PCOS and No Amylose Diet

[Dutchie]

Hey everyone,

Never been officially diagnosed but from what it seems I have a strong impression that I'm (on&off) battling with PCOS.
While Googling about PCOS,I came across several sources that recommend and have success with eating a No Amylose Diet including weigthloss (which basically comes down to no potatos&other beneath the ground veggies,bananas,grains for carbs).
Dairy is a bit shady when it comes to PCOS,some say it's ok while others say it's a no-go.

Some of the science behind it is that Amylose-starch raises insulin too much,which leads to all kinds of problems including insulin resistance. This is kinda inline with RP views.
I know 'vegetables' are like a curseword to a lot of people here,but I've never found problems in eating leafy greens/non-starchy veggies so I'm wondering if this 'diet' will be the key to my last lingering problems...(still kinda unstructered bowelmovements,bloating/gas,waterretention mostly in belly&lower back)

Oddly they mention that Butternut and other squash/Pumpkin and even sticky rice/quinoa&blackbeans,should be ok even thougth they're starchy they contain virtually no Amylose,which is supposed to be the problem in most starchy foods.

Are there any women here who follow(ed) such a diet with succes (intuitively)?...or men,not for PCOS obviously,but had other successes?

 

[lindsay]

I think that this makes sense considering that starchy foods can be the most offensive to the digestive tract, which would in turn cause endotoxin issues, leading to higher estrogen levels and possibly even bacterial infection. Ray Peat talks about how doctors in the olden days used to think that infertility was caused by an infection in the ovaries and that giving a woman an antibiotic could make her fertile again (but more likely because it helps to clean the gut).

I know you are very against taking anything to help you with your symptoms, which is very good. However, I must say I've never found any sort of digestive relief without taking something. For women, I think it is particularly difficult because of estrogen. I know one female who suffered from PCOS symptoms and it turns out she had Celiac disease. So it could be that eliminating gluten entirely could be very beneficial (although I cannot imagine life without any gluten). Other things I would try along with eliminating starch and gluten would be doing something with food to clean out your gut. I would really concentrate on things that will have an antibiotic like effect and then repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria (or probiotic foods - even though I know that probiotics are derogatory term in the Peat-o-sphere - that doesn't mean they aren't at all beneficial). Maybe you could ask the big peatowski about her garlic experiment?? I'm planning to experiment with pickled garlic (which I will make myself) because it's suppose to have the same antibiotic like qualities, but it's much milder on taste (and therefore the stink of my breath after eating). Also, getting more magnesium in your diet should help with proper bowel movements (boiled dark leafy greens, espresso, etc.)

I will be the first to say that nothing helped me with my estrogen dominant symptoms more than thyroid and antibiotics - the antibiotics were stronger than the effects of progesterone, although I did have good effects from progesterone. But I could literally take a bit more thyroid and drop a good amount of water weight over night. You could also look into self experimentation of draining the lymph nodes yourself (or go to a reflexologist - something I'm curious of looking into). Any dietary experimentation, however, is worthwhile. Except the quinoa - please don't stoop to the level of quinoa. It's just flat out not tasty stuff.

 

[lindsay]

p.s. I haven't found dairy (at this point in the game) to be problematic. But I started taking vitamin K2, which did effect my ability to properly handle dairy. You could eat some liver weekly and this should help with dairy.

 

[Dutchie]

p.s. I haven't found dairy (at this point in the game) to be problematic. But I started taking vitamin K2, which did effect my ability to properly handle dairy. You could eat some liver weekly and this should help with dairy.

Thanx for the suggestions Lindsay.:)
I haven't eaten gluten in a long time anymore and the longer I'm without it,the less I miss it...so you migth be surprised if you can't imagine a life without gluten,once you give it up and keep it lke that for a while.:)
Other high starchy foods I haven't eaten in a while anymore either,though I'm guessing the overripe bananas migth need to go eventually.
Since I've been eating low/no starch/amylose instinctively,though it migth be a coincidence,and eating a lot of protein (which is still kind of a target I need to be aware of to hit daily)....last month after years my period returned. (I'm not gonna use an exclammation mark bc I don't feel excited about it,though the 2 ligth days in total are managable)

I've had Lamb Liver again after months,which I always love.....but this time the taste&texture really turned me off and made me feel a bit nauseous,I couldn't finish the piece I had. Simultaneously while part of me was saying:" get rid of it fast before things turn into a nigthmare!" another part of me felt like yelling in relief:" Finally!" It was defenitely a weird experience and the thougth of eating liver again,now really puts me off.

