back to how i was. my nails can grow longer, and they are strong. my hair is looking better, i have collarbones and a neck that is defined. i don't need to have 50 blankets on my bed.

i made a meal using my george foreman grill. it was very yummy. i did the usual chicken breasts, but i seasoned them with nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice and mrs. dash. i also had brown rice, and with that were some apples i sauteed with apple cider and a bit of vinegar. i also added onions and let that boil/simmer/stew on the stove while i tended to the meat. i even added some pressure cooked pumpkin and toasted walnuts to it. it was very good. it passed the picky mom and dad test. :-) my bf who hates squash even ate it and enjoyed it.

Trixiepup-

How long have you been taking armour thyroid?
I take Bio-Tech Thyroid and was wondering why my Dr. didn't prescribe it.

I wouls love my nails to start groeing and my hair to look the way it used to. How long does it take for it to stop falling out more than normal?

Randi

if you've been on it for 6 weeks, you may not be getting enough of the hormone for it to take effect. or the medicine may not be right for your body. my mom had synthyroid, but it didn't help her. so she got armour, and that is why i use armour. drs and hmos hate to prescribe it because it is a biological source instead of a synthetic source, so the dosages in the pills may vary. thus, they have to run more blood tests and it's more expensive for the hmo.

it's possible your dr may be somewhat clueless, too. as long as your blood work shows up in the normal range, they may not modify your dosing. however, you may need to be in a lower than 'normal' range. my mom was in this situation; she was still depressed and lethargic, etc even though she was normal. she went to someone very experienced with thyroid stuff (the dr was actually misdiagnosed for years, so she relies on both patient symptoms as well as bloodwork results) and got the right amount of medication.

my mom, sister, and myself have all been treated for thyroid stuff for about 12-18 months. my mom and sister have both recently started feeling revitalized. your body has been out of balance for years (probably), so it may take longer for it to get in balance again. i think for the body, hair is one of the last things it cares about, and it will likely focus on the internal things first, and then when it has a store of hormone to work with, it'll tackle the hair and nails. but this is my own opinion, and i'm not a doctor.

I've been on synthroid about six weeks now and am noticing a difference as far as energy, lethargy go but not nails, hair yet. At first it didn't seem to be doing much of anything. Did have blood work again two weeks ago and dr. said dosage was fine, that it just takes a while, maybe even as long as three months for all areas to be affected.

I still get times some days when I just tire out totally but now I can sort of pull it together again after a rest as vs. before when once I peaked out, it was over for the day.

Still so much to learn about it though. My Mom is also on Synthroid and seems better on it.

Hi Ladies

I have been reading this thread and thought I'd add my 2 cents and ask a few questions. I am on .112 of the synthroid and have been for 3 months. I was diagnosed about 2 years ago and it took this long to finally get to the right dosage. I went into it pretty blindly...I didn't know a thing about hypothroidism except that my sister has had it for years and it did miraculous things for her once she started getting medicated. I should have studied the subject more...I went through a bad spell when my pulse started speeding up and I many times thought I was having a heart attack. I'm still not sure I'm at the right level because I was expecting the same miracles my sister had...she lost a lot of water weight (unpuffed) her hair and eyebrows grew back healthy, she had a ton more energy and she wasn't standing next to the heater every spare second. She's changed from the synthroid to a natural just recently and she's feeling even better. I have 2 questions...does your weight affect the way your dosage is absorbed? and has anyone on this thread had trouble with infertility related to their hypothyroidism?


Kim

Hi Kim -- I can't answer your second question re fertility because I had my babies before I was disagnosed (no problems getting pregnant either time). With regard to weight and dosage, you bring up an interesting point. I have lost 122 pounds over the past year and a half and my Levoxyl dose has only had to be slightly adjusted during that time. I started at .206 mg (1 1/2 of the .1375 tablets/day) and, though my doctor monitored my TSH closely throughout the eleven months of weight loss, I ended up still needing .175 mg/day. She had expected that I would need a much smaller dose at 135 pounds than I had at 257 pounds, but that turned out not to be the case. Perhaps dosage is not weight-sensitive -- although my doctor thought it would be -- or perhaps my body metabolizes it differently now than when I was heavier. The bottom line is that losing about 50% of me resulted in only lowering my Levoxyl dose by 15%. So, in answer to your question, I think that weight may affect how your dosage is absorbed but that losing weight, in my case, didn't affect the total dosage significantly.

And I would like to encourage all of you with hypothyroidism to hang in there and not give up trying to lose weight. It IS possible to lose weight with our problem and I think there are two keys for us: lower carbs and exercise. Not only did I lose 122 pounds (and I have maintained for six months while my body fat % has continued to drop, signifying fat loss and muscle gain) but I did it in eleven months, which is fast for anyone, let alone someone who is hypothyroid. After being a total Weight Watchers failure (join - lose- gain - quit - repeat), I joined a gym and went from hating to loving exercise. I believe that exercise (both cardio and weight training) has revved up my metabolism to a point where it can overcome the metabolic slowdown of hypothroidism. And I have learned for myself that the more carbs I eat, the more I want to eat. I lose best on 100 - 150 g of carbs per day and they are high-quality carbs: veggies, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grains etc. I don't eat bread, pasta, flour, or any kind of sugar. I limit dairy and fruit because of the sugar they contain (lactose and fructose). Because I have used Fitday since the beginning to track my protein, carbs, and fat, I can see exactly what works and what doesn't. My ideal diet ends up looking like about 50% protein, 25% carbs, and 25% fat.

