James' Journey

[jamesedwards]

I am relatively new to the forum after coming around to Peat's work in 2022. This thread will log my journey as it unfolds. Please follow along and feel free to offer input if you think you can help!


Part 1: Background
I am a 5'11" male, 147lb, 28 years-old. I have a history of anxiety, migraine, allergies, Gilbert's syndrome, and early-stage Hashimoto's disease. I am gluten and dairy intolerant as of 2016 and mostly ate a no-sugar meat, egg, potato, and rice diet until discovering Peat's work. For the past few years, I have practiced fasting as part of a religious tradition along with intermittent fasting (for supposed "health" benefits), and it reduced my appetite to where I rarely consume more than 1900 calories. I suspect my symptoms (to be detailed in a later post) may be related to calorie restriction, and I have begun increasing my consumption.

 

[jamesedwards]

Part 2: Migraine
Migraine runs in my family, and I inherited it from my mom's side. Attacks began when I was 13 years-old, usually triggered by hunger, erratic sleeping habits, stress onset and relief, increases in barometric pressure, and caffeine withdrawal. For the last 15 years, I have had 1-2 attacks per week, though the severity has moderated as I have grown older.

In high school I saw a migraine specialist who put me on amitriptyline for six months. This seemed to help somewhat, but I regret taking it at such a young age. Aside from this brief stint with amitriptyline, most of my migraine management was done with Gatorade and ibuprofen (also recommended by the specialist), which would usually help after 2-3 hours but still resulted in getting a migraine hangover.

I later became really regimented with my sleep, diet, and exercise routine after college. This included yoga, daily weight lifting, avoiding MSG and alcohol, and getting 8 hours of sleep every night, no matter the day. This reduced my attack frequency to 3 migraines a month, but still without tremendous management tools. I noted at the time that the remaining migraines were most often triggered by work stress.

In 2020, I was prescribed oral CGRPs (Ubrelvy and Nurtec) and found myself to be a super-responder. I can usually take just 15-20mg (one quarter of a pill) and eliminate an attack within 30 minutes with no side effects or hangover. This has freed me up to pursue other areas of my health, though I have not been able to address root causes of migraine just yet.

At present, I am reconsidering whether sugar and coffee are, in fact, migraine triggers. During the past week of trials, I have consumed more juice and coffee than usual without initiating a migraine cascade. I suspect if I dial back on either, I will go through withdrawal and endure more attacks, but I do not intend to do so (whereas previously I thought sugar and caffeine needed to be moderated after a brief binge).

I suspect one contributing factor to my attacks was the over-consumption of water. As a teenager I used to drink far less water and often reach for a Coke or Gatorade instead, and it was only during my "healthy" era post-college that I started chugging water regularly. I thought I was doing the right thing by filtering water via reverse osmosis, but without re-mineralizing after a run through the filter, I was likely creating a mineral imbalance.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

As far as the caffeine goes, I am quite sensitive myself. Even if I am regularly consuming it I still get caffeine headaches. I have gone many months without caffeine, maybe a year or so? But, about a month ago I had a couple cups of green tea over 2 days. I had a horrible caffeine headache the day after the second cup. It's not worth it for me. I tolerate decaf tea and coffee well.

So even if you are only having a little caffeine "now and then" it may be enough to trigger the migraine.

Odd that a barometric pressure increase gives you bad symptoms, it is usually the low pressure that does that!

 

[jamesedwards]

Edit: Part 2 should read "drops in barometric pressure," per @ThazMYchocolate's comment.

Part 3: Allergies
I have always experienced seasonal allergies in the spring and fall. Bloodshot eyes, sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy skin and throat, terrible brain fog. Allergy testing showed sensitivity to pollen, ragweed, cats, dogs, dust, and mold, but pollen and ragweed bring about the worst symptoms.

