Over 3 Months In

[Peata]

I think the months nonstop on ProgestE might have helped my progesterone levels a bit even now that I don't take it constantly. I haven't had any major acne since I stopped using it all the time. Here in the luteal phase I use a strip on my gums now and then if I fear some acne might be on its way. So far so good. I'm really impressed. It's amazing to not have to worry about breakouts all the time.

If I can just get my other issues under control...

 

[Peata]

chocolate

Found a yummy chocolate with no soy lecithin - Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels. 53% cacao. Of course the only other soy free one is the Lindt 80%, but honestly after years of the really dark chocolate I'm sick of it. Too tasteless and bitter. I want sweet creamy goodness. So the Nestle was wonderful yesterday along with a small glass of wine. Interesting that none of the other Nestle chips or morsels were soy-free, only this particular one. I hope it isn't a labeling mistake. Price was $2.58 for 10 oz. It satisfied my little chocolate craving.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I'm with you on the dark chocolate thing. I ate a lot of the 85-88% cacao variety during my years of low carbing and now I find it sorta gross. I love milk chocolate. My favorite is Theo, it's made here in Seattle all organic and fair trade and they NEVER ever use soy lecithin. They make a special seasonal bar for the holidays called Gingerbread which is to die for. Their Coconut Curry and Chai are my absolute favorites and are available year= round....mmmm, *wipes drool*

 

[Peata]

acv

For two evenings in a row, I've had severe fatigue. This has happened before, only now I'm paying more attention to figure out why. It's hard when hormonal symptoms "jump" from one month to another, then diasspear to have others come up, then the return of an old one and so forth...

So, I had complete fatigue and some aching, particulary in feet. The neck pain was annoying too. Massage didn't help feet or neck. It didn't seem to be a food issue that I could tell. I know it's primarily a hormone thing as my period will be starting anytime today or this week. Anyway, I took a foot bath with epsom salt, baking soda - no help there either. I took a warm (not hot) shower, finishing with a bit of cold (not icy and not for more than a few seconds) and that seemed to help a little. Took one Alka Seltzer in mineral water, and that had the most noticeable effect.

I wish I could take Alka Seltzer (or just aspirin) more than I do since it really helps me a lot these days. It used to be just good for pain but now I get relief from fatigue, some anxiety at night. I am just afraid because of the risks to take it more or long term.

I'm experimenting with apple cider vinegar the last few days to see if i can get some of those benefits that are all over the internet about it, plus it is part of the aspirin makeup (acetic acid) so maybe some of the reason it works for people is because of that. I don't know. It would have less risk if it worked for some of my issues. Help lose some weight maybe. Plus I hear it is similar to Metformin in how it can lower blood sugar from meals. I don't know how it's doing that - maybe it delays stomach emptying some so it's processed slower or delays starch digestion. Anyway, it's a common thing that many in the world seem to love, so I'll keep trying it out.

 

[Peata]

Well, period came today.

The fatigue lifted around 3 p.m. after eating and having coffee.

 

[4peatssake]

I'm with you on the dark chocolate thing. I ate a lot of the 85-88% cacao variety during my years of low carbing and now I find it sorta gross. I love milk chocolate. My favorite is Theo, it's made here in Seattle all organic and fair trade and they NEVER ever use soy lecithin. They make a special seasonal bar for the holidays called Gingerbread which is to die for. Their Coconut Curry and Chai are my absolute favorites and are available year= round....mmmm, *wipes drool*

Thanks for this chocolate bp!
Their regular organic milk chocolate is on sale at Lucky Vitamins! Also loads of their dark chocolate is one sale as well (yeah yuck, I want creamy milky goodness too!) but they don't carry the flavors you recommend.

Theo Milk Chocolate at Lucky Vitamin

You can also order direct from them online and they have expanded into Canada.

Theo Chai Milk Chocolate Bar

 

[Peata]

I'm passed the luteal phase and doing well. I feel some negative thoughts at times but they seem mostly connected to low blood sugar - so when I eat I feel much better. If food doesn't help, it's hormones and I just try to focus on something else til the negativity passes. Since my period started yesterday I also have not had the crushing fatigue.

As I mentioned before, taking the large amounts of Progest E nonstop must have helped my own production of it. I've been able to go even through the luteal phase without taking it regularly, just a strip or two on my gums every few days if I think I need it.

Supplements:
-1 Natural Sources Raw Thyroid - been taking since mid-April 2014.
-2 Pioneer Chewable D3 & K2 (for a total of 4,000 iu D and 2,000 mcg K) - been taking this or the Vitacost K's for a while, but recently back to this one and taking 2 per day for a week and a half)
-1 Carlson's Vitamin A 15,000 iu (since 7/18. I take it most days. not sure if this is doing anything but I haven't been having my weekly liver for about a month now so it helps I guess)
-Vitacost Magnesium glycinate. 1 or 2 capsules per day. Sometimes 1/2 capsule at a time. 2 capsules is 400 mg.

Most days I take some Alka Seltzer, 4C energy powder which has B vitamins, caffeine, taurine. Some days I take Nature's Way Calcium, Mag, D if I need to fill in more calcium to balance the calc/phosph ratio.

Oh and yesterday I fried chicken so I popped a Unique E. I may take E more often for a while.

