High TSH, IBS and others...

[GdayMate]

Hi guys I'm 21m and have been on a peatish diet for a few months now, i've seen quite a lot of improvements but I'm still struggling with constipation, hypothyroidism and I think estrogen dominance.

Before I get started here's an example of what I eat daily, I aim for 4000+cals

2L Milk (making milk shakes with lots of added sugar and some fruit blended in)
1L Coke
300g Cherries
200g Potatoes
2 eggs
2TBPS coconut oil
1/2 a papaya
3-4TBPS gelatin
3+ big bowls of cheesy pasta to pack on calories(corn flour spaghetti, lean Grass-fed beef, lots of melted cheese)
1 Carrot
20g lamb liver

I supplement zinc piccolinate (can't stand oysters and $$$), nutrimed bovine NDT, vit k2, aspirin, Unique E.

Okay so basically I've had constipation and skin issues since I went on a health kick(irony?) and cut out sugar and grains about 3 years ago, my health, mind and skin was only getting worse and I ended up taking Accutane. I've been dealing with constipation non stop since then.

About 4 months ago I found you guys and have pretty much cleared my rosacea and lost my fear of carbs. I'm not eating a 100% 'peat' diet for a few reason which baffle me:

Whenever I cut out potatoes, I get deep cystic acne in a particular spot (around eyebrows and forehead) so a 100% starch free diet doesn't work for me.

OJ, lemon juice or eating any citrus causes deep cystic acne on my cheeks. Apparently this one is quite common, a few users at acne.org experience this too.

I'm definitely acne prone, but never deep cysts as long as I eat my potatoes and avoid citrus. It's really bizarre but I've eliminated and introduced so many times and it's the same thing. Weird.

Several days ago I was having hypoglycemic issues so I went and got my blood tested. Because of the way healthcare works in Australia I can't pick and choose when I'm not paying for anything, so I wasn't able to get t3/t4 checked. The doctor I saw said all the results were fine and in healthy range, the dizziness/waking up at night with adrenalin rush was likely a flu like virus.

My TSH was at 3.95 and upper range is supposedly 4.5.

So I don't really know where to go from here, I'm constantly constipated and have an array of other symptoms, like cold extremities, fatigue, asthma, trouble falling asleep, bloating, weak and breaking hair, bloodshot eyes, dark circles etc etc.

Sorry for the wall of text. All advice, experiences and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[GdayMate]

Oh also I think my increase in salt was to blame for the hypoglycemic symptoms. I was taking a tsp as if it were a supplement with each meal. I went out of the way to buy a brand that was 100% sea salt without any caking agents etc and it didn't making a difference. I just lightly salt to taste now.

I also want to note that It's almost winter of here and really cold already, so It's difficult to get any decent fruit, frozen mango doesn't agree with me even though ripe ones do. I bought some bananas and am just waiting for them to brown a bit.

 

[tara]

Gidday,
I'm in the winter end of the world too, saying goodbye to the last of the stone fruit, and will have pears for another week or two, then sweet stewed etc apples and frozen berries and the odd imported or tinned fruit for variety. Papayas are expensive here, but I occasionally splash out.

That TSH looks high enough to explain a lot of your issues, to a non-expert like me. Do you have any previous TSH results to show if the trend is up or down? I gather this is with nutrimeds - I wonder what it was before you started supplementing? Have you been tracking temperatures at all? If so, did you notice a change when you started the thyroid supp? Have you experimented with increasing the thyroid supp (with small increments at least 2 weeks apart)?

This may not be your issue, but I've had trouble with intermittently bloodshot eyes on and off the last year or so, seldom previously. I think I've now got it pinned down to too high calorie density some days - it goes with darker pee, and with water tasting good enough to drink. I know there are times people here (including me) suggest less liquid and more calories, but it is also possible to get too little liquid. Needs vary a lot, and ideally thirst should guide water drinking, but sometimes this can get a bit off if we're out of the habit of paying a attention to it. I usually drink 2-3 l total liquids, and not tracking, but probably 2500- 3000 cals most days except when I'm down sick.

 

[answersfound]

Maybe try two carrots. Also cyproheptadine and ondansteron could help the constipation, also magnesium

 

[XPlus]

Keeping constant high metabolism while ensuring enough supply of micro nutrients, puts the body in recovery state.
This is not to say that you should overdo thyroid but make sure your temperature and pulse are within the upper part of the Peat's range, most of the time.

The cysts are likely due to bacterial overgrowth.
The high TSH, like Tara suggests, is an indicator that you're a little too stressed.
This likely contributed in in part by endotoxins.