I'm still eating fatfree yoghurt daily...it seems to be the least harmful to me and the last remaining part of cowdairy that I eat. (I guess I'm gonna have to experiment and cut it out some time for a while.)
Goatcheese (&sheep) is ok with me. I'm guessing it's bc they consist of a different fatstructure but more importantly those animals generally aren't fed grains. I think that's the problem with cowdairy (and maybe even why beef seems iffy)....bc cows get fed grains&corn,even most organic beef.
So,it seems that the animal's diet is of the most importance and second comes possible antibiotic usage.
(I'm guessing thats also why there's this cross reaction between gluten and dairy...bc most cows ingest gluten in their diet.)

It's funny lately now that the days are getting colder,I catch myself thinking about drinking/eating warm broth. However I can't get any organic/grassfed bones anywhere.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I just want to chime in here because I recently had a small setback of sorts with my gut health. For anyone not familiar with my situation, a little background info: Had major gut issues for years which eventually culminated in a ruptured appendix along with a diagnosis of IBS and SIBO four years after the burst appendix. Also, while I have never been diagnosed with PCOS, I definitely have many of the symptoms.

Over the years I have tried every diet/food elimination combo known to mankind and nearly every supplement as well. I got some relief from removing starches, but never complete healing. I have lifetime history of major antibiotic use, probably more than most, which I think predisposed me to disordered gut flora. After adding carbs back in to my diet my digestion/gut issues took a turn for the worse and the only thing that helped me was an intense week of massive doses or raw garlic back in June. Things were fine for many many months, but a few weeks ago my symptoms began to return. What triggered this sudden turn of events? A change in seasons? Unfamiliar food? Who knows?

I tried to do the raw garlic again, but it's just too brutal. So I tried something different and it seems to be every bit as good as the raw garlic only not nearly as nasty. I now know for a fact that all of my health issues stem from gut irritation. If I can keep my gut happy everything else works perfectly. If my guts get irritated then things can get ugly real quick. Since antibiotics and raw garlic ALWAYS make be feel better I have deduced that some sort of imbalance in gut flora is the cause of my distress. To reiterate, for me, hormone imbalance and mood issues always stem from gut irritation.

So what did I do different? I took mega doses of olive leaf extract. Six years ago I had tried Barlean's liquid olive leaf. I went through several bottles and it did NOTHING for me so I decided it was worthless. This time I used a STANDARDIZED EXTRACT in capsule form and I used much larger doses. Results: it worked perfectly!!! Without the lingering stink and general unpleasantness of garlic. FAIR WARNING: the die-off reaction was very unpleasant and I was not prepared for it because my previous experience with olive leaf was uneventful. I had NO idea it would work so well. This is the one that I used so I can personally vouch that it works:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson- ... AjnO8P8HAQ


I started off with two caps (1500 mg.) in the a.m. and two more in the p.m. both on an empty stomach. The results were excellent, it stopped the diarrhea immediately, bloating and inflammation were completely gone within three days. Alongside these physical improvements came the mental/mood improvements that I experience with both the raw garlic and antibiotics. Brain fog and depression disappear. Energy returns to normal. Estrogen/serotonin/histamine symptoms abate and life is AWESOME again....in three days. AMAZING.

I started this a week ago and I plan to double my dose next week and stay on it for two months....the Herbal Antibiotic Experiment continues.

lindsay, perhaps we have similar issues with rogue gut flora causing hormone problems? If you decide to try this, please let me know if you experience the same relief!!!

