Attacking hypothyroidism and age related IF!

Well things did not turn out as I expected in today´s meeting with my functional medicine nutritionist and all signals that I will need to take a very aggresive approach to helping my body heal.

My thyroid, which is crucial to almost every process in the body, is not doing its job at all. And this on T3 medication twice a day specially compounded for me and hydrocortisone also which should help as thyroid and adrenals are related, plus many lifestyle changes in the last months.

I was about to go into a corner and cry upon hearing my results, but I will not let my !"#$ thyroid slack off!!! I want my life back.

We will adopt a newborn soon and he/she deserves the best mother possible, not one that does not have any energy, that is fat and that basically is unhealthy.

He/ she is the best motivation I could possibly have and I won´t lie: The possibility that with all of this my body will be healed also of my IF is also part of my motivation.

Today it hit me in the face how off my body is.

The nutritionist and I a lenghty talk and she gave me tons of options for my IF, excess body fat, inflammation and tiredness. I will put them here in detail in case it helps anybody and answer the questions sent to me

In the last 3 weeks I have been excercising much more than normal (from nothing to Curves 3/4 X per week done really, really well), really focusing on sound nutrition(this for over a month and a half), walking much more, etc and taking my recommended supplements and medicines by Napro and some by the nutritionist, plus acupuncture (only three sessions so far, but the change was very dramatic. My ovulation was 4 days earlier than normal with great mucus. Dr. H had always wanted to see it earlier than day 20 and so acupuncture did it).

This was my 3 week appointment where the nutriritionist expected at the very least 4 or 5 pounds of fat loss and 2 to 3 pounds of muscle gain. This would have been the normal with all that I had been doing and my thyroid medications.

Well the only good news I gained some muscle in my arms (500 grms, like 1 pound)

the bad: none in my legs where I had been focusing the most and where I am the weakest and have a very low muscle ratio

and

I lost......Zero! Nada ! Nothing ! of fat.

Which is crucial to me since fat is not good with bad hormones and puts you in danger of all kinds of things.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The results remind me so much of my struggle and many other persons struggle with IF. You do your best, do all your are told and nothing.

This is not how things are supposed to be. Effort should bring results, right?

All has to do with to my thyroid. Its slacking off and these results show how much which is also confirmed by blood analysis.

PPVI answered a couple of days ago after I sent them my latest T4 and TSH results that I need to start T4 (Synt.hroid) due to my very low levels of both even on medication. This explains my fatigue, inflammation, slow metabolism and perhaps even my IF.

I do not know the reason why I have such issues with my Thyroid. I do not have thyroid anti-bodies, nobody in my family has ever had issues with it and I really have tried to eliminate all the hypothyroid culprits from my life.

I was on T4 before and did not notice a thing and was taken off it, but now they have asked me to almost triple my dose to 0.05 miligrams. This in addition to T3 twice a day and the many lifestyle changes that I have made to try to help my poor thyroid out.

I feel like my body at 40 is not responding to something as basic as excercise and good food PLUS medicine (I cannot imagine what menopause will be like!)So let´s get to the game plan and I will report how it all goes in a few weeks. I will be the experiment

THYROID

the focus is to nourish it so I do not depend my whole life on medicines, diminish the inflammation that it causes , the slow metabolism and the bad digestion. All are related to it .

The digestive system is where most of our defense system is so having bad digestion makes you vulnerable to all kinds of things. For example for years anytime I started to excercise I got a cold in the same week. It was a nightmare and both related to thyroid and adrenal fatigue.

I was asked in my previous post what adrenal fatigue is: Its when the adrenal glands located above the kidneys from excess stress or a thyroid condition in some cases produce very low levels of cortisol. Low cortisol makes you prone to tons of things: infections, extreme tiredness (its almost impossible to wake up) brain fog, the need for caffeine and sugar to function, and many other things. Its key for napro to have normal levels of cortisol. For treatment they give you hydrocortisone in levels of about 20 mgs. It is amazing!!!

