I can't remember if I did this already... *0*

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
Greetings from Galveston County, Texas!
I'm near Kemah the tourist attraction if anyone else is nearby. I never go out but always think it would be so fun to meet friends for a coffee like I used to have the energy to do.

I am horrible about checking my email, forums, etc. I need too many naps, things distract me easily, I run out of time and forget things a lot. But I really do care and when I'm awake and remember I will give my last ounce of energy to help someone.

I've been on 25 mcg synthroid for a few years but with less energy and stamina than my 73 year old mother, think they are not giving me a high enough dose. I still have palpitations, slow rythm, low BP and temps, everyone in my life teases me for always being cold. The bald patches are embarrassing but the numb fingertips scare me the most, I'm afraid the sensation won't return even with correct supplementation. I'm worried that asking the new clinician for a higher dose will get me tagged as drug-seeking behavior since last time I asked their old nurse practitioner for an increase she became withdrawn and curt. My TSH is below 2 so they don't care about symptoms. They don't test for anything else.

I can't afford my old doctor, lost my health insurance in January, so pay cash for the walk-in clinic. I only have a part-time job. I had to move in with my mother when I couldn't find another real job and keep my rent paid. For a while I sort of got too tired and gave up full time job seeking, relying on my tiny part-time job to pay essential bills. When I realized from reading about numb fingertips and alopecia that it's probably my thyroid being undertreated causing most of my issues, maybe I'm not just turning into a hopelessly lazy slob after a lifetime of being the energizer bunny, light-bulb moment.

So I decided to seek my own source of thyroid supplementation, and the research led me here to this wonderful forum full of so many informative and kind-hearted people, willing to share their knowledge and experience to help all others who read these boards.

I just got some thiroyd, will tell you how it works later in the supplements forum.

Sorry for the novel. I already seem to be ray peat-ing to an extent having come across the principles here and there, but am so glad to have this forum as a resource for more info.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Smuthie, :welcome

I hear you about the worries of being a lazy slob. When you just do not have the energy to do something, its not about being lazy, its about not having the life force to get done what is needed. I was there, I know whats up, and it isnt fun. You are on the right path and will get this turned around with a lot of trial and error. Its not a steady straight path, there are some twists and turns but you will work through them. As you get a better understanding of how your body works, and why things happen, you can make the correct decisions to turn the negative processes around. Its a really great overall experience that gets you dialed back into your body.

See you around! :hattip
 

Mittir

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
2,033
Welcome to the forum

Your T4 supplement is keeping your TSH below 2.
This does not mean your active T3 hormone is adequate.
Females have harder time with converting T4 to T3 as their
livers are often burdened by excess estrogen.
Having a healthy liver is very important for both male and female.
Enough carbohydrate, selenium, B vitamins and thyroid keep liver healthy.
Using raw carrot salad or cooked bamboo shoots daily also lower
burden on liver. Getting more calcium than phosphorus helps with many
health issues.Pulse and temperature measured 1-2 hours after breakfast
gives a good idea about thyroid function.
Here are few useful links on dietary guideline
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=588&hilit=peat+approved+fruit
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=187&hilit=light+therapy

Increased sodium and calcium, Bag breathing( 2-3 times a day 1-2 minutes* sessions, excess bag breathing can cause major problems), light therapy, increased carbohydrate ( especially in the form of glucose+fructose or lactose= glucose+ galactose) and thyroid immediately help with
increasing body temperature. 80 grams of good quality protein and
daily raw carrot salads are essential for a better thyroid function.
 
OP
S

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
Sorry, Charlie, I brainfarted on the questions! Forgot the second I left the page. I'm just too excited about actually posting, I guess! Well, how can anyone know anything about me if I don't tell them, you guys can't watch me typing. See into my brain. Ha.

What's your age? 45

How did you find the forum? I forgot. No, kidding.

I was googling about OTC supplements containing actual pig thyroid or T3 and/or T2, willing to buy off alibaba or straight from the factory in India or something. Seriously was thinking about looking up phone #s for drug companies in India and asking to speak to an R&D techie. Considering begging someone to sell me something under the table if necessary. This is sort of how I bought industrial amounts of generic Gas-X for my colic-prone horse.