 

[Jennifer]

So what did I do different? I took mega doses of olive leaf extract. Six years ago I had tried Barlean's liquid olive leaf. I went through several bottles and it did NOTHING for me so I decided it was worthless. This time I used a STANDARDIZED EXTRACT in capsule form and I used much larger doses. Results: it worked perfectly!!! Without the lingering stink and general unpleasantness of garlic. FAIR WARNING: the die-off reaction was very unpleasant and I was not prepared for it because my previous experience with olive leaf was uneventful. I had NO idea it would work so well. This is the one that I used so I can personally vouch that it works:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson- ... AjnO8P8HAQ


I started off with two caps (1500 mg.) in the a.m. and two more in the p.m. both on an empty stomach. The results were excellent, it stopped the diarrhea immediately, bloating and inflammation were completely gone within three days. Alongside these physical improvements came the mental/mood improvements that I experience with both the raw garlic and antibiotics. Brain fog and depression disappear. Energy returns to normal. Estrogen/serotonin/histamine symptoms abate and life is AWESOME again....in three days. AMAZING.

I started this a week ago and I plan to double my dose next week and stay on it for two months....the Herbal Antibiotic Experiment continues.

YAY! BP is back!

So standardized olive leaf worked well? My doctor had suggested olive leaf back when she thought I had a candida overgrowth. I'm waiting for my insurance to approve a comprehensive stool test, but I think I'll try the Swanson olive leaf extract right away. Your symptoms, along with Lindsay's and the relief you both got from antibiotics are identical to what I've experienced that I have no doubt I'm dealing with some kind of overgrowth.

Thanks for mentioning this, BP!

Hey, Dutchie, did you happen to come across Vitex locally?

 

[lindsay]

So what did I do different? I took mega doses of olive leaf extract. Six years ago I had tried Barlean's liquid olive leaf. I went through several bottles and it did NOTHING for me so I decided it was worthless. This time I used a STANDARDIZED EXTRACT in capsule form and I used much larger doses. Results: it worked perfectly!!! Without the lingering stink and general unpleasantness of garlic. FAIR WARNING: the die-off reaction was very unpleasant and I was not prepared for it because my previous experience with olive leaf was uneventful. I had NO idea it would work so well. This is the one that I used so I can personally vouch that it works:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson- ... AjnO8P8HAQ


I started off with two caps (1500 mg.) in the a.m. and two more in the p.m. both on an empty stomach. The results were excellent, it stopped the diarrhea immediately, bloating and inflammation were completely gone within three days. Alongside these physical improvements came the mental/mood improvements that I experience with both the raw garlic and antibiotics. Brain fog and depression disappear. Energy returns to normal. Estrogen/serotonin/histamine symptoms abate and life is AWESOME again....in three days. AMAZING.

I started this a week ago and I plan to double my dose next week and stay on it for two months....the Herbal Antibiotic Experiment continues.

lindsay, perhaps we have similar issues with rogue gut flora causing hormone problems? If you decide to try this, please let me know if you experience the same relief!!!

Thank you so much BigPeatowski!! (best name, by the way)
I'm going to try this. I've recently had better gut health by upping my thyroid dose, but I don't want to get stuck in that limbo every year..... I'm also going to experiment with sauerkraut and eating a lot of the foods I ate when living in Russia (I had pretty good digestion that year). Considering I always fluctuate between constipation and diarrhea, I'm willing to try anything that could help!! Although in my case, I'm pretty sure it was the Zelnorm usage in college that thoroughly messed up my system - I probably could have just stopped eating crappy college food and gluten and been fine. I've only taken antibiotics once or twice in the past ten years or more and they made me feel great this last time (although, that was after the horrible appendicitis).

I'm also going to try making my own pickled garlic - I will let you know how that goes. I've had it before and it doesn't have any of the stink that raw garlic has, but it is supposedly beneficial like raw garlic.

But I will report back about the olive leaf - I've wanted to try this in the past but it always seemed so pricey!! On a side note, would eating more olive oil help?? In the past, I always felt better getting more olive oil in my diet. but the good stuff.

 

[Jennifer]

Lindsay, are you still avoiding starch? Just wondering if you've been able to add it back into your diet.

