New here...would really appreciate some help

[Alicem]

Hi there,

I've been lurking on this forum for a while and have finally got round to posting.

I've been peating for about 2 months now although I have had some of peat's recommendations in place for the last 3 years - mainly no pufas and lots of gelatin/lower muscle meat. I have had undiagnosed thyroid problems for many years, about 4 years ago I could barely function and ended up emptying my savings to pay for a private doctor and blood tests. This showed up an RT3 problem which I treated with cytomel (although I can''t say I felt amazing on it, better but still low energy). When I became pregnant I gradually weaned off cytomel and actually felt a lot better while I was pregnant - maybe just as I had more hormones. I thought I was much better and that my hypo symptoms were a thing of the past, however they have gradually sneaked back up on me and with the return of my menstrual cycle I feel terrible again - I also believe I have estrogen dominance - the 2 weeks from ovulation to menstruation are terrible - I'm irritable, anxious, bloated, with very sore breasts (I used progesterone cream the last 2 months but it didn't help at all, maybe made it worse, I've ordered some progest e). My temps average throughout the day at 34.3 - 34.9 c (93.7 - 95 f), I actually didn't believe my thermometer but I tested it on a friend and her reading was a healthy 36.9 c.

I started NDT 6 weeks ago, beginning at 1 grain and increasing half a grain every 2 weeks, I'm due to increase again in 2 days which would make 2 grains. My reason for posting is that I'm not really seeing any improvement and I wondered weather it should take so long - my temps are the same, for the first 2 weeks I felt the brain fog had lifted and I was a little less fatigued but now I feel as bad as when I began. (I'm also taking vitamin e, aspirin, coconut oil and following ray peats eating suggestions as best I can).

I suppose my question is is it normal for it to take a few months to see an improvement. I'm worried the dreaded rt3 is back and that maybe instead of raising my ndt I should add in some cytomel (I still have some from last time) I wish I could afford to get tested again but unfortunately I can't. Just wondered if anyone had had a similar experience. I'm a single mother with a very energetic toddler, I really can't manage with this fatigue much longer!

 

[jaguar43]

Hi there,

I've been lurking on this forum for a while and have finally got round to posting.

I've been peating for about 2 months now although I have had some of peat's recommendations in place for the last 3 years - mainly no pufas and lots of gelatin/lower muscle meat. I have had undiagnosed thyroid problems for many years, about 4 years ago I could barely function and ended up emptying my savings to pay for a private doctor and blood tests. This showed up an RT3 problem which I treated with cytomel (although I can''t say I felt amazing on it, better but still low energy). When I became pregnant I gradually weaned off cytomel and actually felt a lot better while I was pregnant - maybe just as I had more hormones. I thought I was much better and that my hypo symptoms were a thing of the past, however they have gradually sneaked back up on me and with the return of my menstrual cycle I feel terrible again - I also believe I have estrogen dominance - the 2 weeks from ovulation to menstruation are terrible - I'm irritable, anxious, bloated, with very sore breasts (I used progesterone cream the last 2 months but it didn't help at all, maybe made it worse, I've ordered some progest e). My temps average throughout the day at 34.3 - 34.9 c (93.7 - 95 f), I actually didn't believe my thermometer but I tested it on a friend and her reading was a healthy 36.9 c.

I started NDT 6 weeks ago, beginning at 1 grain and increasing half a grain every 2 weeks, I'm due to increase again in 2 days which would make 2 grains. My reason for posting is that I'm not really seeing any improvement and I wondered weather it should take so long - my temps are the same, for the first 2 weeks I felt the brain fog had lifted and I was a little less fatigued but now I feel as bad as when I began. (I'm also taking vitamin e, aspirin, coconut oil and following ray peats eating suggestions as best I can).

I suppose my question is is it normal for it to take a few months to see an improvement. I'm worried the dreaded rt3 is back and that maybe instead of raising my ndt I should add in some cytomel (I still have some from last time) I wish I could afford to get tested again but unfortunately I can't. Just wondered if anyone had had a similar experience. I'm a single mother with a very energetic toddler, I really can't manage with this fatigue much longer!

hey and welcome


Why did you get off cynomel ?

In my opinion I would recommend going back to cynomel and add cynoplus. Progest-e should help...

 

[charlie]

Alicem,

I started NDT 6 weeks ago, beginning at 1 grain and increasing half a grain every 2 weeks, I'm due to increase again in 2 days which would make 2 grains. My reason for posting is that I'm not really seeing any improvement and I wondered weather it should take so long - my temps are the same, for the first 2 weeks I felt the brain fog had lifted and I was a little less fatigued but now I feel as bad as when I began. (I'm also taking vitamin e, aspirin, coconut oil and following ray peats eating suggestions as best I can).

Vitamin E from 2 different brands caused me to feel really bad. Funny thing though, the vitamin E in Progest-E does not seem to bother me.

Here is a cool little write up about supplementing thyroid:
http://www.thyrophoenix.com/adjusting_doses.htm

Keep at it, you will get it figured out.

edit to add: Oh and cutting out starches definitely helped me with energy gains.