How did you find Ray Peat's work? Googling for specific info on coconut oil or something, maybe K2 impact on odontoblast activity, or was that Weston Price. I tend to google for specific info, if the CV seems legit or the "-.edu" has a real webpage on someone I will respect their word more, on that topic, but don't usually spend the time to get thorough with one researcher's works. It was a long time before I found the forum because I didn't hop around on his site, I just lurked around the article I wanted. I found the forum completely separately by googling different issues. Actually, the forum kept coming up over several weeks' googling on thyroid-related topics, til I finally realized what a really valuable treasure trove it is and started lurking here on purpose even when I didn't have a specific question I was researching.

How long have you been Peating? That depends, not long if you consider doing it on purpose knowing that Peat made these statements based on his acquired knowledge base. To an extent, quite a while if you consider the dietary leanings I've been making partly out of just liking and feeling better on certain foods, partly out of what nutrition research has led me to believe, and partly out of occasionally (fairly regularly) saying 'F it" and indulging in something just because I wanted it, not realizing Peat would have told me to eat it anyway.

What is your favorite part about Peating? oh, so much to say here.

So many of my habits are already in place for Peating to come very easily. I already consume a lot of milk putting it in my morning tea, but I only add a bit of sugar or honey as a treat, now I get to do it every day. I love fruit but was limiting myself to a couple of pieces per day to reduce sugar, but now I will probably eat 3 or 4. I love cheese but is saturated fat, so have been getting most of my K2 from natto, which I also love, but now will add more cheese back to my diet. I really enjoy a piece of toast with a drizzle of coconut oil and a pinch of RealSalt, once a guilty treat will be a regular thing, double the oil and quadruple the salt like I really wanted to in the first place. I will no longer feel guilty for the rare acquisition of delicious fried livers. I will have a good reason to indulge in oysters on the half shell whenever possible. Bone-broth based soups are some of my favorite meals. The OJ-gelatin Pig Arthritis formula of Dr. Joel Wallach is something I've been doing since I heard him on the radio around 1993 or 4, it keeps my arthritis symptoms down and is a Peat type item. Gosh, a reason to eat a Tookie's burger and have a coke, what's not to like? It's like a dream diet for a lot of people, I think.

Other reasons to appreciate it. Feeling righteously justified that my carrot cravings are not just lunatic desires but maybe my liver really wants/needs them. Dearly love carrot salad. Feeling righteous about knowing better than my stupid Dr./RN Practitioners who say avoid fat, no eggs b/c cholesterol level, etc. Since I started eating 2 or 3 eggs a day last summer and around 1 T. coconut oil per day, my cholesterol level has been WAY better. 62 HDL 114 LDL. ha I did not tell them how much egg and saturated fat I've been eating. My fasting BG was borderline high, but I don't eat much starch b/c it makes me fat faster, I must walk my spazzy dogs 1 to 2 miles per day even if my tiredness is killing me, then the nurse says I need to watch the carbs and get some exercise like some walking. Do they listen? NOPE? They blank on maybe my thyroid isn't being treated properly, raising fasting BG? So with Peat's food ideas maybe the fasting BG will improve, but certainly I expect it to when I add in my grey-market NDT. OOPs, tangent. So another favorite part is the idea that I'm not such a dummy after all, a brilliant researcher has scientific proof that some of what I had a hunch about was right, and I might even be smarter than the danged doctor and nurse practitioner over there. Not comforting but yes, satisfying.

What is the worst part? Probably the nagging paranoia that what if Peat got it wrong and we don't know that we're killing ourselves like the establishment opinion would say. Worrying that my pancreas might just give up after suffering silently too long and I'll be stuck taking insulin and the dang NP will be able to say told-you-so. But that isn't Peating, it's my fears.

Maybe the worst part for me is that if I were to combine my preference for all organic, grass-fed, highest quality possible, with his large quantity of foods recommended, I really can't afford to feed myself completely Peat-ish, much less my daughter and the others who I buy food for too. Like I just can't afford enough red meat for real Peating, and his anti-chicken due to PUFA means the most affordable meat is one I now hesitate to buy. I walk a line, maybe, already was buying more pork meats b/c of the (real) Okinawan diet, and more eggs for the protein and that they're cheap. Maybe also, he's against grains, but I sure do love them. Pizza. Cinnamon rolls. Oatmeal. Toast. Hot fresh whole wheat rolls. -sigh- At least he says rice is okay.

