Hello From A New Peat-ist!

[Marilynn]

Hi, All. I am just about a month into my adventures in Peat-ing, and although it's a bit overwhelming for me, I thought I'd better do some kind of an introduction post so that I can start participating in the forums. I'm sorry this is so long, but here is some of my story:

I have been sick, in varying degrees, for much of my life, and I have been unable to work for the past 3 years, due to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. I have tried many dietary and alternative approaches and seen many doctors (both conventional and naturopathic), but I am only slightly better than when I had the initial crash three years ago. I have been reading this site and others and listening to YouTube shows and interviews with Dr. Peat for the past few weeks, and I have changed my diet from low carb (which I have been doing for nearly 3 years) to a diet of mostly raw milk (sometimes with sugar and cocoa powder), orange juice, grass fed beef, gelatin with cooked cherries or blueberries and sugar, cheese, shrimp, cod, pastured eggs, and carrots with coconut oil and Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar. I'm only eating a small amount of muscle meat per day (usually with a Mexican CocaCola), and when I eat an egg, I make sure to have it with plenty of orange juice, as per Dr. Peat. I am spending time outside in the sun and have purchased some incandescent lights for the wintertime. I live in the northeast of the US, and it won't be long until it will be too cold for me to be outside. (I find being cold VERY difficult, and even painful.) I am trying to meditate every day in order to help my nervous system to calm down.

I am 57 years old, and am past menopause. I have dealt with way too much stress in my life, and I even started out stressed because my mom had the German Measles while she was pregnant with me. I was born supposedly "normal" (my older brother has autism, and my younger sister is nearly blind with ocular albanism) but I was a very colicky infant, had roseola as a baby, and was sick a lot in childhood. My mom (who suffered from depression and anxiety) smoked 2 packs a day, including while pregnant, and our dad and grandmother (who lived with us) were also smokers. Due to my brother's autism and other factors, there was always a lot of stress in our house. I have lived with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember, and I am hypersensitive in every way and have always felt pain (and everything else) more than people thought I should.

I have caused my body a lot of stress, due to dieting since I was 12 years old. The only time I successfully lost weight was 9 years ago, when I starved myself using shots of HCG and eating 500 calories per day. I lost 70 pounds in 9 months, and for a while, felt good. Unfortunately, the weight has all slowly come back, and now I can't even starve it off. And I gained 10 pounds of it in a very short time this past year, while I was in the hospital with my brother who was very sick. Since he has autism and I am his legal guardian, I needed to be with him to make sure he got the care he needed. So for 3 months, as he was in and out of the hospital and a rehab place, I either stayed with him or traveled several hours per day. I didn't eat much, and I tried to eat healthy food, but I still gained 10 pounds in the last month of his illness. The stress was too much for my system, and I am now feeling worse than I have in a long time. I currently weigh 192 lbs, and am only 5 feet tall. I am so uncomfortable at this weight. I have long given up the hope of being thin. I just need to find a way to get somewhat healthy.

I am hypersensitive to meds, and about 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroid and prescribed Synthroid and then Armour. I had heart palpitations to the Synthroid, and I can't remember why the Armour didn't work for me, but after I lost the 70 pounds, my TSH came way down from around 7 to around 2. I don't know what the numbers are now, but I'm sure my thyroid is in need of some help. I will be seeing my primary care doc next week, and I just had some bloodwork done. (He didn't order TSH, unfortunately... but I am thinking of asking him if he will prescribe some Cytomel for me to try...) My cholesterol numbers are higher than they have ever been. (Cholesterol - 233, Triglycerides - 202, HDL - 52, LDL - 140) And my fasting glucose was a bit high as well. Could this be from switching from low carb to eating a diet with a lot of sugar, these past two weeks? Here is the lab report:

