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  #1   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 07:15
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
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Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default Euthyroid Sick Syndrome - High reverse t3, any experience?

I have all the symptoms of hypothyroid and my TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 are normal range. This started within 3 days of me starting low carb. I've been reading a myriad of articles lately explaining that this can happen especially in women around menopause age (premenopause too) who undertake a low carb diet.

My question is, does anyone else have this situation? Have you been able to correct it with diet? (raising carbohydrates etc).

I had it happen the last time I did low carb and it only got better when I finally got back to around 300 carbs per day (during a dark dark time). I simply cannot do that if I want to remain off of diabetes drugs.

I can't test my rt3, docs and NDs here won't do it and for some reason all of the independent labs stopped service for Vermont. Probably some obscure regulation.
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  #2   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 08:24
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
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Location: San Diego, CA
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I think the body does it in response to what it thinks is "starvation". It creates a lot of rT3 to slow down your metabolism. People on low calorie diets get the same symptoms as those on LC. Getting cold, temperature going down, etc.

I think for some people, like me, it happens more than others.
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  #3   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 08:27
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 365
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
BF:
Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default

Yeah, I've read some scathing papers on LC regarding this but I'm not convinced that low carb in general is unhealthy, just that there are some tweaks needed for those of us affected by the rt3, any ideas as to what helps. My symptoms are almost unbearable.
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  #4   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 08:51
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Like I said, I don't think it is necessarily LC to blame, but the body thinks you're starving. It would probably happen on low calorie too.

Are you losing weight or stalled?

You might be able to take some T3... if you can find a doctor to prescribe it. I don't tolerate T3 very well and it never seems to help me anyway, but other folks seem to do okay with it.
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  #5   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 11:03
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
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Posts: 365
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
BF:
Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default

But why else would my body think it's starving if not for the LC? I'm not restricting calories besides making sure I don't eat more than my body could use.

I do think that LC can cause a temporary thyroid problem but that not enough people are looking to a way to avoid it rather than just quitting altogether. Or could it be something that will eventually sort itself out in months or years of staying the straight an narrow with the WOE.

Unfortunately I doubt I could get a doctor to allow me to try some T3, they are so stuck to the TSH in this state it isn't even funny.

Anybody else out there have this problem? I'm quite sure that the morning palps and adrenaline (feeling) surges are from this also. And those test results are coming back normal too. And yes, I had an EKG on Friday about the palps.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 14:19
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
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Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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I didn't say you were restricting calories. I said restricting calories does the same thing that LC does, makes your body produce lots of rT3. I just don't like people blaming it on LC when low calorie does it as well.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 15:48
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 365
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
BF:
Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default

Nancy, I'm not a LC naysayer, I'm not trying to get anyone to not LC, I LOVE Low Carb.

With that said, when some people diet they end up with high reverse t3. And of those people the only ones likely to be in this forum are doing low carb. And my symptoms started when I started dieting and that just happened to be low carb and it's happened during two separate stretches of starting the same diet. So, I want to know who ELSE may have suffered the same thing and if there is a dietary way to ease the situation or am I permanently damaged and need to try to force someone to treat my thyroid.

Does is resolve on its own at some point?

I really feel persecuted for no good reason here.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, May-01-14, 16:22
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Quote:
This started within 3 days of me starting low carb. I've been reading a myriad of articles lately explaining that this can happen especially in women around menopause age (premenopause too) who undertake a low carb diet.
This quote is the reason I mentioned it.

Sorry, I'm not persecuting you, I'm just dealing with a common misconception I didn't think should be further propagated.

I don't have any wisdom on the issue. I wish I knew how to cause it not to happen, but it is probably built into us from bygone days.
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  #9   ^
Old Fri, May-02-14, 08:33
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 365
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
BF:
Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default

I feel like there's a very real concern that many low carbers get kind of religious about their beliefs with this WOE, and I'm one of them, however there's a danger to getting to that point because you can close yourself off to new and needed information.

I think that like "low carb flu", problems with the WOE should be brought to light so that they can be solved rather than left in the dark recesses to fester and make people who have the situation be made to feel that it is a character flaw and not the WOE that could have made the problem make itself known.

I may have had a thyroid problem (if in fact that is what this is) all along and switching to a low carb diet brought it to the front. But it has happened 2 different times of switching to low carb so there's duplication, it's enough to start an investigation. Especially in a person who NEEDS to be low carb to stay off of awful diabetes medications.

It is an amazing WOE and if we refuse to help people who find very real problems cropping up when they start it, we will lose them back in to the terrible SAD diet. I understand you have no more to say about how to fix my topic but I felt I couldn't just hold my tongue and worry that I've somehow gotten myself involved in a fanatic group of low carbers.
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, May-02-14, 10:29
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

I probably shouldn't respond here since it seems like we're not communicating well. I am not a rabid low carber, just someone who likes the record straight. Dieting, in general, causes these issues in some people. I see people doing WW, or whatever low calorie diet, bundling up in sweaters and complaining of hairloss. Been there, done that myself.

You could try the resistant starches and see if they help you. A lot of paleo people think very low carb isn't good for the thyroid.

Here's something you might like reading: http://www.fathead-movie.com/index....dietary-labels/

Last edited by Nancy LC : Fri, May-02-14 at 11:42.
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, May-02-14, 12:20
LorelaiS's Avatar
LorelaiS LorelaiS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 365
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/225/150 Female 5 ft. 5 in.
BF:
Progress: 12%
Location: Vermont, USA
Default

Thank you Nancy, been not feeling good. Makes me grumpy.
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Mar-11-15, 07:08
fitmomnow fitmomnow is offline
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Posts: 5
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 280/250/160 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 25%
Default

I have a goiter (but not hypothyroid). Taking supplemental kelp and following a keto plan (low carb, high fat, lower protein) with coconut oil and zero dairy has helped me FINALLY start losing weight. In addition, my energy levels are rising daily.
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