What are your health issues? I am really pretty healthy, but the thyroid isn't making enough hormones. I guess it's really damaged and just can't. I am only on 25 mcg, you'd think it didn't matter if I take it or not, but if I don't it's pretty devastating. I become a potted plant pretty fast if I don't get my tiny dose. According to some old doctors like David Derry, I'm probably on 1/3 the dose I really need. It keeps me alive but I never feel good anymore.

I hate being dependent on pills. Last year I spent a couple of months trying to wean off my synthroid just 1/4 pill every other week, taking a lot of vitamins and supplements, eating a lot of protein, I had a whole routine designed to support the thyroid with tyrosine, selenium, kelp, sea salt, thyroid support combo, adrenal support combo, liver, fruit, seafood, cod liver oil, natto, kimchi, etc., a bunch of stuff, but one day a co-worker asked me point blank what was wrong with me. She said I seemed slowed down, in outer space, etc. She knew something wasn't right, I wasn't normal. I hadn't realized how bad I was getting until then. I was slurring my speech and lisping and not really realizing it, b/c my tongue was swollen and my brain was getting foggier than usual. So I titrated myself back up. I hadn't really felt worse yet but did get slower and dumber. Yuk.

I am pretty sure I also suffered an adrenal collapse situation, because I went through a time period that gave me panic attacks that were so bad they would wake me in the middle of the night. I was very brittle against any changes or surprises at all. I had a prolonged, horribly stressful situation in my life. It included the breakup of an abusive 15 year marriage, a crazy husband, death threats, stalking, finishing a college degree by the skin of my teeth, single parenting a child in junior high, a cruel intrusive school counselor that called CPS on me so often they sent her a cease-and-desist letter threatening her with a mandatory 6-month jail sentence if she called CPS again, moving twice, being misdiagnosed as depressed and given a serotonin syndrome collapse due to ssri's I had not needed, losing my job and any means of support, moving again, one sister going manic with bipolar disorder, another sister literally drunkenly insane, both of those sisters neglecting their children, one of my pets was murdered by one of the children in the family acting out, I mean there's actually more with the entire dysfunctional childhood family going insane for a while after Ike flooded us out... I actually held it together on the outside and even went to a shrink thinking I must be nuts, but she did a bunch of psych tests and came back with, "Your results are even healthier than mine, I am amazed, no you're not crazy, you're not even depressed at all, I have never seen a healthier psychological profile than yours." it did show that I have ADHD but that my learned coping skills overcame it as a handicap. She thought my adrenal function was compromised but wanted me to see an endocrinologist which I never got around to and didn't want to pay for. So all of that is why I'm pretty sure the adrenals were exhausted too. I couldn't get out of bed for several days at the lowest point, and was a zombie for another month. Without being depressed.

I'm a hardcore optimist, and that has kept me going. Maybe I'm really a fool, or maybe I'm a genius. But I never could give up completely. I never could believe there was no hope that things would get better eventually. I also knew how easy it would be to just lie down and stop breathing. When it feels like death is so close, so easy, you just have to focus on that bright, burning core of life at the center of everything. That pulls you through.

What other questions should we ask?.......

Maybe about experience with medicines or supplements? I haven't tried much. Some vitamins help a bit but not a lot. I've been on synthroid 25 mcg for a few years with no changes. It helps but apparently not enough. I want my fingertips back. Someone on here said you can feel actually GOOD again, darn it I want that too. I recently got some Thiroyd to try out based on Charlie's posts. I will keep a log of temps, etc. to try to quantify the effects for posterity.

Maybe some fun silly Q's about favorite foods, movies, books, music? I think that can add some dimension when you're getting to know someone on a forum. Not completely, but a little.

Or what do you care about most in your life? What would you do if you won the lottery? Are you a dog person or a cat person? Your real car and your fantasy car? Where would you go if you had to take a plane trip anywhere you want? What is your real job and your dream job? If you died today what would be your greatest regret/greatest source of pride?

Okay, if anyone read all this, you need a medal. Seriously.

But I bet you know a lot more about me now!!
 

Rolomoto

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
7
smuthie said:
The OJ-gelatin Pig Arthritis formula of Dr. Joel Wallach

How do you make that?

BTW, you mentioned oatmeal. I noticed improved joints after quitting oatmeal, strange but true.
 

