Before I share what he said, I want to provide a disclaimer as I don't want anyone to be upset with what I share. This is my experience and one doctor's point of view that I find more logical but you may not so please just take this as information sharing.
I know how touchy people get, even me, when people who don't understand IP begin arguing about it, but you needn't worry about us getting touchy- you understand IP, the standard protocol clearly isn't working for you, and you've had multiple doctors' opinions on it. Thank you for sharing all of your research and knowledge, and I'm sorry you've had so much trouble!
I hope you're able to get better as well as meet your weight goals. I'm impressed that your clinic is making changes for you, and I hope it works out! And if I ever find myself or anyone else in a similar situation as you, I know who to talk to!
Let us know the adjustments your clinic is making. I'm super curious, because I've thought that if I ever hit a plateau I might cycle through the phases for a fresh start in Phase 1, but it could be beneficial to try a higher calorie Phase 1 instead. I love information!
Last edited by ImASharkIPromise; 03-31-2015 at 11:47 PM.
If anyone needs a Doctor’s office who oversees Ideal Protein, the Doctor’s Office I did my protocol with was absolutely excellent. They monitored me weekly (for free with the purchase of IP), and did blood tests as needed for symptoms as they arose - for me the adjustments that needed to be made over time were thyroid, progesterone, iron, Vitamin D, sleep medication.
You can private message me for more of the information, but the doctor is Dr. George Juetersonke, D.O. in Colorado Springs, Colorado and you can google his website. He specializes in helping people who are not getting the care from the health care system that people need. He has been my primary care physician for about 10 years.
I moved about 2 hours away from there after a few months on protocol, and they were willing to consult by phone weekly, and I went to the office monthly (a long drive but worth it) to do an “in person” coaching visit, tests as needed, and pick up my IP product for the month.
As some of you may have seen in earlier posts of mine, they were willing to adjust the protocol over the course of the treatment for what I personally needed - I exercised, I went to Europe, I had intense work schedules, I had a few plateaus that required various adjustments, I had several life upsets, I moved, etc. etc. … all during which I stayed on protocol and continued.
For me personally I would not have made it through without the medical advice - like many others here, my thyroid issue was undiagnosed until two month into Ideal Protein it “unmasked” itself very clearly. My tests, by the way, for 10 years have always been on the very lowest side of “normal” for thyroid/TS3/4 etc, but never diagnosable. Finally the doctor realized that the blood tests were not actually showing what my thyroid needed, and the medication helped immediately once we tried it. Apparently this happens from time to time for people, and typical HMO type situations will not necessarily allow an RX if your blood test isn’t low enough to allow it.
Forgive me for not wording all of this very well…. I’m quite amateur when it comes to medical lingo etc.
If you live in the area, or feel it would be worth your time to fly there or maybe try to Skype them for a paid consultation, I think they would consider that.
I agree, each person and each body is so unique ….
I am very glad for you Ro22 that you have taken the time and had the fortitude to find answers for yourself.
Last edited by Grateful4Health; 04-01-2015 at 12:52 AM.
I don't know diddly about DHEA! But testosterone cream? As a post menopausal woman, who had an RX, for testosterone pills, as a sex drive, thing, the doc, said use your own judgement! I was over that in about 2 weeks! That is scary stuff! Did they tell you that RX testosterone is a restricted drug? That without the RX, to possess it is a felony?
I am sorry for your struggles.
Hang in there! Patience, with yourself, and the process, is important.
I do like that you found a Dr., that is willing to work with you.
I am also not a fan of detox!? Like, I'm not a fan of the whole colon cleanse thing? Really? If our colons got that backed up? Would not a lot of people just eventually "EXPLODE?!"
Patience! Sort it out! We are all different, there is no perfect solution for all. Just what works for you!
The 2nd doctor I went to ordered 8 additional tests the first doctor did not order. I got those results back today...I think these results are something all of IP dieters should be aware of...
It seems we got to the bottom of it after all this time.
My Vitamin D is at Rickets level!!! Seriously!!!