Three years ago, I decided enough was enough and sought out allergy shots. These seemed to help a little the first season following my loading doses, but I was not adherent and have since returned to my former sensitivity. I also made the mistake of continuing to get shots off-schedule and at irregular times without dialing back the dose. I believe this led to sharp, uncontrolled increases in histamine - at the time I was not regularly taking an anti-histamine either. I'm sure others in the community are more knowledgeable than me as to the harms of this, but it was a rough time full of brain fog, anxiety, and the usual allergy symptoms.

I am hopeful to try sublingual immunotherapy next year. I also intend to get a prescription for cyproheptadine, as I've heard this can help with my stress response while also improving my appetite. Other thoughts and recommendations welcome.

Part 4: Gilbert's Syndrome
My family has a history of Gilbert's syndrome, and I have consistently tested at 1.3-1.4 g/dL, never rising above 1.6 g/dL (see March 2020 lab result) as far as I know. I have always had a yellowish tint to my skin which most people mistake for a soft tan, and the whites of my eyes occasionally have a light yellow tinge. Lately, my tongue has been yellow during the day and in the evenings (though I suspect this is Candida or fungal in nature, as I can scrape some off while brushing, and it is much less apparent first-thing in the morning). I intend to get a stool test first-thing in 2023. I am posting labs for reference below, which I will continue to reference in later posts. Again, any input welcome and appreciated.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

Gilbert's syndrome is not harmful. My husband has it, his eyes are always yellow and skin a little bit. It runs in his family too and has bilirubin readings like yours.

I have severe allergies and couldn't tolerate taking over the counter stuff (makes me a zombie). Went to the doc asking for the allergy shots and instead he gave me Montelukast. I use that starting a month before allergy season. You could take it all year. I get no side effects from it and I am a sensitive person. If I still have breakthrough itchy eyes on the worst of the worst pollen days, I use Pataday drops and that can even help the allergy symptoms connected to the eyes/nose. I used to use nasal steriods sprays for that, but the drops seem much safer to me!

Your t3 is slightly low. It should be at least 3.8.

Updated Optimal Thyroid Lab tests & Reference Ranges

Do you have the feeling that your thyroid hormones may not be optimal even though they are normal? Does it make sense to you that each person might have a different optimal level? Or that

www.restartmed.com

Your b12 could use raising as well.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

why are you platelets so low? Does this concern the doctor?

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

maybe you could stay away from histamine foods? I cut out nightshades (tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant) a while back, but do occasionally eat potatoes, if peeled and cooked well. There are lists out there in the internet

 

[jamesedwards]

why are you platelets so low? Does this concern the doctor?

They have never mentioned it being a concern since I never bruise, get nosebleeds, or bleed excessively. But I noted it as something to watch. No clue as to why they’re low.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

I notice there is no calcium level taken in your blood test results. I am shocked that you have all these other tests done and not calcium, especially since you have Hashimoto's. Your parathyroid glands are these 4 tiny glands in your thyroid and they control your calcium level. Calcium is one of those blood tests where you cannot be out of the range and be healthy. I am not saying that your levels are bad or anything, just that it's good to keep tabs on it. When my calcium gets too high I get headaches and other funny feelings in my head.

You mentioned being gluten intolerant. Are you maintaining a gluten-free diet? Sadly, gluten is very inflammatory to the thyroid, and anyone with autoimmune thyroid disease needs to strictly avoid it. I have heard this many times and found it to be true and suffer every time I slip up. I have something like Hashimoto's but no antibodies. Maybe just a different kind of autoimmune thyroid problem. Even though my thyroid has been removed I still have big problems with gluten

I have found that the worse my disease got the less I could tolerate even minute amounts of iodine. Not even iodized salt. It's something to think about, you are still quite young, and honestly I don't hear of men having Hashimoto's much if ever.

Lastly, you appear to not be converting T4 to T3 very well. I think selenium helps with that. There's probably more to it, but it's worth looking into, you probably don't need thyroid medication so long as you can get that conversion optimal.