Also, how much did you up your thyroid dose? I've kept my dose the same as the summer and am wondering if I should try upping the dose for the winter.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Thank you so much BigPeatowski!! (best name, by the way)
I'm going to try this. I've recently had better gut health by upping my thyroid dose, but I don't want to get stuck in that limbo every year..... I'm also going to experiment with sauerkraut and eating a lot of the foods I ate when living in Russia (I had pretty good digestion that year). Considering I always fluctuate between constipation and diarrhea, I'm willing to try anything that could help!! Although in my case, I'm pretty sure it was the Zelnorm usage in college that thoroughly messed up my system - I probably could have just stopped eating crappy college food and gluten and been fine. I've only taken antibiotics once or twice in the past ten years or more and they made me feel great this last time (although, that was after the horrible appendicitis).

I'm also going to try making my own pickled garlic - I will let you know how that goes. I've had it before and it doesn't have any of the stink that raw garlic has, but it is supposedly beneficial like raw garlic.

But I will report back about the olive leaf - I've wanted to try this in the past but it always seemed so pricey!! On a side note, would eating more olive oil help?? In the past, I always felt better getting more olive oil in my diet. but the good stuff.

You're quite welcome! Today is the first day of my doubled up dose. I am a little bit more tired than usual, but my other die off symptoms (skin broke out with horrific acne) are MUCH better. The Swanson brand that I linked to smells very fresh and seems quite potent. I'm actually sort of amazed at the quality difference.

Btw, I have had to up my dose of thyroid meds as well, which kinda bums me out, but at least I know I won't go in to a tail spin like the previous two winters! I feel waaay more resilient.

Can't wait to here back on your pickled garlic and or olive leaf extract experiments!!!

 

[lindsay]

Lindsay, are you still avoiding starch? Just wondering if you've been able to add it back into your diet.

Also, how much did you up your thyroid dose? I've kept my dose the same as the summer and am wondering if I should try upping the dose for the winter.

Kind of - I had starch overload on Thanksgiving (cake, potatoes, homemade bread, lindzer torte, etc.) I took a lot of Vitamin E, some charcoal and some cascara that day (the stuff in capsules) because I knew I would be eating too much.

Now I am back to my normal diet and I do have a little bit of starch, but I've mainly isolated it to my homemade sourdough bread. I can control the ingredients and I let it ferment for a day, so it doesn't give me trouble. I really like sourdough, so I let myself have one piece (or two small pieces) per day when I make it.

Honestly though, it seems thyroid really does help with the digestion - at least now that my appendix is gone. I feel I was doomed to get appendicitis at some point, but I don't think it helped that I had stopped the Cynoplus and tried that stupid Thiroyd supplement (I felt horrible on the stuff). I upped my Cynoplus dose by 50% last week (so I'm now taking 3/4 of a Cynoplus tablet instead of 1/2) and digestion improved dramatically. I feel like I lost 5 lbs. in water weight around my abdomen and have very little abdominal bloating.

I kind of feel at a loss though because I take so many supplements, I'm not sure what is helping, but I did notice immediate improvement when I started taking more thyroid. I've also been drinking more strong coffee (which has a lot of magnesium), so that could have helped. I was determined to not up my thyroid dose, but if the shoe fits - I'm just tired of feeling crappy and will do whatever I can to keep myself going the best I can!!

Jennifer - I didn't realize you had also started taking thyroid..... how is it going for you??

 

[lindsay]

You're quite welcome! Today is the first day of my doubled up dose. I am a little bit more tired than usual, but my other die off symptoms (skin broke out with horrific acne) are MUCH better. The Swanson brand that I linked to smells very fresh and seems quite potent. I'm actually sort of amazed at the quality difference.

Btw, I have had to up my dose of thyroid meds as well, which kinda bums me out, but at least I know I won't go in to a tail spin like the previous two winters! I feel waaay more resilient.

Can't wait to here back on your pickled garlic and or olive leaf extract experiments!!!

