Greetings From A Long-time Lurker

JudiBlueHen

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Hello RP Forum,
I'm a 71 yo retired female systems engineer. Having one of the very first Computer Science degrees in 1969, it was an exciting place to be at the time.

Now I'm just trying to keep my body young and cooperative!

I have an interesting family health history. Raised on a hobby farm, I had colic as a baby, so my parents bought goats and I was raised on goats milk for a while. Eczema as a child, tonsillitis, measles/mumps/chicken pox, but otherwise healthy. 1st migraine at age 12. PCOS as a teen and some IBS-C. College and then career. Two daughters born in my 30's, followed by hysterectomy due to cervical carcinoma in situ. Began to show signs of CFS and depression. Divorced and spent many years as a single working mom. Remarried and divorced again, then finally remarried happily in 2004.

Fast forward to current conditions: insomnia for 30 years, taking 0.25mg clonazepam. Took several antidepressants but none were good enough to stay on for the long term. Blood type B+, sensitive to a lot of meds - many give me headaches or a feeling of abject misery. Have had a chronic cough for about 7 years, it is better when I take H2 blocker at bedtime. Most COPD meds make my heart pound so I don't take them. Some SVT spells and high blood pressure spells, but nothing chronic. High cholesterol for which I do not take statins; otherwise pretty healthy.

I've been incorporating some Peat principles in recent years - avoiding PUFA and fried foods, drinking milk and OJ daily but not in large quantities. Eat eggs 3x week. Taking 500mg niacinamide, 325 aspirin, a bausch & lomb eye vitamin (AREDS), and 1000 iu Vit D.

I'll add that there is a fair amount of mental illness in the family and my sister and youngest daughter have rather severe schizophrenia, so at some later time I'll comment on some of those mental health threads - I know more than I want to know about SMI!

Glad to join this most helpful and knowledgeable group!
 
M

marikay

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Welcom JudiBlueHen. How many calories are you getting daily?
 
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JudiBlueHen

JudiBlueHen

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Not restricting my food, but I don't get a lot of calories. One egg & toast or oatmeal for breakfast w/coffee and OJ/yogurt/banana shake. 1/2 sandwich & carrots or leftovers for lunch, snack of choc covered pretzels or dried apricots & nuts, tea or milk. Dinner varies and we eat out a lot, eating 1/2 dinner and taking the rest home. Beer w/dinner 2x week, occasional wine or Jack & ginger. Ice cream 3x week or rice pudding. That's more or less the norm.
 

Blossom

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Welcome to the forum Judi. Thanks for sharing your story and I'm glad you're here!
 

burtlancast

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Welcome Judi.
Do you still have any amalgam fillings ?
 
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JudiBlueHen

JudiBlueHen

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Yes I still have one old amalgam filling, and two composite fillings. Pretty good teeth and gums.
 
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danishispsychic

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With that cough - I would do a good parasite cleanse for Ascaris roundworm. Very common- Can cause all kinds of symptoms- they cause insomnia as well. I like Humaworm, Dr Naturas Colonix and fresh garlic. Welcome Judi! PS. your doc will never diagnose you with Ascaris so dont even bother :)
 
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JudiBlueHen

JudiBlueHen

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Thanks danish, I'll try the parasite cleanse. It is a certainty that my doc will not look for root causes beyond my apparent lack of steroids, bronchodilators, and PPIs!
 

TreasureVibe

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Hi and welcome! Keeping your daily calcium, potassium and magnesium intake adequate is an underrated Peat advice that could be really useful for blood pressure. His writings and interviews about elevated PTH and calcium phosphate ratio are a good recommendation for this worth checking out.

I have looked at the ingredients of the Bausch & Lomb eye vitamin and saw that it contains some things that are not "Peaty". It has synthetic vitamin E which can be recognized by the DL- prefix. It also has copper oxide which Ray Peat doesn't like. Supplemental copper is something one should avoid due to cancer and Alzheimer's links in studies. The softgel contains soybean oil which is a PUFA and soy which is an estrogen although these amounts are probably tiny. Synthetic vitamin E is a petroleum derivative and should be avoided as multiple studies show its negative health effects. Natural vitamin E starts with the D- prefix and is the kind you're looking for, and should be taken sparingly according to Dr. Peat.

Something to consider - your SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) spells might be due to the use of a H2 blocker, which could mess with heart rate: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10776806/

Here is a later study also highlighting a H2 blocker's interference with the heart rate: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11818765/

Tachycardia and high blood pressure could very well be magnesium deficiency as well.

Ray Peat article on insomnia: http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/thyroid-insanities.shtml

Chronic cough and COPD: Have you ever checked for the symptoms of sulfite allergy? Breathing exercises like Buteyko method and bag breathing could help chronic cough as well.