Clear filtered apple juice isn't as good as orange juice nutrient-wise.
However, I find it much more tolerable than orange juice. If it's too acidic, I add a pinch of Baking Soda.
I never found anything as good as fresh Australian oranges. Now is the season, isn't.
Mind that orange juice is highly problematic especially when there's some SIBO.

If you get any fresh NZ milk up where you're, I'd drink that instead.
I think Australian cattle is mostly grain fed.

Coffee is very effective liver support.
Make sure to seep in in milk and have it with sugar.
I'd also be careful with the sugar if insulin sensitivity is low.
Brewer's Yeast and Niacinamide are two things to research and experiment with if you'd like to try.

One thing you may like to experiment with is Activated Charcoal.
It's very powerful, so I'd be careful with it.
Cascara has been discussed extensively here, you can look it up.
I personally use a little aloe juice sometimes as a laxative.

Also CO2 and light are very effective against stress.

 

[GdayMate]

Gidday,
I'm in the winter end of the world too, saying goodbye to the last of the stone fruit, and will have pears for another week or two, then sweet stewed etc apples and frozen berries and the odd imported or tinned fruit for variety. Papayas are expensive here, but I occasionally splash out.

That TSH looks high enough to explain a lot of your issues, to a non-expert like me. Do you have any previous TSH results to show if the trend is up or down? I gather this is with nutrimeds - I wonder what it was before you started supplementing? Have you been tracking temperatures at all? If so, did you notice a change when you started the thyroid supp? Have you experimented with increasing the thyroid supp (with small increments at least 2 weeks apart)?

This may not be your issue, but I've had trouble with intermittently bloodshot eyes on and off the last year or so, seldom previously. I think I've now got it pinned down to too high calorie density some days - it goes with darker pee, and with water tasting good enough to drink. I know there are times people here (including me) suggest less liquid and more calories, but it is also possible to get too little liquid. Needs vary a lot, and ideally thirst should guide water drinking, but sometimes this can get a bit off if we're out of the habit of paying a attention to it. I usually drink 2-3 l total liquids, and not tracking, but probably 2500- 3000 cals most days except when I'm down sick.

I'm totally not a winter person, I've been considering eloping to south east asia! When I first started peating I was eating quite a lot lychees and mango everyday and my digestion was much better than what it is now. I'm not sure if that's because the weather was quite warm, the tropical fruits or because of the transition.

Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare my bloodwork too, I only recall going to the Dr's maybe 3 times in the past 5 years. The results were taken about a month into me supping with nutrimeds, but it hasn't made any noticeable benefits. I've upped the dose to 2x a day, maybe I need more. Good point on the temps, I was tracking them initially and I was pretty stable at 36.4-36.9 range after no change in several weeks I got lazy. I didn't check temp before taking nutrimeds. I think I'll get my temps now then up my dosage and compare.

You could be right about high calorie density, because I've gone from a 2500cal a day to 4000cal a day diet. I'm part of the group trying to cut back on liquids though, my pee is pretty clear. Sometimes I'm thirsty where I need water and not milk, coke or juice so I just satisfy myself but generally I try to drink one of those 3 instead. I find I can quite easily gulp down all this liquid but unless I eat something solid with it or spread it out quite a lot then I get bloated which can't be good.

thanks for your help!

 

[GdayMate]

Maybe try two carrots. Also cyproheptadine and ondansteron could help the constipation, also magnesium

I'll give two carrots a go. I was reading about cyproheptadine on here today actually, it seems like it could help with nearly all my issues. Do you know of any over the counter equivalents? Magnesium seems to help the constipation, but not really fix the underlying slow metabolism.

 

[GdayMate]

Keeping constant high metabolism while ensuring enough supply of micro nutrients, puts the body in recovery state.
This is not to say that you should overdo thyroid but make sure your temperature and pulse are within the upper part of the Peat's range, most of the time.

This is the bit I'm finding hard to accomplish! I feel like I'm eating enough calories and avoiding pufa, fiber and gluten etc but still feel sluggish.

The cysts are likely due to bacterial overgrowth.
The high TSH, like Tara suggests, is an indicator that you're a little too stressed.
This likely contributed in in part by endotoxins.

Clear filtered apple juice isn't as good as orange juice nutrient-wise.
However, I find it much more tolerable than orange juice. If it's too acidic, I add a pinch of Baking Soda.
I never found anything as good as fresh Australian oranges. Now is the season, isn't.
Mind that orange juice is highly problematic especially when there's some SIBO.