I'm not sure BP, but the olive leaf has a pro-thyroid effect (if I remember correctly). I wonder if this is one of the mechanisms by which it works?? Here is the link on peatarian where this discussion took place:

http://peatarian.com/39656/olive-extrac ... 656#q39656

I was actually thinking it might help replace thyroid, but Cynoplus is so darn cheap.... I finally broke down and took more Cynoplus while traveling (I didn't want to get sick or stressed from air travel) and I decided to just stick with it through winter - I'm still happy that it is less than I was taking last winter. Now I'm taking 1 1/2 grains and last winter I was taking 2 grains. But I also am taking more Vitamin E, which I think has a thyroid boosting effect. If only I could find a way to lower my progesterone intake - that stuff is making me broke and we have to change our health insurance (again). It's going to cost us $250 more per month now that all women are required to have maternity coverage.... Anyhow, I can't think about it - it makes me angry. But, I really have to figure out which supplements work the best for the money..... I spend a small fortune every month just buying vitamins!! Maybe I should learn to like liver.....

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Interesting thread lindsay...I am loving the olive leaf extract and it seems it will be a great supp to carry me through winter. It does cause my blood sugar to drop tho, so I take it with food now (originally I had started taking it on an empty stomach, NO BUENO, especially at this higher dose). Seems to me I read somewhere that the extract is good for PCOS too.

Currently I'm taking one whole Cynoplus, which is two grains, correct? And I'm adding extra T3 (Cynomel) when I need it. I definitely need to get some Vit. E, the only E I get is from Progest-E. I spend too much on supps also, but these are ones that I cannot seem to function well without them.

Don't even get me started on health insurance

 

[lindsay]

Interesting thread lindsay...I am loving the olive leaf extract and it seems it will be a great supp to carry me through winter. It does cause my blood sugar to drop tho, so I take it with food now (originally I had started taking it on an empty stomach, NO BUENO, especially at this higher dose). Seems to me I read somewhere that the extract is good for PCOS too.

Currently I'm taking one whole Cynoplus, which is two grains, correct? And I'm adding extra T3 (Cynomel) when I need it. I definitely need to get some Vit. E, the only E I get is from Progest-E. I spend too much on supps also, but these are ones that I cannot seem to function well without them.

Don't even get me started on health insurance

Good to note about the blood sugar when taking it!! I will keep that in mind :) What are PCOS symptoms?? I only have one ovary now, but I keep wondering if maybe I fall into that category..... then again, I'm supposedly post-menopausal, so maybe that's my issue - don't know.

Yes - one whole Cynoplus is 2 grains. I thought it was one grain and when I first started taking the stuff, I took a whole pill. Felt euphoric for awhile and then it leveled off. So 2 grains is the max I ever plan to take, but I'm doing okay with 1 1/2 now, so long as I take vitamin E and drink extra coffee. I'm also experimenting with a tiny bit of T3 added in when I feel sluggish. As for vitamin E, I just bought the cheap Swanson mixed tocopherol stuff. It helps, but I need like 3 or 4 capsules per day to notice the difference. I mainly take it if I consume any PUFA (like on Thanksgiving!!)

Vitamin K2 has also proved priceless - my teeth feel so good and I guess K has some other effects similar to E. But yeah - I hear you about needing the supplements. If I could go without I would, but things aren't going well enough yet for me to do so. And I will likely need progest e forever (because of my one ovary). I would just like to try to reduce my dose. I asked my gynecologist for a prometrium prescription and he refused to give one to me without estrogen therapy too. I'm so annoyed - I hear you with the angry face regarding health insurance. I'm self employed and infertile, so I don't see why I should have to pay outrageous maternity care costs when my doctor won't fricken' give me the things I need

 

[charlie]

Interesting thread lindsay...I am loving the olive leaf extract and it seems it will be a great supp to carry me through winter. It does cause my blood sugar to drop tho, so I take it with food now (originally I had started taking it on an empty stomach, NO BUENO, especially at this higher dose). Seems to me I read somewhere that the extract is good for PCOS too.

