HI EVERYONE:


Hows it going everyone ??

Everythings going great here, but i had a couple questions maybe someone has the answers to. (iam sure someone has the answers)

I read a thread a fews days back about Hypothyroidism. I was
diagnosised about 5 yrs ago and was on sythroid for 2 yrs and then my doctors said everything looked normal. Now last week I went the doctor for a sore throat and he looked at me and told me that my thryoid didnt look right. He did the blood test and all levels were normal 2.4, etc. Also took a ultrasound, he said my thryoid was enlarged but because the levels were normal that I should be ok. Gee for some reason, I dont feel comfortable with that. Not sure what to do.

Also I see some of you are on protein powder, Do you do this with Adkins? Can I go to GNC and get the powder?

Its really nice to have people to talk to.

Everyone have a great day !!!!

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/index.htm?PM=ss14_thyroid


I just found this site and haven't had time to check it out, but hopefully you'll find some answers!

I was diagnosed years ago and put on synthroid, but my levels were normal in March . Will have blood work next week to confirm, but am rather confused about it right now!

Good luck to you!

Hi Pammysue,

I am a thyroid patient... Very well versed in the subject too, in that I did a ton of research on it.

My thyroid disorder went undiagnosed for 4 years! I was treated for everything you could possibly imagine, depression, cronic fatigue syndrome, etc... My Thyroid readings were always what they referred to as normal! You are put within a range and what is normal for someone may not be normal for someone else.

Well, my body temp droped to 94 deg.! Something was definitely wrong and I was sent to an endocrinologist. She ordered the same tests and a sonogram of my thyroid. My TSH was normal but my thyroid was "slightly" enlarged and it has what they refer to as nodules. She decided to supress my TSH to "give my thyroid a rest" SHE IS WONDERFUL. As a matter of fact I just had my most recent visit yesterday and we talked about carbohydrates and thyroid disease in great length.

My blood work as of yesterday 5/16/02 was a TSH of .038 No that isn't a typo, that is my normal level!! I started out at 2.7

I feel wonderful! She is the one that a year ago told me I had to reduce my carbohydrate intake. she didn't put me on a diet per say but I was told this: Protein, green leafy vegetables, and 1 slice of very high fiber bread a day.

I did this for almost a year, and within the first few months I lost almost 40 lbs!!! (38 to be exact) This last winter I began to cheat, my last visit to the endo showed a weight gain and I was complaining I wasn't feeling well... I left and went on to continue to cheat to a gain of 10 lbs. About a week ago I returned to this WOE and lost 4 of the 6 lbs, and am feeling terrific again.

In our lengthy discussion yesterday I had admitted to her that I was not eating right. (She said she knew that and didn't say anything to me because she knew I would figure it out and doing it on my own was the better way to do it) She said that most (not every) thyroid patients are glucose intolerant... What does that mean??? CARBOHYDRATES. The veggie kind are OK she said, but the sugary ones are not. I told her I can't even eat fruit without feeling lousy, she said: "They are too high in glucose for you". Thyroid patients, hyper or hypo have to watch their diets of carbohydrates and adjust. Some can't take any, some can handle a few.

Well I know this is long, but as I said I was just there yesterday, fought for 4 years to find out what was wrong with me, and am now feeling terrific (when I don't fall off the wagon) I have done a lot of reading on the subject and have asked a lot of questions. I even asked her about "ALL THAT PROTEIN" on my kidneys... She said that most peopel can't eat enough protein to cause the damage they are talking about and in addition to eating all the protein you'd have to be drinking protein shakes like you were drinking water.

I feel I have become somwhat of an expert in the Thyroid/Carbohydrate field thru trial and error and reading and questions, I will be more than happy to help you along with any of the tips and tricks I have discovered along the way.

As a matter of fact, I am happy to help anyone that would like it.


I have been on synthroid 150mcg for a year now. It took a long time to get it up that high, I started out at 50mcg.



I'm here for anyone!!

Hi Mary,

Boy was someone looking out for me yesterday a person with the same problems.

Everything you wrote I have experienced. I have really not had much energy since I have had kids. Then I was in a bad auto accident and was down with my back for 2 years. Not able to exercise and was eating the wrong things. 5 yrs ago when my doctor put me on synthroid I was on 150 mg. I never understood how I could need to take and then 1 yr later just stop because my levels were normal. I should have questioned it then and didnt.

My diet was bad. I was a heavy sweet eater. Craved it
Drank 2 pack of pepsi or Mt Dew a day. Then finally I said this has to stop and on 4/1/02 I went cold turkey on pop, sweets and everything and started Atkins. The first week was rough. Sweats, shakes and migraine. Was definitely going through withdrawal. But 6 weeks later I do feel a little better, loosing inches which helps but I still feel tired. Granted I work 40 hours aweek run all night with the kids but I am sure you know what I am talking about. You just have this feeling something is not right. Then when I went to the doctor and he said he wanted to do an ultrasound I was kind of relieved. He said my thyroid was enlarged but because my LEVELS!!!!!! were normal that he wasnt going to do anything. Now I still have this gut feeling I should not stop there, but I am not sure what to do next. Any suggestions would be fantastic .

So you said that you need to drink protein shakes, which ones - where do you get them and do they taste like paste.