Hope this helps.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

T4 to T3 Conversion: Why Thyroid Patients Remain Symptomatic

https://youtu.be/oIwbwW8atik This is lesson #5 in the thyroid beginner series. As you know, this series is designed to help you understand the most basic concepts about thyroid function so you can be a better advocate

www.restartmed.com

 

[jamesedwards]

I notice there is no calcium level taken in your blood test results. I am shocked that you have all these other tests done and not calcium, especially since you have Hashimoto's. Your parathyroid glands are these 4 tiny glands in your thyroid and they control your calcium level. Calcium is one of those blood tests where you cannot be out of the range and be healthy. I am not saying that your levels are bad or anything, just that it's good to keep tabs on it. When my calcium gets too high I get headaches and other funny feelings in my head.

You mentioned being gluten intolerant. Are you maintaining a gluten-free diet? Sadly, gluten is very inflammatory to the thyroid, and anyone with autoimmune thyroid disease needs to strictly avoid it. I have heard this many times and found it to be true and suffer every time I slip up. I have something like Hashimoto's but no antibodies. Maybe just a different kind of autoimmune thyroid problem. Even though my thyroid has been removed I still have big problems with gluten

I have found that the worse my disease got the less I could tolerate even minute amounts of iodine. Not even iodized salt. It's something to think about, you are still quite young, and honestly I don't hear of men having Hashimoto's much if ever.

Lastly, you appear to not be converting T4 to T3 very well. I think selenium helps with that. There's probably more to it, but it's worth looking into, you probably don't need thyroid medication so long as you can get that conversion optimal.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the note. This is helpful.

I left calcium and other indicators out to slim down the size of the image. My calcium readings are consistently 9.6-10.0 mg/dL, with a mode of 9.7 mg/dL.

I avoid gluten and dairy at all costs to keep inflammation down.

I know very little about thyroid function despite having technically been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. I need to read up on it more. I have taken selenium in the past and will consider trialing it again based on this info, but I need to figure out a cadence for dosing long-term, as I think I recall there being risks particularly to men taking it for prolonged periods.

 

[ThazMYchocolate]

I left calcium and other indicators out to slim down the size of the image. My calcium readings are consistently 9.6-10.0 mg/dL, with a mode of 9.7 mg/dL.

that looks good

I avoid gluten and dairy at all costs to keep inflammation down.

You said you are intolerant of dairy. There is lactose intolerance and then something more like allergy...I suppose you have an allergy? I quit dairy for many years very strictly, but I was lactose intolerant. For some reason when I started synthroid I am able to tolerate dairy again. There is lactose in the pill so I think it might be helping me build up the right microbiome in my guts to tolerate lactose for the first time since being a kid! I am blown away as I can actually drink a whole cup of milk and a lot more and not want to die from stomach cramps and diarrhea !! ahh fun times

I know very little about thyroid function despite having technically been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. I need to read up on it more. I have taken selenium in the past and will consider trialing it again based on this info, but I need to figure out a cadence for dosing long-term, as I think I recall there being risks particularly to men taking it for prolonged periods.

It may be helpful to not fast so much in order for your liver to clear toxins and it stresses the adrenals too much (more cortisol means less conversion). Also, carbs help to convert T4 to T3.

here is a quote from an article about improving conversion (you can ignore the non-peaty advice)-

" Consume foods rich in Vitamin A daily. Vitamin A is actually essential for proper detoxification. It’s important to remember that Vitamin A is found only in animal foods. Your richest sources are liver (beef, lamb, duck, chicken), cod liver oil, butter, egg yolks, raw cream and cultured raw sour cream. There is a HUGE misconception out there that vegetables, especially carrots and squashes, are excellent sources of vitamin A. This is absolutely false. Vegetables are wonderful sources of beta-carotene. But beta-carotene is only useful to humans as it is broken down and converted in the body to vitamin A by the body’s vitamin A stores. This presents a tremendous challenge and serious health problem for vegans. This also explains why most long-term vegans eventually present with disorders linked to liver congestion and why it is not uncommon to see jaundice in vegans. While most vegans have good intentions, they may not have been properly educated as to the significant role vitamin A plays in detoxification as well as in skeletal formation and thyroid function."