Currently I'm taking one whole Cynoplus, which is two grains, correct? And I'm adding extra T3 (Cynomel) when I need it. I definitely need to get some Vit. E, the only E I get is from Progest-E. I spend too much on supps also, but these are ones that I cannot seem to function well without them.

Don't even get me started on health insurance

I have been really bloated the last few days and am thinking of giving the olive leaf extract a shot. The bloating was brought on by potatoes. I am just gonna have to hunker down and stay off the starches.

 

[charlie]

I'm not sure BP, but the olive leaf has a pro-thyroid effect (if I remember correctly). I wonder if this is one of the mechanisms by which it works?? Here is the link on peatarian where this discussion took place:

http://peatarian.com/39656/olive-extrac ... 656#q39656

Very interesting, thanks Lindsay!

 

[Jennifer]

Good to note about the blood sugar when taking it!! I will keep that in mind :) What are PCOS symptoms?? I only have one ovary now, but I keep wondering if maybe I fall into that category..... then again, I'm supposedly post-menopausal, so maybe that's my issue - don't know.

Yes - one whole Cynoplus is 2 grains. I thought it was one grain and when I first started taking the stuff, I took a whole pill. Felt euphoric for awhile and then it leveled off. So 2 grains is the max I ever plan to take, but I'm doing okay with 1 1/2 now, so long as I take vitamin E and drink extra coffee. I'm also experimenting with a tiny bit of T3 added in when I feel sluggish. As for vitamin E, I just bought the cheap Swanson mixed tocopherol stuff. It helps, but I need like 3 or 4 capsules per day to notice the difference. I mainly take it if I consume any PUFA (like on Thanksgiving!!)

Vitamin K2 has also proved priceless - my teeth feel so good and I guess K has some other effects similar to E. But yeah - I hear you about needing the supplements. If I could go without I would, but things aren't going well enough yet for me to do so. And I will likely need progest e forever (because of my one ovary). I would just like to try to reduce my dose. I asked my gynecologist for a prometrium prescription and he refused to give one to me without estrogen therapy too. I'm so annoyed - I hear you with the angry face regarding health insurance. I'm self employed and infertile, so I don't see why I should have to pay outrageous maternity care costs when my doctor won't fricken' give me the things I need

I think PCOS includes elevated androgens.

I got rid of my "PCOS" diagnoses just by high dosing with progest-e for six weeks.

I'm sorry to hear your doctor won't give you a prescription for Prometrium without estrogen replacement also. When you get hormone blood tests, are your estrogen levels elevated? It would be highly irresponsible for a doctor to prescribe estrogen when your levels are already high, though I wouldn't be surprised for some doctors to do this, sadly enough.

The only other thing I can think of is you could have your doctor give you the prescription for both the Prometrium and estrogen, but only get the Prometrium script filled. This is how I dropped the estrogen and birth control Dr. Shanahan put me on that made me suicidal. I just didn't tell her I stopped filling my prescription.

I kind of feel at a loss though because I take so many supplements, I'm not sure what is helping, but I did notice immediate improvement when I started taking more thyroid. I've also been drinking more strong coffee (which has a lot of magnesium), so that could have helped. I was determined to not up my thyroid dose, but if the shoe fits - I'm just tired of feeling crappy and will do whatever I can to keep myself going the best I can!!

Jennifer - I didn't realize you had also started taking thyroid..... how is it going for you??

I think I've read on here where coffee can substitute for thyroid hormone so maybe, like you mentioned, the coffee is helping.

I've been taking two grains of NDT for over a year now and have noticed nothing from taking it. The only other person I've come across who says thyroid does nothing for them is jyb. I just take it because I figured if my issue has something to do with an overgrowth or virus, that the NDT is only helping to battle it, if anything. I honestly don't see me improving till I get whatever it is that is causing this rash, fatigue, dizziness, intestinal burning and brain fog under control. I'm getting a crazy amount of tests done so hopefully my doctor and I will figure out what is causing this. I won't even get into the crapshoot of a healthdon'tcare system we have and the insurance companies that only reinforce it. Grr!