GLUCOSE 104 H 67 - 99 MG/DL
BUN 17 10 - 26 MG/DL
CREATININE 0.89 0.40 - 1.30 MG/DL
BUN/CREAT RATIO 19
CALCIUM 10.4 8.3 - 10.6 MG/DL
TOTAL BILIRUBIN 0.5 0.1 - 1.2 MG/DL
AST (SGOT) 18 12 - 45 U/L
ALT (SGPT) 19 7 - 40 U/L
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 52 30 - 115 U/L
TOTAL PROTEIN 7.4 6.4 - 8.3 GM/DL
ALBUMIN 4.3 3.5 - 5.0 GM/DL
GLOBULIN 3.1 2.2 - 4.2 GM/DL
A/G RATIO 1.4
SODIUM 139 135 - 145 MEQ/L
POTASSIUM 4.7 3.5 - 5.3 MEQ/L
CHLORIDE 101 98 - 108 MEQ/L
CARBON DIOXIDE 32 23 - 33 MEQ/L
OSMOLALITY 279.4 270 - 290 mOsm/kg
eGFR 72 >60 ML/MIN/1.73M
CHOLESTEROL 233 H <200 MG/DL
TRIGLYCERIDE 202 H 40 - 150 MG/DL
HDL 52 >40 MG/DL
CHOL/HDL 4.5
LDL 140.6 H <130 MG/DL

This week, I switched from full fat milk to skim/lowfat, and since my metabolism is so low, I'm not sure if I should be eating the full amount of food that Dr. Peat normally suggests. Should I do half the amount of milk and OJ and only have 32 oz of milk and 16 of juice, or is the nutrition of the full amount more important? I have been eating around 1400-1600 calories and have been gaining weight. Is that too much for my system, and should I go lower? Or is it important to eat more in order to raise my metabolism?

I am still reading and listening constantly, trying to learn all that I can in order to help myself. But any advice that anyone can give would be so very much appreciated.

Peace,
Marilynn

 

[tara]

Marilynn
Sorry you have been having such a rough time.

He didn't order TSH, unfortunately... but I am thinking of asking him if he will prescribe some Cytomel for me to try...

With your current symptoms and history of diagnosed hypothyroid, it seems reasonable to ask the dr to get thyroid hormones measured. IIRC, TSH, total T3, total T4 and if possible reverse T3 may be relevant.
You can also monitor your own signs, such as body temps and resting heartrate.
That you are gaining weight on such low calories is a strong indicator of low metabolism/hypothyroid state.

It seems quite possible that you might benefit from some additional T3 to go with your T4. Depending on results etc, there may be a case for adjusting the T4 dose too. If you decide to try it, you may have come across Peat's advice to nibble a little of a T3 tablet at a time. AIUI, if it gets too much at once, the body may find that alarming and defend itself. Healthy bodies apparently make about 3-4mcg T3/hr. It has a fairly short half-life. SO taking more than that in one go can be perceived as excess.
It's useful to monitor body temps esp while adjusting thyroid dose to help find a suitable level without overdosing.

Total cholesterol of 233 does not seem particularly excessive. If you are needing more thyroid supplementation, it may be that you will need that cholesterol as a substrate for the other downstream hormones the body makes from it.

If you have been starving yourself for a long time, that might have contributed to reducing your metabolism, though it sounds as though it may have been low before that too.

Should I do half the amount of milk and OJ and only have 32 oz of milk and 16 of juice, or is the nutrition of the full amount more important? I have been eating around 1400-1600 calories and have been gaining weight. Is that too much for my system, and should I go lower? Or is it important to eat more in order to raise my metabolism?

I don't know know the best way - you can robably find differing views here. I doubt your system will recover well with less than you are currently eating, and eventually I expect you will need quite a bit more if you get your metabolism running well, but how you get from here to there, and whether it can go quickly or slowly, may be open to experiment.

Have you come across the article on Peat's website that mention fibromyalgia? This is one of them, and you can search on his site for the word to find more.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/water.shtml

Good luck. :)

 

[DaveFoster]

A thyroid supplement or caffeine may help you a great deal. Vitamin K2 can lower cholesterol (10-15 mg/day, worked up slowly over a month's time.) Your blood's don't look that bad for 50+.