I would be kidding if I said it was easy, but has it been worth it? A thousand times "yes!" So if you are hypothyroid and stuck in the same cycle of lose a little, gain a little more, perhaps you might want to try a lot of exercise and lowering your carbs and see if it works for you.

Meg
257/135
57.7%/12.4% body fat

Hello Ladies,
I have found out more information on this board than the 13 doctors I have visited who are all Endocrinologists. In 1984 after my last child I weighed 136, which was 18 pounds more than my normal weight, but at 34 years old I needed it and liked the way I felt and looked with the add'l weight. By the time my baby was 4 months old I weighed 184, and dead dog tired the dr. said, "You just had another baby... of course you're tired, you need to eat less and exercise more." He never checked my thyroids, by 1995 I weighed 232 pounds.

Suddenly I started losing weight rapidly, in 2 months I lost 63 pounds, had menstral problems, rapid heart beats, a panic attack, perspiration poured off me (I never perspired before that) and spent a night in the hospital to run tests to make sure I hadn't had a heart attack. I had the usual hair, skin, nail, and memory problems, I shook worse than Katherine Hepburn. My new dr. found that I was hyperthyroid and sent me to an Endo. who treated me with radiation iodine. Now I have no thyroid function at all, that left me Hypothyroid. I solely depend on Levoryl, he started me on a low dosage .75 to my current dose of .250. I feel no better today than I did before this nightmare.

This year I hit the highest of my weight ever, about 316-320! I rarely touch food, no appetite... I recently started using the WATP tapes and I've lost 6 pounds, but I need to improve my eating habits and eat to fuel up. I'm truly interested in this Armour med. Does it sound like something for me who have no thyroid function at all? I was a person who never sat still before this, I do move alot throughout the day, but I'm sick and tired of dragging my overweight siamese twin around.
All in all I'm still a happy camper

Calil-

I feel very badly for you. I can't be;iev all you have been through. I don't think I would sound a positive as you do if that happened to me.

I am on Bio-Tech thyroid wich is also a natural thyroid similar to Armour thyroid. Have you been on thyroid.about.com? That is very helpful. Are you on Atkins or a low carb plan? It does or supposadly does help with the insulin.

I've only been on thyroid meds for a little less than 2 months and really haven't seen any marked improvement. I'll keep you posted.

Randi

Hi Randi,
Thanks for your reply. It's sad when you look for the medical profession to help you understand. When I use to question dr's about my situation and they couldn't answer my questions, the first thing they would say is, "Are you in the medical field?" I told them yes, "I'm a Histotechnologist, Electron Microscopist etc... Then I watch them gracifully rush me out.

I found myself in the medical library at the university where I use to work and read that it was still a mystery to most dr's, the Internet confirmed that in so many ways. I was prescribed Synthroid in '95 which later became a Civil Law Suit, so I was put on Levoxyl, without my knowledge, it's one pill dosage goes as high a .300, they have me taking a 2 pill dosage of .50 and .200. It still isn't enough to help me warm up, or get moving. It's 42 degrees outside, I'm typing this with a thermal blanket across my lap at my present weight, I should be boiling. I've been up and down the stairs at least 6 or 7 times today (laundry day). Today at 12:15 I had half an Arby's roast beef sandwich, a reg. 7up and 2 glasses of water, I'm still full. Whats up with that?

I've been to thyroid.about.com, it's a good site, once I tried to actually diet, I did WW 17 years ago when I thought I was heavy, ha ha, I lasted 3 weeks.

I'm learning more about the binding, receptors, etc... I was taking a calcium tablet everyday when I took my thyroid pill. I found out the calcium pill was not helping it to bind. Now why couldn't the dr's tell me that? I did it for 2 years before I was read the info myself. My nails grow fine and so does my hair, but my skin is still dry and coarse in some areas, some days I feel lethargic, or am I confusing it with boredom.

I have to stay positive, because I know there are others with health problems who are worse off than me. It's encouraging for me when I read these posts. I'm glad I don't have a food problem its a gotta get moving problem

Hi Meg

Congratulations on your WOWSA weight loss! I have heard it would be very hard to lose weight when you are hypothyroid but you have proven to us all that all it takes is hard work and dedication. I have to lose more than 150 lbs myself and am so overwhelmed about that amount that I just sit at the computer desk feel sorry for myself and cry because it just seems too much to handle. My husband and I are going to join "the Place" here that for $25 a mo. we can both use the weight room, the open swims and the basketball court...even we can afford that. It will have to wait until the New Year though because I am going back home to Canada for an early Christmas with my family.

I was curious about the weight thing vs dosage because my sister who had such awful symptoms was at a high weight only 180 and ended up at the highest dose of .75 and now at my high weight of 300+ and not having any really bad symptoms...have already gone up to .112 ...which isn't that high compared to others. I just don't understand how a thyroid works I guess and with the exception of a young dr. drawing me a picture of how the thyroid affects all organs...I haven't been too informed by any supposed expert.

I think I'm also going to try out a lower carb diet...but then again I need to get more educated on that too.

Thanks for the help and inspiration! Take care.

Kim

Hi Kim,
I can identify with you, we have some things in common. I'm my own worst enemy. I let obstacles get in my way. I take care of everyone else except me. Everyone here has been so encouraging. Meg and QuilterinVA proved we can be successful in losing weight. Like you... I have to look into the carbs and make it a 'MUST PRIORITY' to do cardio and strength training several times a week to get my figure back.

Did anyone see Oprah last week where Nancy Wilson's daughter lost 300 plus in a year by cutting out sugar and going low carbs?

I'm was hoping for 2 years in losing mine, but this sparks a new hope that I can do it in a year to 18 months.