AmandaWald

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2013
Messages
49
Hi there,

I'm new here, too, and have been doing what you have been doing, lurking around and reading stuff, changing my eating habits as subtly as I can - I have a family - two daughters and a husband - and I don't want to have to justify how I'm eating to them.

Your posts really resonate with me, so I wanted to pass on one tip that might help:

START READING UP ABOUT vitamin B12!

Low B12 - which is common in people with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - can cause numbness in the extremities, so I was wondering if your numb fingertips might be caused by low B12. I use Jarrow Formula B12, the 5mg one, but if you are low, you should maybe try a smaller dose and take some potassium at the same time.

If you treat low B12 fast enough, then you can reverse the problems it has caused, so I really would look into it.

All the best,

Amanda
 
OP
S

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
Rolomoto said:
smuthie said:
The OJ-gelatin Pig Arthritis formula of Dr. Joel Wallach

How do you make that?

BTW, you mentioned oatmeal. I noticed improved joints after quitting oatmeal, strange but true.

Pig arthritis cure:

8 oz calcium-enriched orange juice, 2 envelopes knox gelatin, 2 T. liquid colloidal minerals that must include magnesium, selenium, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and boron.

If you drink it too slow you have to eat it with a spoon. Do this morning and evening for 3 months plus. It doesn't work overnight but it does make a difference for a lot of people if they are consistent with it. After a few years when the liquid mineral became hard to find, we discovered that a couple of Centrum Silver works in its place.

My mother had arthritis from her early 20's and had to take about 8 aspirin a day for years. When I was around 25 I realized my achy joints and snap-crackle-popping in the morning as I got out of bed and moved around, was probably arthritis since everyone else older than me in my family had had it from early adulthood, especially grandparents, aunts, uncles. My doctor told me to take ibuprofen and get more exercise (I was always extremely active, so dumb advice) so when I heard the radio show one morning while driving, I was so excited, pulled over and scrabbled around for something to write his recipe on. That evening I called my mother to tell her about it. We found the minerals at a little health food store. Mom and I both started on the formula and would compare notes now and then. At first we didn't think it made any difference. But one day after a couple of months I got out of bed and walked around without sounding like rice krispies, and thought it might be the OJ-gelatin stuff working. I realized I hadn't really been as achy as I used to be. A couple of weeks later my mother mentioned that she hadn't been needing as much aspirin each day and had had some days where she didn't take any at all. We became convinced the pig arthritis formula was really curing the arthritis.

Fast forward 20 years or so. Neither of us have always been consistent but if a few months go by and the achy, popping joints start to come back, a few weeks on the juice helps it again. I have some aunts that it helped too. I have an older sister who it didn't do a thing for but she might not have been consistent and she refused to use a supplement with boron in it. So the boron is probably important like the doctor who invented it said.

Oatmeal-- I love it, but don't end up eating it often, maybe once a week at most. Maybe that helps the arthritis stay away too. I think of it a breakfast food but usually have a cup of milky tea and forget about food until later. I wait an hour after my a.m. medicine before I have anything besides water. I'm usually more nauseous than hungry in the mornings anyway. I realized that grains have diminished sort of accidentally as I've tried to get more fruit and meat. Milk is still my basic go-to. It's just so easy to make a cup of tea and call it a meal.

My joints are generally better than they were, but the muscles get sore and painful pretty often. Like the skin all down the dorsal side from scalp to soles of feet just hurt and spreads inward through the muscles. My front side muscles don't get as sore. My arms get tired. I'm hoping that the tenderness and easy bruising gets better with a more purposely Peat routine.
 
OP
S

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
AmandaWald said:
Hi there,

I'm new here, too, and have been doing what you have been doing, lurking around and reading stuff, changing my eating habits as subtly as I can - I have a family - two daughters and a husband - and I don't want to have to justify how I'm eating to them.

Your posts really resonate with me, so I wanted to pass on one tip that might help:

START READING UP ABOUT vitamin B12!

Low B12 - which is common in people with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - can cause numbness in the extremities, so I was wondering if your numb fingertips might be caused by low B12. I use Jarrow Formula B12, the 5mg one, but if you are low, you should maybe try a smaller dose and take some potassium at the same time.

If you treat low B12 fast enough, then you can reverse the problems it has caused, so I really would look into it.

All the best,

Amanda

Thank you, Amanda! I have a sublingual B12 but wasn't taking it a lot. I have been trying to remember to take it every day but forget.

