I have been into lifting for about 7 years. I was lean in highschool, 5'10 at 170. I had some acne due to using protein powders with a bunch of bad filler ingredients. Doctor prescribed antibiotics for the acne, and despite lifting much more regularly and with more intensity, in one year my weight jumped from 170 to 230 pounds, with minimal change in diet.
Eventually in 2015 I gradually started losing weight by gradually lowering calories, eating more protein. One of the things I also did was add in a basic multivitamin (centrum adult multivitamin), 1000mg vitamin c a day, fish oil, and 5000iu d3 a day, and 100g protein per day from whey protein. I was 215 pounds in february 2015 and in march 2016 I was down to 168 at 12 % bodyfat. I maintained this weight and leanness from 2016 through March 2018. In december 2017, I started messing around with supplements more and started using things like zma, additional multivitamins/minerals, and all kinds of supplements without doing the proper research on them. Regardless, despite not doing any cardio from february 2018 through now, I still maintained the same weight with the same level of leanness. I continued the 3 days per week of lifting until may 2018 which is when I started getting fatigued a lot. It was partially due to the zma, plus additional zinc from other vitamins, plus 120mg supplemental niacinimide per day which would make me sleepy right after using it (and also lowered thyroid hormones based on research). My lifting was down to once per week from may 2018 through january 2019. Regardless, even in february 2019 my weight was 174 pounds and I had the same level of strength I had in prior years.
I started doing research into different ingredients I was taking in supplements since I had a lot of fatigue (anemia), some level of hypothyroidism, water retention/bloating, histamine intolerance, and some nerve damage. I stopped using the centrum multivitamin since october 2018 since I wanted to remove food colors and other filler ingredients in it. That multivitamin contained 0.5mg copper, 150mcg iodine, and 18mg iron among other things. I still continued taking 15mg supplemental zinc per day (plus 12oz ground beef per day which also has a good amount of zinc). The nerve damage got really bad around mid december, where I would have trouble walking, getting out of bed, and had lots of pain in my legs. From december 2018 onwards I was only going to the gym every two weeks to lift. Some other supplements I had been taking since early 2018 also included a green tea extract 250mg supplement every other day (98% catechins), and life extensions trace minerals product once a week (this product has 750mcg vanadium and 250mcg molybdenum). both those products contribute to depleting copper/iron further.
In february I came to the conclusion that my issues were due to a deficiency in iron, copper, or iodine. I did not use iodized salt and ate a meat/dairy based diet. I figured I get some amount of iron from the beef. I do use a brita filter for drinking water, but I read about copper toxicity being much more common than deficiency. So I focused on iodine. I started out with 1mg of life extensions sea iodine, twice per week. It went great for the next two weeks. Had lots of energy, was able to work out. In mid march I started using 3mg tri iodine once per week (with 200mcg selenium 1000mg vitamin c) and 1mg LE iodine once per week. My weight went from 176 in early february to 193 by early april. April 15 is the last time I took a big iodine dose (1mg). Also in the end of march I noticed significant hair loss and thinning on my scalp, and my testicles had shrunken. I also had a lot more food intolerances and was really bloated, and having trouble digesting everything.
Throughout april and early may, I was still getting around 750mcg iodine per week via supplements, over the course of 4 days. I noticed my condition would improve over the week then worsen over the 4 days I took the iodine. I likely was getting additional iodine from 13oz whole milk and 12oz beef as well. I also tried out olive leaf extract in late april which I think could have worsened things. I lowered the iodine and multivitamins a bit throughout april and may, to around 300mcg or 450mcg per week from supplements. The issues still continued. Two weeks ago, I added in costcos adult multivitamin once per day (has 18mg iron and 150mcg iodine, similar formula to centrum adult multi). I also took 3mg traacs copper bisglycinate 3 times a week for two or three weeks. I was able to easily complete a full 90 minute workout two weeks back (after 4 days of using costcos multi). However after another 4 days, I had a big crash and had extreme fatigue and several issues. I am pretty sure that the iodine had built up again to a toxic level, from that multi. Even though in prior years i was taking in 150mcg supplemental iodine daily with no trouble. My balls are still shrunk to 50% of usual size and I rarely get erections.