If you get any fresh NZ milk up where you're, I'd drink that instead.
I think Australian cattle is mostly grain fed.

Coffee is very effective liver support.
Make sure to seep in in milk and have it with sugar.
I'd also be careful with the sugar if insulin sensitivity is low.
Brewer's Yeast and Niacinamide are two things to research and experiment with if you'd like to try.

One thing you may like to experiment with is Activated Charcoal.
It's very powerful, so I'd be careful with it.
Cascara has been discussed extensively here, you can look it up.
I personally use a little aloe juice sometimes as a laxative.

Also CO2 and light are very effective against stress.

I've suspected SIBO while on paleo, but I think those protocols made everything worse, ***t like resistant starch and leafy greens while avoiding every spec of sugar. By stress does this mean mental or physical from endotoxin? I do get caught up too much on what I'm eating and I actually find that when I'm away for the weekend drinking and eating burritos/pizzas with friends my digestion is actually better, I guess I need to find a midpoint between the two.

I don't really have a taste for making juice a staple, I have to change it up constantly which kinda sucks because it's hard to find decent brands. I think a lot of juice I find in the stores are the whole fruit crushed up which is why I don't react very well. And yeah you can get some really delicious australian mandarins and navel oranges during winter, I might have to wait till next year to indulge though.

Do you know whether A2 milk or A1 milk has any real difference or if it's just a marketing thing? I tried goats milk and then moved onto a 2% A2 milk and I'm actually surprised to not have any issues with it, but I assume it is grain fed. I can't imagine while we would have NZ milk over here considering the amount of dairy farmers we have, but I'll try get my hands on some.

Last time I had coffee was a few years ago and it was a pretty bad reaction, though I haven't had it the peat way yet so I try that one aswell.

Do you know whether the charcoal is necessary when eating a carrot salad? I thought they served the same role.

Thanks for your help, I don't mean to shoot them all down lol.

 

[XPlus]

Supplementing enough thyroid wouldn't be unreasonable. Still, be very careful about the kind of medications you use and the dosing. Search the forums here for previous threads where this topic have been discussed thoroughly. If it seems difficult, I'd consult a good naturopath. I think Australia loosen up the regulations on those, so they might be able to help more on this.

I was already stressed from too much exercise and bad hippie diets. Fish oils, raw veges, wholemeal bread, calorie restriction etc..
Paleo just put the icing on the cake. Actually, I primarily started paleo to fix my digestion problems but this style of dieting made them worse.

I can also handle a lot more junk food much better when I'm enjoying myself around family and friends.

Stress, the way I understand it within the Peat paradigm is every kind of stress. Emotional, physical, physiological. Stress and aging are to some extend interchangeable.
When we have any kind of health issues, we are being in a stressed state. Hypertension, hyperglycemia, obesity, hair loss bad digestion, IBS, IBD, fibromalagya - you name it. Someone who's balding - for example - is said to be showing signs of stress. They can't be comfortably very healthy and balding at the same time. That's why some of them exhibit sings of excess serotonin and prolactin - always angry.

I started drinking juice mainly to balance out the protein at meal times. Eventually, I was able to tolerate more and started using it as a quick source of fuel when my energy levels are down.

I squeeze large amounts of orange juice If liked to drink some. I strain it with a fine cloth. Then let sit for few hours. ِAfter the pectin precipitate, I drink it with a straw, making sure that I don't take in any pectin.

The apple juice I buy is pasteurized, clear and has no fibre residue in it. The ingredients lists only either apple juice or apple juice from concentrate along with ascorbic acid (vitamin c) as preservative. I find the one from concentrate less acidic than the non-from-concentrate one. Ceres is a South African brand that I found in about every country I traveled. If you can't find it, there must be some, even better, alternatives in the supermarket. The added vitamin C in the apple juice is much less than other juices but I usually avoid taking it with meals to minimise iron absorption.

As for the coffee. I still can't tolerate even small amounts of plain coffee.
You may like to start with small amounts steeped in milk, with sugar. Build up slowly and observe whether tolerance improves.

I'm not aware of the differences between A1 milk and A2.
If you found a brand of milk that you can tolerate, that is perfect. I'd stick with that.

Yes, charcoal and carrots sort of serve the same role. I get the sense that Ray prefers the grated daily carrot over the charcoal. In one of interviews when he was asked about the AC, I thought he dodged the question by recommending the carrot salad, daily.
The AC is more powerful and little harsh on the system, in my experience. I only do it once in a while.

