Thyroid Test
 

I have been on program for over 2 months and lost 18 pounds. I have Hashimoto Thyroid and just got my TSH tested. It went from around 1.2 to 6.19. Anyone else have their levels jump after being on IP and if so what did your doctor do? I have an appt with my endo next week to discuss my meds etc.

Low carb diets can be hard on thyroid, in general. Not all mainstream medical docs understand that. More info in the natural health realm.

There is LOTS of soy and gluten in IP products, which aren't a good combo with Hashi.
I started having hypo after starting IP & cut soy/gluten AND started thyroid meds. I don't have Hashis tho.

My endo has had me go in for BW twice since starting IP in March so he can adjust my meds accordingly. He also has a protocol for me to adjust me meds weekly - if I lose a pound or more in a week I am to take one less pill that following week. Thats just based on my levels and the fact that I had my thyroid removed and have run hypo since. I would talk to your endo and bring IP info with you in case they aren't familiar with it.

I don't have Hashimoto's and had no history or no family history of thyroid problems, but after about 3 months following an IP style plan but using alternatives, my TSH was abnormally high. At my doctor's recommendation (and following Lisa's recommendations here), I cut out all soy protein and gluten products and started using products with only whey protein. My doctor didn't start meds, but ordered blood work in 6 more months, hoping that would do the trick and my TSH would go back to normal. I think my body is adjusting... for the first time in months I'm not freezing all the time, and my losses seem to be lower the last few weeks (but I'm also having a major problem with the big "C"... something that never happened to me using the products with soy protein). I hope you get this worked out because as far as weight loss, it's hard to beat the results of this type of plan! Here's a link to an IP related discussion of thyroid concerns:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...hyroidism.html

Since you have moderate changes in TSH so far, I would also recommend to first cut out soy and gluten.

My personal impression has been that IP - if done according to their plans - changes up hormone levels quite dramatically. I have done Medifast, which is exclusively soy, and did not have the symptoms I experienced with IP. In my case I fell into a deep depression and I do not know whether that was related to changes in thyroid hormones, sex hormones or serotonin/dopamine. What I did was increase carbs to 60g and I also increased protein intake a bit. This helped. I don't know whether a very low carb diet affects hormone synthesis or secretion, but I think there is more going on that just changes in estrogen levels due to fat loss. This may combine with the potential effects of soy on your thyroid.

I think the impact of foods and diet are very individual.
When on Phase 1 I tried to pay attention to the protein sources and tried to mix them up, plus my "meat" sources were vegetarian, so I tried to be sure I wasn't having, say soy dinner protein and all soy packets in one day.

I had TSH level measured a couple of months before starting IP and again at about 50 lbs lost (about 6 months). They were nearly identical.

I then had TSH level measured after about 8 months in maintenance. TSH level was much lower (near low end of normal).

I am not cold all the time now.

I really wish there was somewhere to go to get scientific advice on this stuff (what to eat, what to avoid) but there really doesn't seem to be enough data out there.

As far as gluten, I intentionally didn't avoid it in IP products because I thought if I did I would make myself sensitive to it or whatever. Not sure if that one has much science behind it. Also, seitan, a protein source, IS gluten. I just didn't use it very often.

My "go to" IP products in phase 1 were IP Chocolate Drink Mix, Vanilla Pudding, Chocolate Soy Puffs. Later I added the Chicken A la King Pottage, Strawberry Wafers and Mango Ready-to-Drink into the mix. Those products are a mix of whey and soy proteins and varying levels of gluten (some none).

I find the whole hypothyroid thing really fascinating. Just read some things on a correlation between Free T3 and Free T4 and the kind of bad abdominal fat we are all trying to eliminate/keep at bay.

Thanks everyone.