Anywho, I hope you will have a good time on the forums and improve your health. Good luck! :):
 
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danishispsychic

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Thanks danish, I'll try the parasite cleanse. It is a certainty that my doc will not look for root causes beyond my apparent lack of steroids, bronchodilators, and PPIs!
Steroids and inhalers will make them spread. I like a mix called Brendas de-wormer also. I finally mixed all that myself and I think it is the best because it is fresh and powerful. Best mixed with applesauce. Brenda’s Herbal Dewormer
 

Birdie

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Welcome and thanks for your intro. I was also lurking/evaluating before joining up here.
And I have a sibling with the mental problems you mentioned.

Have just moved to a new area leaving behind my open minded doctor.
Shocking to experience the "health system" with my first new doctor visit here.
But, that's the norm isn't it!!
I did finally find somebody willing to work with me by going over to the "Finding a Doctor" at the Stop the Thyroid Madness site.

I manage my own health and always have. For better or for worse!

When I was really ill, in the early 90s, my doctor said there was no cure for me.
I did the Broda Barnes protocol for thyroid and other things that got me going.
Ray recommends his book often.

Well that's some of my experience...
 
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JudiBlueHen

JudiBlueHen

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Hi Richard, I read all of the links and I agree that I probably have a sulfite sensitivity. Early allergy testing showed I was allergic to several grasses and trees, and most fungii. Food/additive testing was never done. I am also unable to tolerate aspertame, sucrolose, and msg. Most narcotic cough syrups give me a 3-day headache or bad dreams. Not a good trade for cough suppression!

The RP article on thyroid and mental illness was interesting and actually aligns somewhat with the earlier works on nutrition and orthomolecular medicine by Carl Pfeiffer and Abram Hoffer.

I'm interested in what kind of magnesium supplement or source I should try - do you have any suggestions?
 
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JudiBlueHen

JudiBlueHen

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Birdie, thanks for the reminder. I have a Broda Barnes book on heart attacks, and it is also focused on thyroid. Were you able to get a prescription for T3 or Cytomel rather than just levothyroxine? My PCP is very conventional and will only prescribe the synthetic T4. But we are moving soon, so I will take advantage of that thyroid website for finding my next practitioner.
 

TreasureVibe

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Hi Richard, I read all of the links and I agree that I probably have a sulfite sensitivity. Early allergy testing showed I was allergic to several grasses and trees, and most fungii. Food/additive testing was never done. I am also unable to tolerate aspertame, sucrolose, and msg. Most narcotic cough syrups give me a 3-day headache or bad dreams. Not a good trade for cough suppression!

The RP article on thyroid and mental illness was interesting and actually aligns somewhat with the earlier works on nutrition and orthomolecular medicine by Carl Pfeiffer and Abram Hoffer.

I'm interested in what kind of magnesium supplement or source I should try - do you have any suggestions?
Hi Judi, magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate would be the preferred form to take as a supplement here on the RP forums. Avoid minerals bound to citric acid (i.e. magnesium citrate) as citric acid can cause calcium loss through excretion causing electrolyte disturbance, according to Dr. Peat. Glycine is Peaty and beneficial. Leafy greens also contain magnesium.

Ray Peat says that all 3 electrolyte minerals should be taken at a high intake level everyday. The RDA for potassium is 4700 mg in the United States, and 3500 mg in Europe. This is higher than you would expect and potassium is very important for maintaining healthy blood pressure and heart rhythm. Depending on your diet you may not come close to this amount daily. Keeping track of what you eat daily, and then Googling the amount of potassium in the food you have eaten and then adding it up to a total will give you a rough indicator of your daily intake. If the amount is lacking, Lets say below 3000 mg you could introduce more potassium rich foods in your diet. Potassium supplements are generally not recommended. Milk and OJ are rich in potassium, potatoes and fruits as well.

Ray Peat also recommended hypertensive patients to have a dietary intake of 2000 mg calcium daily. I wouldn't go higher than that. Eggshell calcium would be the preferred supplemental form if you want to opt for supplemental calcium, which is something you can make at home by boiling and oven heating eggshells and then grinding them in a coffeegrinder. Ray Peat recommends eggshell calcium as the preferred calcium supplement because research shows it contains the lowest amount of heavy metals compared to other calcium supplements. You can find instructions and tutorials on Google, the RP forums and YouTube on how to make eggshell calcium. Milk and vegetables also give you alot of calcium. Counting your daily calcium intake is the best way to make sure your intake is sufficient. Exact numbers aren't necessary according to Peat, as long as intake is high.

Calcium keeps PTH (parathyroid hormone) low which is a hormone which by itself is associated with high blood pressure when elevated in studies according to Ray Peat. Everytime your calcium intake is low or non-existent, your body starts increasing PTH which will grab calcium from your bones in order to maintain healthy calcium levels and keeping the system functions in check like heart contraction and rhythm and cell respiration. Unfortunately this leeched calcium from the bones is the kind of calcium that sticks to the walls of arteries, whilst dietary calcium (when digested properly) does not. Always take your eggshell calcium during meals and make sure your stomach acid is on a healthy level because it is required to properly absorb the calcium safely as it converts the calcium carbonate to calcium chloride. Dr. Peat mentions that in a study eggshell calcium helped treating osteoporosis patients better than a commonly sold calcium supplement made out of limestone.