I got several blood tests last week. Tested positive for ANA (anti nuclear antibodies), and the reflex tested positive for sgorgens syndrome. The doctor did not test for thyroid and several other types of antibodies but referred me to a rheumatologist for further testing. I dont really have sgorgens symptoms but have almost all of the autoimmune hypothyroid symptoms.
My diet is pretty low in PUFA, high in saturated fat. Usually had a very high protein diet, but my appetite has been absolute ***t the last couple months so ive only been managing around 80 to 100g protein a day where previously for the last 4 years I was getting 210g-220g protein a day. Im not sure if I should include 1g fish oil and 500mg black cumin seed oil as anti inflammatories to try to improve the condition. Some of the changes I originally made when cutting down from 230 to 170 included fish oil, d3 and multivitamin use daily. Plus additional multivitamins from a zone bar I was eating daily. I was getting 3750IU of vitamin A from retinyl palmitate/acetate per day, 5500IU d3 per day from supplements/milk, 140% rda vitamin e per day (all DL alpha tocopherol acetate from multi/zone bar), and 31% rda k1 from the multi. I think the vitamin a, d, and e from the supplements helped keep estrogen down and helped me lose weight.
From last week I've cut out all supplements due to the bloating and other issues I've been having. But I was wondering given my history, how I lost weight from dietary/supplemental changes and how I suddenly gained crazy weight from iodine this year, I was wondering if I would be able to fix this on its own, without needing to use any meds or thyroid hormone replacement. I've had obvious infertility/estrogen symptoms the last couple months from the thyroid issue.
As far as supplements for the coming months I was wondering if it would be beneficial taking 200mg magnesium aspartate, 1g extra virgin coconut oil, 1g fish oil, 500mg black seed oil, and 5000IU d3 everyday, vitamin e and 200mg vitamin c every other day, and 3000Iu vitamin A/1mg k1/1.5mg mk4/300mcg mk7 every other day. Im thinking that the main things to focus on are anti inflammatories, anti cortisol and anti estrogen supplements. Diet would be some dates, raw honey, coconut water, whole milk, greek yogurt, whey protein and ground beef.
Also I am assuming with autoimmune thyroid issues, herbs that stimulate the thyroid like ashwaganda or olive leaf would worsen the issue right? Also I was taking 5g creatine monohydrate and 4g beta alanine daily from 2013 all the way until now, but I haven't used those the last 2 months since I've been missing my daily protein shakes due to the bloating.
Eventually in 2015 I gradually started losing weight by gradually lowering calories, eating more protein. One of the things I also did was add in a basic multivitamin (centrum adult multivitamin), 1000mg vitamin c a day, fish oil, and 5000iu d3 a day, and 100g protein per day from whey protein. I was 215 pounds in february 2015 and in march 2016 I was down to 168 at 12 % bodyfat. I maintained this weight and leanness from 2016 through March 2018. In december 2017, I started messing around with supplements more and started using things like zma, additional multivitamins/minerals, and all kinds of supplements without doing the proper research on them. Regardless, despite not doing any cardio from february 2018 through now, I still maintained the same weight with the same level of leanness. I continued the 3 days per week of lifting until may 2018 which is when I started getting fatigued a lot. It was partially due to the zma, plus additional zinc from other vitamins, plus 120mg supplemental niacinimide per day which would make me sleepy right after using it (and also lowered thyroid hormones based on research). My lifting was down to once per week from may 2018 through january 2019. Regardless, even in february 2019 my weight was 174 pounds and I had the same level of strength I had in prior years.
I started doing research into different ingredients I was taking in supplements since I had a lot of fatigue (anemia), some level of hypothyroidism, water retention/bloating, histamine intolerance, and some nerve damage. I stopped using the centrum multivitamin since october 2018 since I wanted to remove food colors and other filler ingredients in it. That multivitamin contained 0.5mg copper, 150mcg iodine, and 18mg iron among other things. I still continued taking 15mg supplemental zinc per day (plus 12oz ground beef per day which also has a good amount of zinc). The nerve damage got really bad around mid december, where I would have trouble walking, getting out of bed, and had lots of pain in my legs. From december 2018 onwards I was only going to the gym every two weeks to lift. Some other supplements I had been taking since early 2018 also included a green tea extract 250mg supplement every other day (98% catechins), and life extensions trace minerals product once a week (this product has 750mcg vanadium and 250mcg molybdenum). both those products contribute to depleting copper/iron further.