 

[Mittir]

I have heard Ray Peat saying that for female it takes about 6 weeks to see stable result
once they make their diet . For male the change is immediate. But he did not say
that about thyroid supplement. He does not recommend Armour anymore. Because
their quality has deteriorated since they changed their formula. He does not have good
impression about the quality of other NDT products. He uses cynoplus and cynomel
and he recommends the same for others. It is possible that the product you are using is of
poor quality. T3 works immediately, everyone should feel better after using a small
dose of T3. He recommends introducing very low dose and slowly increase it.
Diet plays a big role in conversion of T4 to T3. Low blood sugar, low protein and lack of selenium
are major reason for high rT3. If you post a detail description of your diet it will be easier for
others to see where the possible source of problem is. Here is list of RP suggestions on
thyroid dosing.
http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2011/12/ ... tandi.html

 

[Alicem]

Thank you for your replies.

Jag 2594, I got of cynomel as I was self medicating by then and pregnant (couldn't afford a private doc anymore) I started to freak myself out that I was harming my baby by taking it and also was worried that if I had a long labour it was unlikely that I would be nibbling a tablet every couple of hrs! I felt absolutely fine coming off it. I'm going to start back on it, you think cynoplus rather than net?

Charlie, thank you for the website, it is very helpful.

Mittir, I am taking Thyroid-S. With regards my diet, my protein comes from eggs, cheese, prawns and beef or lamb twice a week. If I eat meat I generally stew it and if it's not a gelatinous cut or on the bone I add plenty of gelatin to it. I've been eating a daily carrot salad for 4 months. The thought of drinking a glass of milk repulses me but I can drink milky coffee and have been getting 1-2 cups that way. I also take eggshell calcium. I'm not a big fan of liver but like pate so have been making pate every couple of weeks. The past few days I've been making a bottle of orange juice with salt and gelatin added and sipping it throughout the day. Sugar comes mainly from fruit, juice and sometimes honey. I do eat some starch in the evening - mainly potatoes or sometimes white rice. I eat some very dark chocolate most days. Breakfast is a problem as I can't normally face food in the morning but I can normally manage a bit of fruit, sometimes with some strained yoghurt for protein (I know Ray Peat doesn't really recommend it but I figure a small spoonful is probably better than not eating breakfast). This isn't dissimilar from my normal diet, but I never used to drink juice or eat concentrated sugar sources like honey, drank less milk too.

The past 2 days I have cut the ndt to half a grain and made up the rest of my dose in the form of T3, Ifeel a huge improvement already and have even seen a small rise in temps. Still a long way to go though. Last time I did an RT3 protocol it involved adding 6.25mg of T3 every 3-5 days. I get the impression Ray Peat would recommend going slower than that. I'm thinking of adding a selenium supplement in.

Thank you again for your replies,

Alice

 

[j.]

I also take eggshell calcium.

That's probably good. Just be careful to not get calcium alkali syndrome.

Life-threatening milk-alkali syndrome resulting from antacid ingestion during pregnancy

A 35-year-old pregnant woman (gravida 4, para 3) presented in February 2004 at 35 weeks’ gestation with a 1-day history of vomiting, abdominal pain and drowsiness. She had no significant past medical history, was not taking any prescription medication, and had had an uncomplicated pregnancy up to that time. Her level of consciousness subsequently deteriorated, and she became responsive only to painful stimuli. She had a blood pressure of 190/110 mmHg, abdominal tenderness and generalised oedema.

[...]

When her delirium had resolved, she reported a 1-month history of severe heartburn, for which she had self-medicated with antacids, taking up to 10 Rennie tablets a day (an over-the-counter [OTC] preparation containing calcium carbonate 680 mg and magnesium carbonate 80 mg per tablet) (10 tablets contain about 3 g elemental calcium). She had also been drinking up to three glasses of milk a day. In light of this history, milk-alkali syndrome was diagnosed, and the pancreatitis was attributed to hypercalcaemia.

 

[Alicem]

Blimey! I'm not pregnant now but worth remembering if I ever am again!

 

[j.]

Blimey! I'm not pregnant now but worth remembering if I ever am again!

Calcium alkali syndrome happens to non-pregnant people as well when they consume too much calcium carbonate (eggshell powder) or baking soda. But it appears to happen to a small percentage of people who consume these things.

 

[Mittir]

. Last time I did an RT3 protocol it involved adding 6.25mg of T3 every 3-5 days.

I am not sure what you meant by this.
That link i posted has very good guideline for thyroid supplementation.
Greek/strained yogurt is fine, since lactic acid
is removed by straining. It is the lactic acid in yogurt that RP recommends to avoid.
If you do not feel comfortable with milk, cheese and strained yogurt can easily replace
it. Old cheese are high in histamine but low in lactose. Cottage cheese is fine.
You did not mentioned the amount of protein you are getting. 80 grams of protein
is really an important part of his recommendation. He recommends getting most of the
protein during day time and mostly fat and sugar for dinner and bedtime.
RP recommends 1200 to 2000 mg of calcium with phosphorus less than calcium.
Official guideline for calcium is 1200 for adult and upper limit is 2500-3000
for adult. It looks safer to keep your calcium level less than 2000-2500.
Vitamin D , Vitamin K, Niacinamide, Vitamin A ,salt and sucrose all help with
efficient use of calcium. Before bed sugar is a better choice than starch,
as sugar repletes liver glycogen, needed for 8-10 hours of starvation,
way better than glucose/starch. I have noticed a huge difference when i
stopped rice for dinner. If i choose to eat starch i do it before sunset.