Sleep is always good and I've not felt the need to take Benadryl at night like I used to. I don't remember when I last took Benadryl. I've been using Nasalcrom 2 x day for allergy symptoms and for the most part things seem better.

The breathing issues are a little more improved. Haven't woke up with sleep apnea or whatever it was - gasping for breath in the night. Or had the anxiety and breathing issue other than when I walked briskly up the bleachers last week. So I have to be careful about overexertion. Only had diarrhea once since last Monday.

Other than that, I am taking apple cider vinegar daily since 7/24. I am still doing salt, baking soda, vinegar baths. I think I've done 8 so far.

I still lift weights 3 x week and have added more walking since last week.

I still haven't lost any weight, but thankfully I haven't kept gaining either.

 

[Peata]

Tried a piece of a sensitive bandaid on my lips last night but woke up about 2.5 hour later and wanted it off. Any kind of adhesive is bad for my skin. I give up on taping. I will order a mask soon.

 

[Katty]

I still lift weights 3 x week and have added more walking since last week.

I still haven't lost any weight, but thankfully I haven't kept gaining either.

Hey Peata,
You've been lifting weights for a month or two, right? If your scale weight is staying the same, you may be losing fat and gaining muscle. Are your clothes fitting any differently?

 

[Peata]

I still lift weights 3 x week and have added more walking since last week.

I still haven't lost any weight, but thankfully I haven't kept gaining either.

Hey Peata,
You've been lifting weights for a month or two, right? If your scale weight is staying the same, you may be losing fat and gaining muscle. Are your clothes fitting any differently?

No, unfortunately not. At times I "feel" thinner, but the bulge remains the same. I am still trying things and still not giving up hope.

 

[Peata]

I am actually down a pound on the scale. I know better than to get too excited. I've seen this current weight before, such as a few weeks ago after I got home from the beach, but then it quickly went up again. So if I get below this I know things are really turning around.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

fingers crossed for you ;-)

 

[Peata]

fingers crossed for you ;-)

Thank you, BP.

My period started Sunday but was barely there, disappeared Wed, then came on more yesterday. I wonder about that because I had periods like that before starting Peat, where they would be scant as could be for 3 or 4 days then I'd get one day, maybe 2, then it would go. I'm not sure that's a good sign for hormones. It's hard to tell what's going on really.

But I had cramps this morning, bad enough that I took 1/2 Alka Seltzer. I'm also up a few pounds on the scale. I'll just ignore that as best I can and hope a day of activity helps it go back down. I was sedentary yesterday due to appointments where I had to sit around most of the day waiting. Maybe that had something to do with retaining water too.

 

[Peata]

Had some tests run this week. Did not get all the tests I would have liked, but got some basics. Everything was in the proper ranges they had. Below just a few things.

Carbon dioxide was 29 out of 22 - 34 range.
Calcium 9.4
Phosphorus 3.6

TSH 1.85. I was happy to see that because I read where "J" said RP mentioned healthy people usually have it below 2.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Great numbers, way to go!...except the TSH. ***WARNING*** This is only my opinion based on my personal experience, I feel better when my TSH is under 1, but that's just me, so take it for what it is worth (not much, I know) ***END OF WARNING***

 

[Peata]

Great numbers, way to go!...except the TSH. ***WARNING*** This is only my opinion based on my personal experience, I feel better when my TSH is under 1, but that's just me, so take it for what it is worth (not much, I know) ***END OF WARNING***

What did you take to get your numbers where they should be?

Also it might have made a difference that I was not feeling well and was anxious when the tests were run, but not sure if that affects something like TSH.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I take Cynoplus, a T4/T3 combo....I used to take one whole pill, split up during the day. Now I am taking only 1/2 in the morning and add some Cynomel (T3 only) if I need it later in the day. I don't know if my requirements have dropped because it's lighter/sunnier out or perhaps because I dropped weight or have restricted PUFA or all three? Or maybe my liver is working much more efficiently because I no longer have the gut bacterial issues and I get more nutrients? I just don't know.

I could tell I needed less because I was getting too warm later in the evening and having a hard time falling asleep.

 

[Blossom]

Great numbers, way to go!...except the TSH. ***WARNING*** This is only my opinion based on my personal experience, I feel better when my TSH is under 1, but that's just me, so take it for what it is worth (not much, I know) ***END OF WARNING***

I love the ****WARNING**** BP! I actually think the TSH of 1 or below might be Peat's own recommendation. I'm sure we could find a direct quote on this with a brief search. I'm glad to hear your both doing well. :)

 

[Peata]

Great numbers, way to go!...except the TSH. ***WARNING*** This is only my opinion based on my personal experience, I feel better when my TSH is under 1, but that's just me, so take it for what it is worth (not much, I know) ***END OF WARNING***

I love the ****WARNING**** BP! I actually think the TSH of 1 or below might be Peat's own recommendation. I'm sure we could find a direct quote on this with a brief search. I'm glad to hear your both doing well. :)

Nice to see you back, Blossom.

 

[Peata]

I asked the doctor for Cyproheptadine, he said he didn't really know anything about it. He prescribed Hydroxyzine. I took half a pill for 3 nights in a row and it didn't seem much different than Benadryl other than I felt groggier the next morning where I don't get that with Benadryl.

I see another doctor in a few weeks and I'll try to make a case for Cyproheptadine.