He said that Vitamin D is so critical to every body function, especially metabolism and hormones that he called it the "money result". He said he could give me 10 different diagnoses for all my result abnormalities but said that he is a minimalist and believes in getting to the root of the problem which is the Vitamin D caused by the diet (and living in Chicago). But, because I have always lived in Chicago, it seems clear this happened due to the diet (my primary care doctor had tested this a while back because of numerous orthopedic injuries I had in succession and it was normal then). He said that you have to have enough fat to absorb Vitamin D and apparently that was not the case for me. This makes sense because I eat only the leanest chicken and turkey, no red meat, etc so my only other fats would come from 2 tsp of olive oil a day and whatever was minimally provided in the IP packets. I started to feel better because I got off diet and was consuming Vitamin D in foods and more fat. He said it is going to take months though for all my hormones and such to get back to normal. By the way, in addition to everything else, my B12 is too low and B6 and B1 are high. He told me not to worry about B6 and B1 but we need to get B12 up by 50%. He also recommended IV Vitamin C for my adrenals because they are abnormal due to Vitamin D and said it will take months for my body to correct itself and the large does of Vitamin C will immediately help my adrenals (help headaches and dizziness and remaining fatigue). I am going to do this 4 times - 1 time each week for next 4 weeks.
I am now taking a massive dose of Vitamin D that is by prescription, which he said I will have to do for the rest of my life. I am taking 100,000 IU per week the first week and then 50,000 IU per week after that. And, it has to be taken with fat. I have a follow-up in 6 weeks to test again to see if this is moving in right direction.
Overall, he is not a fan of any imbalanced diet. He said the Mediterranean is the best because it has the best results and is the most studied. He said any other diet is fighting nature and that is why he struggle so hard afterwards because we did abnormal things to attain results and our body treats it as a stressor and works hard to compensate for the stress. He said he has had obese patients live full lives into their 80s and patients with 3% body fat die in their 50s. For that reason he does not prescribe diets for his patients. He said the priority order for health is 1) Sleep 2) Exercise/Move 3) Enjoy life 4) Nutrition/Diet/Food. He said the medical community in general defines health too narrowly by body fat %, weight, etc. It should be based more on your stress hormone levels, etc as these are better indicators of health or future issues.
Anyway, I am happy because it seems to be a simple treatment which should have profound results.
I will be adding more fat to the P1 protocol as a result in addition to the increased supplementation.
I wish these tests would have been ordered initially as I thought I had a vitamin or electrolyte imbalance right from the beginning.
Good info Ro22 thank you for taking the time to share.
I am lucky that my clinic is also a doctor's office and they did regular blood tests on my throughout P1. I was already needing to take quite a bit of Vitamin D prior to IP because I had been on a reducing food plan for a few years prior, so my Vit D levels stayed steady since I was taking it. Same with B12.
Great to hear all of these things!!!
Yes, stress - I am really working on P4 to do lots of healthy fats, and tell my body anyway I can that "we are OK now, all is fine". That is partly why I am reluctant to do P1 days and hope that I can maintain without doing much rebooting - I don't want my body to be constantly afraid of being starved.
Thank you again for keeping us updated, good to know how you are doing.
Thanks for your info Ro22! I am glad you are getting what your body needs. I have always used supplements (recommended by my MD for 32 years, who is also seriously into alternative medicine), at least 2000 units of D, plus mega multi and extra magnesium (for my fibro). My diet has always been higher in fats even when on P1 since I did Alternative plan with higher fat dairy. Thank goodness my tested levels have always been in the healthy range. I can appreciate that it is important for those on P1/2 to make sure they are getting higher fat meats in as well as salmon and other higher fat fish too. The anti-stress and sleep and activity prescription is definitely the smart way to go. And yes, it certainly can help people who are overweight although I think there may have to be other options for those who are clinically termed obese, (in addition to helping them follow the above 'prescription'.) I certainly agree with your doc that 3% body fat is not healthy - fat is still an essential component for our nervous system among other functions. Heheh, it all still comes down to moderation in all things for a healthy life, doesn't it?
So glad you are starting to feel better!
Liana
Last edited by canadjineh; 04-21-2015 at 06:44 PM.
Reason: missing parentheses
Ro22, it's wonderful that you got clarification on the whole body function and not just a subset of it. Sounds like this endocrinologist is a keeper!
Interesting that the primary issues are cortisol AND D3, and it's great to know that we need to bear in mind that D3 requires fat to be absorbed.
IP is too easy to get low on Vitamin C - because of the options in packets and the fact that more people will choose puddings and shakes than the "juice" drinks. Perhaps many of these issues could be avoided if they had guidelines on which packet combinations were going to help avoid shortages in essential nutrients.
So happy to hear that your persistence in seeking additional medical opinions has resulted in you now having a clear path forward and back to good health. Sorry you have to go through the recovery phase, but I know you'll keep on top of any future issues.