I have been eating alot of meat, sausage, eggs and cheese. Snack foods are really hard to come by. I am trying to drink alot of water. So it is ok to eat alot of meat?? I went on the BFL website to check it out and those people were all over me and telling me that Adkins diet was very unhealthy. Sometimes you dont know what to think.

Look forward to talking to you again. Appreciate your advice.

Pam

""""LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY FIRST"""

TO DEB-O

Sounds like you thyroid did the same thing as mine, Hit normal ranges. But are they normal ( what is normal???) Are you still talking the synthroid? Do you feel like there is no way the normal ranges are right?

Left me know.

Pam

Pammysue,

If you need to get a referral to an endocrinologist then do it! Also just stopping thyroid meds cold turkey is not good!

If your thyroid is enlarged, then something is up. My Endo says that what it meant to her is that if it is enlarged, then it is having to work hard to put out "normal levels" She suppressed mine.

When I was referring to the protein shakes what I meant was that if you added them to your diet along with the protein you eat then you would encounter troubles. I don't use them and don't recommend them. I need food in my stomach and a shake doesn't cut it for me.

Many people are under the assumption that Atkins is a NO CARB DIET. Which isn't true... It removes specific carbs for 2 weeks during induction (you are still getting carbs in certain veggies that are high in fiber) You then gradually add them back in and have to moniter how they affect you .

As to all the Protein and Fat that people are saying is bad,

You actually do end up eating less because protein and fat satisfy you faster and longer... and what's so bad with that. My colesteral is now under 200 it was almost 300 last year BEFORE I ADDED PROTEIN AND FAT into my diet! I am watched very closely by my endo, blood work every 8-10 weeks and she checks everything... not just my thyroid levels.

Insist on further checking, your thyroid is enlarged for a reason! Don't panic, I don't mean it as a you have a serious problem, all I am saying is that mine was enlarged and I'm on Synthroid and I feel terrific. I am having another sonogram next week to see how it's doing. She said if it stayed the same, then she will keep me on the synthroid I'm on, if it got bigger, then she will decide then how much additional synthroid I need. I also have nodules on it that have to be watched, and only a sonogram can pick them up. Keeping the thyroid gland suppressed keeps everything quiet. It's better than taking it out!

Hi PammySue,

In regards to protein powder, yes I have them on Atkins and get my protein powder at Trader Joes (Aria Protein for Women, vanilla and chocolate). I believe they have something similar at GNC (Designer Protein). I think these taste the best.

-Shelly

PS if you need a shake recipe, you can find mine under "Breakfasts" in the recipe section of the forum.

Doesn't it stand to reason that if you are on thyroid meds to correct your problem, if you are tested while on the meds, the thyroid SHOULD test ok? That only makes common sense to me. When you go off them, that is when the problem will show up again. Are these doctors stupid or what?

Carol

Oh Carol how true!!!

I mean duhhh I'm on thyroid meds I test normal! Shouldn't I?? The other thing is the Drs. that take them off the meds cold turkey!!

Mine says, this is a good level,I like your test results, normal for you and how you are feeling, lets stay with what you are on. Makes perfect sense to me.

Hi Pammy,
I read your reply to the article posted about low-fat diets. I would like to share my experiences with you as encouragement on your diet. I'm 47 and back in November I had crept up to 15 stones in weight after taking up an office job having been in a manual job all my life. In fact I was a butcher and therefore had access to as much meat as I liked. And I do like it! As someone who actually went on to teach at the local college i would recommend fat meat as opposed to the lean stuff they try to market nowadays in the UK. iT TASTES MUCH BETTER!Anyway what I'm trying to say is I've always ate lots of meat and fat. Back to November and my wife Lorraine and I went on holiday to Portugal with friends and I had no intention of dieting at that time but my friend David had been doing Atkins for a while. I asked him all about it out of interest. When he told me the dangers of carbs and Diabetes and told me I could eat lots of meat, cream, cheese, salads and veg, I became very interested and decided then I would give it a try. I was very determined and stuck rigorously to the plan and easily lost the weight. I weighed in this morning at 169 lbs! Lorraine too has lost 2 stone and now buys size 10(UK) dresses. She looks terrific. We both feel great. Our typical diet now we're on maintenance is eggs,bacon, sausage(my own make), half a tomatoe and mushrooms for breakfast with black de-cafe coffee. Salad with meat and cheese for lunch and Meat or fish and veg or salad for evening meal. We do eat lots of nuts as a snack in the evenings.
My parents are in their 70's and my mother has suffered for years with Diviticulitis. My father has recently suffered from asthma and increased blood pressure for which he took pills. They have been on the Atkins for 6 weeks or more and are thrilled. My mum no longer has constant diarrhoea and stomach cramps, in fact she says she feels normal for the first time in years. My father no longer needs to take the blood pressure pills and is using much less of his inhaler for asthma. Even the doctors were surprised. I hope my experiences help you and reassure you that this diet does work. I am visiting my doctor tommorrow when out of interest I am going to have my cholestral checked. I think it will be okay despite the fact that I eat lots of fat. I will let you know how I get on. johnaspland~aol.com
Good luck
John Norwich, England

JOHNNO,

Thank you for your reply. After everyones very nice responses, it seems that I have nothing to worry about. Hope everything continues to go great for you and Iam going to just stick to what I am doing and pray for the best

Thank you
Pam