 

[Jennifer]

Interesting thread lindsay...I am loving the olive leaf extract and it seems it will be a great supp to carry me through winter. It does cause my blood sugar to drop tho, so I take it with food now (originally I had started taking it on an empty stomach, NO BUENO, especially at this higher dose). Seems to me I read somewhere that the extract is good for PCOS too.

Currently I'm taking one whole Cynoplus, which is two grains, correct? And I'm adding extra T3 (Cynomel) when I need it. I definitely need to get some Vit. E, the only E I get is from Progest-E. I spend too much on supps also, but these are ones that I cannot seem to function well without them.

Don't even get me started on health insurance

I have been really bloated the last few days and am thinking of giving the olive leaf extract a shot. The bloating was brought on by potatoes. I am just gonna have to hunker down and stay off the starches.

Ooh...yeah, those potatoes are hard to avoid. I still keep thinking about those darn Japanese sweet potatoes. Sadly, I finally came across them at Whole Foods. It was so much easier to forget about them when I knew they were unavailable.

 

[charlie]

Yeh I always get drawn back to potatoes but end up regretting it. Uggggh.

 

[lindsay]

I think PCOS includes elevated androgens.

I got rid of my "PCOS" diagnoses just by high dosing with progest-e for six weeks.

I'm sorry to hear your doctor won't give you a prescription for Prometrium without estrogen replacement also. When you get hormone blood tests, are your estrogen levels elevated? It would be highly irresponsible for a doctor to prescribe estrogen when your levels are already high, though I wouldn't be surprised for some doctors to do this, sadly enough.

The only other thing I can think of is you could have your doctor give you the prescription for both the Prometrium and estrogen, but only get the Prometrium script filled. This is how I dropped the estrogen and birth control Dr. Shanahan put me on that made me suicidal. I just didn't tell her I stopped filling my prescription.

I haven't had a blood test done in awhile - I have an order for one, but I am planning to switch to a new gyno and am currently up to my neck in hospital bills from my appendicitis, so I really don't want to pay for bloodwork (I also need to get the blood work results from the hospital - don't know what they measured). But I had some tests last year after maxing the insurance deductible - both estrogen and progesterone were super low (because of the early menopause). I can feel the estrogen in my tissues though - I had a lot of fat gain last year and the antibiotics kind of melted it off. I also have fibrocystic breasts and when I feel my estrogen is higher, breast tenderness increases. But honestly, I have no idea where I am at. I was planning to have more blood work before getting whammed with the appendicitis bills. I could have bought two brand new cameras for my work with what I spent on getting my appendix removed. Sheesh.

I thought about taking both prescriptions and not filling the estrogen, but then I would feel bad about more lying to my doctor about what I am and am not taking.

I think I've read on here where coffee can substitute for thyroid hormone so maybe, like you mentioned, the coffee is helping.

I definitely crave the stuff more in winter!!!

I've been taking two grains of NDT for over a year now and have noticed nothing from taking it. The only other person I've come across who says thyroid does nothing for them is jyb. I just take it because I figured if my issue has something to do with an overgrowth or virus, that the NDT is only helping to battle it, if anything. I honestly don't see me improving till I get whatever it is that is causing this rash, fatigue, dizziness, intestinal burning and brain fog under control. I'm getting a crazy amount of tests done so hopefully my doctor and I will figure out what is causing this. I won't even get into the crapshoot of a healthdon'tcare system we have and the insurance companies that only reinforce it. Grr!

My personal experience with NDT (Thiroyd brand) was that it did nothing for me. I felt terrible - like I might as well have not been taking anything. I felt a slight change at 4 grains of Thiroyd, but I thought that dose was ridiculous. So I went back to Cynoplus - a much better product, IMO.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I have been really bloated the last few days and am thinking of giving the olive leaf extract a shot. The bloating was brought on by potatoes. I am just gonna have to hunker down and stay off the starches.

Me too Charlie! I ate some well boiled tiny red new potatoes with lots of grass fed butter and salt and the results were NOT pleasant (lots of bloating, smelly gas and depression). So sad...I love salty buttery potatoes almost as much as dairy

I won't be trying starches again for a few months.