Proper dietary intake of electrolyte minerals is vital for the proper maintaining and functioning of blood pressure, heart rate, contraction and rhythm. Without them you will start running into trouble sooner or later with the cardiovascular system. According to Ray Peat, if one electrolyte decreases in the body, another electrolyte will replace the function of it. But if multiple get low, you will get health problems. For some functions, like keeping a steady heart rate, a certain mineral in particular is required, either magnesium or potassium or both. The same typically goes for a charley horse or restless leg syndrome. Magnesium is more deficient in the western diet compared to potassium. Magnesium is typically a calming mineral.

Corticosteroid inhalers are known to lower your potassium levels, as they are used in hospitals for treating patients with hyperkalemia. (Elevated potassium levels) The use of one could explain disturbances in heart rate and hypertension or other cardiovascular problems.

It is also recommended by Dr. Peat to take vitamin K2 as a supplement because it keeps the arteries clear from calcium sticking to the artery walls and it also decalcifies arteries that are already calcified, making them less stiff which can aid in lowering blood pressure on a long term basis. Dr. Peat is a big advocate of vitamin K2 as it has alot of positive health benefits including healthy metabolism, cancer prevention, maintaining healthy blood pressure and more. He specifically recommends it for hypertension. Almost all foods are low in vitamin K2 so supplementing it is often the only option to get it in the diet. Ray Peat uses vitamin K2 himself too.

For sodium and chloride intake (which are also both electrolytes) Dr. Peat advices salting your food to taste. He advices Morton Canning & Pickling salt or La Baleine coarse sea salt, as these products contain no fillers or flowing agents. Fillers and flowing agents in salts are toxic according to Dr. Peat. Morton Canning & Pickling salt and La Baleine coarse sea salt are the lowest in iron and other heavy metal contaminants according to Dr. Peat and he personally uses both products himself. Iron is harmful according to Dr. Peat.

Unrefined sea salts like Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt are often contaminated with iron and heavy metals according to Dr. Peat so he advices to avoid these as well. Avoiding iodized salt is also something Dr. Peat has adviced to a woman before, as it gave bad reactions to some people according to him.

Molybdenum and vitamin B12 could aid in suspected sulfite allergy and associated COPD-like symptoms and chronic cough according to this paper: http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1984/pdf/1984-v13n02-p105.pdf.

Ray Peat mentions sulfite allergy in this article: Food-junk and some mystery ailments: Fatigue, Alzheimer's, Colitis, Immunodeficiency. Carrageenan

You could look for molybdenum food sources or a supplement like Eidon Minerals Molybdenum. Just make sure that the dose you're taking from a supplement is low (just about 50 micrograms would be enough) and that the source is organic like sourced from a lake or sea. Actually, I would not supplement it without asking an expert on the forums here on the safety of supplemental molybdenum first because RP advices against using free metals like zinc, iron and copper in supplemental form and molybdenum is a free metal essentially as far as I am concerned.

If you have amalgam dental fillings you should avoid the methyl form of vitamin B12 called methylcobalamin as it could form methylmercury in your body with the mercury from your amalgam filling. Methylmercury causes alot of damage to your organs and tissues, and the body has a hard time removing it. Adenosylcobalamin, also called dibencozide would be the preferred form for vitamin B12 as a supplement. People are often deficient in vitamin B12. Avoid folic acid and cyanocobalamin as those are synthetic and harmful.

There is a free smartphone app called Cronometer which allows you to check the nutrient values of foods and compile diets to see what your total daily intake of each nutrient is if you find that handy.

If you have more questions feel free to ask. ;)
 
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Birdie

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Birdie, thanks for the reminder. I have a Broda Barnes book on heart attacks, and it is also focused on thyroid. Were you able to get a prescription for T3 or Cytomel rather than just levothyroxine? My PCP is very conventional and will only prescribe the synthetic T4. But we are moving soon, so I will take advantage of that thyroid website for finding my next practitioner.
Oh, good about the move and hope you find a good doc.

I never took levothyroxine, but was always able to get a prescription for Natural Desiccated Thyroid.
After finding Ray in 2011, I got interested in the T3 and ordered Cynomel like lots of others here.
Have a huge supply because some more just turned up with unpacking and I'd just ordered from Mymexicandrugstore.

I am using the NDT now and tiny chips of T3 when I remember during the day. There is a lot of info at Stopthethyroidmadness.com.
Parts there don't agree with Peat. I tend to go with Peat where there's a difference. That forum is led by a thyroid patient.
People there report problems with the "T4 only" approach. Some people have educated their doctors, but I'm not up to that battle!
 

Birdie

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Just a note on magnesium supplementation. I've found one I tolerate, magnesium malate powder.. Found it through the toxinless.com probably. That's a good site and run by one of our members.

Here is Ray Peat on magnesium supplements:
I don't recommend chemical supplements of magnesium, though, because they all contain some manufacturing impurities that can cause bowel inflammation, such as hemorrhoids. Well cooked greens are very good sources, coffee and chocolate are, too.

http://peatarian.com/peatexchanges
 

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