Thanks Liana, Amanda and Amber. It is quite surprising as I have always been a resilient-type. I cannot believe what has happened, and I can only attribute it to the diet because that was the only new variable. I am actually quite angry given what has all been found with their claims of medically supervised.
I am going to do this only as long to get me back to my previous results (4 weeks) and then switch to a true ketogenic (high fat, low net carb, sufficient protein) maintenance plan.
Btw, if you are wondering about the Vitamin D, C and adrenal connection, he said the adrenals require a lot of vitamin C but if body functions are off like in my case, the adrenals release vitamin C so rest of body can use it to help support the other body functions. The reason for IV vitamin C is he said there would be severe GI issues if one tried to consume in pill form the amount he prescribed.
Lol, yep, Ro22, if you ever get 'bound up' Vitamin C works too (although I have had up to 8 grams a day w/o problem, but only when I have a cold - the doc suggested 1 gram every hour or two just until not tolerated anymore).
Maintenance is a true keto diet - although not as low as the anti-seizure diet. It's the weight loss part that isn't.
Lol, yep, Ro22, if you ever get 'bound up' Vitamin C works too (although I have had up to 8 grams a day w/o problem, but only when I have a cold - the doc suggested 1 gram every hour or two just until not tolerated anymore).
Maintenance is a true keto diet - although not as low as the anti-seizure diet. It's the weight loss part that isn't.
I didn't realize that about maintenance - good to know - thanks!
I have never had such issues - actually, I couldn't imagine it :-) maybe because I don't have a gallbladder so I tend to excrete things pretty quickly.
Just wanted to chime in here even though I'm a newbie who doesn't even start until tomorrow!
Vitamin D isn't the only vitamin that requires fat for absorption. So do vitamins A, E, and K. The way I understand it, you don't need large quantities of fat to absorb A, D, E and K. So having the amount of veggies we are to eat in the meal with 1 tsp fat may give us an adequate amount of A & K. E & D, on the other hand, would have to be gotten elsewhere.
I have also learned that to utilize and absorb vitamin D properly, we need to have adequate magnesium and vitamin K2 (which is a specific form of vitamin K). Many vitamin D supplements are now out that include vitamin K2.
I don't know diddly about DHEA! But testosterone cream? As a post menopausal woman, who had an RX, for testosterone pills, as a sex drive, thing, the doc, said use your own judgement! I was over that in about 2 weeks! That is scary stuff! Did they tell you that RX testosterone is a restricted drug? That without the RX, to possess it is a felony?
I am sorry for your struggles.
Hang in there! Patience, with yourself, and the process, is important.
I do like that you found a Dr., that is willing to work with you.
I am also not a fan of detox!? Like, I'm not a fan of the whole colon cleanse thing? Really? If our colons got that backed up? Would not a lot of people just eventually "EXPLODE?!"
Patience! Sort it out! We are all different, there is no perfect solution for all. Just what works for you!
Sorry, somehow I missed this post - probably when I was away from the forum for a bit. Thank you!
So, what did you wind up doing in regards to testosterone?
Also, any advice you have on transition and maintaining for 3 years?
Regarding the Vit D, I just wanted to share an app I recently found. I too had my D level tested and was found to be deficient, I was shocked because I supplemented 2000 IU every day and that's way above what is generally suggested. So I'm now taking 4000 a day and will probably bump it up to 6000 soon.
It helps you time sun sessions for your location to optimize your vitamin D. It will also track your blood levels and supplements to help you gauge your intake. The free version is apparently fully functional but I just bought it outright because it was only 1.50 EUR.
Thanks for sharing bongo and Lucky. I'll look into both.
Next Wed I get the Vitamin C IV to help the adrenals while my body works to repair itself from Vitamin D deficiency. The doctor said I will notice an immediate and profound difference. I will let you know what happens.
In the meantime, I have doubled by intake of olive oil from the standard p1 protocol, and I have incorporated some higher fat meats - for example, rather than 99% Extra Lean ground turkey, I mixed it with 93% Lean ground turkey. And, I had ground beef the other night, 93% sirloin, which I would not typically eat.
I plan to switch to a more ketogenic type diet once I get the weight uptick off in about 2-3 weeks. I will add coconut oil and ghee. I will also get fats from cheese and nuts. (I don't eat fish.)
for all your issues!
Did they tell you that RX testosterone is a restricted drug? That without the RX, to possess it is a felony?