Just eating enough, stabilizing blood sugar, and maybe doing some Buteyko breathing along with a stimulant (T3 or caffeine) might help.

 

[Bahaa El wazzan]

Hi, All. I am just about a month into my adventures in Peat-ing, and although it's a bit overwhelming for me, I thought I'd better do some kind of an introduction post so that I can start participating in the forums. I'm sorry this is so long, but here is some of my story:

I have been sick, in varying degrees, for much of my life, and I have been unable to work for the past 3 years, due to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. I have tried many dietary and alternative approaches and seen many doctors (both conventional and naturopathic), but I am only slightly better than when I had the initial crash three years ago. I have been reading this site and others and listening to YouTube shows and interviews with Dr. Peat for the past few weeks, and I have changed my diet from low carb (which I have been doing for nearly 3 years) to a diet of mostly raw milk (sometimes with sugar and cocoa powder), orange juice, grass fed beef, gelatin with cooked cherries or blueberries and sugar, cheese, shrimp, cod, pastured eggs, and carrots with coconut oil and Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar. I'm only eating a small amount of muscle meat per day (usually with a Mexican CocaCola), and when I eat an egg, I make sure to have it with plenty of orange juice, as per Dr. Peat. I am spending time outside in the sun and have purchased some incandescent lights for the wintertime. I live in the northeast of the US, and it won't be long until it will be too cold for me to be outside. (I find being cold VERY difficult, and even painful.) I am trying to meditate every day in order to help my nervous system to calm down.

I am 57 years old, and am past menopause. I have dealt with way too much stress in my life, and I even started out stressed because my mom had the German Measles while she was pregnant with me. I was born supposedly "normal" (my older brother has autism, and my younger sister is nearly blind with ocular albanism) but I was a very colicky infant, had roseola as a baby, and was sick a lot in childhood. My mom (who suffered from depression and anxiety) smoked 2 packs a day, including while pregnant, and our dad and grandmother (who lived with us) were also smokers. Due to my brother's autism and other factors, there was always a lot of stress in our house. I have lived with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember, and I am hypersensitive in every way and have always felt pain (and everything else) more than people thought I should.

I have caused my body a lot of stress, due to dieting since I was 12 years old. The only time I successfully lost weight was 9 years ago, when I starved myself using shots of HCG and eating 500 calories per day. I lost 70 pounds in 9 months, and for a while, felt good. Unfortunately, the weight has all slowly come back, and now I can't even starve it off. And I gained 10 pounds of it in a very short time this past year, while I was in the hospital with my brother who was very sick. Since he has autism and I am his legal guardian, I needed to be with him to make sure he got the care he needed. So for 3 months, as he was in and out of the hospital and a rehab place, I either stayed with him or traveled several hours per day. I didn't eat much, and I tried to eat healthy food, but I still gained 10 pounds in the last month of his illness. The stress was too much for my system, and I am now feeling worse than I have in a long time. I currently weigh 192 lbs, and am only 5 feet tall. I am so uncomfortable at this weight. I have long given up the hope of being thin. I just need to find a way to get somewhat healthy.

I am hypersensitive to meds, and about 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroid and prescribed Synthroid and then Armour. I had heart palpitations to the Synthroid, and I can't remember why the Armour didn't work for me, but after I lost the 70 pounds, my TSH came way down from around 7 to around 2. I don't know what the numbers are now, but I'm sure my thyroid is in need of some help. I will be seeing my primary care doc next week, and I just had some bloodwork done. (He didn't order TSH, unfortunately... but I am thinking of asking him if he will prescribe some Cytomel for me to try...) My cholesterol numbers are higher than they have ever been. (Cholesterol - 233, Triglycerides - 202, HDL - 52, LDL - 140) And my fasting glucose was a bit high as well. Could this be from switching from low carb to eating a diet with a lot of sugar, these past two weeks? Here is the lab report:

GLUCOSE 104 H 67 - 99 MG/DL
BUN 17 10 - 26 MG/DL
CREATININE 0.89 0.40 - 1.30 MG/DL
BUN/CREAT RATIO 19
CALCIUM 10.4 8.3 - 10.6 MG/DL
TOTAL BILIRUBIN 0.5 0.1 - 1.2 MG/DL
AST (SGOT) 18 12 - 45 U/L
ALT (SGPT) 19 7 - 40 U/L
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 52 30 - 115 U/L
TOTAL PROTEIN 7.4 6.4 - 8.3 GM/DL
ALBUMIN 4.3 3.5 - 5.0 GM/DL
GLOBULIN 3.1 2.2 - 4.2 GM/DL
A/G RATIO 1.4
SODIUM 139 135 - 145 MEQ/L
POTASSIUM 4.7 3.5 - 5.3 MEQ/L
CHLORIDE 101 98 - 108 MEQ/L
CARBON DIOXIDE 32 23 - 33 MEQ/L
OSMOLALITY 279.4 270 - 290 mOsm/kg
eGFR 72 >60 ML/MIN/1.73M
CHOLESTEROL 233 H <200 MG/DL
TRIGLYCERIDE 202 H 40 - 150 MG/DL
HDL 52 >40 MG/DL
CHOL/HDL 4.5
LDL 140.6 H <130 MG/DL

This week, I switched from full fat milk to skim/lowfat, and since my metabolism is so low, I'm not sure if I should be eating the full amount of food that Dr. Peat normally suggests. Should I do half the amount of milk and OJ and only have 32 oz of milk and 16 of juice, or is the nutrition of the full amount more important? I have been eating around 1400-1600 calories and have been gaining weight. Is that too much for my system, and should I go lower? Or is it important to eat more in order to raise my metabolism?

I am still reading and listening constantly, trying to learn all that I can in order to help myself. But any advice that anyone can give would be so very much appreciated.

Peace,
Marilynn

I just wanna wish you a very good luck and a better healthy life

 

[tara]

Just eating enough, stabilizing blood sugar, and maybe doing some Buteyko breathing

+1 to Buteyko breathing or other methods to raise CO2.
CO2 has many protective functions, and may be particularly relevant to fibromyalgia.
If you have habits of mouth and/or chest breathing (night or day), these can be retrained to nasal and diaphragmatic (I did it the easy way, with mechanical aids).
Peat has sometimes suggested bag breathing a few times a day to gradually raise the CO2 set point.
There are other ways and threads here discussing, too.
Increasing thyroid could well help with this too.

 

[DaveFoster]

Definitely helpful for fibromyalgia here; it reduces my pain very effectively, particularly when its cold out. The cold is very stressful for the thyroid.

 

[lollipop]

Glad to see you are already getting some good advice. Wishing you all the best and this is a good place for you to land!

 

[Luann]

Nice to have you!

 

[Marilynn]

Thank you all for the kind words of welcome and advice. Yes! I have read about, and am working on, the addition of more CO2, including Buteyko breathing. I have been playing with caffeine through the use of Mexican Coke, but my system is too sensitive to use coffee for more than a day. Every time I try to drink coffee, after the 2nd day I have an awful crash. As far as the addition of T3, I am thinking I will ask for T3 exclusively. The last time I tried working with a doctor on my thyroid was 10 years ago, and I couldn't handle the meds (Synthroid and Armour) and stopped entirely. So, maybe I just can't convert the T4 in them to T3?

Ah, yes. A work in progress... Thank you again for the welcome.

Peace,
Marilynn

 

[Xisca]

Hello Marylynn and welcome.
I also started with something bad during my moms pregnancy, and it took me time to discover that more than my liver etc were damaged... The main issue is with the nervous system, and this has somatic consequences of course.
I am a litttle younger than you, but I also started fibro and fatigue, some years ago.
It is gone thanks to somatic experiencing sessions!
So I studied to become also a practitioner of it.

I know a woman who struggles with sensibilities, and she also had a peri-natal trauma. It was relieving to learn where it all came from. She and I have good parents, so it was difficult to understand why all those problems.