 

[tara]

Hi,
I don't know whether there is a relevant difference between A1 and A2 healthwise, but burtlancast has posted about it if you search. I've been trying it when I get it, but haven't been able to have it consistently enough to tell if it is easier for my issues. What I do know is that the A2 I can get here tastes much better than any of the other cow's milk I've tried in the last 2 years, so I guess that indicates htere is some difference. I agree with XPlus - if you found milk that you can tolerate, that's good.

Peat has said he has concerns about the particle size of charcoal powder, I assume from a persorption point of view. He has sometimes recommended it to people with particular issues, but usually recommends carrot salad or bambooas general thing for everyone. I think it would be reasonanble to try it and see if it makes a big difference, and if so use it occasionally.

 

[answersfound]

Maybe try two carrots. Also cyproheptadine and ondansteron could help the constipation, also magnesium

I'll give two carrots a go. I was reading about cyproheptadine on here today actually, it seems like it could help with nearly all my issues. Do you know of any over the counter equivalents? Magnesium seems to help the constipation, but not really fix the underlying slow metabolism.

Yes....amitriptyline! I'll be honest it works better for me than cyproheptadine, I don't know why. I I just recommend cypro because that's what everyone seems to use. Amitriptyline is certainly a wonder drug for me. It's given me an appetite I've never had before and I'm moving towards the weight I belive I should be at for my height. Also stress hormones are a lot lower and my digestion is so smooth. It is often used to treat ibs. (Probably because it lowers serotonin but big pharma would never acknowledge that.)

It is similar in structure to cypro too And Ray has told me he believes it to be safe.

 

[tara]

BTW, cyproheptadine is availlable from pharmacies without prescription in Oz, not expensive. You may have to tell the pharmacist why you want it, and I don't know if it is important to say you want it for allergies or migraine, but that's what is described on the box, so it might help.

If you do try it (I'm not recommending for or against), I'd suggest trying quite small doses for a while at first - eg 1/8 or 1/4 tablet (1/2 - 1 mg). And try it first time when you can sleep long if you need to.

I've used both cyproheptadine and amitriptyline, and preferred the cypro.

 

[GdayMate]

Hi guys thanks for all the responses. I'm going to stick with the A2 milk I'm drinking now, it probably is grain fed but I don't see the point in changing when this one works well. I'm going to take Xplus' advice on the coffee, it's at least worth trying!

I think I'll leave the AC for now and maybe add it to my next Iherb order, it looks pretty cheap.

Thank you looking and Tara! I just had a look and it turns out amitriptyline is prescription only and cypro is indeed OTC, of course it's upside down in Australia :)

I've also had a few bananas yesterday and today and have had quite a positive experience. I know they're not ideal but they really warmed me up and got my digestion moving. Are bananas serotonergic because of tryptophan content or is it another chemical? I'm hoping that I can just eat them with gelatin or milk to reduce the negative affects, I really am desperate for a cheap staple that helps my digestion.

 

[franko]

So I don't really know where to go from here, I'm constantly constipated and have an array of other symptoms, like cold extremities, fatigue, asthma, trouble falling asleep, bloating, weak and breaking hair, bloodshot eyes, dark circles etc etc.

Short version:

I have/had similar issues. Taking thyroid cured my constipation. I now have "movements" once, sometimes twice, per day. Perhaps you should consider taking thyroid.

Long version:

I had constipation that began years ago and when then when I developed hemorrhoids I was very motivated to find a cure. So I did a bunch of research. The mainstream medical advice will basically be to eat more fiber, but I had a gut feeling there was more to it than that.

I eventually found this wacky russian guy's website: https://www.gutsense.org/index.html

What I took away from that is that fiber is a crutch and you don't want to rely on it for "regularity" and it could even do harm. Basically, constipation is a metabolism problem — it's not as simple as being just a lack of fiber in diet.

So I kept looking for a better answer.

Then I read about cascara sagrada, which is recommended by Peat himself and mentioned frequently on this forum. That stuff works. And I consider it a backup option now if needed. But I found a better solution.

I got blood work done I had normal T3 & T4 but high TSH (4.6 uIU/mL). So I bought some cytomel and cynoplus and eventually found that taking cynoplus even day makes me regular and if I miss a day or two thyroid I will start getting constipated again.

I still have other issues, but thyroid has definitely solve this one.

 

[tara]

I eventually found this wacky russian guy's website: https://www.gutsense.org/index.html

I like his style (and information). :)