In february I came to the conclusion that my issues were due to a deficiency in iron, copper, or iodine. I did not use iodized salt and ate a meat/dairy based diet. I figured I get some amount of iron from the beef. I do use a brita filter for drinking water, but I read about copper toxicity being much more common than deficiency. So I focused on iodine. I started out with 1mg of life extensions sea iodine, twice per week. It went great for the next two weeks. Had lots of energy, was able to work out. In mid march I started using 3mg tri iodine once per week (with 200mcg selenium 1000mg vitamin c) and 1mg LE iodine once per week. My weight went from 176 in early february to 193 by early april. April 15 is the last time I took a big iodine dose (1mg). Also in the end of march I noticed significant hair loss and thinning on my scalp, and my testicles had shrunken. I also had a lot more food intolerances and was really bloated, and having trouble digesting everything.
Throughout april and early may, I was still getting around 750mcg iodine per week via supplements, over the course of 4 days. I noticed my condition would improve over the week then worsen over the 4 days I took the iodine. I likely was getting additional iodine from 13oz whole milk and 12oz beef as well. I also tried out olive leaf extract in late april which I think could have worsened things. I lowered the iodine and multivitamins a bit throughout april and may, to around 300mcg or 450mcg per week from supplements. The issues still continued. Two weeks ago, I added in costcos adult multivitamin once per day (has 18mg iron and 150mcg iodine, similar formula to centrum adult multi). I also took 3mg traacs copper bisglycinate 3 times a week for two or three weeks. I was able to easily complete a full 90 minute workout two weeks back (after 4 days of using costcos multi). However after another 4 days, I had a big crash and had extreme fatigue and several issues. I am pretty sure that the iodine had built up again to a toxic level, from that multi. Even though in prior years i was taking in 150mcg supplemental iodine daily with no trouble. My balls are still shrunk to 50% of usual size and I rarely get erections.
I got several blood tests last week. Tested positive for ANA (anti nuclear antibodies), and the reflex tested positive for sgorgens syndrome. The doctor did not test for thyroid and several other types of antibodies but referred me to a rheumatologist for further testing. I dont really have sgorgens symptoms but have almost all of the autoimmune hypothyroid symptoms.
My diet is pretty low in PUFA, high in saturated fat. Usually had a very high protein diet, but my appetite has been absolute ***t the last couple months so ive only been managing around 80 to 100g protein a day where previously for the last 4 years I was getting 210g-220g protein a day. Im not sure if I should include 1g fish oil and 500mg black cumin seed oil as anti inflammatories to try to improve the condition. Some of the changes I originally made when cutting down from 230 to 170 included fish oil, d3 and multivitamin use daily. Plus additional multivitamins from a zone bar I was eating daily. I was getting 3750IU of vitamin A from retinyl palmitate/acetate per day, 5500IU d3 per day from supplements/milk, 140% rda vitamin e per day (all DL alpha tocopherol acetate from multi/zone bar), and 31% rda k1 from the multi. I think the vitamin a, d, and e from the supplements helped keep estrogen down and helped me lose weight.
From last week I've cut out all supplements due to the bloating and other issues I've been having. But I was wondering given my history, how I lost weight from dietary/supplemental changes and how I suddenly gained crazy weight from iodine this year, I was wondering if I would be able to fix this on its own, without needing to use any meds or thyroid hormone replacement. I've had obvious infertility/estrogen symptoms the last couple months from the thyroid issue.
As far as supplements for the coming months I was wondering if it would be beneficial taking 200mg magnesium aspartate, 1g extra virgin coconut oil, 1g fish oil, 500mg black seed oil, and 5000IU d3 everyday, vitamin e and 200mg vitamin c every other day, and 3000Iu vitamin A/1mg k1/1.5mg mk4/300mcg mk7 every other day. Im thinking that the main things to focus on are anti inflammatories, anti cortisol and anti estrogen supplements. Diet would be some dates, raw honey, coconut water, whole milk, greek yogurt, whey protein and ground beef.
Also I am assuming with autoimmune thyroid issues, herbs that stimulate the thyroid like ashwaganda or olive leaf would worsen the issue right? Also I was taking 5g creatine monohydrate and 4g beta alanine daily from 2013 all the way until now, but I haven't used those the last 2 months since I've been missing my daily protein shakes due to the bloating.