The supplements are:

Selenium: 100 micrograms since this is crucial for nourishing the thyroid. Makes it more efficient.
Vitamin C: from food, since Mexicans eat everything with lemon and chile she thinks I am covered and also my multi I have enough. Also nourishes it.
L-Carnintine: 1 gram 30 minutes before excercise to help with fat loss.
Seaweed: Yep... its great for the thyroid since it contains natural iodine which is crucial to the thyroid. I need to make a seaweed soup at night.
Q10: for energy and also helps with inflammation. 400 mgs with oil (salad dressing made from olive oil for example, since it helps with absorption)

To fight inflammation and all the digestive issues a bad thyroid brings:
Diet, diet, diet.... focusing on the healthiest food I can find. Lots of veggies, fruits, salmon, no wheat, no milk, limited meat, organic eggs, green tea, the basic antiflammatory diet.

Olive oil with lemon juice and hot water in the morning upon rising. It cleanses the digestive system. I can also alternate with flaxseed oil. Both also have good fats which are naturally antinflammatory.
Chia seeds: An aztec miracle. these tiny seeds from Mexico are the perfect source of omegas.. They are one of the most powerful Omegas in nature. Better than flaxseeds
Flaseeds: two tea spoons at night to ensure a great digestion.
Omega 3: pharmacy grade 3 capsules a day. I take it also for endo.

To support all of this I need to take 2 scoops a day of Ultra.clear sus.tain by meta.genics which is for the management of leaky gut syndrome. Basically its my multivitamin and has many things for inflammation and to help digestion (prebiotics, rice flour, l-glutamine). Only take 2 scoops a day rather than the normal 4 since it has Vitamin A and this is not good in high dosages for a possible baby.
Digestive enzymes at every meal.

Lifestyle:
No flouride in toothpaste, nor in any drinking water. Flouride kills the thyroid and scientists think its one of the main causes of the hypothiroid epidemic among women in the Western world.
Eliminate chloride from my home and drinking water. Also not good for the thyroid.
For JB: I was asked to purchase a reverse osmosis filter for our home drinking water. Water from drinking bottles is also a no no due to the plastic and that you have no way to know what is in there. The filter eliminates both chlorine and fluoride..
There are also filters for the shower since the chlorine gets absorbed by the skin. I am not sure if I will do this last part.

AGE RELATED IF:

She looked at my copy of the IF age related supplements mentioned in the book "fertil.ity, cycles and nutr.ition" (a great nutrition for NFP book) and what Dr. H had given me (B6 and Omega´s) and said they were absolutely perfect and to do them as follows:
Vitamin B6 300 mgs it increases naturally progesterone which is key in older women. During my mucus period I should increase to 500.
Folic Acid: 4,000 mcg: to ensure egg health which declines with age. This can prevent early miscarriage and very importantly birth defects such as Down syndrome in this dosage.
Vitaming B12: 1,000 mcg: for inflammation and to help out B6
Zinc: (citrate or piconilate since its more bioavailable) 25-50 mg for egg quality, This is absolutely crucial and she mentioned if I do not do anything else to do this. DH should also do it in addition to pro.xeed
Flax oil 5-10grms OR Fish oil 1 teaspoon (both covered by my thyroid regimen)
Probiotics.
Vitamin C: 1,000 to 1,500 mgs (covered by thyroid regime and multi, but at a lower dosage since it can affect mucus)
Vitamin E: 400 to 800 IU in this case she told me it was too much and not take it in addition to everything. That it was enough in the multi.

She gave me a supplement called meth.yl prot.ect which basically covers in one pill the folic acid, B12 and B2 which is also good since I do not want to take so many pills already.

I need to start tomorrow with everything. I am now trying to organize myself for this fight for my health.

In terms of excercise: resistance or weights 3 times a week, 4 at the most since you need to rest one day between each day so muscle can build.(cu.rves is perfect for this) and in addition on the days that I do not do this I need to exercise at least 30 minutes cardio. I will do Ni.a which I love and I can do at home.

Tomorrow I will discuss with the acupuncturist what TCM says about thyroid issues and what I can do.

Even fat and tired I will fight this.