I try to get a lot of B12 in my diet (animal products) and fruit (for K) but it probably isn't enough. I do wonder if that is why the numb fingertips? It's mostly the index tips, but the thumb and middle have less feeling too. The ring fingers have more and the pinkies the most. It's symmetrically bilateral, so I don't think it's a pinched nerve, but also wonder that.

I hear you about the subtle changes to keep family from being bothered by you eating differently. My family notices. They think I never eat or barely eat anything, but I really eat a lot of food, just different from them. I actually love to cook, and eat, but. I get tired of eating even sometimes when I'm hungry, and I'd rather have a nap than a meal. I can't afford too many calories since I get fatter, so I make sure most of my intake is maximum nutrition.

I hope you have success with your plan, too. Let me know what works for you and what differences you notice as time goes on. I'll check for updates in your greetings thread too.
Cheers!

Donna
 
OP
S

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
Mittir said:
Welcome to the forum

Your T4 supplement is keeping your TSH below 2.
This does not mean your active T3 hormone is adequate.
Females have harder time with converting T4 to T3 as their
livers are often burdened by excess estrogen.
Having a healthy liver is very important for both male and female.
Enough carbohydrate, selenium, B vitamins and thyroid keep liver healthy.
Using raw carrot salad or cooked bamboo shoots daily also lower
burden on liver. Getting more calcium than phosphorus helps with many
health issues.Pulse and temperature measured 1-2 hours after breakfast
gives a good idea about thyroid function.
Here are few useful links on dietary guideline
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=588&hilit=peat+approved+fruit
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=187&hilit=light+therapy

Increased sodium and calcium, Bag breathing( 2-3 times a day 2-3 minutes sessions, excess bag breathing can cause major problems), light therapy, increased carbohydrate ( especially in the form of glucose+fructose or lactose= glucose+ galactose) and thyroid immediately help with
increasing body temperature. 80 grams of good quality protein and
daily raw carrot salads are essential for a better thyroid function.

Hi, thank you for the thread links! They are helpful as I try to make the changes toward more of Peat's ideas. Some of it is still hard for me to fully embrace, whether too many years of establishment propaganda against sugar or my own overdoing it so much when I was younger, I'm not sure! If it is really okay to take in a lot of sugar, once I'm fully convinced I will really enjoy that. I used to say that sugar is one of the four food groups, that meat and dairy belong together so sugar gets its own group! but I was young and healthy then... I would occasionally grab a spoonful of sugar just for the burst of energy!

The red light info is really interesting. I wonder if regular incandescent is also good. Last year our furnace died so to keep warmer I was using an incandescent basking lamp for reptiles, over my desk area. I loved it, but then we needed it for a uromastyx rescue. I think I'll get another one and maybe get the super-watt bulb for this winter. (we can't afford to get a new furnace yet) I think it will be hard to tell what its exact effect is while titrating up on the thiroyd, if both are having beneficial effects on the overall health. But ultimately, I guess, I'd rather feel better than know exactly what percent better is from this or that. Even though I really like knowing that too.

Thanks for your welcome and input! It is very much appreciated!
 
OP
S

smuthie

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
12
I wrote about my self-treatment with Thiroyd in the supplements forum, viewtopic.php?f=3&t=442&p=33109#p33109 in case anyone wants to read it.

I went to the danged clinic a few days ago but the doctor wanted to wait another 3 months for the next blood test since I just had one a couple of months ago. I don't mind since I know it is going to be different then anyway. She did not listen about the OTC supplement I told her I'm taking, she sort of blew it off like it didn't register in her brain. Maybe she's just too busy being the only real doctor at a walk-in clinic.

But when they weighed me, I had lost a couple of pounds! I hope it's not a fluke. I'm not sure how much is the Thiroyd and how much is the eating changes. I stay fat on 1000 - 1200 cal/day usually. Most of my sugar lately is from fruit, though, and that is most of my carbs too. Most of my protein is from milk and eggs. I have been using whole milk instead of 2% for the last couple of weeks but surely that isn't it? With my new job I am on my feet a lot more, so it could be just burning more calories, but with the Thiroyd helping.

Whatever it is, I am happy about it. I want to fit into my old favorite jeans again. I wore the same size from high school up until just recently when the fat just glommed on in spite of everything I could do. I haven't worn them for a couple of years but by golly, I am going to get back to my "real" size again someday.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom